Upcoming Agent Spotlight Interviews & Guest Posts

  • CoCo Freeman Agent Spotlight Interview and Query Critique Giveaway on 11/11/2024
  • Courtney Donovan Agent Spotlight Interview and Query Critique Giveaway on 11/20/2024
  • Shannon Hassan Agent Spotlight Interview and Query Critique Giveaway on 12/9/2024
  • Vicky Weber Agent Spotlight Interview and Query Critique Giveaway on 12/11/2024

Agent Spotlight & Agent Spotlight Updates

  • Agent Spotlights & Interviews have been updated through the letter "K" as of 3/28/2024 and many have been reviewed by the agents. Look for more information as I find the time to update more agent spotlights.

The Other Side of the River Review by Alda Dobbs and Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m super excited to share Alda Dobb’s new historical MG The Other Side of the River. When Alda emailed me and asked me if I wanted an ARC in exchange for an honest review, I jumped at the chance because I loved her debut book, Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna. You can read my interview with Alda when she debuted here.

Here’s a blurb of The Other Side of the River from Goodreads:

From the award-winning author of Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna, Alda P. Dobbs, comes a compelling new novel about building a new life in America. Strong and determined, Petra Luna returns in a story about the immigrant experience that continues to be relevant today.

Petra Luna is in America, having escaped the Mexican Revolution and the terror of the Federales. Now that they are safe, Petra and her family can begin again, in this country that promises so much. Still, twelve-year-old Petra knows that her abuelita, little sister, and baby brother depend on her to survive. She leads her family from a smallpox-stricken refugee camp on the Texas border to the buzzing city of San Antonio, where they work hard to build a new life. And for the first time ever, Petra has a chance to learn to read and write.

Yet Petra also sees in America attitudes she thought she'd left behind on the other side of the Río Grande―people who look down on her mestizo skin and bare feet, who think someone like her doesn't deserve more from life. Petra wants more. Isn't that what the revolution is about? Her strength and courage will be tested like never before as she fights for herself, her family, and her dreams.

Petra's first story, Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna, was a New York Public Library Book of the Year and a Texas Bluebonnet Master List Selection.

My Review

The Other Side of the River tells Petra’s story after her family and she arrive in San Antonio. You do not have to read Alda’s first book to enjoy this one. I devoured it in two sittings. I totally loved it and can’t wait to read Alda’s next book.

Here are five things I really enjoyed about this book.

  1. The setting. I loved learning more about San Antonio in the early 1900s, especially since I’ve visited there on a few occasions. It was so interesting to see what life was like for immigrants coming here from Mexico. They sure didn’t have it easy.
  2. Riveting story. Historical fiction has to be factually accurate. But it also has to tell a compelling story. I found The Other Side of the River to be a page-turner because the story and plot were so good.
  3. Petra. I already loved Peter from Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna. I love her even more in this story and so admire her tenacity, courage, and strength as she tried to take care of her family and follow her dreams of a new life in America. When I start to get down about my own problems and challenges, I think about all the hardships she and other immigrants have faced and face today.
  4. Secondary characters. Alda did a fantastic job creating a cast of secondary characters. I enjoyed learning more about her abuelita, younger sister, baby brother, and other characters that helped and hindered her in her attempts to take care of her family.
  5. Ending. I’m not going to spoil things for you by telling you the ending. I’ll just say that the ending was a great one.

 Giveaway Details

 I’m offering my ARC of The Other Side of the River for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by October 8th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and/or follow me on Twitter s, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. The ARC giveaway is U.S.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.         

Upcoming Interviews and Guest Posts

Wednesday, October 5th, I’m participating in the Howloween Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, October 5th, I have an interview with debut author Kim Bartosch and a giveaway of her YA mystery/ghost story Ask the Girl

Monday, October 16th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Sarah Stephens and a query critique giveaway

Sunday, October 16th, I’m participating in the Cheeky Pumpkin Giveaway Hop

Monday, October 17th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Eve Adler and a query critique giveaway

Monday, October 24th, I have a guest post by debut author George Jreije and a giveaway of his MG fantasy Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria 

Hope to see you on Wednesday, October 5th!

