Former Scholastic editor Shelly Romero just made the leap to literary agent.
And she's spilling the industry secrets most writers never hear.
After eight years of editorial experience and now with an agent's perspective, Shelly reveals…
- What really happens when agents read your opening pages
- Why manuscripts need to be more polished than ever
- The submission mistakes that trigger instant rejections.
What You'll Learn:
- Why voice trumps plot in manuscript submissions
- Exact polish level needed for today's publishing market
- Query red flags that guarantee instant rejections
Click here to learn more about Shelly Romero
Connect with Shelly on Instagram
Guest Bio: Shelly Romero began her publishing career in 2017 at Scholastic, where she rose up the ranks from editorial assistant to associate editor, where she acquired her own titles and assisted on series publishing for The Bad Guys and Goosebumps. She later joined Cake Creative as Lead Editor, and she was most recently a freelance editor. She graduated from Stephens College with a bachelor’s degree in English and attended the 2017 NYU Summer Publishing Institute. Shelly was selected as a 2020 Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree and is a member of Latinx in Publishing & People of Color in Publishing. Born and raised in Miami by Honduran parents, she now resides in New York City, where she might be found at a movie theatre viewing the latest release from her Letterboxd watchlist.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
David Gwyn (00:00):
Shelly, welcome to the Thriller one, one podcast.
(00:01):
Really excited to have you.
Shelly Romero (00:03):
Thanks so much for having me.
I'm really excited.
David Gwyn (00:05):
Yeah.
So we have a, we have a lot totalk about.
I, I'm really excited to chatwith you.
You're on that kind of neweragent
Shelly Romero (00:10):
Mm-hmm.
David Gwyn (00:11):
where you're, you're diving into it for the first
time, which I
Shelly Romero (00:13):
Yeah.
David Gwyn (00:14):
to, to people where you are, and hear a little bit
about, you know, what were theexpectations, what were you
thinking it was gonna be like,and how did that kind of align?
So let's, let's start at thebeginning here.
What made you wanna become anagent?
Shelly Romero (00:25):
So I've actually been publishing, it will be my
eight year anniversary, I thinkthis August.
Which is pretty crazy to saythat number like out loud.
It'd be like, oh my God, it'salmost been a decade.
But it almost has been a decade.
And I came up as an editor.
So I worked first at Scholastic.
I also worked at a book packagerdid a lot of freelancing on my
(00:47):
own.
But one of the things that whenI started having these kind of
conversations last summeractually about maybe
transitioning from editorial toAgenting was, you know, you
know, I was getting posed aquestion like, what is the thing
that you're really looking for?
And for me it was very muchcontrol.
Right.
So as an editor, you know, Ialways tell people like, I will
(01:11):
be your in-house, like in-housechampion.
I will be your advocate, like amentor, like part-time
therapist, whatever yourcheerleader.
But when it comes time, I.
For those in-house kind ofsituations or, you know,
complications or even thenegotiation stage against an
agent.
I don't represent the author.
(01:32):
I don't represent the creators.
I represent the house.
David Gwyn (01:35):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (01:35):
that's a really difficult part about being an
editorial because.
You know, you get to be sopassionate about these books and
about the creators that you'reworking with.
At the same time, it's kind oflike you have one hand tied
behind your back where you knowyou have limitations.
Whether it's the, you know, whatcan you acquire, you know, is it
(01:58):
going to be a right fit for thelist?
Is it even going to be a rightfit for this house?
Like, are, you know, is thisimprint going to do a good job
with this book?
To things like, you know, I.
Do I really want this creator,but it's just gonna be like a
complete mess.
And sometimes, you know, youmake the decision to take that
risk, you know, talk to yoursuperiors and try to take it to
(02:21):
acquisitions and then get shutdown there, or potentially get
that green light.
But what drew me was definitelythat control.
Like I have worked with so manywonderful creators over the
years.
And one thing I have alwayslamented was the fact that I
don't get to be with them for.
A majority of their career I getto work with them.
You know, it might be a, like abook or a couple of books.
(02:44):
But Agenting really allows youto be that first gatekeeper,
right?
We always talk about that agentsare the first gatekeeper to the
industry.
And being able to choose, okay,who am I going to work with?
But I'm not just working on withthem on that.
One title, it's okay.
What are your dreams?
You know, what are the, yourhopes and dreams, your pie in
(03:05):
the sky things, and some moregrounded, realistic, you know,
hopes And how can we worktogether to make sure that you
are writing careers fruitful.
David Gwyn (03:16):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (03:16):
Fulfilling both financially and creatively.
So that is definitely one of thereasons why I was like doing a
lot of these informationalsbasically last summer.
And then also kick started itlike the, again, this early year
and then, you know, made thedecision, okay, let's, let's do
this.
Which is very, you know, it wasvery, scary, you know, you, you
(03:38):
know, going from, you know,working in-house with a
consistent salary, but, youknow, dealing with all the, you
know, kind of Game of Thronespolitical things of inside
publishing houses to beingfreelance and it being very
unstable to being commissiononly.
So,
David Gwyn (03:55):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (03:56):
you know, there were a lot of kind of things
that I took into account, but Ireally.
Do wanna be the advocate forauthors, and this is the best
possible way for me to do that.
David Gwyn (04:07):
Yeah.
I, I think that's, that's sogreat.
I, I am always interested tohear kind of very few people go,
like, from nowhere in thepublishing world to agenting.
Right?
Like, very few people make thatleap.
And so I'm always curious tohear where people were before.
And, and, and I think if I'mlistening to this and I'm, I'm a
writer, and I'm like, okay, likethe Shelly s the right fit,
like.
Having that editorial backgroundis something that is so valuable
(04:31):
for, for debut writers, and I'msure, I imagine you kind of are
bringing that editorial
Shelly Romero (04:37):
absolutely.
David Gwyn (04:38):
doing your work.
Shelly Romero (04:39):
I like
David Gwyn (04:40):
about that?
Like
Shelly Romero (04:41):
absolutely.
David Gwyn (04:42):
translate into agenting?
Shelly Romero (04:43):
Yeah, so I mean, I'm in, I'm a developmental edit
editor and a line editor, likeI, sorry to the copy editors
that is, and proofreaders, thatis a skill that I absolutely do
not have.
And they are like God sends whenyou are getting into those nitty
gritty.
You know, last moments of thepublishing process, but, so I'm
(05:05):
a developmental editor, editorfirst.
I'm always looking at the bigpicture.
What are the things that we cantweak?
David Gwyn (05:11):
Mm-hmm.
