Today I’m thrilled to have agent Lindsey Aduskevich
here. She’s a literary
manager at Martin Literary Management.
Hi
Lindsey! Thanks so much for joining us.
Hi Natalie! Thank
you so much for having me.
About
Lindsey:
1.
Tell us how you became an agent, how long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been
doing as an agent.
Great question! I have been interested in
agenting ever since my first SCBWI regional conference in 2019 where I attended
as a picture book writer. After honing my writing craft for a few years, I began
to apply to agent internships in 2022. Trying to get an agent internship felt
just like being in the query trenches. The next three years I got a lot “no’s” and
“almosts.” Finally, in the beginning of 2025 I got my “yes!” from senior
Literary Manager Kristen Terrette. Kristen spent six months teaching me
everything she knows, and it was in October that I received an email with the
subject line “Let’s Chat” from Vice President Jen Newens. Very shortly after
our meeting, Jen and Sharlene Martin, the president of Martin Literary
Management (MLM), offered me a position with the agency. I have been doing my
dream job ever since.
As for what I’ve been doing, I am connecting
with editors and reading manuscript after amazing manuscript in search of the
ones that won’t let me sleep at night. I made my first offer of rep in December
(which I did not get by the way), my second offer in January (which
I did get!), and my third in February (which I also got!). I am currently
preparing an incredible historical fiction middle grade for submission and plan
to go out with another historical fiction in the fall.
About
the Agency:
2.
Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors.
MLM prides itself on considerate management,
meaning we aim to be respectful, kind, nurturing, and communicative. Our agency
has been championing books into the world for 23 years now, and thanks to
Sharlene Martin’s connections in the film industry, many of those books became
documentaries, movies, or series. When I joined MLM as an intern, I was struck
by how warm and friendly everyone was. When I joined as an agent, it truly felt
like family. We are all here to support each other, answer questions, help with
clients’ work, contracts, proposals, submission lists—anything we need from
each other. What that means for authors is all the agents here have an
incredible support system. With MLM, you don’t just get one agent rooting for
you—you get an entire team!
What
She’s Looking For:
3.
What age groups do you represent—picture books, MG, and/or YA? What genres do
you represent, and what are you looking for in submissions for these genres?
I represent picture
books, middle grade, young adult, and new adult. I am open to fiction,
informational fiction, and non-fiction.
For picture books, I
love humorous, lyrical, hard topics, silly, serious, prose, rhyme (as long as
you know what you’re doing because I don’t!), holiday, dark humor, spooky,
historical…pretty much anything. But there is one key ingredient I absolutely
must have: heart…and the heart has to be big. I want the whole emotional
experience. Send me your manuscripts that will make me laugh, cry, or race to
tell my critique partners that I just read the most amazing story!
For middle grade, pacing
and stakes are key here. I am looking for phenomenal voices that keep me on the
edge of my seat. I want escalating tension, standout characters, and fresh
topics. I am open to paranormal, contemporary, spooky, mystery, horror, or
magical.
For young adult, I
would love to see romcoms, romantasy, historical fiction, fantasy, horror,
paranormal, and even some genre mashups. Think paranormal romance, romcom thriller,
etc. My true love is a really good historical fiction, but I’m very selective
in this area.
In new adult, I like
college campus settings or just starting out in the work force. The same genres
for young adult apply here, too.
4. Is there anything you would be especially
excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in?
I would love a good YA horror. One with
emotionally complex characters and a swoon-worthy romance. I am also highly
interested in a picture book that tugs on my heart and begs to be read again
and again.
What
She Isn’t Looking For:
5.
What types of submissions are you not interested in?
If I had to list a few things that interest me
the least, it would be books about gaming and saving turtles eggs. I promise
I’m not a monster! I love all animals, including cute, adorable turtles. I
think it’s just an overdone concept for me. But as of right now, I am not
closed to anything. If the story is good, I’m game!
Agent
Philosophy:
6.
What is your philosophy as an agent both in terms of the authors you want to
work with and the books you want to represent?
I am looking for authors who are kind,
understanding, and have an open heart. I prefer voices and stories that are
uplifting. I want to represent books that foster empathy, shine light on new
experiences, teach readers information in exciting ways, and/or help readers
escape into a fantastical world.
Editorial
Agent:
7.
Are you an editorial agent? If so, what is your process like when you’re
working with your authors before submitting to editors?
I am! I will always give
my clients both line comments and my overall thoughts. I will focus on
assessing character arc, structure, pacing, tension, stakes, grammar, etc. Once
I have organized my feedback, I will send it to the author and wait for the
revisions. We will go back and forth until we both think the manuscript is
perfect. But one quick note: for grammar, commas never landed with me. As hard
as I tried, that is my one weakness. That and rhyme. Okay, I have two
weaknesses.
Query
Methods and Submission Guidelines: (Always verify before submitting)
8.
How should authors query you and what do you want to see with the query letter?
I would love for
authors to query me via my Query Manager. Please do not send queries to my
email.
