Editor / Agent Spotlight

Agent Spotlight: Stacey Kendall Glick

By on February 27, 2019   /   Articles, Editor / Agent Spotlight  

Literary agent Stacey Kendall Glick is Vice President of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC. She brings a varied background in film and television development to her work as a literary agent, having held varied roles in entertainment including scouting for books to be adapted into feature films, a position as a story editor, and as a child actress who appeared on TV, in films and in theater. She represents a wide range of titles from nonfiction to adult, YA, and middle grade fiction and picture books. Her clients include four middle grade debuts for 2019: Jennifer Camiccia (THE MEMORY KEEPER), Wendy S. Swore (A MONSTER LIKE ME), Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo (RUBY IN THE SKY) and Jenni Walsh (the SHE DARED series). Stacey notes on her web page that she “wants to see more heartwarming, inspiring middle grade fiction and nonfiction.” Learn more about Stacey Glick at https://www.dystel.com/stacey-glick/.

Hi Stacey! Thanks so much for agreeing to chat with us. I’m really curious about how your background in film and TV influences your taste in middle grade fiction. Do you think you gravitate toward stories that feel like they’d be well suited for the big screen?

I think I’ve always been a naturally visual reader. As a childhood actress, then working in film and TV development before becoming an agent 20 years ago, stories that jump off the page and have a visual element always appealed to me. But I also appreciate quieter stories too. Not every book can be or should be a movie.

Several of your Novel19s middle-grade debut clients this year deal with some form of trauma. In Jen Camiccia’s book, THE MEMORY KEEPER, Lulu has a syndrome called Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), which essentially means she recalls with near perfect clarity every moment of her life. And at the same time, her grandmother is suffering from trauma-induced amnesia and losing her memory. What drew you to this story?

I have four daughters, all of whom are middle grade (or newly graduated from) readers so I am always looking for books that resonate with me personally but I know will also appeal to my girls. I’m drawn to contemporary realistic stories that explore the often complicated relationships between family and friends, and kids who struggle with challenges and need to find solutions to their problems. To me, that’s real life and if we can teach our kids through books how to better navigate and manage a difficult world, we’ll all be better off for it.

Let’s talk about your another of our debut middle grade clients, Wendy Swore. Her book, A MONSTER LIKE ME, publishes on March 5. It’s been compared to both Wonder and The Thing About Jellyfish. Sophie, the protagonist, is a monster expert. And she’s also convinced that she is a monster because of a facial disfigurement. Can you talk about that a bit?

 

I loved the idea of this book from the pitch, and the minute I opened the first page, I had a feeling it was going to be a winner. The book is so warm and genuine, and Sophie is such an endearing character. Her struggles are unique to her but familiar enough to feel relatable to all readers. Her way of looking at the world and managing in it, despite having something that makes her so obviously “different” is what really made me fall in love with the book in the same way I did with Wonder when I first read it with my girls.

Are you an editorial agent? Is there any one piece of advice you give to middle grade authors? In other words, are there any common kinds of problems that you are good at helping MG authors fix?

I’ve been very fortunate to work with talented authors who are able to craft and create stories that are often in great shape at first draft stage. Both Jennifer and Wendy sent manuscripts to me that were almost ready to go. I really appreciate authors who go through multiple drafts and get feedback from writers’ groups and beta readers before they send it out to agents. It makes our job easier to be able to think about sales strategy and business decisions without having to focus too much on editorial concerns and an elaborate revision process. That said, if I fall in love with something and think it needs work, I will do what I have to do to create the best draft possible for submission before sending it out.

What can middle grade authors do to help teachers deepen the reading experience, or better help students engage with their texts, in the classroom?

I love when authors have the opportunity to engage with students. It’s such a wonderful way for a reading experience to come to life. Asking questions that readers can use to discuss the book and see things from a different perspective can help. This season I also represented the start of a middle grade nonfiction series called She Dared by Jenni L. Walsh. The series focuses on accessible biographies for middle grade readers of strong, brave young women. The first two books in the series are about Malala Yousafzai, the Afghani activist author, and Bethany Hamilton, the surfer who lost an arm to a shark attack but went on to become a professional surfer.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for the middle grade authors you represent, once they sign their first contract?