 

 

Agent Spotlight: Jazmia Young Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Jazmia Young here. She is an associate literary agent at Curtis Brown, LTD.

Hi­ Jazmia! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Jazmia:

1. Tell us how you became an agent, how long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been doing as an agent.

Sure thing! I am an associate agent at Curtis brown, Ltd and have been for almost 4 years now. Initially I didn’t think I wanted to work in publishing, I only knew that I had a love for writing and reading but didn’t know what to do with it. I just told everyone I wanted to be a writer. At my alma mater, City college of New York – a CUNY school – I studied English with a concentration in creative writing. Through the English department and my creative writing professors, I learned about the Publishing Certificate Program. It was a 5-course program taught by publishing professionals with the final course being an internship with a publishing company. One of the many great things about the PCP program is that they circulate various scholarships, grants, and job listings for students to apply to. While I was completing courses, the assistant director of the program, Retha Powers, reached out to all the students about an opportunity to apply for the AAR (now known as the AALA) diversity fellowship. If won, you receive a stipend and get to work at a literary agency of your choice. 

I didn’t know much about working at a literacy agency besides what was taught in class and it didn’t seem to interest me so I wasn’t going to apply. But Retha reached out to me personally and encouraged me to apply. I did and within a month’s time, I was one of the students who received the grant. I started to receive a slew of emails for interviews and the first agency that I interviewed with was Curtis Brown. I met with two senior agents who were truly insightful and super kind. After going on a few more interviews, I ultimately choose to intern at Curtis Brown and they were more than happy to have me. I had a wonderful experience there and on the very last day of my internship, an assistant position opened up for two other agents at the agency. One of the agents I was interning for immediately forwarded my resume to the hiring manager and I have been here ever since. 

I was an assistant for three out of the four years I’ve been at Curtis Brown and most of that job consisted of heavy admin work. As I started to grow in the position, I realized I wanted to do more agent work so I can potentially build my list. So, I spoke with my bosses about elevating and they were more than happy (and encouraging) to help. I became an Associate Agent early last year and having been building my list ever since. I juggle between still assisting and agent work daily and that can consist of liaising with editors, handling incoming payments, monitoring my query inbox, editing manuscripts, executing small contracts, i.e., magazine, audio, and etc. The responsibilities vary each day. 

About the Agency:

2. Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors.

Curtis Brown, Ltd. is a prestigious agency that has been around for over 100 years. I enjoy working here because we have a variety of agents who represent authors across all genres. What really attracted me to Curtis Brown is the hard work that goes in for representing a client in all aspects of their career. I’ve learned so much about what it takes to have a healthy and sustaining agent-author relationship. We have the utmost respect for our authors and I am so happy to be a part of this agency. 

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 exclusively acquire children’s books. I’m interested in picture books through YA, focusing on middle grade fiction and picture books. Here is a breakdown of what I’m looking for in each category: 

PICTURE BOOKS: I’m looking for stories that are steeped in culture. Exploring deep emotions like in Remembering Ethan by Lesléa Newman, is important to me. But I do love and enjoy dreamy lyrical prose and creative stories like Bedtime for sweet creatures by Nikki Grimes

MIDDLE GRADE: I gravitate towards voice and the ability to capture the complexity of emotions of that age. I am in love with King and the Dragonflies! So, if your work is similar to that, I’d love to see it. I’m always interested in characters with unbeatable courage, anything filled with heart as in Front Desk or stories that make your heart clench like The Thing About Jellyfish. Most importantly, give me little black girls saving the world!

YOUNG ADULT: With YA, I’m looking for stories that attach themselves to you and don’t let go. Books that amplify LGBTQ voices while exploring what it means to fall in love for the first time like Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, immigration stories that open your eyes as in The Book of Unknown Americans, and standout voices like You Should See Me in A Crown.

