Hi Kesia! We met at the Portland Writers Workshop back in May during a pitching session. You were my first-ever pitch, and I really appreciated your encouragement and enthusiasm. You’d requested a submission (Y/A paranormal dealing with the Troubled Teen Industry) but I saw you’re no longer with that agency. I’m glad to see you are pursuing your passions and are still a part of contributing to the literary world. Good luck and best wishes! I look forward to following you here ;)
Hi Ned! I remember you - it was lovely to meet you and I'm sorry I'm not agenting right now. Hope to change that soon! Thank you for reading and commenting.
Maybe you should add that younger agents building their lists are often let go from their agencies. This turnover is hard on everyone. Hope you find a stable place that brings you happiness and success. All the best.
Thank you so much! I appreciate this. Personally, I don’t see TOO much turnover (possibly because most US agents aren’t salaried so there’s little benefit to terminating?) but I do feel the point of how hard it is when it does happen. Thanks again for reading and commenting.
Such a great post! I hope you consider joining BlueSky (where there's a thriving Kidlit community) so more authors can learn about you and your awesome substack. . .
Ahh, I tried it for several months but sadly just didn’t use it enough to justify keeping it - I’m trying limp along with threads though… thank you so much 🙏❤️
Great post. From the pov of an author, one danger to be flagged early in a career is that some writers rely emotionally on an agent for validation as it's a lonely business. I'd suggest finding that support elsewhere, for example in writing groups. If this were a sport, agents are your coach, cheerleader and ticket seller, not your teammate or even your emotional support animal in the Changing Room.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently- it’s so easy to get caught up in the Twitter emotional firestorms, and it’s helpful to sit with some facts about the larger agenting context. Thanks for writing!
Glad to hear you had a great trip back "home". Thanks for this blog, you make so many valid points. Trust is a two-way street, and honest communication keeps it flowing (to push the metaphor). Speaking of which, when you reach my query, I'd be super grateful for any feedback at all, even if "Echoes" isn't something you feel you can sell. Laura C. Rader
Hi Kesia! We met at the Portland Writers Workshop back in May during a pitching session. You were my first-ever pitch, and I really appreciated your encouragement and enthusiasm. You’d requested a submission (Y/A paranormal dealing with the Troubled Teen Industry) but I saw you’re no longer with that agency. I’m glad to see you are pursuing your passions and are still a part of contributing to the literary world. Good luck and best wishes! I look forward to following you here ;)
Hi Ned! I remember you - it was lovely to meet you and I'm sorry I'm not agenting right now. Hope to change that soon! Thank you for reading and commenting.
Absolutely! And agenting or not, thanks for sharing your insights and perspectives here. It's really helpful!
Maybe you should add that younger agents building their lists are often let go from their agencies. This turnover is hard on everyone. Hope you find a stable place that brings you happiness and success. All the best.
Thank you so much! I appreciate this. Personally, I don’t see TOO much turnover (possibly because most US agents aren’t salaried so there’s little benefit to terminating?) but I do feel the point of how hard it is when it does happen. Thanks again for reading and commenting.
Such a great post! I hope you consider joining BlueSky (where there's a thriving Kidlit community) so more authors can learn about you and your awesome substack. . .
Ahh, I tried it for several months but sadly just didn’t use it enough to justify keeping it - I’m trying limp along with threads though… thank you so much 🙏❤️
Great post. From the pov of an author, one danger to be flagged early in a career is that some writers rely emotionally on an agent for validation as it's a lonely business. I'd suggest finding that support elsewhere, for example in writing groups. If this were a sport, agents are your coach, cheerleader and ticket seller, not your teammate or even your emotional support animal in the Changing Room.
Love this - it’s very strong advice! Thanks for reading ❤️
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently- it’s so easy to get caught up in the Twitter emotional firestorms, and it’s helpful to sit with some facts about the larger agenting context. Thanks for writing!
You’re so right! ❤️
Glad to hear you had a great trip back "home". Thanks for this blog, you make so many valid points. Trust is a two-way street, and honest communication keeps it flowing (to push the metaphor). Speaking of which, when you reach my query, I'd be super grateful for any feedback at all, even if "Echoes" isn't something you feel you can sell. Laura C. Rader
Thanks so much for reading! ❤️
I'm a long long way off this stage, but this was super interesting, thank you!
So glad and good luck as you continue your journey!
This was so insightful! Thank you for this 🫶🏻
You’re so welcome! Thank you for reading ❤️