Literary Agent Interview: Marisa Cleveland and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Marisa Cleveland here. She’s an agent at The Seymour Agency. 

Hi­ Marisa! Thanks so much for joining us. 

Thanks so much for having me! 

About Marisa: 

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

I have so many different ways to answer how I became an agent, so… in brief, I signed as an author with Mary Sue in 2010, started agenting in 2013 after Nicole sold my contemporary romance series (because I wanted to share the joy of selling other authors), discovered how much I didn’t know about this industry, transferred my clients to Nicole, continued to learn and build connections, and returned to agenting in 2020. As an agent, I’ve immersed myself in the picture book world, expanding slowly to the middle grade, young adult, and adult spaces. 

About the Agency: 

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

The Seymour Agency was founded by Mary Sue Seymour, who was named ACFW’s Agent of the Year in 2015. Now helmed by president Nicole Resciniti, ACFW’s 2012 Agent of the Year, The Seymour Agency strives to offer authors the representation and resources they need to succeed in the ever-evolving publishing industry. 

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 authors who write board books through to adult, fiction and nonfiction. What I am looking for is authors who write manuscripts I can’t put down until the last page and can’t stop discussing. Voice is definitely key for me. I’m comfortable in the picture book space, and I’m having fun moving into the middle grade and young adult space. Right now, writing this, I’d love to find more young adult fiction, and the most updated list of genres that interest me is on Query Manager. And for more detailed information about me, I have this page here. 

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

Young adult romance. I love reading young adult romance novels, and I think the world will never have enough romance stories. I read a lot of adult romance, too, but I don’t represent adult romance. 

What She Isn’t Looking For: 

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

Horror. Or any book where a dog is intentionally harmed. 

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? 

When you reach the point in your life where you’re living the dream, I hope you remember to appreciate the path you traveled to get there. Then, if you’re able, help someone else on their path. I want to work with authors who want to be part of the literary landscape beyond just writing books. We are all the CEOs of our lives, and for authors, that also means they are the CEO of their career. I want to represent books written by those authors who show up for themselves, for their publishing team (including me!), for their readers, and for other writers. 

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? 

Depends. I can be very editorial when it’s needed. If I don’t think a book is strong enough, I may ask the author for revisions in however many rounds it takes. If the author has a critique group and the manuscript is polished, I probably won’t need to ask for too many adjustments. I do have some authors who want to work with me from concept to final, and that’s more like a book coaching scenario for us until the work reaches the polished stage. 

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’m open by referral only on Query Manager (https://QueryManager.com/MarisaTSA). If any authors reading this think we’d be a stellar fit, please answer the required Referral question with the name: Natalie from Literary Rambles. 

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

Everything is so subjective. Filter words in the opening pages make it difficult for me to fall in love with the voice. Also, again subjective and my opinion, but since I feel like everyone is the CEO of their life, and that means authors are the CEO of their careers, when they are deciding to query an agent, they should know something about that agent that makes them think they would be a good fit. If the query is Dear Sir or just Agent or no name or another name, then I don’t feel I’d be the right agent to represent that author. 

Response Time: 

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

Too long. Emails are most never answered within an acceptable time, and according to Query Manager, my average time is 20 days, with 49 days being my slowest from the last time I opened to general queries. In the past, I’ve been much slower, which is why I end up closing, in an abundance of consideration for those waiting on me. I’d rather be closed and take my time with the fulls I have requested than be open and have someone waiting a year for a response. Hopefully by then, they’ve already found an agent who better aligns with their expectations and needs. 

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? 

It depends on the reasons for self-publishing or choosing a smaller press and the reasons for deciding on an agent. Advice is a funny thing, because what works for some will definitely not work for others, so here’s my advice: if you want to try to find an agent to represent you, and you have self-published a book or published with a small press, let the agent know your why. Why did you go that route first? Why do you want an agent now? Your motivation will help that agent decide if they are a good match for you and what you want to achieve. 

Clients: 

12. Who are some of the authors you represent? 

I keep an updated list of my authors’ upcoming books here. I also share my deals and shout out my authors on Instagram here. 

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.

N/a 

Links and Contact Info: 

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

To check out the agency, please visit our website.

To query me (using Natalie from Literary Rambles as the referral), please use Query Manager.

To follow my journey on Instagram, please visit @thereisnobox. 

Additional Advice: 

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

You have a story to tell. Don’t let someone else tell your story. But you must learn your craft to tell it well, and whether you’re writing for an audience of one or more than one million, words have power and authors hold a write privilege that many will never experience.

To all the creatives in my world 🌎, thank you for feeling life and sharing your emotions ❤️💔❤️ through art.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Marisa. 

Thanks again for having me! I hope anything I’ve said helps someone create something that helps someone fall in love with reading. 

Giveaway Details 

­Marisa 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 January 9th. 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. 

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.

Happy Holidays Everyone! I'm on blog break until January 1st when I'll be participating in the New Year New You Giveaway Hop. I have a full schedule of author interviews with book giveaways, agent spotlight interviews with query critique giveaways, and giveaway hops in 2026. I hope to see you on January 1st!