AGENT SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH AMY STAPP AND QUERY CRITIQUE GIVEAWAY

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Amy Stapp here. She is a literary agent at Wolfson Literary Agency.

Hi­ Amy! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Amy:

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

Hi, Natalie! Thanks so much for having me. I’m quite new to agenting actually. I spent seven years on the other side of the aisle, working as an editor with Macmillan, where I was lucky enough to work with a few of Michelle Wolfson's amazing authors. I knew firsthand how much Michelle's authors loved her, and I knew WLA had a great reputation among editors, so when I decided to move into agenting last fall, Michelle was my first call. 

About the Agency:

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

Wolfson Literary is a full-service literary agency. We represent both adult and young adult commercial fiction, as well as select nonfiction. Many of our New York Times bestselling authors have been with WLA almost since its inception over a decade ago. Since we are a small agency with a small list, we are proud to offer very focused, personalized attention. Michelle has a business degree and built the agency with an eye toward managing careers versus just selling one book at a time.

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?

In YA I’m looking for mystery, thriller, romance, historical fiction, and contemporary coming-of-age. I tend to gravitate toward upper-grade, more mature voices with adult crossover appeal.

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

Right now, I’ve been loving YA suspense and psychological thrillers. I’m a big mystery reader on the adult side, and it’s fun to watch this genre grow and evolve in young adult fiction as well. I am always looking for YA romance; there’s just something about that first love story that never gets old. But I’d also love to see more friendship stories; maybe there’s still a romance, but the central plot is an amazing friendship. I want to see more stories about kids from blue-collar families, farming communities, small towns, or a unique region I’ve not seen before. I’d love to find a YA Indiana Jones, or a story with an international adventure. I also have a soft spot for vintage Hollywood, and I’d love to find a historical that captures this era.

What She Isn’t Looking For:

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

I’ve grown a little weary of hyper-insecure, bumbling protagonists who don’t know they’re pretty. Ha! You’d be surprised how much of this I still see. I’m always open to fairytale/myth retellings or magical realism, but I’m leaning away from epic fantasy right now. And I’m probably not the best fit for science fiction.

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 want to represent career authors—true professionals who get excited about revisions and always have a new idea simmering on the back burner.

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?

Oh yes… Ha! It’s in my DNA. I get excited when I can tell how talented an author is but can immediately spot the little ways to take a solid manuscript to the next level. It feels like a puzzle and it’s incredibly rewarding when those pieces click together. I think the process varies each time, but having worked at a publishing house, I know what it takes to get even the best manuscripts through an editorial board, and it’s my job to ensure your manuscript is as close to perfect as I can get it.

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?

You can reach me at amy@wolfsonliterary.com, and check out our full submission guidelines at wolfsonliterary.com. Just keep query letters simple: as they say—the hook, the book, and the cook. And if you need a little more help, we post advice, insider tips, and publishing news on the WLA blog.

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

Just keep it professional. Your hook should tell me everything I need to know. And I read every query I’m sent.  

Response Time:

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

This can vary, but we tend to respond to queries that interest us very quickly, usually in under a week.

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?

Absolutely. A great book is a great book, and while I definitely want to know about previous publications, I judge each manuscript on its own merits.

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?

Yes and no. We are our clients’ fiercest advocates and biggest cheerleaders, so that hasn’t changed. We want authors to succeed in whatever their personal career goals may be. At the same time, self-publishing, hybrid publishing, more small publishers, etc., have opened up more opportunities for authors and we are here, as always, to help our clients evaluate opportunities and take advantage of the ever-changing landscape.

Clients:

13. Who are some of the authors you represent?

Well I’m just a couple months in, so I’m still eagerly looking for my first client. (So query me!) But some of WLA’s best-known clients include Kiersten White, Kasie West, Lauren Blakely, Lindsey Pollak, Tawna Fenske, and up and coming star Jessica Pennington, whom I acquired as an editor and am thrilled to still be working with on the other side.

Interviews and Guest Posts:

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

Feel free to check out the Wolfson Literary website and blog for more specifics on what we’re looking for. We love connecting with writers there. And I’ve posted a little bit more about some of my favorite topics and tropes on my Manuscript Wishlist page.

Links and Contact Info:

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

Writers can query me at amy@wolfsonliterary.com (just be sure to write Query in the subject line), and feel free to follow me (@AmyStappNY) on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest where I share my manuscript wishlist, current books I’m loving, writing tips, and publishing advice.

Additional Advice:

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

The biggest mistake I see is writers submitting their work before it’s ready to be seen by an agent. It’s really exciting when you finally finish a manuscript you’ve worked on for months or even years. But take your time to workshop the manuscript with a critique partner or writers circle. Then attend a few writers conferences to learn as much as you can about the industry, taking time to think about what your long-term publishing goals are. Once you’ve done your homework, you can submit your work confidently, knowing agents like me are eager to find your unique voice.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Amy.