4.  Is there anything you would be especially excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in?

            Anything that explores grief or loss across picture books through YA. I tend to gravitate towards darker emotions more.

What She Isn’t Looking For:

5. What types of submissions are you not interested in? 

I’m not a fan of high fantasy, historical fiction, fart humor or a story that relies on the punchline of a jokes, and sports or Animal stories. My list for what I don’t want to see isn’t long but I’ll know what I won’t like when I read it. 

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’m looking for authors that want to build a partnership with me, and have a long-lasting career in publishing. I want to work with authors that are receptive to feedback and continue to perfect their craft. Publishing is a long game and there’s a lot of rejection, so I’m looking for clients who can take that rejection in stride.

For the books I want to represent, I’m looking for black children’s stories that are going to have an impact on black kids. I want to for those children to see themselves in a variety of stories that help them explore their emotions. 

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? 

            Yes! I go through several rounds of edits before going out on submission. 

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?           

Authors can send me an email the word query in the subject line and the name of their work with the first ten pages in the body of the email to jky@cbltd.com. 

9.  Do you have any specific dislikes in query letters or the first pages submitted to you? 

            My one major dislike in query letters is when someone writes my name wrong. It shows that you either didn’t double check your work or you just disregarded the spelling of my name. 

Response Time: 

10. What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a manuscript?           

            I try to respond within 4-6 weeks. 

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? 

            Yes, I am! I would say to lead with a work that isn’t published yet. 

12. With all the changes in publishing—self-publishing, hybrid authors, more small publishers—do you see the role of agents changing at all? Why? 

            I think publishing is forever changing and agents should always adapt to fit the needs of their clients. 

Clients: 

13. Who are some of the authors you represent? 

            As of right now, I only represent one author, Karly Pierre. She’s an amazing black children’s book author and I’m excited to sell her debut picture book. 

Interviews and Guest Posts: 

14. Please share the links to any interviews, guest posts, and podcasts you think would be helpful to writers interested in querying you. 

My SCBWI interview. 

Links and Contact Info: 

15. Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on the Web. 

Either on the Curtis Brown website here: https://curtisbrown.com/agents/jazmia-young/ or Manuscript Wish List: https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/jazmia-young/. 

Additional Advice: 

16. Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we haven’t covered?        

            I would say be sure of who you want to represent you as much as they are sure of representing you. There should be a mutual feeling of certainty from both parties. It can be so tempting to say ‘yes’ to the first agent that shows interest in you but you have to be sure that agent is the right fit for you as you are to them. 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Jazmia.

­Jazmia 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 October 8th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. If you do not want to enter the contest, that's okay. Just let me know in the comments.

If you 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.

Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail 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.

 

 

 

How to Write Historical Fiction by Stacy Nockowitz and The Prince of Steel Pier Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have debut author Stacy Nockowitz here to share about how she writes historical fiction and about her MG historical The Prince of Steel Pier. I love historical fiction, and the time period and Atlantic City setting in Stacy’s book really appeals to me, so I’m excited to read it.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

A Young Teen Falls in with the Mob, and Learns a Lesson About What Kind of Person He Wants to Be

In The Prince of Steel Pier, Joey Goodman is spending the summer at his grandparents' struggling hotel in Atlantic City, a tourist destination on the decline. Nobody in Joey's big Jewish family takes him seriously, so when Joey's Skee-Ball skills land him an unusual job offer from a local mobster, he's thrilled to be treated like "one of the guys," and develops a major crush on an older girl in the process. Eventually disillusioned by the mob's bravado, and ashamed of his own dishonesty, he recalls words of wisdom from his grandfather that finally resonate. Joey realizes where he really belongs: with his family, who drive him crazy, but where no one fights a battle alone. All it takes to get by is one's wits...and a little help from one's brothers.

