Literary Rambles: 7/1/25

Literary Agent Interview: Taj McCoy and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Taj McCoy here. She’s an agent at Laura Dail Literary Agency.

Hi Taj! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Taj:

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 agenting in 2022, which is the same year that my debut novel released––I’m a romance author and a literary agent. After I secured my first literary agent and book deal, my agent and I started talking about the similarities between my former career in law school admissions and career development and agenting. After a lot of encouragement, I started assisting an agent to learn more about the publishing process. I assisted for a year before seeking my first role at Rees Literary Agency, and I joined the Laura Dail Literary Agency earlier this year in February.

As an agent, I consider myself a generalist––my clients write across all age ranges, in fiction and nonfiction, and I also represent a few illustrators. For the most part, I try not to speak in absolutes when it comes to what genres I will or won’t consider, though that may change later on.

About the Agency:

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

LDLA has a robust clientele with a wide range of literary works over the course of nearly 30 years. The team isn’t massive, but I think we have a team of thoughtful and experienced agents who are looking to build lists of strong and talented creatives. We’re each different in our approaches, which is great, because we collaborate and tap into the team for different perspectives on pitches, sublists, etc. The team is quick to boost client news, both from individual agent accounts and the agency account, and we’re constantly considering different ways to carve out opportunities for our clients.

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’m a generalist, representing everything from pictures books to MG and YA on the fiction and nonfiction side. I also represent adult projects on the fiction and nonfiction side. I’m open to all genres, though right now, I’d say I’m looking specifically for spooky and adventurous MG and YA, Adult mysteries and thrillers, and romance always (Adult and YA). I am always looking for creatives from underrepresented backgrounds. Amplifying marginalized voices is a priority for me.

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

See above.

What She Isn’t Looking For:

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

I am not the right fit for epic fantasy, war stories, or stories that delve into sexual assault or child abuse.

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 believe that an agent-author relationship is a partnership. We have to be able to openly communicate. I’m looking for authors who are actively trying to grow and improve as writers, who are open to feedback, and who are familiar with editorial revisions. I am always looking for creatives from underrepresented backgrounds. Amplifying marginalized voices is a priority for me.

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 an editorial agent. Typically my clients and I will do at least one round of revisions before going on submission to editors. I’ll provide clients with both in-document feedback and an edit letter so that they have a sense of big-picture areas of focus and concrete examples of when/where that feedback could be employed.

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 only consider queries via QueryManager. A query letter should include a short premise of the story, the stakes, the word count, the age range and genre, and ideally some comp titles. I also like a brief intro to the author.

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

As long as the queries include the above, I don’t have additional preferences.

Response Time:

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

Typically, I’ll respond to queries within 12 weeks. Requests for more pages often take longer, and that’s because there are constant interruptions with client work. I don’t onboard new clients when I have a bunch of current client needs to attend to, so folks who have sent full manuscripts unfortunately do have longer wait periods.

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 have several indie authors and hybrid authors on my list. Indie authors looking for representation query the same as any other. If an indie author is trying to get representation to sell print rights to something that’s already been published, sales data will be extremely important. Platform may also be something strongly considered, as well as goals and whether there are any fresh projects that haven’t been published previously that could be potentially sold via traditional publishing.

Clients:

12. Who are some of the authors you represent?

Natasha Bishop, Morgan Elizabeth, Quiana Glide, Dr. Michelle Grant, Alexia LaFata, Karmen Lee, Kelly Mangan, Asia Monique, J.L. Seegars, Tracy Simmons, Zoe B. Wallbrook

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.

https://manuscriptacademy.com/podcast-taj-mccoy

Links and Contact Info:

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

https://querytracker.net/query/tajmccoy

Additional Advice:

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

Finish the book. Authors (myself included) have a bad habit of continuing to edit and revise and polish the first half of the book, while the second half sort of just never happens. We get so caught up in perfecting that first bit that we never finish. Stop editing and finish the book. Allow your draft to be rough but complete. Then dive into revision rounds and see the magic happen!