Regarding query
letters, we all know writing is HARD! There are so many rules. For some of us,
(me for sure!) it takes years to hone our craft. And we don’t just have to
learn how to write a story, we have to learn how to write a query letter. A
well-written query letter tells me that you have spent time on your craft, and
that you are invested in your future as an author. I love a well-written query
letter. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine, but don’t stray too far
from the structure.
What I personally like
to see is the hook, book, and cook technique all on one page.
1. Start with a few lines about why you are querying me
(not always necessary but appreciated).
2. Give me your pitch—bonus points if it is in the
voice/tone of your manuscript.
3. Comps, themes, and why this book is needed in
today’s market.
4. Bio. Don’t forget your bio! I love a good, succinct
bio.
All of these things are what make a great
query letter, but don’t stress too much about them. If one or more of these
areas are stressing you out, do your best and that’s good enough!
9. Do you have any specific dislikes in query
letters or the first pages submitted to you?
I don’t have dislikes, but I do have things
that will make me hesitate. If a query barely resembles what a query should
look like, then I don’t feel as connected to the author and (not willingly)
find myself less invested.
As for the first pages, again, no dislikes,
but try to stay away from overdone scenes. Waking up in bed and stretching is
an overdone opening scene (though I’m not saying this won’t work!), and so is “once
upon a time” and “there once was a little boy who…”. Challenge yourself to find
something unique that will set your book apart from all the others.
Response
Time:
10.
What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a
manuscript?
Right now, I am aiming for three weeks or less
for queries. As I build my list, I know this will not be feasible. For those I
request more pages from, sometimes you will hear from me in about a week or so.
Longer manuscripts could take up to a month. If it’s been over three months,
absolutely nudge. But please know I will always try to respond as quickly as
possible. A month tops would be my goal.
Self-Published
and Small Press Authors:
11. Are you open to representing authors who have
self-published or been published by smaller presses? What advice do you have
for them if they want to try to find an agent to represent them?
I am definitely open
to authors who have self-published or been published by smaller presses. This
should never make a writer hesitate to query me as long as it’s new work. My
advice to self-pubbed or small press pubbed authors is to keep writing amazing
stories and getting them out there.
Clients:
12.
Who are some of the authors you represent?
Right now, I have
two clients who I am still pinching myself over. Mengxi Seeley is an incredibly
talented author who writes novels inspired by historical research, with fantastically
happy endings. And Victoria Winterhalter Brame who writes exceptional middle grade and young adult novels focused on hidden
histories and characters discovering their self-worth.
I am eagerly
searching for more talented writers to join our team, and I hope to sign some
soon!
Interviews
and Guest Posts:
13.
Please share the links to any interviews, guest posts, and podcasts you think
would be helpful to writers interested in querying you.
I’m going to skip this question since this is
my first interview.
Links
and Contact Info:
14.
Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on
the Web.
QueryManager: https://QueryTracker.net/query/4083
Website: https://lindseyaduskevich.com/
X: @LAduskevich
Bluesky: @laduskevich.bsky.social
Insta: @lindsey_aduskevich
Additional
Advice:
15.
Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we
haven’t covered?
You’re never going
to get your “yes” if you give up. Writing may be a rollercoaster, and gosh darn
those “ups” are high and those “downs” are low, but if you give up…it will
never happen. And always remember, not every story will land. In fact, most of
your stories may not. But don’t forget, you write because you love it. You love
the community, you love putting your emotions down on paper, you love creating
characters and situations that are going to resonate with readers. Just because
a story you wrote doesn’t land with your critique partners, an agent, or an
editor, doesn’t mean you didn’t create something special. Something that,
hopefully, brought you joy, exercised your writing muscles, and led you to the
path you are currently on. If you are in that boat where your stories aren’t
landing (and so many of us are!), give yourself a moment to feel those feels,
but then pick yourself up, dust yourself off, write something new (or revise something
old), and get yourself back out there. Because…your “yes!” can only come if you
don’t give up!
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Lindsey!
Giveaway Details
Lindsey
is generously offering a query critique to one lucky winner. To enter, all you
need to do is be a follower (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on
the right sidebar) and leave a comment through March 21st. If you do not want to enter the contest,
that’s okay. Just let me know in the comments. If I do not
have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must
leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email
address.
If you follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or mention this
contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and
I'll give you an extra entry. This is an international giveaway.
Upcoming
Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops
Monday, March 16,
I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop
Monday, March 23, I have a guest
post by Aaron Starmer and a giveaway of his MG You Are Now Old Enough to Hear
Wednesday, March 25, I have an agent
spotlight interview with Rob Broder and a query critique giveaway
Monday, March 30, I’m participating
in the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop
I hope to see you
on Monday!
Have any experience with this agent? See something that
needs updating? Please leave a comment or email me at natalieiaguirre7@gmail.com
Note: These agent profiles and interviews presently focus on
agents who accept children's fiction. Please take the time to verify anything
you might use here before querying an agent. The information found here is
subject to change.