 Follower News

First, I have Follower News to share. An Insecure Writers Support Group Anthology
Romance – Clean & Wholesome/Contemporary/Historical

First Love: The Art of Making Doughnuts was recently released. Here’s a blurb: Featuring the talents of Linda Budzinski, Melissa Maygrove, Michael Di Gesu, Sylvia Ney, Katie Klein, Kim Elliott, Templeton Moss, S.E. White, Denise Covey, and Sammi Spizziri. Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will touch your heart and rekindle lost feelings. Prepare to return to that first love…

Links:
Amazon 
https://www.amazon.com/First-Love-Art-Making-Doughnuts-ebook/dp/B09QH3Z28P/
Barnes & Noble 
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/first-love-insecure-writers-support-group/1140884369?ean=2940165751301

 

Deniz Bevan recently released Druid’s Moon. Here’s a blurb: Archaeologist Lyne Vanlith discovers an ancient Druidic curse on her first dig. When a Beast rescues her, she kisses his snout and he transforms into a man. Lyne is meant to be Beauty to his Beast. She must take up her legendary role, to defeat the curse and monster after them, and save Frederick—and herself.
Fantasy – Romance  / Paranormal  / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology
Print ISBN 9781939844866 / EBook ISBN 9781939844873

Links:
Apple - 
https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id1588920227
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HRDWJZ8
Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940165040276

 

Sandra Cox recently released Geller’s Find. Here’s a blurb:

It’s summer break and Dr. Luke Geller history prof and part-time archeologist is in Nevada looking for potsherds. What he finds is an antique rifle and a portal in time.

Buy link: https://tinyurl.com/GellersFind

 


Nick Wilford is releasing Reckoning, part 3 of a YA dystopian series tomorrow. Here's a blurb: The time has come for those who perpetrated wrongdoing and suffering on the land of Loretania to face their judgement, but nothing is that simple. Lunkin, the psychotic former Chief Scientist, has one more trick up his sleeve and is wreaking havoc even from behind bars. Can Welles and Ez, the kind and benevolent new rulers of Harmonia, turn the tide of public opinion and secure justice for the people of Loretania before it’s too late? Here are a few link:  

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Smashwords / Barnes & Noble / Kobo 


Now here’s Stacy! 

How and Why I Write Historical Fiction

I’m a debut author, but I’m no spring chicken. I’m 55, the age when many children’s authors are well-established in the industry, with a good number of books already out in the world. I don’t mind being on the older side. I’ve had a long and satisfying career in education that began when I was only 23 years old. Right after undergraduate school, I earned a Master’s Degree in education from Columbia University Teachers College. I started out teaching 4th grade in New York City and went on to teach middle school language arts for many years in New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio. Fourteen years ago, I decided to go back to school for my Master’s in Library Science, and I became a middle school librarian in 2010. I’ve been around for a while.

            From the time I was about 6 years old, I dreamed of being a writer, and I wrote consistently over the years. Most of this writing was in notebooks that I didn’t show to anyone. I wrote Star Wars fan fiction when I was a kid, and I even wrote a couple of short novels in my twenties and thirties that I showed to maybe three people.  

            In 2017, an idea came into my head for a story about a kid who gets involved with some mobsters. I loved the movie A Bronx Tale, and I thought that the basic premise for that movie would make a great children’s book, if it was written right. I saw a scene in my mind: This kid is playing Skee-Ball, and the mobsters surround him and start betting on his score. I’m from New Jersey, so mob culture is something I grew up with. The Sopranos was set in New Jersey for a reason. So, I had my idea. But I had to decide on the setting, the when and the where.

            One thing I knew for sure. This story was not going to take place in 2017. The scene in my head was old school. These mobsters did not have cell phones. This kid was not tethered to a screen. That was when I realized that my writing future is fixed in the past. I wanted to write historical fiction. 

            I read somewhere that you shouldn’t write historical fiction just because you don’t want to deal with cell phones, but that’s exactly why I write it. I’m no Luddite, but I find 21st century technology to be stifling to my writing. I don’t like that a kid can get out of a situation just by looking something up or using an app or texting mom. I like a lot of one-to-one interaction, face-to-face dialogue, and even some back-to-the-wall, real world tension that only comes from being “in the room where it happens.” Also, technology shifts and morphs so quickly these days that some tech tool I write about today might be obsolete tomorrow. And kids don’t like to read about obsolete technology in contemporary fiction. 

