Agent Interview: Adria Goetz

Books with whimsy + heart

Oh wow, I could rattle off so many names. Generally, I admire agents who put their clients' wishes and needs first, do business in a kind but firm way, and are incredible at selling. Specifically? Kate Testerman and the KT Literary crew, Elana Roth Parker, Christy Ewers, Claire Harris, Cece Lyra, Molly O'Neill, Jemiscoe Chambers-Black, Holly Root, Samantha Fabien, Saritza Hernández, Jennifer March Soloway, James McGowan, Elena Giovinazzo, Jennifer Azantian, Lilly Ghahremani.... I could literally list dozens and I'm going to need to update this list later when I think of more people who need to be on this list! There are a lot of amazing people in this industry.

Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sarah Addison Allen, Leslye Walton, The Fan Brothers, Kelly Barnhill, Emily Henry, Fredrik Backman, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Lisa Jewell, and Juana Martinez-Neal.

There are so many incredible agents in this industry so I'm certainly not going to make an argument for me being better or wildly different from other agents. So instead, I'll just say one thing that people often point out to me: I very much welcome queries! On my manuscript wishlist I have a note that says: "A note to writers considering querying me: I hope you do! I love, love, love receiving submissions. Truly. It’s an ongoing honor and delight to me that everyday, people scattered all over the world, send me their stories to read. What a privilege! If you’re on the fence about whether you think your project is the right fit for me, but you think we’d make a good team—my vote is you just go for it. (So long as I am open to queries.) I opt to refer to my slush pile as a “treasure trove” because it doesn’t feel like wading through slush to me. It feels more like sifting through gems. I can’t wait to see what you’ve created!" And this isn't just me being warm and fuzzy or pandering to querying writers—I have this note there because I know how often writers self-reject and talk themselves out of sending a query. I don't want that to happen. I want people to go for it, and give me the chance to review their work. I want to have lots of options to choose from!

Please do! And when you do, make sure to follow submission guidelines! I only accept queries via Query Manager on the first day of the month. Any queries sent via email will not be reviewed.

Warm, professional, specific, enticing, and concise.

Sentence-level writing that's smooth as butter. Air-tight plot. Characters you're either rooting for or are completely intrigued by. Whimsy, heart, humor, and magic.

Not following guidelines.

I like when writers include a bio in their query letter that gives me a sense of who they are and what their lives look like. Their background, where in the world they live, what they do for work, maybe a hobby or two.

To be honest, sometimes I don't even make it to the manuscript if I'm not intrigued by the concept presented in the query. If I do make it to the pages, it's different every time. Sometimes I know by the first sentence, sometimes it takes more time.

Once someone has accepted my offer of representation, then our first focus is getting the manuscript ready for submission. First I'll give big picture notes on developmental changes the project needs. These things are typically discussed on the introductory call to make sure we're on the same page. Once those are incorporated, then I'll give at least one or two more rounds of more in the weeds edits. Sentence-level line editing and things like that. For picture books, we often have sort of a ping pong match where we pass it back and forth many times prior to submissions, tweaking things here and there. And then once we're ready for submission, I prepare a sub list for my client to review, which is something they have access to throughout the whole submission process. And then we begin knocking on doors until the right one hopefully opens!

It's a mix of answering emails, reading client manuscripts, typing up thoughtful editorial notes, taking calls with editors and film/tv agents, answering more emails, reviewing contracts, assembling sub lists, sending submissions, following up on submissions, answering more emails, snuggling with my cats, and combing through queries.