October 28, 2024 • 35 mins
Episode Summary: In this episode of Writers With Wrinkles, Beth and Lisa chat with Amy Nielsen, a literary agent at Purcell Agency and a published author, about her experiences with both. Amy shares invaluable tips for querying, editing, and how to handle the ups and downs of the publishing industry.
Guest Bio: Amy Nielsen is a literary agent with Purcell Agency, specializing in young adult and picture books. A former youth librarian with nearly two decades of experience, Amy penned her debut novel, Worth It, while working at her library’s circulation desk. In addition to being an author, she is a freelance editor and a passionate advocate for helping writers polish their submissions.
Key Discussion Points:
- Amy’s journey from librarian to literary agent and author.
- How fictionalizing personal trauma when writing can create emotional distance and help the project.
- Essential do’s and don’ts of querying: research agents, follow submission guidelines, and treat rejections as passes.
- The significance of building a writing community and being a good literary citizen.
- Amy's editing process and her belief in the value of delivering polished work to agents and editors.
- Amy's free resources for self-editing, including developmental and line-editing guides available on her website.
Conclusion: Amy emphasizes perseverance in the querying process and the importance of building a support system within the writing community. She also highlights the role of agents as collaborators and champions for their authors' work. For those looking to improve their submissions, her editing resources are a must-see.
Mentioned Links:
- Editing resources: Amy's website (self-editing, developmental, and line-editing guides available)
- Twitter for updates on Amy’s query status: Amy Nielsen Twitter
- Manuscript wish list
Visit the Website
Writers with Wrinkles Link Tree for socials and more!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beth McMullen (00:00):
Hi friends, I'm Beth McMullen and I'm Lisa
Schmidt, and we're the co-hostsof Writers with Wrinkles.
This is season three, episode37.
Today we're excited to talk toAmy Nielsen, a literary agent
with Purcell Agency.
Amy spent nearly 20 years as ayouth librarian.
Daily immersion in story tookroot and she penned her young
adult debut Worth it behind hercirculation desk.
(00:22):
Amy is also a picture bookauthor, literary agent and
freelance editor helping authorspolish their submission packet
for querying.
I love so much that you wrotethis book at the circulation
desk.
Amy Neilsen (00:35):
I love that I have to admit to my principal that
you know there was many times Iwas sitting back there acting
like I was working and I waswriting.
But, honestly, you know writingwhen you're in the publishing
industry, whether you're alibrarian or an editor, when
you're writing you're stillimmersed in that space.
You know, and my students knewI was writing and so I would
(00:56):
read things to them and theywould help me come up with names
for characters, et cetera.
So that was fun.
Beth McMullen (01:02):
That's amazing.
I love that.
Can you tell us a little bitabout this book that you wrote
behind the circulation desk?
Amy Neilsen (01:07):
Sure, and then I revised it for 10 years after.
Beth McMullen (01:11):
Okay, now that's like the hard truth that
everybody should pay attentionto out there, the provision
Exactly.
Amy Neilsen (01:17):
So I'll just read the back real quick.
So this is a young adult noveland it is inspired by my lived
experiences.
It is a fictionalized retelling, so that's important to know.
17-year-old Angela Carterintended to pick out prom
dresses with her best friend andfill out college applications
during her senior year.
But her father abandons thefamily and her addict mother
kicks her out.
(01:37):
The now pregnant teen's newnormal is keeping her pressure
cooker older boyfriend, Dale,from erupting.
When an intoxicated Dale losescontrol of her car one night,
Angela fears she'll never holdher unborn child, Desperate for
what little stability heprovides and for fear of his
retaliation.
Angela lies to the police whenquestioned about the accident.
Her lie not only protects himfrom a DUI but also conceals a
(02:00):
darker secret what happensbehind the closed doors of their
single wide trailer Set inCentral Florida in the late 80s
Worth.
It is a story of courage,redemption and the power of
becoming your own hero, so ithas some tough social themes in
there.
One of the things that I'm mostproud with that book is that
I've partnered with a localnonprofit in my area that helps
(02:20):
teens in crisis, and so aportion of the proceeds of my
book go to that organization.
I've already helped severalteens and it's just a wonderful
feeling, knowing that I'm usinga time in my life that was
challenging, to help other teensin similar situations.
Beth McMullen (02:36):
That is remarkable.
