Agent Interview: Laura Heathfield

Strength in Stories

I'm obviously a huge fan of Tanera Simons!

Taylor Jenkins Reid, Chris Whittaker, Kristin Hannah, Abigail Dean, Gillian McAllister, B A Paris, Julia Quinn, Emily Henry, Mick Herron, Katy Brent, Lisa Jewell, Shelley Read, Liz Nugent, David Nicholls, Rebecca Yarros, Anita Shreve, Freida McFadden, Marian Keyes, Jodi Picoult

Keep your cover letter as short as possible - if you can summarise the hook of your book in a line you will instantly draw me in. I am always keen to read your comparative titles - if your book was for sale in a shop, which books would sit alongside it on a shelf? This also shows me you know your market and your reader! Please use the submissions portal on our website. You will also find guidelines to submissions and my up-to-date manuscript wishlist on there.

First and foremost, I want to race through it, desperate to turn the page and find out what happens next so plot and pace are important. I want characters that I am immediately invested in - will they fail, succeed, fall in love? I also want a manuscript to leave me with plenty to think about afterwards, a book I want to recommend and buy for others. There are no rules but I generally prefer short chapters which helps maintain pace and for every genre (except fantasy!) a rough guide to length is 80-100,000 words. We receive a large number of manuscripts which begin with the main character waking up, so this can be initially off-putting but if the hook is strong enough, I can easily get over this!

I receive submissions via email and whilst I will always still read and respond to these, it's much easier if you use our website submissions portal. I also receive submissions for genres I don't represent - such as children's books, poetry and screenplays.

Unless your experience is particularly relevant to your work, a short one or two line biography is plenty. If you have been previously published or represented, I would also like some brief details that relate to this.

I usually request to speak to the author, either in person or via zoom. It's always good to chat about the book in more detail to ensure we have an aligned editorial vision for the work and what the author's ambitions are for it. I also like to discuss ideas for the author's future work and make sure there is plenty of time to answer any questions they may have on myself as an agent and our agency.

There are never two days the same! I might be reading the latest draft of a client's manuscript, marking-up contracts, writing editorial notes, meeting and pitching to editors, liaising with our co-agents for translation or dramatic rights, reviewing cover art, collating social media content, the list goes on... Two things however are always constant - emails and reading!