            I prefer to immerse my readers in another era and get kids excited about history. In my library, students are passionate about books set in the past– medieval times, the Wild West, World War II. My goal is to introduce kids to eras that they’re not as familiar with, like the 1970s or the 1950s. At some point, I may tackle pre-20th century history, but for now, I’ll stick with the past 100 years or so.

            Doing research for historical fiction is one of my favorite parts of being a writer. It’s essential to get all of the historical details right. Obviously, I couldn’t write about a 1970s kid using a cell phone, but what about other, smaller details? For example, in The Prince of Steel Pier, the main character, Joey, keeps all of his arcade prize tickets in a grocery bag. In my first draft, that was a plastic grocery bag. But after some research, I learned that plastic bags hadn’t been introduced into grocery stores yet in 1975. So, the bag became a paper bag. My book is filled with all kinds of period details that required research far beyond Wikipedia. Joey uses a big Nikon camera in one scene, so I had to find out what features Nikon cameras had in 1975 to make that scene authentic. Even though I was a kid myself in the 70s, I couldn’t rely on my memory to get those details right. Might Joey’s older brother have attended a Pink Floyd concert in 1975? I had to find out if I was going to have him put on a Pink Floyd concert shirt.

But I also had to know when to stop doing research, too, or else I could continue seeking out resource after resource and never get to the actual writing! How does a writer know when to put on the brakes? In grad school, I attended a workshop about writing historical fiction led by the great author Anna-Marie McLemore. She said you should only do enough research so that you could comfortably time travel back to that time. Then STOP. In other words, you don’t have to know everything. You don’t have to know when toilet paper was invented if you’re not going to show a character using a toilet. But if a character is going to eat candy, you’d better know when that Snickers bar became available!

Chances are pretty good that your book is going to have dialogue in it, no? So, you will definitely need to research things like slang from that era or dialects or regional speech variations. I moved from Massachusetts to Ohio 25 years ago, but I still call soda “soda.” Here, they call it “pop.” If my book takes place in Ohio, I need to call it pop in the manuscript.

Being a librarian helps a lot when I’m doing research for historical fiction. I know how to dig deep, find information, and verify it. If you don’t have those kinds of information literacy skills, I have a few tips for you. First, consider doing the majority of your research at a library. If you have access to a university library, that’s great, but public libraries are wonderful, too. If it’s a decent library, the librarians there should know their stuff. Try to work with a librarian, not an aide or volunteer. Next, if you choose to do research at home on the Internet, be sure the sources you use are reliable, authoritative, current, and well-presented. Is the site trying to sell you something? Is it biased? Are there a bunch of ads all over the page? Avoid those sites if at all possible. And finally, understand that good research involves working horizontally in your web browser. In other words, when you read a fact, open another tab and verify that fact in another source. 

So, I’m an older debut author. That’s the way things worked out for me, and I’m thrilled. I know that if I hadn’t had 30 years of experience as a middle school teacher and librarian, I would not have written The Prince of Steel Pier. Or at least, it wouldn’t have been nearly as good as it is. At 55, I’m okay with tooting my own horn a bit. 

My website: www.stacynockowitz.com

Twitter: @snockowitz

Email: snockowitz@gmail.com

 Giveaway Details

Stacy has generously offered an ARC of The Prince of Steel Pier for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by October 1st. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or Keely or Tara on their social media sites, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. The ARC giveaway is U.S. and Canada.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog. 

Upcoming Interviews and Guest Posts

Wednesday, September 21st, I have an agent spotlight interview with Jazmia Young and a query critique giveaway

Monday, September 26th, I'm reviewing Alba Dobb's MG historical The Other Side of the River and doing an ARC giveaway

Wednesday, October 5th, I’m participating in the Howloween Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, October 5th, I have an interview with debut author Kim Bartosch and a giveaway of her YA mystery/ghost story Ask the Girl

Monday, October 16th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Sarah Stephens and a query critique giveaway

Sunday, October 16th, I’m participating in the Cheeky Pumpkin Giveaway Hop

Monday, October 17th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Eve Adler and a query critique giveaway

Hope to see you on Wednesday!

