Claiming the Name: Olivia O’Sullivan on What It Means to Call Yourself a Writer Before the Deal7/31/2026
 There’s a quiet but seismic moment in every writer’s life when someone else looks at them and says the word first: writer. Not “aspiring.” Not “hopeful.” Just writer. For Olivia O’Sullivan, that moment arrived in a WhatsApp voice message from a friend abroad. It landed with unexpected weight. She was still unpublished, still querying, still wrestling with the gap between the stories she was writing and the ones she hoped would one day sit on a shelf. Yet the simple act of being named shifted something. She began to claim the title for herself—not as presumption, but as permission. In the pieces that follow, Olivia answers a series of searching questions about the unpublished season: what it has cost her, what it has revealed, and what it continues to teach her about identity, kindness, patience, and the long work of becoming.  At what point did you first allow yourself to call yourself a writer? My friend Grace and I send each other WhatsApp voice messages to keep in contact while she's abroad (and to occasionally practice our Spanish). She knows I'm working on my manuscripts and trying to publish my debut novel, and she told me that she already considers me a writer. That was a huge confidence boost, as my friends mean the world to me, and having her believe in me to the point where she identifies me by this title allowed me to think that yes, I am a writer. One who writes. Unpublished, but nonetheless a storyteller. This absolutely feels presumptuous, but I'm fully aware I have quite a ways to go, and I'm allowed to be confident in myself as I make my way along. It's like playing at the net in a doubles match. If you're scared of the ball, you'll lose the point more often than not. With confidence following your racket, you'll have the power to hit a winning shot. What's one way this manuscript has forced you to face something painful about yourself or your past? For my characters, I always want to provide them with a nice bedroom. Growing up, I had very loving parents, but certain circumstances meant I had a room which wasn't fully mine, wasn't fully functional, and wasn't fully ideal for a young woman to discover who she is. I'm a huge believer that having your own space can help you more fully flourish. When I write my characters, I love to imagine what their rooms are like and how I can provide them what they need. When conflicts rise, this can be a secure place to return to, for both the character and the reader. How do you tackle writer's block when you're stuck mid-plot or with a flat character? This might be quite unpopular, but I go back to the beginning. I've found a lot of happiness in the editing process. Hey, I'm a teacher, I love to mark things in red ink (even if that's just on my Google Doc). I’m a total pantser, so I dive into a story without always knowing where we’re going. Looking at where I've been is like looking at clues I’ve dropped along the way, helping me figure out where the characters want to go. It’s like being Nancy Drew where I’m both the detective and the culprit. If I’m still stuck, I have a million other hobbies and passions to attend to, so they always keep my brain sharp! What I probably need is a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies to keep me going. If your value as a writer wasn't measured by publication, queries, or word count, how would you describe your worth right now? I'm very hard on myself. Extremely hard on myself. My husband gently reminds me of this often. My dream is to be a traditionally published author (with a fandom who creates art of my characters and a movie contract which my students can't stop talking about, but I digress). Nonetheless, what I truly want to be is kind. Good and kind. I hope I live that every day, in the classroom, on the tennis court, with my friends, and with everyone I meet. I'm trying this year to love radically, and boy, sometimes it is tough. Still, kindness is lasting. Putting good out into the world is lasting. That's what I want from my craft as well. I don't want something that's hot for a moment; I want to make something which lasts. That's worth waiting for.  Need an expert critique of your query letter, synopsis, novel/manuscript, or nonfiction book proposal? We have you covered. Check out our critique options and many success stories who found literary agents after working with us. What's the most surprising thing you've learned about love through this unpublished season? With every manuscript I draft, I think I'll never love another character group as much as the one I just wrote. After all, I want to champion them, make their voices heard as I attempt to represent them to agents. What I'm finding is that with each new exciting idea, the kind which makes me anxious to get to my keyboard in the middle of the night, I have a capacity to love more characters. More little people of my creation who grow into their own. Funnily enough, I feel that way with my students. Each class graduates, and each year a bunch of freshmen come. You get to know them for who they are while helping to form them into the best