Shelly Romero (05:12):
I'll send my authors, you know, like edit
letters.
I think maybe one of the longestones, and this is like short for
some people, like, I think oneof the longest ones I sent was
ever like.
Eight pages.
You know, but I always want totackle like those big themes in
that edit letter.
Miscellaneous little things.
I'm also an editor that likegoes in and I'm like leaving,
(05:32):
you know, comments just likereaction to whatever's
happening.
Like, oh my god, what?
Like, or questions.
And I'm like, later on,sometimes I'm like.
Oh wait I, you answered thatquestion.
Nevermind.
Ignore that.
Like, you know, things likethat.
And then later on in thatprocess, when we're done with
those dev edits I'm a lineeditor.
I love going into the manuscriptand I turn into Victor
(05:56):
Frankenstein at that momentwhere, you know, I'm just really
getting in there and cuttingthings up or putting them back
together.
David Gwyn (06:04):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (06:05):
And.
It's, it's, that's a hardprocess.
It takes me, I think, like oneof the longest, I think it, it
takes a lot of people thelongest just because of how
detailed it is.
But that's like what I'mbringing to the table.
Like I, I told, you know, folks,like, I'm not gonna be someone
who just is like, oh yeah, yeah,your book.
(06:26):
Yeah.
Good.
Sounds good.
Because I know what to expectfrom an in-house editor and a
lot of the time is that we areneeding.
To have books be at this reallypolished stage in order to have
a fighting chance.
You know, we, we wanna give it.
The best opportunity.
And that means that there'sgonna be revisions, there's
(06:48):
gonna be edit letters, there'sgonna be line edits.
So that's the type of agent Iam, like a very editorial agent.
And I'm also just in generalbringing that experience of like
knowing how the sausage getsmade right?
David Gwyn (07:01):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (07:01):
for a lot of debut writers, the industry is
very opaque and it's verypurposeful in being opaque.
And so one of the things I liketo do is to try to.
Make it less, you know, opaqueand mysterious and like, you
know, whatnot.
I remember when I was workingwith one of my former authors, I
(07:22):
think I gave her the call realquick to be like, we're going to
copy edit, or we're going to,yeah, I think, think, I think I
was like, we're going to copyedits, we're going to
production.
And I said that, you know,'causeI also forget I'm, you know,
it's very inside baseball of,oh, I know what that means.
And she was like, wait.
And she was a debut.
She was like.
Wait, what does that mean?
And I was like, oh, wait, yes.
(07:44):
Let me tell you.
Okay, go into production editor.
We're getting this copy editor.
We're gonna get a proofreader.
We're going to, you know, makesure everything's consistent.
Okay?
You're gonna start seeing thislook like a real book soon
instead of a Microsoft doc, youknow, or a Google Doc.
Like it's not.
Gonna be all that and it's gonnabe like a book now.
(08:07):
You know, so there are thosethings that, you know, a lot of
authors don't know, and sohopefully I can help demystify
all of that.
David Gwyn (08:16):
No, I think that's, that's really important.
I, I feel like we hear more andmore as people who, who are
living, living around theindustry.
We're like that, that booksmanuscripts really need to be as
polished as possible.
Shelly Romero (08:28):
Yeah.
David Gwyn (08:29):
no longer are the days where someone will take a
chance on something that needs aton of work.
It's like editors are lookingfor manuscripts that, that
you've had your hands on, right?
Like, and someone who's got anediting experience.
And I think for, for people whoare listening to this, I hope
you're thinking like.
is the type of agent you want.
This is the, you know, this isyour best chance at getting a
book published.
(08:49):
Because if you're going with anagent who doesn't have a ton of
editorial background, or isn'twilling to put in editorial
work, which is, you know,different too, that is something
that is, you're gonna have toreally think about, you know,
Shelly Romero (09:02):
Yeah,
David Gwyn (09:02):
fit?
You know, especially for adebut.
Shelly Romero (09:04):
absolutely.
And every agent is so different.
Like even in my agency, I thinkthere's like 14 of us and we all
operate so differently and someof us have transitioned from the
editorial space, toing.
Some of us, you know, some.
Came up just through theagenting ranks and we all bring
something different to thetable.
(09:24):
And that is, I think, the truthacross the board.
You're gonna have so manydifferent agents and styles of
working.
And it's always like what, likeyou said, like what is the best
fit for you and your writing andyour career.
Whether you want someone who'slike, oh, we have an in-house
editor and I'm not very mucheditorial, but I know how to do.
X, Y, and Z.
(09:45):
Or if you want someone who's inthat editorial path and is like,
okay, I know that before I goout on any submission, I'm gonna
be revising and I'm gonna be putto that work.
You know?
So it's very much like, youknow, not one size fits all.
David Gwyn (10:01):
No.
Yeah, and the, the longer I, themore agents I talk to, and the
longer I'm here, I'm likeeveryone does things a little
bit differently.
And it's really, I think the,the, the group, the pairings
that are really successful arethe ones who just happen to find
that fit of, you know, as awriter, I need this and this
agent provides that.
And that's, that's where, youknow, you, you see a lot of
success.
But I do want to, before we getany further, I
Shelly Romero (10:20):
Mm-hmm.
David Gwyn (10:20):
what genres you are looking for.
So for people who are listening.
Shelly Romero (11:11):
Absolutely.
I'm looking for a wide gamut ofgenres.
I'm someone who reads a lot ofdifferent genres, so I'm
definitely looking for allthings horror.
I know this is a podcast, butlike imagine just like a living
room filled with like horrormovie posters and also like
Michael Myers and like GhostSpace masks and like other
(11:34):
spooky things like.
My husband calls it Goth CrackerBarrel.
Which, yes, so I'm alwayslooking for something, horror,
thriller mysteries.
I'm looking for a lot of gothic.
So a lot of that kind of mix ofthe genre, right?
I'm really wanting to see a lotof regional gothic storytelling.
(11:54):
While I'm from Miami, I spentlike.
Nearly a decade in Missouri andMidwestern Gothic is so
different than New EnglandGothic or Southern Gothic.
They all have their differentlittle nuances and things and
folklore, right?
So that's definitely somethingthat I'm really looking for.
I'm always looking formarginalized creators.
(12:15):
That's something that when Icame up in editorials, it, like
as soon as I, I was ineditorial, I'm like, this is the
goal.
I wanna represent these creatorsbecause they have been
marginalized and the industry isstill so wishy-washy, you know,
with traditionally marginalizedcreators.
(12:36):
And especially right now in theera that we're in, where we're
feeling kind of this weird, youknow, ebb and flow of what
happened in 2020 to now, youknow, in 2020 everything was
like being fixed.
