Agent Spotlight: Vickie Motter

This week's Agent Spotlight features Vickie Motter of the Andrea Hurst Literary Management.

Status: Accepting submissions.

About: “Vickie Motter, literary agent, has a BA in English Literature from Western Washington University. She started as an intern fresh out of college and, with her deep-seeded love of books, quickly worked up to her dream of becoming an agent. She enjoys the opportunity of working closely with her authors to help bring a book to life.

“Vickie is looking for new and previously published authors dedicated to continuously developing their craft and writing poignant nonfiction or marketable fiction. She loves all things weird, fantastical, morbid, and romantic. She’s always reading and looking for books that transport her to new lands and allow the imagination to run rampant. She has a special love of unique plots, dark themes, strong characters, an engaging voice, and witty humor.

“Some of her favorite books are: The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, Looking for Alaska by John Green, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward, The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind, On the Edge by Illona Andrews, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Rampant by Diana Peterfreund, and Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.

“Her blog, covering all issues of publishing and giving valuable advice to new and seasoned authors, can be found at www.navigatingtheslushpile.blogspot.com.” (Link)

About the Agency:

“Andrea Hurst Literary Management provides professional literary management for authors of compelling, insightful, engaging works that appeal to a broad audience of readers.

“We’re a boutique agency with big-city connections. Our agents are caring, accessible advocates for the authors we represent. We stay in touch. We don’t charge reading fees. And we get paid only when you do.” (Link)

Web Presence:

Andrea Hurst Literary website.

Andrea Hurst Literary blog.

Navigating the Slush Pile.

Twitter.

Facebook.

QueryTracker.

What She's Looking For:

Genres / Specialties:

In Fiction: YA contemporary, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Steam punk, Fantasy, Urban fantasy, Dark fantasy, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Cozy mysteries.

In Nonfiction: Narrative, Humorous memoir, Healthy living, Cookbooks with a strong platform, Current events. (Link, Link)

From Her Website Bio:

“Vickie is looking for new and previously published authors dedicated to continuously developing their craft and writing poignant nonfiction or marketable fiction. She loves all things weird, fantastical, morbid, and romantic. She’s always reading and looking for books that transport her to new lands and allow the imagination to run rampant. She has a special love of unique plots, dark themes, strong characters, an engaging voice, and witty humor.” (Link)

From an Interview (04/2011):

“Adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy. I've gotten several good submissions, but nothing I've fallen in love with yet. The key, of course, is "good writing" and ‘voice.’” (Link)

From a Blog Post (03/2011):

“My eyes sort of glaze over when I see "vampires" in the query. I think it's dried up in the YA world, but I'll consider it for adult Paranormal or Urban Fantasy. Make it original. Make it sparkle (but not in an Edward Cullen's fairy sort of way).” (Link)

From an Interview (01/2011):

“I get very little Non-fiction in my e-mails, and am always looking for new talent. Anything from current events to humorous memoir, to cookbooks (with a strong platform).”

“I'm drawn to writers who demonstrate their dedication to writing, those who have pursued writing through conferences, classes, and workshops, but also who always want to keep learning. I'm drawn to varieties of projects, some happy, some sad, some about the end of the world, but they are all original and tell a great story, no matter what it consists of.” (Link)

What She Isn't Looking For:

Chick lit, women’s fiction, literary fiction, men’s thrillers, new age, essays, short fiction, poetry, children’s, or middle grade. (Link, Link, Link)

She also isn’t interested in superhero novels. (Link)

Quotables:

“I request pages from 30 to 40% of queries. I request the full manuscript from less than 5% of those.” (Link)

“Literary services and editorial services are separate at our agency, so there is never a conflict of interest. On the literary side, we strive to maintain most of the ‘old school’ literary agency traits. We are passionate about our authors' projects and maintain professional, close relationships with them that last their whole careers. On the editorial side, we provide writers seeking growth with the highest quality consulting and evaluating with a large range of services that appeal to beginners and experienced writers alike.” (Link)

Editorial Agent?

