Literary Agent Interview: Reiko Davis Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Reiko Davis here. She’s an agent at DeFiore & Company.

Hi Reiko! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Reiko:

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

I’ve been working in publishing for twelve years (basically since I graduated from college!). I worked as a literary assistant for a few years before I started building my own list. In 2016, I joined DeFiore and Company and have been an agent there ever since.

About the Agency:

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

DeFiore and Company is a mid-sized agency based in Manhattan. Our office is near Union Square. Many of our agents, including the head of the agency, Brian DeFiore, were high-level editors and publishing directors for many years before they became agents. It’s an asset to have colleagues who deeply understand the inner workings and acquisitional decision-making within publishing companies when we’re on the other side of the negotiating table as agents. I consider DeFiore a very collaborative team, which is important. As agents, we’re working independently on our own clients’ projects much of the time, so it’s wonderful when we come together as a group to exchange information, expertise, and guidance. I count myself lucky to be at an agency with a dependable “brain trust” and supportive environment, and I think my clients also benefit from being a part of DeFiore as a whole.

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 primarily represent middle-grade nonfiction and fiction, along with the occasional picture book. I tend to take on more MG nonfiction than fiction these days, but I’m always interested in finding an MG novel to fall in love with and champion. For MG nonfiction, I enjoy working on books that explore mental health, science, political activism, outer space, the natural world/environmentalism, and narrative history. I’m most drawn to writing that disrupts hegemony, centers community, and helps young readers feel more informed, grounded, and empowered in the world. For MG fiction, I’m very open. I enjoy contemporary and historical, realistic and magical/speculative, humorous and more emotionally serious.

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

I’d love to find more MG nonfiction by authors with established platforms and diverse perspectives. I’d also love to see more MG mysteries or MG adventure/survival stories set in wild, unexpected places (anything that features nature or the environment).

What She Isn’t Looking For:

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

I’m currently not interested in YA projects or graphic novels.

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 in Walter Dean Myers’s statement: “Reading is not optional.” I want to work on books that are educational and super entertaining, and that humanize people and events. I want young readers to get excited about literature because, as we know, reading deepens our empathy and shapes us into better humans and citizens who can make a positive difference in our communities. Obviously, I’m preaching to the choir here because children’s book people—whether they’re writers or publishing workers—already know and love this part of the job of reaching kids through storytelling. I want to work with authors who are singular in their writing voice and also passionate about this mission to both entertain and expand the hearts and minds of kids. 

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 consider myself an editorial agent. The length of the editorial process varies by project. Some projects need more development than others before I go on submission. Once an author and I are officially working together, I will send them written editorial notes along with a marked-up manuscript with my smaller edits and comments in track changes. Then we usually hop on the phone to discuss my feedback before the author steps away to work on a revision. The number of editing rounds we do depends, again, on the project.

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 should follow my query guidelines on my agent page on DeFiore’s website .I want to see a query letter, author bio, and the first twenty pages of the manuscript pasted in the body of the email. If it’s a nonfiction project that’s in the form of a proposal rather than a full manuscript, I want to see the query letter, author bio, and the overview and chapter summaries sections of the proposal pasted in the body of the email.

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

I dislike it when authors pitch me projects that do not align with anything I represent or have expressed interest in representing. So my pet peeve is a lack of research. I would say that at least 40% of the queries I receive are not relevant to my work, and it eats up a lot of time sorting through them to get the queries from authors who’ve spent time researching agents and being intentional about the people they approach.

Response Time:

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

Response time is generally no more than a month if I’m requesting a partial or full manuscript. I’m unable to respond to every query I receive, so writers should consider it a pass if they do not hear from me within six 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’ve worked with several authors who’ve been published by smaller presses before I represented them. I wouldn’t discount an author simply because they’ve had either self-publishing or small press experience before trying to find an agent.

Clients:

12. Who are some of the authors you represent?

Andrea Debbink (The Wild World Handbook series), Dawn Cusick (The Astrochimps), Sean O’Brien (White House Clubhouse series), Stephanie Seales (My Daddy Is a Cowboy), MinuteEarth (the team of science communicators behind the YouTube channel; their How Not to Go Extinct is forthcoming from Bloomsbury Children’s), Lindsey Klingele (The Truth Lies Here),Lucy Jane Bledsoe (Running Wild).