How difficult was it for you towrite?
Amy Neilsen (02:42):
Because you said it's a fictionalized account but
drawing from a lot of personalexperiences, Well, I encourage
authors to fictionalize yourpast trauma, because it does put
some distance between you andit.
It becomes fiction.
So at first I was writing asmemoir, not knowing anything
about the publishing industry.
And then you know it's like Idon't know if I can write this
(03:02):
as real life because, first off,who's going to want to read
your memoir if you're alibrarian in Central Florida,
you know.
But I was writing it for me andthen, as I started learning
more about writing, I'm decidingto fictionalize it and started
learning about story beats andstory structure and could throw
in some things that made it moreinteresting and more believable
.
There was never times that wastough for me to write it.
(03:23):
There have been many times thatpeople that I know it's been
tough for them to read it, andso I had one guy, a friend of
mine from high school, and callme after he read it and he goes
(03:49):
no-transcript.
But it is a good way to kind ofcompartmentalize some of that
and to tell the story the wayyou wished it would have
happened, you know, or wished itwould have ended.
So I'm very proud of it andit's been getting great reviews.
And it's just, you know, andit's exciting for me as an agent
to have gone through thatwriting process so I know what
(04:15):
it is like for my clients and Ican have that empathy.
I was a librarian for 20 years.
I've published nonfictionfiction, picture books and then
an editor, so I feel like Ibring a lot to the table for my
clients and I think that'simportant.
Beth McMullen (04:26):
Yeah, I think that's huge actually, just to be
able to know what theexperience is like for yourself.
Lisa Schmid (04:32):
Are you ready to be in the hot seat, Amy?
Absolutely.
Amy Neilsen (04:36):
I'm in Florida, I'm always in the hot seat.
Lisa Schmid (04:38):
Okay, so I'm just gonna.
This is just one we kind ofjust ask everyone, because it's
really basic and it's goodinformation.
I think everyone always has adifferent answer.
What are the do's and don'ts ofquerying?
Because I'm sure you've seenthem both, but maybe just give
us an example of a really gooddo and a really bad don't.
Amy Neilsen (04:59):
Well, I have a list that I'll quickly run through.
They're mostly do's.
I only have two quick don'ts,but I do think it's important to
be a part of the literarycommunity.
You know, writing is a solitaryexperience, but it takes a
community to help get you acrossthat finish line and also for
people to be there for you whenthose challenging times do come.
(05:23):
I do think it's important tostudy the craft of writing.
I think to me, the mostimportant do is to follow the
agent submission guidelines andespecially where an agent
requests where they want thesubmission sent.
I've had submissions sent to myLinkedIn, instagram DMs, twitter
(05:44):
DMs, personal email, privateemail, and they're all over the
place.
And the reason why and it's notto be, you know for us not to
be accessible, but if I, if anagent, asked them to be sent an
inquiry manager, then I know allof my queries are in one place.
I can sort by date, title, Ican search for an author, If
someone said someone queried me.
(06:05):
So it really is in the author'sbest interest to make sure that
they send that submission wherethe agent wants it and that
you're doing things like makingsure that your submission does
fit what's on their wishlist,etc.
I think that sticking to astandard query structure is very
important To me.
(06:25):
This isn't the place where youget creative.
This is the place where you'regiving the information about
your book so the author knows ifit's worth their time and yours
for them to read it.
Because if in that query we seethat you're subbing us
something that's epistolary andwe don't rep that, we can
quickly give you a pass so youcan check us off your list and
then we don't have to take timefrom other authors by reading
(06:47):
that.
And so those are just reallyimportant.
And I think when you had Kathyon not so long ago, she walked
through how to write a query.
I believe that was an excellentepisode.
By the way, I'm one of herbiggest fangirls, so she was my
dream agent and I was luckyenough to get to be her
assistant and she's still mysupport system as far as you
(07:08):
know, being a new agent.
So she's wonderful.
But I wanted to kind of reviewthat again because I have a very
easy template that is on mywebsite.
I have an article calledpolishing your submission packet
for querying.
It also has a presentation downthere for free.
It's like a free mini courseand there are only four parts
for query needs.
(07:28):
That is it four, and they'revery simple.
And the first one is agentpersonalization.
Why are you sending this to me?
Did I meet you at a conference?
Did I tweet something?