 

 

 

Falling Into Leaves Giveaway Hop

 


Happy Friday Everyone! I hope you're having a good fall. Today I'm excited to participate in the Falling Into Leaves Giveaway Hop hosted by MamatheFox 

I am offering a book of your choice that is $20 or less on Amazon or The Book Depository. I’m looking forward to seeing what books everyone is looking forward to reading. If you don’t have a book you t, you can win a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

 Giveaway Details

 One lucky entrant selected by the entry form will receive a book of their choice for $20 or less at Amazon or The Book Depository or a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Open to entrants internationally as long The Book Depository ships to you for free, 13 years and older. Open for entry from 9/16 – 9/30/202w at 11:59 pm EST. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The selected winner will have 48 hours to respond to the notification email to claim this prize or a new winner will be selected.

Please note that you must be a blog follower and leave a blog comment to enter the contest. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Upcoming Interviews and Guest Posts

Monday, September 19th, I have a guest post by debut author Stacy Knockowitz and a giveaway of her MG historical MG historical The Prince of Steel Pier

Wednesday, September 21st, I have an agent spotlight interview with Jazmia Young and a query critique giveaway

Monday, September 26th, I'm reviewing Alba Dobb's MG historical The Other Side of the River and doing an ARC giveaway

Tuesday, October 4th, I’m participating in the Howloween Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, October 5th, I have an interview with debut author Kim Bartosch and a giveaway of her YA mystery/ghost story Ask the Girl

Monday, October 16th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Sarah Stephens and a query critique giveaway

Sunday, October 16th, I’m participating in the Cheeky Pumpkin Giveaway Hop

Monday, October 17th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Eve Adler and a query critique giveaway

Hope to see you on Monday!

And here are all the other blogs participating in this blog hop:



MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

Agent Spotlight: Sarah N. Fisk Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Sarah Fisk here. They are an assistant literary agent at The Tobias Literary Agency.

Status: Open to submissions

Hi Sarah! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Sarah:

1. Tell us how you became an agent, how long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been doing as an agent.

I started with Tobias in October 2021 and before that I was an intern at another agency, but I’ve been in publishing since 2011, working as a publicist, editorial assistant, and more. My experience as a Pitch Wars mentor and board member was a big factor for me. I loved the process of working with an author to make their book the best it could be and also guiding them when it came to industry stuff. I’m business minded and love getting into the insider-baseball of the publishing industry, so if I can make a career out of helping authors achieve their goals – that sounds lovely.


I started thinking about becoming an agent several years ago and took a lot of time to research it, conduct dozens of information interviews, and get myself in a good position to make the switch. I take the commitment to authors very seriously and wanted to do everything I could to set myself up for success.

About the Agency:

2. Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors.

Tobias is a smaller agency that is extremely collaborative. We’re chatting with each other every day, getting feedback and helping each other out. It’s a great environment and I feel very lucky to have landed with such a supportive group of folks. We also aggressively pursue tv and film adaptations, which I love.

What They’re 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 MG and YA of all fiction genres, but not graphic novels. I also represent adult SFF and Romance, and I know there are a lot of authors writing both so I thought I’d mention it.

I’m especially looking to represent disabled, neurodiverse, and queer authors. Voice is key, but I also need a strong plot and characters I can root for.

4.  Is there anything you would be especially excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in?

I especially love atmospheric fantasies, speculative mysteries, books that challenge societal norms - especially gender norms, great or complicated sibling relationships, small town or midwestern settings, con artists who are not men, and books that are compulsively readable. I love contemporary too, but it needs to have a strong hook and/or a leaps-off-the-page voice. If you go to my site linked at the end here, I have more details as well as a Goodreads list of books very much to my taste.