And what like, or.
People were trying to fixthings, whereas now it's kind of
receding and you're not havingthe same support.
David Gwyn (12:58):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (12:58):
I'm not a good person for like epic fantasies.
I know this is the thrillermystery, you know, so I, you
know, but if there's anyone outthere who's like, I, you know,
do those, I'm not big on likeepic fantasy.
Always more kind of to thegrounded speculative fiction
type.
But I am someone who like, lovesa procedural drama.
(13:20):
It is like, let me tell ya.
Did I do like so much of great.
Yes.
Right now it's the obsessionbetween Chicago Fire and
Chicago.
Me.
Y'all like but one thing I'm notlooking for, which is something
that, you know, I is like alittle bit of like, oh,'cause
it's thriller and crime andmystery.
Genres.
(13:40):
I'm not looking for copdetective, military
protagonists.
David Gwyn (13:45):
Hmm.
Shelly Romero (13:45):
I think that to me is a bit fantastical to have
you know, the protagonist and,and the hero be, you know,
police officer.
So that is my opinion.
Like y'all, there's other.
Agents that think otherwise.
But for me, I'm very muchinterested in like the everyday
(14:06):
person.
Right.
And I think that's what drew meto, like Veronica Mars for
example.
Like I did not watch that untillike.
You know, re like a few yearsback, I think during the
pandemic it was like one of mypandemic watches and I loved
her.
Like, I love that type of like,okay, I'm gonna take matters
into my own hands, or I'm theone who knows that something's
(14:28):
up and I'm not getting thathelp.
I think like another similarcomp would be the Fire Keeper's
daughter by Angeline Booley.
Who's a phenomenal indigenouswriter.
So I'm really looking for, youknow, those other types of
stories.
I want to focus on that person.
I'm trying to think of like,what else?
(14:49):
It's always really hard whenyou're like, put on the
spotlight of like, what do youwant?
And I'm like, I could tell you.
I'm like, I'm telling you.
But at the same time, like it,you know, and this happens to
like every, I think editor andagent like.
I, you could send me somethingthat ticks off all these boxes
and I might reject it.
David Gwyn (15:07):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (15:07):
And you, then you could send me something, you
know, someone could send mesomething that is kind of, maybe
a risk and I might love it.
Right?
So that's also like, again, it'slike very, this is a very
subjective industry.
Y'all, like, everyone has theirown like quirks, likes, dislikes
and things.
So always remembered that.
David Gwyn (15:28):
I love that caveat and you're, you're one of many
agents who, who gives thatcaveat, which is like, this is
what I think I'm looking for,but that doesn't necessarily
mean it's like a lock and itdoesn't necessarily mean I won't
go after some other things.
Usually people have like a hardline where they're like, ah,
that's not my thing, but.
Shelly Romero (15:44):
Yeah.
David Gwyn (15:45):
if you're, if it feels like this, right?
Like if, if your book kind offeels, has this vibe or
something.
If, so, if you're, if you'relistening to this and something
that Shelly said is you're like,yeah, like that's, that's my
book, right?
Like, at least part of it.
It sounds like,
Shelly Romero (15:56):
Yeah.
David Gwyn (15:56):
Send, send it over and, and let
Shelly Romero (15:58):
Yeah, and I'm very much a person who like lo,
okay, listen, I have a letterbox and so I'm always at a movie
and so.
There's definitely like thatcorrelation of like what I watch
is often what I'm also lookingfor.
So I'm always someone who'slike, I love a movie comp.
You know, a lot of the booksthat I've worked on all have
(16:20):
been comped to movies like TheWitchery by s Isabel, I called
it.
Like the craft meets thecovenant, but with an all like
female cast and it being, youknow, different from the craft
because we had three black girlswho were the main protagonist,
who were so different from eachother.
And then you had their fourthwho was you know a white girl.
(16:43):
But I'm always using like moviecomps and things like that.
And, you know, I do love likecertain movies and I know I just
said I might sound like ahypocrite, but like, you know,
some of my favorite, like crimeand thriller movies have been
like, minority Report
David Gwyn (16:57):
Hmm.
Shelly Romero (16:58):
Tombstone.
I love Tombstone like.
Incredible movie.
Like I, you know, I just, Icould be your huckleberry.
I know, and I know it's like aUS Marshal.
I know this, y'all like a littlebit of a hypocrite, but I, you
know, I love that style.
And while I don't like westerns,like I, you know, I love that
kind of style of storytellingand, and again, like I
(17:20):
mentioned, I know MinorityReport, you know, was Philip k
Dick.
But you know, having that kindof.
Vibe of, you know, it is kind ofsci-fi, but at the heart of it,
this is a crime movie.
This is a thriller similar tolike total recall.
David Gwyn (17:36):
Hmm.
Shelly Romero (17:37):
more so like the original, like the, the deal was
fine.
It was like fine.
But yeah.
So I'm often you'll see or hearme talking about movies.
David Gwyn (17:46):
Yeah, no, that's great.
I, and so I, I do wanna, I dowanna, I'm really curious now
that we've had this conversationaround the genres and what
you're looking for.
I'm wondering what you look forin opening pages.
You like get a, get a submissionhere and you get a manuscript in
front of you.
Like what are some of thosethings that you look
Shelly Romero (18:03):
Mm, mm-hmm.
David Gwyn (18:04):
make you wanna read more?
Shelly Romero (18:06):
Absolutely.
I think it always depends on thegenre and then also what age
category, right?
So for if I'm popping open amiddle grade or a ya, I want
that voice to feel authentic.
You know, you can always tell byword, you know.
By like the vocabulary orverbiage or slang whether it
(18:27):
feels, you know, a little bitcloser to what that kid would
sounds like.
Right.
And, and you know, like I lovethings like comps, like the
Goonies, but like, you know, thewriting and the Goonies is very
different than like.
You know, what is it Gen Alphanow or whatnot?
So like, that's like a thingthat I'm looking for.
(18:48):
I'm like, okay, does it matchthis age category?
I'm always looking for that kindof like very hooky beginning.
I'm someone who does really lovevoice a lot, so if your
character has a very strongvoice and personality and I can
just get it from the get go, oryou already automatically are
getting that sense of place andtime, that's something that
(19:11):
draws me in.
And I think especially whenyou're doing.
Genre res like horror, sci-fi,you know, thriller mysteries.
When you are able to make thestory in the setting, feel like
its own character that is like abig bonus for me.
'cause then I'm like, okay,cool.