versions of themselves. Looking at the writer you are today versus when you began, what unexpected strength or softness have you discovered in yourself? On a practical note, I'm much better at using description to exhibit personality traits. What used to take me a paragraph now takes me a sentence. A toss of the hair to show flirtation, the use of room decor to highlight what's important to the character. More internally, I'm more patient with myself. I become quite worried about the changing trends in YA, so I always feel like I'm up against a deadline (but the real kicker is I don't know what the deadline is). I've learned that what's a good book today will be a good book tomorrow. While trends do dictate the market, what's best for my debut is to write my absolute best and the rest will (hopefully!) follow. What do you grieve about the writing life that most people don't see or talk about? When I began writing and querying, I was told that my work wasn't "commercial" or "marketable" enough. I had to learn to play the game, so to speak, and sometimes that meant I couldn't tell the story I wanted to, not for my debut at least. A part of me was wounded because it felt like I was losing my voice. As a person who tends to get jealous (I'm working on it), I wondered how it was that other authors seemingly were getting their work through when I thought mine might be just as good. Through the years and with more research into the publishing industry, I've garnered more respect for what agents and publishers are doing and how books are a real bet, a huge investment. I've learned to use my voice while creating something that could be more marketable, learning to love my plots in a new way. I still get to write the stories I want, but with more finesse. It's been fun to watch my plots mature.  Learn secrets and proven paths to finding an agent with the book GET A LITERARY AGENT. The guide explains query letter writing, submission dos and don'ts, how to craft engaging opening pages, synopsis FAQs, nonfiction proposal tips, literary agent pet peeves, and much more. What's a fear about your writing that you've never told anyone before? To be honest, my fear is that I won't make it. I won't become published and see my books in our school library. Creating for creation's sake is important, and I believe in crafting for the enjoyment, not solely for the end goal, but I know I have this fire inside me which will not burn out though the years may pass. Sometimes I feel myself heating up from the inside, and I wonder what it will take, how much I can push myself, etc. My fear, so to speak, is that this will last forever without the specific reprieve I seek. I'm like a dog with a bone, so diverting from a course is difficult for me, and I worry I won't allow myself the grace or flexibility to push through all the disappointments. Which part of yourself feels most exposed or 'not enough' when you write, and how do you keep going anyway? I struggle at times with transitioning between scenes, more specifically how to get characters to go from point A to point B. Nonetheless, I keep writing, knowing they'll have to get between places somehow or the other, and I will find a way to simplify this transition. Reading books in my genre to see what others have done helps, and focusing on my strengths allows me to continue without driving myself crazy with one detail. Utilizing my critique groups also assists me in my struggles. We all have something to share and something to learn. When you imagine the person you'll be after this manuscript is truly finished (regardless of publication), what do you hope has changed inside of you? I believe I will be more hopeful. I'm noticing marketable improvements in my storytelling and writing, and I'm thinking not only about my characters, but how to present them in this market. Also, I am becoming more involved in various writing communities (like volunteering with WDW), and that has been very interesting. It makes everything seem more "real" and less like I am battling through these waters alone.  Olivia O'Sullivan is a debut author hopeful from Kentucky residing in southern Wisconsin. Through teaching English as a Second Language and coaching tennis, she finds plenty of inspiration for her characters and her audience. When she's not in the classroom or working on her manuscript, she's taking care of her pets, baking something with lots of chocolate, or working on a myriad of other hobbies.  This post was compiled by Brandy Vallance, a literary agent with Barbara Bova Literary Agency, an award-winning author, and Executive Aide for Writing Day Workshops. Brandy is the winner of two national writing awards, one of which included a $20,000 prize. Her novel, THE COVERED DEEP, has been featured in USA Today & Writer’s Digest. WITHIN THE VEIL has been called “passionate and riveting” and Publisher’s Weekly encourages those who like sweeping Scottish sagas to dive in because “the journey is wonderful.” Brandy loves helping writers break the chains of fear and self-doubt. You can find out more at brandyvallance.com.  Pitch Agents at a Writers Conference in 2026:
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