­Amy 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 March 2nd.  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: 6/2/2020.
Agent Contacted for Review? No.
Last Reviewed By Agent? N/A.
Comment: 6/2/2020 update was done to confirm that Ms. Stapp is at the same agency and open to submissions. 6/11/2020 update: The agency website says that Ms. Stapp is on maternity leave and closed to submissions until 7/6/2020.

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.

Agent Spotlight: Michelle Wolfson

This week's Agent Spotlight features Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency, LLC.
Status: Open to submissions.
About: “Michelle Wolfson formed Wolfson Literary Agency in 2007 and is actively seeking authors of commercial fiction in the following categories: young adult, mainstream, women’s fiction, romance, suspense, and thrillers. She is drawn to well-written material with strong, interesting characters.
"Michelle holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from New York University. Prior to forming her own agency, Michelle spent four years working at other literary agencies. Before that, she spent several years working outside of publishing, in non-profit and then finance, and she brings the skills she learned there plus a lifetime love of reading to the table as an agent.” (Link)
About the Agency:
“Founded in December 2007 by Michelle Wolfson, Wolfson Literary Agency is a full service agency. We work closely with clients to execute a personalized plan for the entire process from submission through publication and beyond, including strategic management of their careers.
We represent a range of commercial fiction and nonfiction projects.” (Link)
Web Presence:
Wolfson Literary.
Agency Blog.
Publisher’s Marketplace page.
Twitter.
AgentQuery, QueryTracker.
What She's Looking For:
Genres / Specialties:
Young adult, mainstream, women’s fiction, romance, suspense, and thrillers (Link)
From Publisher’s Marketplace:
“I handle commercial fiction and non-fiction with an emphasis on quirky, fun projects and practical titles that appeal to women. In fiction my taste is broad and covers mysteries and thrillers, women's fiction and romance, young adult, and the occasional memoir or fantasy (but not fantasy memoir, none of those please), and always commercial.” (Link)
What She Isn't Looking For:
Picture books, middle grade, original screenplays. (Link)
Quotables:
“My personal agenting philosophy is that I only take on clients whose projects I absolutely love and then I work my butt off for them. I believe in my clients so much that I take it extremely personally when their books don’t sell. I have a relatively small list of clients and am committed to building my list slowly and I’m looking for big, quality projects. I often see queries for things that I think will probably sell, but I don’t realistically have time to devote--at least not the kind of time I like to give each client--to that many people. So I am ultra selective. And I’m sure I pass on a lot of talented people.” (Link defunct)
“I definitely think of myself as someone who falls in love with voice first and foremost. That’s what stands out and makes me really fall in love with a book. Although I really love a story that I just can’t put down, so maybe a great plot too. Yes, definitely I’m looking for a gripping plot. You know, the kind where I want to go to sleep at night but I keep telling myself one more chapter and the next thing I know it’s 3:30 in the morning. But I finished it! Although maybe it was the characters. I guess you could say it’s the characters that get my attention. The kind of characters whose stories I don’t want to end. The kind where I’m emailing the authors at 3:31 in the morning saying there’s a sequel, right?? Please, tell me there’s a sequel! That was a clear answer to your question, right?” (Link)
Editorial Agent?
She often asks for revisions before she signs a client, and I believe she is very hands on with her clients as well (as needed).
Clients: You can find a list of Ms. Wolfson's clients on the agency website and her AgentQuery and Publishers Marketplace pages.
Tawna Fenske, Kimberly Sabatini, Travis Sentell, Kasie West, Kiersten White, among others.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes (only).
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: No.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Put “Query” and the title of your book in the subject of your email. Paste your query letter and the first five pages of your manuscript in the body of your email. No attachments. Include a word count. (Link)
See the Wolfson Literary website for complete up-to-date submission guidelines.
Query Tips:
“I think the primary mistake writers make is forgetting that the query is supposed to catch my attention . And what's going to catch my attention? Your writing and your story. Not the fact that this is your first manuscript or your 23 rd manuscript. Not that you have no literary background or your mother really loves your writing. That stuff just gets in the way.
“I think the best queries look something like what you'd find on the back of a book in a bookstore. What's tempting you to buy that book, to want to read it? Those same things will tempt me to want to read your manuscript. Who is the main character? What is his/her conflict? What's at stake?” (Link defunct)
Response Times:
Ms. Wolfson only responds to queries if interested. The agency responds if interested within 48 hours in general. If you have not heard from her within two weeks, you should consider it a rejection.
What's the Buzz?
Michelle Wolfson is a highly respected agent with a select list of clients. She has a great agenting philosophy and her clients really seem to respect and love her.  I’ve heard nothing but great things.
Follow her on Twitter @WolfsonLiterary where she’s very active (and funny) to get a peek at her personality and agenting style. 
Worth Your Time:
Interviews:
Interview with Michelle Wolfson at The Novel Road (03/2011).
Agents are Mysterious People - Interview with Agent Michelle Wolfson at Write On Target (10/2009).
Contact:
Please see the Woflson Literary Agency website for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 6/11/2020.
Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent? 6/18/2020.
***
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at natalieiagurre7(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.