Agent Interview: Andrea Somberg

Memorable and compelling!

I'm a huge fan of my clients' work, including Ruth Emmie Lang's Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance which is the Target Bookclub pick for December 2018 and a finalist for BOMC's Book of the Year, and Marjorie Herrera Lewis's When the Men Were Gone, the inspiring story of Tylene Wilson, one of the nation's first female football coaches. I also love YA and middle grade, including work by my client, Sarah Beth Durst--we have done over 20 books together! But I also read widely and read a lot--some books that I am currently enjoying include George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo, Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch and Leonard Sax's Boys Adrift.

There are a lot of great agents out there. But one of the things that I pride myself on is being highly responsive and accessible to my clients, as well as being a tireless advocate. There have been many times when I have continued to market a book years after the initial submission in order to find it the perfect home. I also represent a broad range of books, which a lot of my clients find helpful as they don't necessarily want to be confined to writing in one genre or for one age group. I have the contacts and the experience to help them strategically plan their career and, ideally, write for many years to come.

To keep in mind that this is a highly subjective business and that oftentimes I am making a decision based purely on what draws me in. And that, even though something might not be the best fit for me, it could very well resonate with a ton of other agents out there.

For fiction, I'm looking for query letters that are straightforward and that tell me about the protagonist and what makes them compelling, and I want to know about the conflict and the stakes. For memoir and narrative nonfiction, I'm looking to learn how the book illuminates an intriguing topic in a unique way. For practical nonfiction, I'm looking to learn how the book fills a hole in the marketplace and why the author is the best person to be writing it.

Something that I'll cancel plans (and skip sleep) in order to read!

I would be interested in knowing if they have any previous publishing credits or experience that is related to the subject matter of their book. If it's a nonfiction project, I would love to learn more about their promotional platform and their ability to market the book.

I read the opening pages of every query letter I receive. If I do end up requesting a manuscript, I usually read at least half, if not the entire thing.

I will set up a phone call to tell them how much I love their work and my vision regarding the book and their career. We'll discuss the details about what it would be like to work together, what editors I think would be a good fit, the best strategy moving forward, etc. It's also an opportunity for the author to ask any questions of me.

Part of what I love about my job is that every day is different! Usually, though, it involves some combination of phone calls with editors and clients, putting together submission lists and marketing plans, brainstorming new book ideas, negotiating deals, having lunch or drinks with editors, red-lining contracts, editing manuscripts and putting out fires. Almost all manuscript reading, though, gets done at night and on weekends.