Oakland-born law grad, Taj McCoy is a romance author, literary agent, and higher education consultant. After working with Rees Literary Agency for nearly three years, Taj joined the Laura Dail Literary Agency in 2025 and aims to widen the entryway for marginalized authors and to normalize Black joy, fat joy, celebrations of culture, and love without limitations. She represents Adult Fiction (commercial, romance/rom-coms, women's fiction, mystery/thriller, upmarket), Adult Non-Fiction (memoirs, narratives, cookbooks, self-help, empowerment, cultural tradition and history), Children's Fiction (Picture books; MG and YA contemporary, mystery, romance, thriller, fantasy), Children's Non-Fiction (historical narratives, picture books), and illustrators.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Taj.

Giveaway Details

Taj 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 August 9th. If your email 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 follow me on Twitter 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.

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.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Friday, August 1st I’m participating in the Apple a Day Giveaway Hop

Monday, August 4th I have a guest post by debut author Isabel Knight and a giveaway of the first book in her Enchantria series

Wednesday, August 6th I have an interview with author Lillie Vale and a giveaway of her YA Hit Me With Your Best Charm

Monday, August 11th I have an agent spotlight interview with Krista Van Dolzer and a query critique giveaway

Saturday, August 16th I’m participating in the Old School Giveaway Hop

Monday, August 18th I have an interview with debut author Ryan James Black and a giveaway of his MG The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham

Wednesday, August 20th I have an agent spotlight interview with Shelly Romero and a query critique giveaway

Monday, August 25th I have an interview with author James Ponti and a giveaway of his MG Hurricane Heist

I hope to see you on Friday!

Learning As You Go Through Your Author Career: Guest Post by Author Marzieh Abbas and Aarzu All Around Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have author Marzieh Abbas here to share a guest post to celebrate the release of her MG novel in verse Aarzu All Around. I haven’t read a book about Pakistani culture, and I’m excited to read her new book.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

A cricket-loving Pakistani girl stifled by patriarchal expectations disguises herself as a boy to get a job to pay her sister’s medical bills in this empowering middle grade novel-in-verse.

Living with her aunt and patriarchal uncle in Karachi, Pakistan, recently orphaned twelve-year-old Aarzu detests the way she and her younger sister get treated like extras and excluded from all the fun stuff. Aarzu dreams of playing cricket, just like her male cousins and the neighborhood boys in the streets, but her uncle will hear nothing of it. According to him, girls ought to master the art of making round rotis, not play sports.

When her sister requires urgent medical treatment but finances are tight, Aarzu decides to earn money herself. She hears of a part-time job at a bungalow near her school—but it’s only open to boys. Aarzu has no choice but to disguise herself as a turban-wearing boy to get the gig.

Now, Aarzu must find a way to balance school, work, chores, and secret cricket practices—all without burning out or getting caught by her uncle—or else her dreams of making the girls cricket team and her quest to save her sister will crumble around her.

It’s been two years since my debut picture book, A DUPATTA IS…, was published by Feiwel & Friends, Macmillan. I have since had the pleasure of birthing five more picture book babies and two board book babies. And this July, my debut novel, Aarzu All Around, a novel in verse, comes out with Simon & Schuster. I’ve also written eighteen books in the Nadia & Nadir early reader series and about twelve books for various publishers in the educational market. I’m also learning to illustrate and maybe someday I’ll make the art to go with my words *fingers crossed*. Over the years I’ve learnt a thing or two about the publishing industry and my own process that I would love to share with fellow creators.

Now here’s Marzieh!

Learning As You Go Through Your Author Career

1. Write Across Genres: The publishing industry is slow (from writing to revising, and then even once a manuscript is acquired to the time the book releases). The main advice I got at the start of my career was to start work on my next manuscript. But with limiting option clauses and the slow pace of the industry, it became apparent that selling more work in the picture book market was going to take a while. That’s when I began working on longer form manuscripts and reading and writing across several genres.

2. Lean on Street Teams: In case you aren’t familiar with the term (I wasn’t when I started off), a street team is a group of enthusiastic supporters—often volunteers or superfans—who help promote a book, product, event, or artist, usually at the grassroots level. In the publishing world, a street team typically:

o Spreads the word about a new book through social media, word of mouth, or local events

o Posts early reviews on platforms like Goodreads, Amazon, or blogs

o Shares promotional materials like graphics, giveaways, or bookmarks

o Creates buzz before and after launch day

I’m part of Kidlit Works, PB Pros, and PBSpree and each street team feels like one big happy family where everyone hypes each other up and helps promote every new title that releases.

