Agent Interview: Kim Lombardini

Smart, fresh, dark

Philip Spitzer, Esther Newberg, Amanda "Binky" Urban, Rob Weisbach, Bill Clegg

That's like asking a mother who is her favorite child.
Outside of our clients, I drop everything to read Tana French, Megan Abbott, Stephen King, Jon Krakauer, David Mitchell, David Sedaris, Simon Winchester, Kelly Link.
I am angry and sad that I won't read any more original David Rakoff.

I have a unique background for an agent. For over 20 years I was a bookseller, worked in marketing and facilitating events for bookstores, marketed books to bookstores, acted as a publisher liaison to authors all while being a voracious reader and developing a deep knowledge of what people actually want to buy to read.
I apply this knowledge when I look at a manuscript; I know what I could hand-sell in a bookstore. I know when I'm reading a fresh voice and new perspective. I don't think it's something that can be taught. It's part instinct and part experience, and I have both.

As we are a small agency, I take on very few projects. The author and manuscript have to stand out: background, topic, story, and talent all play a part in whether or not I take the time to read the submission. I get hundreds of submissions weekly, and sadly there isn't time for me to read (or respond to) all of them.
If your book is a children's book, while I may love it, I don't represent children's authors or illustrators.
The Spitzer Agency doesn't handle scripts or plays.
If your book is religious, please do not send it to me.
If your book has anything to do with pseudoscience, please do not send it to me.
If your book has anything to do with conspiracy theories, Q-Anon, politics, or Donald Trump, please do not send it to me.

Short.

Grammatically correct
I just want to add that I receive a lot of memoirs, which I love. However, not all memoirs are interesting to the public at large. Memoirs that I like are not just a retelling of experiences in the author's life, but also tell a story of the time that they're set in with a broader message than, "I have lived an interesting life." Think Angela's Ashes, The Liar's Club, Townie.

They don't check the Agency's website to find out if we are currently accepting submissions.
They send scripts or plays, which we don't accept.
They send off-topic manuscripts to us, e.g. children's books, which we don't represent.

Do they have a degree in writing? Do they have a professional background in writing? (Not a dealbreaker, but good to know.)
Why did they write the book? Who did they write it for (audience)?
Why are they sending the manuscript to me?

We ask for the first chapter in the body of the email. If I want to keep reading at the end of the first chapter, I will ask for the rest of the book. If I finish the book, I know it's right for me, since I never finish a book I'm not enjoying. I won't represent a book I don't love. That's not fair to the author or me.

I confer with Anne-Lise as we curate our client list together. If we all agree the author is an appropriate addition, I contact the author and ask them if they would like me to represent them.

Since we are a small agency, my day is filled with general office work, bookkeeping, errands, reading, phone calls, cat-care (we have two cats present, Ellie and Max who are the true heads of the agency), debates, general literary trivia and so on. Lots of reading.