Yes. She does revisions with her clients as needed. The following quote is also insightful:

“Sometimes a manuscript just isn't quite at the level needed to pitch to publishers--commercial quality--and if the writer has little experience, we'll ask for revisions on an exclusive basis. There seems to be a stigma out there that this is a bad thing, but it isn't. It proves to us that the writer is able to meet deadlines, is easy to work with, and willing to learn (plus it's free editing for the writer). It helps make the ‘gamble’ easier.” (Link)

Clients:

There is a select list of agency titles on the website.

Ms. Motter’s clients include: Kristine Carlson Asselin, Julia Darcey, Cambria Dillon, Carolina Valdez Miller, and Katy Upperman, among others.

Sales:

As of this posting, Ms. Motter does not appear to be a member of Publisher’s Marketplace.

NOTE: PM is usually not a complete representation of sales.

Query Methods:

E-mail: Yes (only).

Snail-Mail: No.

Online-Form: No.

Submission Guidelines (always verify):

Send a query in the body of an e-mail with the word “query” and the name or genre of your novel in the subject line. Indicate if it’s a multiple submission. No attachments. In this interview, Ms. Motter indicates a few samples pages pasted into the body of the e-mail are helpful.

See Ms. Motter’s blog and the Andrea Hurst Literary website for complete up-to-date submission guidelines.

Query Tips:

Read Ms. Motter’s “Rejection Rate” series on her blog, Navigating the Slush Pile, for regular tips and preferences.

Response Times:

The agency doesn’t appear to give a stated response time aside from “may take several weeks.” Stats on the web show Ms. Motter responding to queries and requested material within days to about a month with occasional instances outside of this timeframe.

What's the Buzz?

Vickie Motter is a relatively new agent who is actively building her list. She’s already been promoted to full agent, though I don’t believe she’s made any sales for her clients yet. Hopefully we’ll see some soon – her clients really seem to love her.

She offers a lot of great advice on her blog, Navigating the Slush Pile, and she is also on Twitter @Vickie_Motter.

P&E lists Andrea Hurst Literary with an “editorial advisory” but the agency reportedly keeps their literary management completely separate from their various author services, which keeps them in the clear.

Worth Your Time:

Interviews:

Agent Advice Interview with Vickie Motter at the Guide to Literary Agents blog (04/2011).

Interview with an Agent: Vickie Motter at Mother. Write. (Repeat.) (01/2011).

Selected Blog Posts:

The Call, and Questions You Should Ask (05/2011).

Formatting Your MS (04/2011).

Prologues (03/2011).

Author Bios (03/2011).

Common Errors and Other Rants (02/2011).

Why Your MS is Getting Rejected (01/2011).

Why Titles Cant Suck (01/2011).

Queries: Credentials (12/2010).

Check out Ms. Motter’s “Wednesday Reads” series for specifics on what she likes and dislikes.

Also read the “Rejection Rate” series for Ms. Motter’s latest rejection and request stats and query tips.

Around the Web:

Andrea Hurst and Associates on P&E ($ Editing Advisory). – See quote above in “Quotables.”

Andrea Hurst and Associates Literary Management thread on AbsoluteWrite.

See the sidebar on Ms. Motter’s blog for conferences she will be attending.

The agency has a newsletter you can sign up for HERE.

You can see pitch winners Ms. Motter chose from two different pitch contests, here and here/here.

Client Carolina Valdez Miller’s Agent Story (04/2011).

Client Kristine Asselin’s Agent Story (03/2011).

Client Cambria Dillon’s Agent Story (03/2011).

Contact:

Please see the Andrea Hurst Literary Management website and Ms. Motter’s blog for contact and query information.

Profile Details:

Last updated: 5/12/11.

Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.

Last Reviewed By Agent? 5/12/2011.

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Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com

Note: These agent profiles presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.