3. Go with your gut: When I was writing Aarzu All Around, I got a lot of feedback from writers and editors about a book that centered around cricket, the sport. Since it isn't a very popular sport in the U.S. they wondered if the book would have mass appeal. I wanted to write about a girl passionate about sports (especially a one I knew well and which is slowly but surely making its way into the US) and my own experience growing up in Pakistan. I persevered and, after a load of rejections, we found the right home for Aarzu and her love for cricket and I can’t wait to see what readers think!

4. Feel free to step away from critique groups that aren’t serving you: over the years, I’ve found the best way to share my work is with CPs whom I choose intentionally, rather than larger critique groups. There are some fellow writers who write lyrically and I prefer them for my more poetic pieces. There are some writer friends who are great with humor, and I prefer them for my funny stories and so on. I sometimes reach out on FB groups like KIDLIT Manuscript Swap when I need a fresh pair of eyes on my work. I also always share a pitch and ask anyone I’m swapping manuscripts with to share a pitch, too. I need to make sure I’m the right person to be critiquing a story and the person critiquing my story is interested in, and feels confident/ interested in my submitted subject matter.

5. In your writing, be specific, but universal: that sounds contradictory...

Let me explain: all my books are about my culture, Pakistan, and my faith, Islam. This is what I know, and this is what I love, and because of that, I’m able to give others a peek into very specific spaces and experiences I’ve had. In my book, Awe-samosas!, Noor, the main character, wants to recreate her grandma’s scrumptious samosas, but runs into all kinds of problems. The problems are super specific and so is the solution– it isn’t something I could’ve come up with if I wasn’t hands-on in the kitchen, and an experimental chef, like Noor, myself. That’s how I can imbue the text with sensory details and draw the reader in. And where’s the universality in that, you ask? Well, Noor has a burning desire to achieve something, she’s over-zealous and excited, but runs into all sorts of problems. She needs to come up with a Plan-B because she’s running short on time. She needs to improvise and rise above self-doubt. Haven’t we all run into similar situations at some point in time? Similarly, in Aarzu All Around, I chose to go with a game that isn’t widely understood by Americans, but I made sure to explain terms in context. The universality lies in Aarzu’s love for sports, that makes it relatable to many middle schoolers.

6. Don’t be stingy with your knowledge: It’s honestly so tough to break into the publishing industry and it doesn’t get any easier with every book you publish, but what truly brings me joy, during all the waiting, is sharing all I have learned along the way and helping fellow authors polish their work and get it ready for querying agents and editors. I’ve conducted several writing workshops and delivered writing webinars through The Writing Barn and the 12x12 forum and also offer classes through my own website. I’ve also served as a mentor for three years through the PB Rising Stars mentorship program (my first mentee is now agented and soon-to-be-published) and have been critiquing and mentoring aspiring authors through a newly launched service via my website (https://marziehabbas.com/critiques/)

Thanks for all your advice, Marzieh! You can find Marzieh at:

Buy Links:

Aarzu All Around:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Aarzu-All-Around/Marzieh-Abbas/9781665970419

Marzieh’s Board Book Series:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Marzieh-Abbas/227834565

The Camel Library, A True Story from Pakistan:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250322029/thecamellibraryatruestoryfrompakistan/

Henna Is…

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250862662/hennais/

A Dupatta Is…

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250820945/adupattais/

Awe-samosas!

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/awe-samosas-marzieh-abbas

Yasmeen Lari, Green Architect

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/yasmeen-lari-green-architect-marzieh-abbas?variant=41472750616610

Marzieh’s Socials:

Website: www.marziehabbas.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/marziehabbas_author/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/marziehabbas

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19824634.Marzieh_Abbas_Marzieh_A_Ali

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/marziehabbas.bsky.social

Twitter: https://x.com/MarziehAbbas

Giveaway Details

Marzieh’s publisher is generously offering an ARC of Aarzu All Around 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 August 9th. 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 mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Marzieh on her 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. This ARDC 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, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Wednesday, July 30th I have an agent spotlight interview with Taj McCoy and a query critique giveaway