Like this is really spooky, orthis is like very eerie.
(19:32):
Like why are people goingmissing all the time in the
Appalachia woods?
Like, what is in there?
You know?
And it makes me, you know, itmakes me wanna read, but it is
hard, like sometimes I'll, Iwill leave the submissions in
there for a while, even if I hadalready p you know, poked it
open and, and took in a PA peek.
(19:54):
Because sometimes I'm like,sometimes I'm not in that mind
space, like the right mind spaceto read that one right now.
And I wanna give it that shotbecause, you know, it could be
that, like I read it and I waslike super tired on like a
Thursday afternoon, but thenlike I come back to it, I'm
like, wait a minute, this.
You know what, let me mayberequest the fool to see what's
(20:14):
happening.
When I am requesting fools, likeI'm looking to see that
hopefully that voice staysstrong, that that setting that
we're getting from plot point Ato plot point B and that we're
not kind of crumbling you know,you can fix those things.
But there are things that like,are very hard to teach.
(20:35):
Like, like I mentioned, voice.
You know, everyone has like adifferent style.
These are things that you justreally learn from doing it.
You have to keep writing, butalso reading what's being
published right now in those agecategories.
And while that might not be whatthe genres or like the types of
(20:57):
stories that are gonna bepopular in a couple years from
now, they're still giving you somuch to work with and to learn
from you know, and also.
Genres come and go.
Like we may be seeing a, likereemergence for example, of like
YA dystopia, which I'm like,whoa, 20, welcome back 2010s.
(21:19):
I guess, you know, so that'sanother thing to remember too
about publishing psych, likepublishing trends is that they
can be very, very slickcyclical.
I cannot talk, but yeah.
So yeah, I think, you know.
David Gwyn (21:32):
Yeah.
No, I, I think that's spot on.
I, I, it's funny, I have asneaking suspicion, and you
don't have to admit this, but Ido ask agents.
This usually is because when Iask this question, I get kind of
the same answer.
I think I have a sneakingsuspicion that voice is the
number one thing that allowsyour submission to go from.
Shelly Romero (21:55):
Yeah.
David Gwyn (21:56):
the next stage.
Like an agent will be like, eh,I don't love that plot point,
but the voice is so good.
Let's just like, well,
Shelly Romero (22:02):
Yeah.
And the,
David Gwyn (22:03):
I
Shelly Romero (22:03):
yeah,
David Gwyn (22:04):
I can
Shelly Romero (22:04):
exactly.
It's like, yeah, I can talkabout that in the editorial
letter.
Or even if it is like minorlittle tweaks to things, you
know, even if it is like, oh,you just had this one line that
is just not fitting this voice,it's not fitting the tone.
You know, tone is also a littlebit harder to teach.
But.
(22:25):
You're right.
Like that is definitelysomething that's going to give
me like a little bit of pauseand be like, oh wait, maybe,
maybe there is something here.
And maybe I need to like look atit.
I will say for me personally,something that has when
reviewing queries now that likekind of ticks me.
This is like a yellow flag.
(22:46):
It's like a yellow orange flagfor me is comps comparative book
titles that are just completelytentpole classics and
mainstream.
And what I'm saying is that ifyou're reading kind of that
thriller crime mystery genre,and you're giving me comps like,
oh, this comps to like AgathaChristie or Dean Kunz, but like
(23:11):
also fans of like.
Also fans who are gonna bereaders in their 14 and up, and
I'm like, wait a minute.
Which, which,
David Gwyn (23:21):
do
Shelly Romero (23:22):
yeah, I'm like, I'm like, wait a minute, that
doesn't make any sense.
And which teenager's gonna bereading Dean Co.
I mean, there might be,
David Gwyn (23:29):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (23:30):
you not kids, you know, kids have very
interesting, you know, taste.
But that kind of gives me a bitof a hit of you're not quite
doing that research, you're notquite thinking of what is around
and like using, for example, oneof those 10 pole classics.
Like if you're like.
Stephen King, you know,'causeit's horror or whatnot is fine.
(23:53):
But like I'm, I'm gonna need tosee that you also have been
reading something from the lastthree to five years.
Because otherwise you're, you'renot really seeing what's being
published.
You're not learning from yourcontemporaries.
And it's not gonna be veryhelpful when you're querying.
I will say the other thing, andthis goes back to like my
(24:14):
manuscript wishlist, like, youknow, when it's just completely
from my, like, do not send meand I can tell that you haven't
read my manuscript wishlist.
I'm like, reject.
David Gwyn (24:27):
Yep.
Shelly Romero (24:28):
Like, you know, it, it shows me kind of like
this lack of research and a bitof like a lack of care to what
you're doing.
And instead it feels like, youknow, and I understand'cause
like you're trying to, you know,send out your book as wide as
possible to as many agents to,you know, increase your chances
of representation.
But at the same time, I can tellwhen you're throwing spaghetti
(24:50):
to the wall,
David Gwyn (24:51):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (24:52):
And this is something similar that I always
talk about with people.
I'm like, you're not gonna send.
You know, you know, you're not,you're not gonna tell someone at
Berkeley who does romance thatyou really wanna do, you know,
sci-fi horror, and you're notgonna do that at orbit.
David Gwyn (25:08):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (25:08):
go to orbit and then say, oh, I wanna do
romantic.
Like, maybe romantic, but like,oh, I wanna do like contemporary
romance.
Like, that's not gonna work.
David Gwyn (25:16):
Shelly, I feel like I could talk to you all, all
night.
I mean, like, this is like yourwealth of knowledge and, and I,
I love the way you have thatkind of multifaceted view of the
publishing industry.
'cause you've been around for solong.
So this has been so much fun.
My last question for you is justif, if people are interested in,
in learning more about you,where can they go?
Where can they look you up?
Shelly Romero (25:34):
Absolutely.
I am unfortunately a bitchronically online, so you can
find me on social media appslike Blue Sky.
I'm still on Twitter and alsoThreads.
I do have a book Instagram.
I'm not like trying to use it alittle bit more.
David Gwyn (25:53):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (25:54):
but I do have a website, which is just my name,
shelly romero.com.
And then also you could see likemy bio and everything there in
some of the books that I'veworked on, but
David Gwyn (26:02):
Nice.
Shelly Romero (26:02):
in terms of like submissions and submitting to
me, please go to the.
About US pages for as the antiliterary.
That's where you'll find mymanuscript wishlist and my anti
manuscript wishlist, which isvery important.
But also you'll get to see apeak of like some of my favorite
movies and some of my favoritebooks recently that kind of give
(26:24):
you a little bit more of likethat taste.