I think the hardest thing is to overcome what might be seen as modest sales for a first book, and then trying to sell a second book when an option publisher passes. It’s easier (though not easy) to do in children’s books than adult. But it still requires a very different and sometimes a more creative approach.

I should also mention another of your debut authors this year, Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo, whose marvelous contemporary middle grade, Ruby in the Sky, published in February to starred reviews in Kirkus and Booklist. It’s already become one of my very favorite middle grade novels. I needed to read that one with many tissues in hand. And you have a gorgeous picture book, Bird Watch by Christie Matheson, that just published yesterday. You’ve had quite a year!

Anything else you’d like to elaborate on that I haven’t asked you? How’s life treating you?

Good! I really enjoy my work with children’s books and authors. I also help to run a wonderful conference affiliated with Rutgers University, the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature (this year on October 19, 2019), which your readers might be interested in learning more about. It’s the only conference I know of that offers attendees a one-on-one meeting with an editor or agent, and because it’s local to NYC and just one day, we get a lot of agents and editors to attend. There’s always a great keynote speaker as well. Last year, we had Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi Stemple. Thanks for having me!

 

Connect with Stacey on Twitter at @staceyglick

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Agent Spotlight: Patricia Nelson

By on February 21, 2019   /   Articles, Editor / Agent Spotlight, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, Publishing & Promotion, Writing  

Patricia Nelson is an agent with the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, where she represents adult, young adult, and middle grade fiction. Patricia’s middle grade clients include Hayley Chewins (The Turnaway Girls), Margaret Dilloway (Summer of a Thousand Pies), Anna Meriano (Love Sugar Magic), Melissa Roske (Kat Greene Comes Clean), Sandy Stark-McGinnis (Extraordinary Birds), and Kristi Wientge (Karma Khullar’s Mustache).

Patricia is a member of SCBWI and holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree in Gender Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Follow Patricia on Twitter at @patricianels.

MR: Before becoming a literary agent, you spent four years as a university-level instructor of literature and writing. How has your experience as an academic contributed to your skills as an agent?

PN: My favorite thing about teaching was getting to know my students, engaging creatively with their work, and helping them grow as writers and thinkers. Agenting lets me build these kinds of bonds long-term with clients, which I love. And while the agent-client relationship is very different from the teacher-student relationship, as a very editorial agent who tends to do a lot of developmental editing with my clients, what I learned as a teacher about giving constructive feedback and helping a writer nurture their ideas definitely comes in handy.

MR: What is your favorite part of the job? Your least favorite?

PN: The best thing about agenting is the feeling of falling in love with a book no one else has seen yet – whether that’s a new project by an existing client, or a brand-new voice from the query pile – and then getting to champion that book and help it make its way into the world.

The worst part (and I think most agents will tell you the same) is sending rejections. We all got into this job because we love authors and want to support them… but because of the need to keep our client lists manageable, we unfortunately also have to spend a lot of time saying “no.” Nobody likes that.

MR: What sorts of queries prompt you to request more pages? What would make you reject a query outright?

PN: When reading a query, I’m looking for a fresh, original story with an interesting protagonist and clear stakes. I also ask for 10 sample pages with all queries, where I’m looking for a voice that feels vibrant and special. If I see all those things, it’s a request!

In general, the queries that get rejected outright have problems that no one doing the research of reading this interview would have: They don’t conform to our submission guidelines, they’re address to “Dear Agent” (or sometimes, inexplicably, “Dear Sir”), they’re just a blank email with an unsolicited attachment (which we don’t open), they don’t include sample pages, etc. If you’re following the rules, don’t worry! Your query will be thoughtfully considered.

MR: I know there’s no such thing as an “ideal” client, but what comes close? Also, what can a writer do to make an agent’s job easier?

PN: The best clients are hard-working, communicative, and full of ideas. They are proactive about their own careers, but also take seriously their agent’s advice and industry expertise. If they have a concern, they reach out. If they’re stuck on a project, they ask to hop on a call and brainstorm. Good communication is key – and saying “thank you” really does go a long way.

MR: Please fill in the blank: “If an MG novel about______­­­came across my desk, I would request it ASAP.”

PN: I’m hesitant to answer this one, because in reality, it’s not just about the premise, but also about the pages – even if I love the topic, nothing’s an automatic request unless I fall for the voice in the sample pages that accompany the query.