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://www.midwestwriters.org/2024/10/16/meet-agent-fest-online-faculty-reiko-davis-defiore-company/

https://www.writingdayworkshops.com/blog/short-story-collection-literary-agents-an-interview-roundup-with-reiko-davis-kim-lindman-and-amanda-orozco

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/2018/07/7-questions-for-literary-agent-reiko.html

Links and Contact Info:

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

Writers should contact me by email. My email address is on my agent page on the DeFiore website. My agent page is the most up-to-date place to find my query guidelines and other information about my wishlist and client list.

I also have a Member page on Publishers Marketplace: https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/rodavis/

Additional Advice:

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

Toward the end of 2024, I was feeling mentally burned out, which is pretty common in publishing. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to read more books for pleasure. So far this year, I’ve read six books (for 100% pleasure, not a nagging “I feel like I should” read this book). This has reinvigorated me. It’s even helped in how enthusiastically I find myself reviewing manuscripts for work and thinking about edits.

I think this is the best advice I could give to an aspiring author right now: don’t forgot what pleasure reading does for you. I can definitely get caught in work! work! work! all the time, whether it’s writing, or editing, or thinking constantly about how to get a book published. But that eventually drains the joy from my work if I’m not maintaining a strong connection to why I do it in the first place: getting lost in a transformative book, closing the cover, and thinking, wow, all that time reading was entirely well-spent.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Reiko. 

Giveaway Details

Reiko 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 8th. 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

Saturday, March 1st I’m participating in the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, March 5th I have a guest post by debut author Angie Dickinson and a giveaway of her YA Truth Cursed

Monday, March 10th I have an interview with author Angie Millington and a giveaway of her MG Once for Yes

Sunday, March 16th I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop

Monday, March 17th I have an interview with debut author Carol Baldwin and a giveaway of her upper MG/YA Half Truths

I hope to see you on Sunday!

AGENT SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH GABRIELLE PIRAINO AND QUERY CRITIQUE GIVEAWAY

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Gabrielle Piraino here. She is a literary agent at DeFiore & Company.

Status: 5/21/2020: Ms. Piraino is no longer a literary agent.

Hi­ Gabrielle! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Gabbie:

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

I was first interested in agenting during grad school, but it took a while to get here! I came to NYC for Pace University’s MS in Publishing program and interned everywhere that I could: Schwartz & Wade at Random House, Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency, Little, Brown BFYR, and Writers House. My first job out of school was with MeeGenius, a children’s e-book publisher, where I had hands on experience with the entire publishing process: acquisitions, contracts, editing, production, layout, audio, digital Q&A… the works. I also worked at Farrar, Straus & Giroux in their contracts department before I was offered the opportunity to work at a literary agency. My former agency specialized in celebrity nonfiction, and due to its boutique size, I was able to apply the skills I learned in school and my previous positions to provide editorial feedback on many projects, manage the foreign rights, and help negotiate the agency’s contracts. My personal interests lay in other genres though, so I was very happy to join DeFiore and Company in the summer of 2016. I’ve been agenting since that winter and was also recently promoted to manage the agency’s foreign rights as well. I’m currently focused on children’s projects, genre (YA and Adult SFF, horror, thrillers), and selective nonfiction.

About the Agency:

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

DeFiore and Company is a fantastic group of agents that represent every genre and age group—be it health/wellness to children’s picture books. My favorite part of the office is our congeniality; we share information about the industry and the senior agents are invested in mentoring the young agents. We collectively have developed a network that includes practically every editor at both commercial and most indie publishers. The agency also includes an internal foreign rights staff to sell our clients’ work around the world, both in other English language terrtitories and also in translation. DeFiore and Company negotiates all of our clients’ contracts as well. As an agency, we’re always focused on supporting our clients and creating interesting and dynamic opportunities to share their work with the world.

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 both children’s and adult projects. In kids, I’m interested in picture books up through YA. For picture books, I look for stories that introduce new concepts to young readers (both fiction and nonfiction). For older MG and YA readers, I fall in love with characters and stories. When writers integrate science fiction or fantasy elements, I look for engaging worlds. I have a soft spot for villains and morally grey characters, too.