But I'm usually yelling aboutpublishing industry shenanigans
or book.
Selling industry shenanigans onsocial but also probably talking
about movies and letter boxingthem.
So
David Gwyn (26:40):
Very cool.
And I'll, if you're listeningand, and you wanna get in touch
with Shelley, I'll, I'll makesure I link to some of that
stuff below so people have quickaccess.
Shelley, like I mentioned this,this was so much fun.
I
Shelly Romero (26:48):
yes,
David Gwyn (26:49):
you taking the time to chat.
Shelly Romero (26:50):
of course.
Thank you for having me.
Shelly, welcome to the Thriller one, one podcast.
(00:01):
Really excited to have you.
Shelly Romero (00:03):
Thanks so much for having me.
I'm really excited.
David Gwyn (00:05):
Yeah.
So we have a, we have a lot totalk about.
I, I'm really excited to chatwith you.
You're on that kind of neweragent
Shelly Romero (00:10):
Mm-hmm.
David Gwyn (00:11):
where you're, you're diving into it for the first
time, which I
Shelly Romero (00:13):
Yeah.
David Gwyn (00:14):
to, to people where you are, and hear a little bit
about, you know, what were theexpectations, what were you
thinking it was gonna be like,and how did that kind of align?
So let's, let's start at thebeginning here.
What made you wanna become anagent?
Shelly Romero (00:25):
So I've actually been publishing, it will be my
eight year anniversary, I thinkthis August.
Which is pretty crazy to saythat number like out loud.
It'd be like, oh my God, it'salmost been a decade.
But it almost has been a decade.
And I came up as an editor.
So I worked first at Scholastic.
I also worked at a book packagerdid a lot of freelancing on my
(00:47):
own.
But one of the things that whenI started having these kind of
conversations last summeractually about maybe
transitioning from editorial toAgenting was, you know, you
know, I was getting posed aquestion like, what is the thing
that you're really looking for?
And for me it was very muchcontrol.
Right.
So as an editor, you know, Ialways tell people like, I will
(01:11):
be your in-house, like in-housechampion.
I will be your advocate, like amentor, like part-time
therapist, whatever yourcheerleader.
But when it comes time, I.
For those in-house kind ofsituations or, you know,
complications or even thenegotiation stage against an
agent.
I don't represent the author.
(01:32):
I don't represent the creators.
I represent the house.
David Gwyn (01:35):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (01:35):
that's a really difficult part about being an
editorial because.
You know, you get to be sopassionate about these books and
about the creators that you'reworking with.
At the same time, it's kind oflike you have one hand tied
behind your back where you knowyou have limitations.
Whether it's the, you know, whatcan you acquire, you know, is it
(01:58):
going to be a right fit for thelist?
Is it even going to be a rightfit for this house?
Like, are, you know, is thisimprint going to do a good job
with this book?
To things like, you know, I.
Do I really want this creator,but it's just gonna be like a
complete mess.
And sometimes, you know, youmake the decision to take that
risk, you know, talk to yoursuperiors and try to take it to
(02:21):
acquisitions and then get shutdown there, or potentially get
that green light.
But what drew me was definitelythat control.
Like I have worked with so manywonderful creators over the
years.
And one thing I have alwayslamented was the fact that I
don't get to be with them for.
A majority of their career I getto work with them.
You know, it might be a, like abook or a couple of books.
(02:44):
But Agenting really allows youto be that first gatekeeper,
right?
We always talk about that agentsare the first gatekeeper to the
industry.
And being able to choose, okay,who am I going to work with?
But I'm not just working on withthem on that.
One title, it's okay.
What are your dreams?
You know, what are the, yourhopes and dreams, your pie in
(03:05):
the sky things, and some moregrounded, realistic, you know,
hopes And how can we worktogether to make sure that you
are writing careers fruitful.
David Gwyn (03:16):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (03:16):
Fulfilling both financially and creatively.
So that is definitely one of thereasons why I was like doing a
lot of these informationalsbasically last summer.
And then also kick started itlike the, again, this early year
and then, you know, made thedecision, okay, let's, let's do
this.
Which is very, you know, it wasvery, scary, you know, you, you
(03:38):
know, going from, you know,working in-house with a
consistent salary, but, youknow, dealing with all the, you
know, kind of Game of Thronespolitical things of inside
publishing houses to beingfreelance and it being very
unstable to being commissiononly.
So,
David Gwyn (03:55):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (03:56):
you know, there were a lot of kind of things
that I took into account, but Ireally.
Do wanna be the advocate forauthors, and this is the best
possible way for me to do that.
David Gwyn (04:07):
Yeah.
I, I think that's, that's sogreat.
I, I am always interested tohear kind of very few people go,
like, from nowhere in thepublishing world to agenting.
Right?
Like, very few people make thatleap.
And so I'm always curious tohear where people were before.
And, and, and I think if I'mlistening to this and I'm, I'm a
writer, and I'm like, okay, likethe Shelly s the right fit,
like.
Having that editorial backgroundis something that is so valuable
(04:31):
for, for debut writers, and I'msure, I imagine you kind of are
bringing that editorial
Shelly Romero (04:37):
absolutely.
David Gwyn (04:38):
doing your work.
Shelly Romero (04:39):
I like
David Gwyn (04:40):
about that?
Like
Shelly Romero (04:41):
absolutely.
David Gwyn (04:42):
translate into agenting?
Shelly Romero (04:43):
Yeah, so I mean, I'm in, I'm a developmental edit
editor and a line editor, likeI, sorry to the copy editors
that is, and proofreaders, thatis a skill that I absolutely do
not have.
And they are like God sends whenyou are getting into those nitty
gritty.
You know, last moments of thepublishing process, but, so I'm
(05:05):
a developmental editor, editorfirst.
I'm always looking at the bigpicture.
What are the things that we cantweak?
David Gwyn (05:11):
Mm-hmm.
Shelly Romero (05:12):
I'll send my authors, you know, like edit
letters.
I think maybe one of the longestones, and this is like short for
some people, like, I think oneof the longest ones I sent was
ever like.
Eight pages.
You know, but I always want totackle like those big themes in
that edit letter.
Miscellaneous little things.
I'm also an editor that likegoes in and I'm like leaving,
(05:32):
you know, comments just likereaction to whatever's
happening.
Like, oh my god, what?
Like, or questions.
And I'm like, later on,sometimes I'm like.
Oh wait I, you answered thatquestion.
Nevermind.
Ignore that.
Like, you know, things likethat.