Sometimes authors will reply to a pass by saying “but this exact thing was on your MSWL, I thought it would be perfect for you!” But of course, not every story that falls into my broad MSWL categories is going to be a fit, and often I’ll fall head-over-heels with a story that I didn’t even know I was looking for. (Which is why while MSWL is useful, it’s not the be-all and end-all. If you think I might be interested, you should just try me!)

MR: Anything else on your MG manuscript wish list?

PN: With the caveats above, right now I’m especially hungry for literary MG fantasy with an original premise, unique worldbuilding, and beautiful writing. I’m always looking for stories from diverse perspectives that have been historically underrepresented. And I’d love to find an MG novel in verse.

MR: What are you not looking for?

PN: I tend not to be the right agent for slapstick or gross-out humor, or for Percy Jackson-style action/adventure stories. I also don’t represent chapter books or very young MG.

MR: What’s on the horizon for 2019? Any news and/or hopes and dreams you’d like to share with us?

PN: On the middle grade front, I have some client books that I’m very excited about coming out this year:

Summer of a Thousand Pies by Margaret Dilloway (out in April), about a 12-year-old Great British Baking Show superfan who gets sent to live with her pie-shop-owning aunt in the mountains of California. I want to be friends with every single character in this book, which is one of my favorite feelings.

Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis (out in April), a debut novel about a girl who believes that one day she will transform into a bird and fly away, but has to reevaluate everything she thinks she knows when she’s placed with a foster mom who feels like family. It’s a beautiful story that makes me cry, in the best possible way.

Honeybees and Frenemies by Kristi Wientge (out in June), about two former best friends who have to spend their summer together when their parents volunteer them to help out a local beekeeper. This is Kristi’s follow-up to her debut Karma Khullar’s Mustache, and it is just as full of humor and heart—there’s one scene in particular in this novel that makes me laugh hysterically every single time I read it.

I love them all, and you should check them out!

MR: What is best way to contact you?  

PN: I’m open to queries via email, at patricia@marsallyonliteraryagency.com. As mentioned above, make sure you include your first 10 pages pasted in the body of the email.

MR: Thank you for your time, Patricia. It was great chatting with you! 

 

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Interview with S&S editor Sarah Jane Abbott

By on January 11, 2019   /   Editor / Agent Spotlight, For Writers, Publishing & Promotion  

I’m so excited to be doing my first post for the From The Mixed Up Files website. When I was coming up with my topic, I was thinking about what readers might like to know, and it got me thinking about all the blog posts I devoured before I signed with my agent and sold my first book. I read everything I could find on the publishing industry, living vicariously through the authors, yes, but also trying to seek out any snippets of information that could help me be a better writer and move my career forward.

Reading, writing, repeat was the formula that ultimately got me a book deal, but one of the things I really loved — and still love — is reading authors interview their agents and/or editors. Having that insight to the process and relationship helped me understand a lot before I got the chance to step into those shoes myself.

Sarah Jane Abbott, editor at Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

Sarah Jane Abbott, editor at Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

So, for my first From The Mixed Up Files post, I thought I’d do just that — interview my editor, the lovely Sarah Jane Abbott with Simon & Schuster imprints Paula Wiseman Books and Beach Lane Books. I didn’t want to focus on the work we did together on my book, so I asked her about herself, her job, and aspects of her work that seem a bit of a mystery to us writers. I hope you enjoy her answers as much as I do…

Samantha: Sarah Jane, thank you so much for letting me interview you for this blog post! What made you want to be a children’s book editor and how did you get started?

Sarah Jane: I found my way to children’s books through a bit of random serendipity. I studied creative writing in college and knew I wanted to go into publishing, but thought I wanted to edit adult literary fiction.  So I started applying for editorial assistant positions only in that category.  After many months of no success, I had an informational interview with HR at S&S, who wisely advised me to cast my net wider. So I started applying for any open entry level publishing job I could find and ended up in children’s book publicity. At that point, I hadn’t read a picture book since I was a small child, but rediscovering the incredible artistry and literary talent in them made me want to work on them. So when a new position opened up with Paula Wiseman Books and Beach Lane Books, two imprints whose picture books I so admired, I jumped at the chance.

Samantha: Can you tell us about the work you do for the Paula Wiseman Books and Beach Lane imprints at Simon & Schuster?

