Agent Interview: Haley Casey

Emotions of any sort!

Amy Brewer at Metamorphosis Literary Agency; Paige Wheeler at Creative Media Agency; and Patrice Caldwell at New Leaf Literary & Media.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Akwaeke Emezi are at the top of my list for their gorgeous prose and big themes. I also love Kazuo Ishiguro, Zoraida Córdova, Laini Taylor, Kristin Cashore, Riley Redgate, Kiersten White, and so many more!

I'm really looking to establish a long-term partnership with my authors that extends past one book and through our careers. I'm hands-on and editorial, because I want your books to stand out when they reach editors. And this is the career of my dreams, so you can bet that I'm determined to see your work succeed!

Do your research! Makes sure that I'm not only seeking the genre you're writing, and that your query includes all of the material we request on the CMA website, but also that you actually want to work with me. I'm pretty open about myself and my tastes across the CMA website and my social media pages, so it's up to you to decide whether you think I'm really the advocate you want for your work.

Ideally, a query will be professional, enticing, and succinct. For fiction, it should tell me more about the book than the authors. In a few sentences, set up the main conflict, tell me your characters' motivations, and make sure you're clear about what's at stake; it should read like the back of a book. Get me excited to get to the pages themselves! For nonfiction, make sure I understand where this book will fit on the market and why you're the best author to write it. Assure me that you have a new take on your topic! Overall, I want understand what makes your story different.

The ideal manuscript has the right balance of exposition (to set me in a scene and in your characters' heads) and action (to keep the plot moving forward). I want pacing that compels me to turn the page; character arcs that leave me longing for them to succeed; new twists on old tropes, or new commentary on your biggest themes; and loose ends that all come together in the end. And of course, I want emotions. Make me laugh, break my heart, leave me on the edge of my seat—or better yet, all of the above!

Too many authors A) send their queries to my personal email rather than my query inbox, or B) don't include the materials requested on our website. I ask to see your first five pages (for fiction) or pieces of your proposal (for nonfiction) because it helps me make my best decision about your book, and if you leave them off your query, I can't objectively compare what you've sent against the dozens of other queries I see that day.

For fiction, I want a quick paragraph packed with relevant information—your work, your writing and publishing journey, and your inspiration. Otherwise, though, you should be focusing more of your query on your book's premise. For nonfiction, send me more! I need to know more about your background and experiences, because I need to know—and be able to share with editors—what makes you the perfect authors for this book.

If a query doesn't grab me, I likely won't read the submitted pages to the end—which is why a strong query is so important! And I can usually make that decision within the first few paragraphs. Are you taking too long to actually tell me the premise of your book? Are you describing every detail of your world-building instead of explaining what's at stake? Do I know why I'm following these characters? Do I have any idea where you think this book will fit alongside others on shelves? Any of these might make me stop reading, as might a query that's way too long or way too short. Conversely, if the idea and the characters excite me, I might skip right down to your pages to decide whether your writing grabs me. If so, it's a yes!

I'm an editorial agent, so once I decide to represent someone—we chat on the phone, I make an offer, and they accept—we'll dive right into revisions. The first step is for me to send the author an email describing my developmental edits, suggested changes, and the reasoning behind them. Everything I suggest is for the author to accept or reject or question; it's an entirely collaborative process. But if we’re on the same page, they'll make work on making changes, and when it's ready, they'll send the manuscript back to me. As I read the manuscript once more, I often make comments and track changes on the page for a second round of edits. This may include anything from suggestions to draw out a specific scene and its emotional resonance to line edits. This, again, returns to the author for their input or acceptance. We may go back and forth with minor changes once or twice more, but once we’re both happy with the strength of the finished product and everything it has to say, it’ll be ready for submission! While we revise, I'll work on creating a list of editors I think would be a good fit for this book, the genre, the characters, and the themes. I also make sure I have a strong pitch ready to send when the manuscript is polished. Then it's up to me to make sure the manuscript is given its best chance to be published, while the author starts their next project! And the process starts again.

It depends on the day. Most days start with answering emails, tracking the projects I have on submission, and making sure I'm on top of whatever my clients might be waiting on. I might be editing a couple of full or partial manuscripts for my clients, and I'm usually researching potential editors for various projects or trying to craft or revise a thoughtful pitch letter. Some days I have meetings with my coworkers, calls with my authors, or calls with editors; or I'm participating in pitch events on Twitter or virtual writer's conferences. I may spend other days reading the brand-new manuscripts on my desk or catching up on queries—though that's usually one day (or evening) of the week. I'm also always keeping up with social media and working with our CMA interns. Usually, I have to focus on just a few things a day, and work on what's still waiting the next day, and I have to remember that my authors and manuscripts are constantly in motion!