And then later on in thatprocess, when we're done with
those dev edits I'm a lineeditor.
I love going into the manuscriptand I turn into Victor
(05:56):
Frankenstein at that momentwhere, you know, I'm just really
getting in there and cuttingthings up or putting them back
together.
David Gwyn (06:04):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (06:05):
And.
It's, it's, that's a hardprocess.
It takes me, I think, like oneof the longest, I think it, it
takes a lot of people thelongest just because of how
detailed it is.
But that's like what I'mbringing to the table.
Like I, I told, you know, folks,like, I'm not gonna be someone
who just is like, oh yeah, yeah,your book.
(06:26):
Yeah.
Good.
Sounds good.
Because I know what to expectfrom an in-house editor and a
lot of the time is that we areneeding.
To have books be at this reallypolished stage in order to have
a fighting chance.
You know, we, we wanna give it.
The best opportunity.
And that means that there'sgonna be revisions, there's
(06:48):
gonna be edit letters, there'sgonna be line edits.
So that's the type of agent Iam, like a very editorial agent.
And I'm also just in generalbringing that experience of like
knowing how the sausage getsmade right?
David Gwyn (07:01):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (07:01):
for a lot of debut writers, the industry is
very opaque and it's verypurposeful in being opaque.
And so one of the things I liketo do is to try to.
Make it less, you know, opaqueand mysterious and like, you
know, whatnot.
I remember when I was workingwith one of my former authors, I
(07:22):
think I gave her the call realquick to be like, we're going to
copy edit, or we're going to,yeah, I think, think, I think I
was like, we're going to copyedits, we're going to
production.
And I said that, you know,'causeI also forget I'm, you know,
it's very inside baseball of,oh, I know what that means.
And she was like, wait.
And she was a debut.
She was like.
Wait, what does that mean?
And I was like, oh, wait, yes.
(07:44):
Let me tell you.
Okay, go into production editor.
We're getting this copy editor.
We're gonna get a proofreader.
We're going to, you know, makesure everything's consistent.
Okay?
You're gonna start seeing thislook like a real book soon
instead of a Microsoft doc, youknow, or a Google Doc.
Like it's not.
Gonna be all that and it's gonnabe like a book now.
(08:07):
You know, so there are thosethings that, you know, a lot of
authors don't know, and sohopefully I can help demystify
all of that.
David Gwyn (08:16):
No, I think that's, that's really important.
I, I feel like we hear more andmore as people who, who are
living, living around theindustry.
We're like that, that booksmanuscripts really need to be as
polished as possible.
Shelly Romero (08:28):
Yeah.
David Gwyn (08:29):
no longer are the days where someone will take a
chance on something that needs aton of work.
It's like editors are lookingfor manuscripts that, that
you've had your hands on, right?
Like, and someone who's got anediting experience.
And I think for, for people whoare listening to this, I hope
you're thinking like.
is the type of agent you want.
This is the, you know, this isyour best chance at getting a
book published.
(08:49):
Because if you're going with anagent who doesn't have a ton of
editorial background, or isn'twilling to put in editorial
work, which is, you know,different too, that is something
that is, you're gonna have toreally think about, you know,
Shelly Romero (09:02):
Yeah,
David Gwyn (09:02):
fit?
You know, especially for adebut.
Shelly Romero (09:04):
absolutely.
And every agent is so different.
Like even in my agency, I thinkthere's like 14 of us and we all
operate so differently and someof us have transitioned from the
editorial space, toing.
Some of us, you know, some.
Came up just through theagenting ranks and we all bring
something different to thetable.
(09:24):
And that is, I think, the truthacross the board.
You're gonna have so manydifferent agents and styles of
working.
And it's always like what, likeyou said, like what is the best
fit for you and your writing andyour career.
Whether you want someone who'slike, oh, we have an in-house
editor and I'm not very mucheditorial, but I know how to do.
X, Y, and Z.
(09:45):
Or if you want someone who's inthat editorial path and is like,
okay, I know that before I goout on any submission, I'm gonna
be revising and I'm gonna be putto that work.
You know?
So it's very much like, youknow, not one size fits all.
David Gwyn (10:01):
No.
Yeah, and the, the longer I, themore agents I talk to, and the
longer I'm here, I'm likeeveryone does things a little
bit differently.
And it's really, I think the,the, the group, the pairings
that are really successful arethe ones who just happen to find
that fit of, you know, as awriter, I need this and this
agent provides that.
And that's, that's where, youknow, you, you see a lot of
success.
But I do want to, before we getany further, I
Shelly Romero (10:20):
Mm-hmm.
David Gwyn (10:20):
what genres you are looking for.
So for people who are listening.
Shelly Romero (11:11):
Absolutely.
I'm looking for a wide gamut ofgenres.
I'm someone who reads a lot ofdifferent genres, so I'm
definitely looking for allthings horror.
I know this is a podcast, butlike imagine just like a living
room filled with like horrormovie posters and also like
Michael Myers and like GhostSpace masks and like other
(11:34):
spooky things like.
My husband calls it Goth CrackerBarrel.
Which, yes, so I'm alwayslooking for something, horror,
thriller mysteries.
I'm looking for a lot of gothic.
So a lot of that kind of mix ofthe genre, right?
I'm really wanting to see a lotof regional gothic storytelling.
(11:54):
While I'm from Miami, I spentlike.
Nearly a decade in Missouri andMidwestern Gothic is so
different than New EnglandGothic or Southern Gothic.
They all have their differentlittle nuances and things and
folklore, right?
So that's definitely somethingthat I'm really looking for.
I'm always looking formarginalized creators.
(12:15):
That's something that when Icame up in editorials, it, like
as soon as I, I was ineditorial, I'm like, this is the
goal.
I wanna represent these creatorsbecause they have been
marginalized and the industry isstill so wishy-washy, you know,
with traditionally marginalizedcreators.
(12:36):
And especially right now in theera that we're in, where we're
feeling kind of this weird, youknow, ebb and flow of what
happened in 2020 to now, youknow, in 2020 everything was
like being fixed.
And what like, or.
People were trying to fixthings, whereas now it's kind of
receding and you're not havingthe same support.
David Gwyn (12:58):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (12:58):
I'm not a good person for like epic fantasies.
I know this is the thrillermystery, you know, so I, you
know, but if there's anyone outthere who's like, I, you know,
do those, I'm not big on likeepic fantasy.
Always more kind of to thegrounded speculative fiction
type.
But I am someone who like, lovesa procedural drama.
(13:20):
It is like, let me tell ya.
Did I do like so much of great.
Yes.