Sarah Jane: I assist both imprints with administrative tasks, like routing contracts, processing invoices, and preparing sales materials.  For Beach Lane, since they work remotely from California, I also get to be the in-house representative for the imprint and assist with tasks that have to be done in person like color correcting, which is the process of matching the digital scans of artwork to the colors in the original art.  Since Paula Wiseman Books is based in New York, I am more involved in their acquisitions process, reading and evaluating manuscripts and giving editorial suggestions. And of course, I edit my own list of books under the Paula Wiseman Books imprint.

Samantha: Do you have any favorite parts of your job?

Littler Woman by Laua SchaeferSarah Jane: I love writing, so I enjoy writing up sales materials as well as flap copy for our books. I also really enjoy the collaborative parts of my job, like talking through edits and ideas with authors or meeting with the art director to talk through our notes on a new round of sketches. It’s so satisfying to help an author work out the perfect solution for a narrative problem or to help an artist find just the right way to illustrate a tricky moment in a picture book.

Samantha: Any parts you would avoid if you could?

Sarah Jane: Like most everyone’s job, there are tedious administrative tasks on my plate that I wish could be done by little elves at my desk while I’m home at night. I also never enjoy rejecting manuscripts—having received lots of rejections for my own writing, I know the disappointment of it, even if it is an encouraging rejection. I empathize!

Samantha: Tell us about some of the books you’ve worked on as an editor.

Sarah Jane: I’m so lucky to work with the wonderful authors and illustrators on my list. My recent middle grade novels include Littler Women by Laura Schaefer, a sweet modern day re-telling of the beloved classic, with a craft or recipe at the end of every chapter.  I also had the pleasure of working on a book the interviewer knows quite well, The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast by Samantha M. Clark. [Quick interruption from Samantha: Eep! 🙂 ] It’s a gripping blend of mystery, survival story, and the supernatural that explores themes like courage, self-esteem, family, and toxic masculinity. In the picture book realm, I am currently editing The Sea Knows by Alice McGinty and Alan Havis, illustrated by Stephanie Laberis, a lyrical exploration of the wonders of the ocean and marine life, as well as a forthcoming picture book biography of a groundbreaking female athlete.

Samantha: Those sound wonderful. When you’re reading a manuscript for acquisition, what do you look for?

THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST by Samantha M ClarkSarah Jane: I always look for a story that grabs me immediately, that I don’t want to put down and find myself thinking about even when I’m not reading it. I love when a story is imaginative and unique, when it surprises me. Editors read so many stories that are slight variations of the same theme or idea, so something truly fresh is a pleasure. In middle grade, I look for a strong voice that feels singular and specific to the character, one that’s quirky and endearing. In picture books, I want heart—a story that is going to leave its mark on the reader and give them something to think about. A story can be completely hilarious, but if there isn’t a layer underneath that, it may be a one-time read. If a picture book is moving enough to make me tear up at my desk, that is a good thing!

Samantha: What happens in the acquisition process at these imprints?

Sarah Jane: Like a lot of publishers, our acquisitions process has several steps. First, of course, I read all of my submissions. Then I send the manuscripts that stand out to me on to my colleagues and we discuss them at a weekly editors’ staff meeting. Manuscripts that make it through that meeting as well go on to the last layer of acquisitions approval, before I am given the go-ahead to make an offer.

Samantha: If you couldn’t be an editor, what would you want to be?

Sarah Jane: As I’ve said, I love writing, so I would probably be pursuing a career as a freelance writer or journalist. I started college majoring in international relations, looking to work at a non-profit or NGO in the area of third world development with the hopes of making the world a better place. If I hadn’t taken a creative writing elective on a whim and decided to change my major because of it, I would probably be working in that field today. I’m grateful that on my current path, I still get to make the world a better place—through books!

Samantha: Yes! Books can change the world. Thank you, Sarah Jane.

And dear readers, I’ll add one more thing about my early publishing research: One of the best ways to get to know an agent or editor is through the books they worked on. So, while I don’t mean for this to be a plug — I really don’t! — if you think the Paula Wiseman Imprint could be a good place for you, read the books Sarah Jane mentioned here. They’re now on my to-read list. 🙂 And you can follow Sarah Jane at one of the best names on the Twitterverse: @sarahjaneyre.

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