What They Aren’t Looking For:

5. What types of submissions are you not interested in?

I’m not the agent for true, traditional adult horror. I like horror elements and even twisty, atmospheric thrillers, but I am a bit of a scaredy cat.

I simply do not care about who gets to rule an empire, so if that’s the main conflict, that’s not for me.

It’s hard for me to get into a portal fantasy or a book about a celebrity.

Please also do not send me books with disabled characters who serve solely as an able-bodied main character’s catalyst.

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?

My sweet spot is when a book is very fun and engaging, but also with a deeper message at its core that doesn’t feel preachy or too obvious. I love books that you can just become *obsessed* with and really immerse yourself into. I love working with authors who are collaborative and open to making their book the best it can be on all levels.

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 like to say I’m minimally to moderately editorial. My editorial style stems from starting in this industry as a publicist – I like to work with authors who have a great style and tweak their books to make them more sellable and marketable. Pacing and character development are definitely my strong points when it comes to editing.

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 use Query Manager exclusively for submissions. I ask for a query, a synopsis (which should be the full story from beginning to end and different from what is in the query letter!), and the first three chapters. Querying info, the qm link, and FAQ can be found at sarahnfisk.com

9.  Do you have any specific dislikes in query letters or the first pages submitted to you?

I try to be pretty open-minded but obviously any kind of -ism (racism, sexism, etc) is a dislike for me. It’s a red flag for me if someone puts down the genre they’re writing in or makes a sneering remark about another book in their genre. Extraneous information can also bog down the query – just tell me what happens in your book and a little bit about yourself!

Response Time:

10. What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a manuscript?

It varies! I’ve between 2 days and 6 weeks on query responses, depending on what else is going on. I’ve been slower on responding to full requests, unfortunately. I’m currently closed to queries until 10/6/22 so that I can catch up on manuscript reading!

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?

Yes, of course. The main thing is to query something new that hasn’t been published before. Trying to get a publisher to buy a book that has been previously self-published is nearly impossible unless it has massive buzz or is just the best thing that has ever been written.

12. With all the changes in publishing—self-publishing, hybrid authors, more small publishers—do you see the role of agents changing at all? Why?

I think it’s important for agents to realize that self-publishing is an option, even for their clients. If there’s a book that just isn’t right for the market, but is good and done, self-publishing could be part of the strategic plan for that author’s career.

Clients:

13. Who are some of the authors you represent?

While I’m still working on getting my first solo sale, some of my clients include fantasy author Erin Luken, multi-genre author Jennifer L. Collins, fantasy and romance author Rebecca Rozakis, and co-writing team Nathan Pieplow and Kate Tailor. I’m also co-agenting with Natascha Morris for Jenn Nguyen’s next delightful YA romance.

Interviews and Guest Posts:

14. Please share the links to any interviews, guest posts, and podcasts you think would be helpful to writers interested in querying you.

I occasionally do Agent Office Hours on YouTube, so you can see past chats here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9wcnJr8KgpMlSuy-9KRAyCX_RVXv-j3E. I also host and produce the podcast Queries, Qualms, & Quirks where trad published authors share their successful query letter and talk about their journey to publication.

Links and Contact Info:

15. Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on the Web.

You can find everything you’ll need at www.sarahnfisk.com! That is the place to find the most recent info and it’s updated regularly.

Additional Advice:

16. Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we haven’t covered?

I see a lot of authors lately who seem to be in a rush so my main piece of advice is to remember that everything in this industry takes time. Learning the craft of writing takes time, writing and revising takes time, learning about the industry takes time, hearing back on submissions takes time. Take the time that you need to give yourself your best shot because you and your books are worth it.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Sarah.

Thanks for having me!

Sarah 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 September 24th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. If you do not want to enter the contest, that's okay. Just let me know in the comments.

If you 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.

Profile Details:
Last updated: 1/29/2023 (As to submission status only)
Agent Contacted for Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent? 9/12/2022.

Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail 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.