Right now it's the obsessionbetween Chicago Fire and
Chicago.
Me.
Y'all like but one thing I'm notlooking for, which is something
that, you know, I is like alittle bit of like, oh,'cause
it's thriller and crime andmystery.
Genres.
(13:40):
I'm not looking for copdetective, military
protagonists.
David Gwyn (13:45):
Hmm.
Shelly Romero (13:45):
I think that to me is a bit fantastical to have
you know, the protagonist and,and the hero be, you know,
police officer.
So that is my opinion.
Like y'all, there's other.
Agents that think otherwise.
But for me, I'm very muchinterested in like the everyday
(14:06):
person.
Right.
And I think that's what drew meto, like Veronica Mars for
example.
Like I did not watch that untillike.
You know, re like a few yearsback, I think during the
pandemic it was like one of mypandemic watches and I loved
her.
Like, I love that type of like,okay, I'm gonna take matters
into my own hands, or I'm theone who knows that something's
(14:28):
up and I'm not getting thathelp.
I think like another similarcomp would be the Fire Keeper's
daughter by Angeline Booley.
Who's a phenomenal indigenouswriter.
So I'm really looking for, youknow, those other types of
stories.
I want to focus on that person.
I'm trying to think of like,what else?
(14:49):
It's always really hard whenyou're like, put on the
spotlight of like, what do youwant?
And I'm like, I could tell you.
I'm like, I'm telling you.
But at the same time, like it,you know, and this happens to
like every, I think editor andagent like.
I, you could send me somethingthat ticks off all these boxes
and I might reject it.
David Gwyn (15:07):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (15:07):
And you, then you could send me something, you
know, someone could send mesomething that is kind of, maybe
a risk and I might love it.
Right?
So that's also like, again, it'slike very, this is a very
subjective industry.
Y'all, like, everyone has theirown like quirks, likes, dislikes
and things.
So always remembered that.
David Gwyn (15:28):
I love that caveat and you're, you're one of many
agents who, who gives thatcaveat, which is like, this is
what I think I'm looking for,but that doesn't necessarily
mean it's like a lock and itdoesn't necessarily mean I won't
go after some other things.
Usually people have like a hardline where they're like, ah,
that's not my thing, but.
Shelly Romero (15:44):
Yeah.
David Gwyn (15:45):
if you're, if it feels like this, right?
Like if, if your book kind offeels, has this vibe or
something.
If, so, if you're, if you'relistening to this and something
that Shelly said is you're like,yeah, like that's, that's my
book, right?
Like, at least part of it.
It sounds like,
Shelly Romero (15:56):
Yeah.
David Gwyn (15:56):
Send, send it over and, and let
Shelly Romero (15:58):
Yeah, and I'm very much a person who like lo,
okay, listen, I have a letterbox and so I'm always at a movie
and so.
There's definitely like thatcorrelation of like what I watch
is often what I'm also lookingfor.
So I'm always someone who'slike, I love a movie comp.
You know, a lot of the booksthat I've worked on all have
(16:20):
been comped to movies like TheWitchery by s Isabel, I called
it.
Like the craft meets thecovenant, but with an all like
female cast and it being, youknow, different from the craft
because we had three black girlswho were the main protagonist,
who were so different from eachother.
And then you had their fourthwho was you know a white girl.
(16:43):
But I'm always using like moviecomps and things like that.
And, you know, I do love likecertain movies and I know I just
said I might sound like ahypocrite, but like, you know,
some of my favorite, like crimeand thriller movies have been
like, minority Report
David Gwyn (16:57):
Hmm.
Shelly Romero (16:58):
Tombstone.
I love Tombstone like.
Incredible movie.
Like I, you know, I just, Icould be your huckleberry.
I know, and I know it's like aUS Marshal.
I know this, y'all like a littlebit of a hypocrite, but I, you
know, I love that style.
And while I don't like westerns,like I, you know, I love that
kind of style of storytellingand, and again, like I
(17:20):
mentioned, I know MinorityReport, you know, was Philip k
Dick.
But you know, having that kindof.
Vibe of, you know, it is kind ofsci-fi, but at the heart of it,
this is a crime movie.
This is a thriller similar tolike total recall.
David Gwyn (17:36):
Hmm.
Shelly Romero (17:37):
more so like the original, like the, the deal was
fine.
It was like fine.
But yeah.
So I'm often you'll see or hearme talking about movies.
David Gwyn (17:46):
Yeah, no, that's great.
I, and so I, I do wanna, I dowanna, I'm really curious now
that we've had this conversationaround the genres and what
you're looking for.
I'm wondering what you look forin opening pages.
You like get a, get a submissionhere and you get a manuscript in
front of you.
Like what are some of thosethings that you look
Shelly Romero (18:03):
Mm, mm-hmm.
David Gwyn (18:04):
make you wanna read more?
Shelly Romero (18:06):
Absolutely.
I think it always depends on thegenre and then also what age
category, right?
So for if I'm popping open amiddle grade or a ya, I want
that voice to feel authentic.
You know, you can always tell byword, you know.
By like the vocabulary orverbiage or slang whether it
(18:27):
feels, you know, a little bitcloser to what that kid would
sounds like.
Right.
And, and you know, like I lovethings like comps, like the
Goonies, but like, you know, thewriting and the Goonies is very
different than like.
You know, what is it Gen Alphanow or whatnot?
So like, that's like a thingthat I'm looking for.
(18:48):
I'm like, okay, does it matchthis age category?
I'm always looking for that kindof like very hooky beginning.
I'm someone who does really lovevoice a lot, so if your
character has a very strongvoice and personality and I can
just get it from the get go, oryou already automatically are
getting that sense of place andtime, that's something that
(19:11):
draws me in.
And I think especially whenyou're doing.
Genre res like horror, sci-fi,you know, thriller mysteries.
When you are able to make thestory in the setting, feel like
its own character that is like abig bonus for me.
'cause then I'm like, okay,cool.
Like this is really spooky, orthis is like very eerie.
(19:32):
Like why are people goingmissing all the time in the
Appalachia woods?
Like, what is in there?
You know?
And it makes me, you know, itmakes me wanna read, but it is
hard, like sometimes I'll, Iwill leave the submissions in
there for a while, even if I hadalready p you know, poked it
open and, and took in a PA peek.
(19:54):
Because sometimes I'm like,sometimes I'm not in that mind
space, like the right mind spaceto read that one right now.
And I wanna give it that shotbecause, you know, it could be
that, like I read it and I waslike super tired on like a
Thursday afternoon, but thenlike I come back to it, I'm
like, wait a minute, this.