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

I love to see projects that surprise me. Things that I didn’t know I wanted until I’m reading. Strong voice, distinct points of view, new worlds that I want to sink into for an entire weekend… and then read again immediately.

What She Isn’t Looking For:

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

I’m not interested in memoir, most narrative nonfiction, or especially dramatic contemporary MG and YA. For contemporary, I’m only currently reviewing submissions that are issue-based and primarily #ownvoices. 

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 to represent authors over the course of their career and build strong relationships together. I tell each individual that I offer representation to that I intend to be their biggest cheerleader and professional advocate for all aspects of their projects. I provide editorial feedback through the process of getting a manuscript or proposal ready for submission as well. I am extremely communicative and review all of the steps from the first day of representation on through the years after their books are published with my clients. If they have questions about anything from their contracts to their royalty statements, I’m their person to explain and clarify those points.

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. The process is different with every project depending upon what that individual client and project requires. If we agree that the project needs revisions—whether that is focused on their characters, plot, pacing, etc.—then I typically send an editorial letter with my suggestions on how to revise. From there, we have an ongoing discussion based on their revisions and create a process that works best for that client. If a project requires multiple rounds of edits in order to effect the change that it needs, then I’ll work with the client to develop the best possible project prior to 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?

My querying instructions are on the agency’s website, but authors should send their query letter and the first 50 pages of their manuscript in the body of the email to me via email at gabrielle@defliterary.com In a query letter, authors should include their age group, genre, word count, and comp titles. Further, include a synopsis (I suggest 250 words or less, focus on your main characters and plot), and a short bio about yourself.

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

Some of these may sound like common sense, but here goes: please address your query letters to me and not another agent, please spell my name correctly, please don’t CC me along with additional agents and send all of us your query simultaneously, make sure that you’re querying a project in a genre I’m interested in, and generally follow my querying instructions. If you do all of those things, you’re already ahead of half of my queries.

Response Time:

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

I try to respond within 6-8 weeks to queries and sooner when I request the manuscript, but feel free to follow up with me if you haven’t yet heard from me in that time frame.

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?

Personally, it depends on the situation. Many publishers, both the major commercial houses and the indies, will review authors’ previous work(s) and if the sales figures are low, it can be an additional hurdle for an author to overcome. That said, if you have previously published with a small house or on your own, do include that information in your query letter so an agent can do their homework and determine if the combination of your story and your previous publishing history create a salable project for them to take on. If you’ve self-published, the stronger your sales figures are, the more likely a traditional publisher will be interested in making an offer, so promotion and publicizing your work is an important element to consider.

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 hope that agents remain an important figure in publishing in the future. We provide career management and a professional understanding of the industry and contracts that can be complex and nuanced, in addition to editorial feedback throughout the submission and publication process. Whether agents submit to more indie presses or advise their clients to self-publish, we still can guide clients through the process based on our experience, whether it’s the first book, or the tenth.

Interviews and Guest Posts:

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

Feel free to Google the heck out of me! I tend to use my full name for work, so that’s the best place to start. :)

Links and Contact Info:

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

Feel free to review my profile at https://www.defliterary.com/agent/gabrielle-piraino/ that again includes the querying instructions and more information about what types of projects I’m looking to represent. More information about my work experience is available at LinkedIn too: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellepiraino/

You can also find me on Twitter @nerdplusdog to get a better sense of my personality, which contests and Twitter pitches I’m participating in, conferences I’ll be attending, or self-indulgent pictures of my pup.

Additional Advice:

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

You see this advice from both the most successful authors and the first-time authors who just signed their first deal: patience. Not every book you write will be published. You’ll hear a lot of no’s before you hear yes’es, but stick with it! Your craft will ultimately get better the more you work on it, and your understanding of the publishing process will certainly become more advanced the longer than you interact with the business. Join a writers group and find your betas; attend a conference if you’re looking for more information or one on one contact with a publishing professional; read articles and do your research online. There’s lots of fabulous info out there on the web or at your local library.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Gabrielle.

­Gabrielle is generously offering a query critique to one lucky winner. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follower button if you're not a follower) and leave a comment through June 30th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter either 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: 5/21/2020
Agent Contacted For Review? N/A
Reviewed By Agent?  N/A

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.