Q: Describe what you're looking for in 25 characters or less.
A: Thoughtful, engaging work
Q: What other agents do you admire most?
A: Laurie Fox.
Q: Who are your favorite authors?
A: John Galsworthy, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, Josephine Tey, Agatha Christie, P.D. James, George Eliot, Somerset Maugham, Nick Hornby, Philip Pullman, Neil Gaiman, Hilary Mantel, Adrian McKinty, Brian Freeman, Erik Larsen, Norton Juster, Kate Alice Marshall, Chris Crutcher, Joan Bauer, E.L. Konigsburg, Babette Cole, William Steig.
Q: What sets you apart from other agents who look at the same type of material?
A: I think every agent brings their own personal aesthetic and experience. I bring CoCo.
Q: What is the best advice you can give someone who is considering submitting work to you?
A: Proofread your query and sample, follow the agency's submission guidelines, keep your query as concise and direct as possible.
Q: Describe the ideal query letter.
A: The ideal query letter exhibits that the author fulsomely understands their own work and can present it cogently and vividly and succinctly.
Q: Describe the ideal manuscript.
A: Besides the obvious-- that it should be riveting, it should be copyedited and polished.
Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?
A: Forgetting to include the most important information: the queryants' name, the title of their manuscript, their genre, their word count. Not writing a clear pitch or synopsis. Including their beta readers' feedback.
Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?
A: I want to know only pertinent biographical information.
Q: How much of a manuscript do you read before making the decision to reject it?
A: That entirely depends on the submission or manuscript.
Q: Once you decide to represent someone's work, what is the process?
A: I will reach out and set up a phone call. We will speak about the work and get to know each other, and then discuss representation.
Q: What is a day in the life of an agent like for you?
A: Juggling many things at once. Reading and developing work for my clients and responding to pitches and queries are constants. Submitting to editors. Contract negotiations. Reading and continuing to learn about publishing. It never ends, but I love it.