You know what, let me mayberequest the fool to see what's
(20:14):
happening.
When I am requesting fools, likeI'm looking to see that
hopefully that voice staysstrong, that that setting that
we're getting from plot point Ato plot point B and that we're
not kind of crumbling you know,you can fix those things.
But there are things that like,are very hard to teach.
(20:35):
Like, like I mentioned, voice.
You know, everyone has like adifferent style.
These are things that you justreally learn from doing it.
You have to keep writing, butalso reading what's being
published right now in those agecategories.
And while that might not be whatthe genres or like the types of
(20:57):
stories that are gonna bepopular in a couple years from
now, they're still giving you somuch to work with and to learn
from you know, and also.
Genres come and go.
Like we may be seeing a, likereemergence for example, of like
YA dystopia, which I'm like,whoa, 20, welcome back 2010s.
(21:19):
I guess, you know, so that'sanother thing to remember too
about publishing psych, likepublishing trends is that they
can be very, very slickcyclical.
I cannot talk, but yeah.
So yeah, I think, you know.
David Gwyn (21:32):
Yeah.
No, I, I think that's spot on.
I, I, it's funny, I have asneaking suspicion, and you
don't have to admit this, but Ido ask agents.
This usually is because when Iask this question, I get kind of
the same answer.
I think I have a sneakingsuspicion that voice is the
number one thing that allowsyour submission to go from.
Shelly Romero (21:55):
Yeah.
David Gwyn (21:56):
the next stage.
Like an agent will be like, eh,I don't love that plot point,
but the voice is so good.
Let's just like, well,
Shelly Romero (22:02):
Yeah.
And the,
David Gwyn (22:03):
I
Shelly Romero (22:03):
yeah,
David Gwyn (22:04):
I can
Shelly Romero (22:04):
exactly.
It's like, yeah, I can talkabout that in the editorial
letter.
Or even if it is like minorlittle tweaks to things, you
know, even if it is like, oh,you just had this one line that
is just not fitting this voice,it's not fitting the tone.
You know, tone is also a littlebit harder to teach.
But.
(22:25):
You're right.
Like that is definitelysomething that's going to give
me like a little bit of pauseand be like, oh wait, maybe,
maybe there is something here.
And maybe I need to like look atit.
I will say for me personally,something that has when
reviewing queries now that likekind of ticks me.
This is like a yellow flag.
(22:46):
It's like a yellow orange flagfor me is comps comparative book
titles that are just completelytentpole classics and
mainstream.
And what I'm saying is that ifyou're reading kind of that
thriller crime mystery genre,and you're giving me comps like,
oh, this comps to like AgathaChristie or Dean Kunz, but like
(23:11):
also fans of like.
Also fans who are gonna bereaders in their 14 and up, and
I'm like, wait a minute.
Which, which,
David Gwyn (23:21):
do
Shelly Romero (23:22):
yeah, I'm like, I'm like, wait a minute, that
doesn't make any sense.
And which teenager's gonna bereading Dean Co.
I mean, there might be,
David Gwyn (23:29):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (23:30):
you not kids, you know, kids have very
interesting, you know, taste.
But that kind of gives me a bitof a hit of you're not quite
doing that research, you're notquite thinking of what is around
and like using, for example, oneof those 10 pole classics.
Like if you're like.
Stephen King, you know,'causeit's horror or whatnot is fine.
(23:53):
But like I'm, I'm gonna need tosee that you also have been
reading something from the lastthree to five years.
Because otherwise you're, you'renot really seeing what's being
published.
You're not learning from yourcontemporaries.
And it's not gonna be veryhelpful when you're querying.
I will say the other thing, andthis goes back to like my
(24:14):
manuscript wishlist, like, youknow, when it's just completely
from my, like, do not send meand I can tell that you haven't
read my manuscript wishlist.
I'm like, reject.
David Gwyn (24:27):
Yep.
Shelly Romero (24:28):
Like, you know, it, it shows me kind of like
this lack of research and a bitof like a lack of care to what
you're doing.
And instead it feels like, youknow, and I understand'cause
like you're trying to, you know,send out your book as wide as
possible to as many agents to,you know, increase your chances
of representation.
But at the same time, I can tellwhen you're throwing spaghetti
(24:50):
to the wall,
David Gwyn (24:51):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (24:52):
And this is something similar that I always
talk about with people.
I'm like, you're not gonna send.
You know, you know, you're not,you're not gonna tell someone at
Berkeley who does romance thatyou really wanna do, you know,
sci-fi horror, and you're notgonna do that at orbit.
David Gwyn (25:08):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (25:08):
go to orbit and then say, oh, I wanna do
romantic.
Like, maybe romantic, but like,oh, I wanna do like contemporary
romance.
Like, that's not gonna work.
David Gwyn (25:16):
Shelly, I feel like I could talk to you all, all
night.
I mean, like, this is like yourwealth of knowledge and, and I,
I love the way you have thatkind of multifaceted view of the
publishing industry.
'cause you've been around for solong.
So this has been so much fun.
My last question for you is justif, if people are interested in,
in learning more about you,where can they go?
Where can they look you up?
Shelly Romero (25:34):
Absolutely.
I am unfortunately a bitchronically online, so you can
find me on social media appslike Blue Sky.
I'm still on Twitter and alsoThreads.
I do have a book Instagram.
I'm not like trying to use it alittle bit more.
David Gwyn (25:53):
Yeah.
Shelly Romero (25:54):
but I do have a website, which is just my name,
shelly romero.com.
And then also you could see likemy bio and everything there in
some of the books that I'veworked on, but
David Gwyn (26:02):
Nice.
Shelly Romero (26:02):
in terms of like submissions and submitting to
me, please go to the.
About US pages for as the antiliterary.
That's where you'll find mymanuscript wishlist and my anti
manuscript wishlist, which isvery important.
But also you'll get to see apeak of like some of my favorite
movies and some of my favoritebooks recently that kind of give
(26:24):
you a little bit more of likethat taste.
But I'm usually yelling aboutpublishing industry shenanigans
or book.
Selling industry shenanigans onsocial but also probably talking
about movies and letter boxingthem.
So
David Gwyn (26:40):
Very cool.
And I'll, if you're listeningand, and you wanna get in touch
with Shelley, I'll, I'll makesure I link to some of that
stuff below so people have quickaccess.
Shelley, like I mentioned this,this was so much fun.
I
Shelly Romero (26:48):
yes,
David Gwyn (26:49):
you taking the time to chat.
Shelly Romero (26:50):
of course.
Thank you for having me.
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