Did we have an interactionsomewhere?
Just why?
Very briefly, so that way Iknow the agent knows that you've
done your research.
Very briefly, so that way Iknow the agent knows that you've
done your research.
It's better for an author tospend more time really
(07:49):
researching agents and submit toless than to send to a bunch
that you haven't researched.
So use your time wisely.
And then the metadata isparagraph two.
That's the title, in all caps.
Word count, age range, genre,comps very important.
And I also encourage authors toput in a unique structure.
So if your book is, as I said,epistolary, dual timeline,
(08:12):
anything like that, put thatright there in the beginning,
because, again, you're going toget a pass quicker if the agent
knows what this is, if it's notsomething they're interested in.
And I know how it is as anauthor to have all those unread
queries and you just don't knowwhere you are in their inbox.
And then the third paragraph isthe plot.
(08:33):
So who is the main characterwhat do they want, what's
standing in the way of what theywant and what's at stake if
they don't get it?
And so, quite simply, this canbe if they choose choice A, they
risk X.
If they choose choice B, theyrisk Y.
It's very formulaic, but itworks.
And then bio short and sweet,about 50 words who are you If
(08:54):
you have any writing credits,but you don't have to If you're
members of any professionalorganizations.
What's your day job?
And this is also the place youcan be kind of voy.
At the end of my bio I usuallysay when I'm not reading or
writing, you can find me boatingthe waters of Tampa Bay with
(09:15):
two canine co-captains inMermaid Life Fest.
So you can put a littlesomething cute there at the end.
A lot of authors do that.
So I think those are my bigdo's.
And then my only two don'ts aredon't take a personal.
When you get a pass, you are inthe game and those first few
hurt.
And when you get two and threein one day, it can be
frustrating.
But you two probably rememberthis was a couple of years ago
(09:38):
there was an author on Twitterthat had a piece of picket fence
that every time she'd get apass, she'd paint a flower.
So she's building this gardenof showing her how much work
that she's doing to get herselfpublished.
And I did hear that sheeventually did get an agent.
So I just think you know, ifyou get a pass, that means
agents are reading your work.
Did you ever think before youwrote a book that an agent would
(10:01):
be reading what you've written?
So I think, even if it's a pass, I think that's important to
just really hone in on thepositive, the positive aspect of
it.
And then my other don't isdon't give up.
If you really want this, keepat it.
This is a game of tenacity andso keep at it, don't give up.
Those are my, those are my twodon'ts.
Lisa Schmid (10:19):
Oh my God, that is so good, like it.
Just, this is like the ultimatepep talk.
If you are queering out thereright now, you know, pause for a
second and take that all in,because, amy, that was such good
advice, but just across theboard, and it was similar in
nature to what Kathy said, butyou added your own spin on it,
(10:40):
which was really important.
So, all my queering friends,there's your pep talk for the
day and anytime you're feelingdown and out, go paint a flower
on a fence, which I never saw.
That and I love that so much.
It's better than you know.
I don't know kicking ourselvesand then laying on the bed and
crying, which is what I used todo.
(11:03):
Go paint a flower, that'sawesome.
Amy Neilsen (11:07):
I loved it.
I loved following her as shewas doing that.
You know the writing communitywas like.
I hope she gets another passand paints another flower.
And also, notice I use the termpass.
I do not use the term rejection.
It is not a rejection, it issimply a pass.
No one's rejecting you.
Beth McMullen (11:22):
And you do.
You have to be ready for a lot.
That's just the name of thegame, and after you get through
the first few, you're like, okay, that didn't work, turning my
focus elsewhere.
But yeah, that's very, all,very important and necessary
advice for those who are in thequerying trenches.
So we understand that you arean editorial agent.
(11:43):
You're also an editor, so thatmakes sense.
With that in mind, what is yourprocess when you're working
with a client on a project?
How editorial are you with themand what does that look like?
Amy Neilsen (12:07):
because I go deep in my editing and not all agents
are editorial agents and theydon't have to be.
An agent's job is really tomatch.
We're matchmakers, we're tomatch your work with an editor
that wants it and get you a selland walk you through the
negotiation, the contract, etcetera.
But some of us do editorialwork and a lot of the newer
agents, like me, do moreeditorial work because we're
getting more debuts in our inbox, which we love.
And so my process is I gothrough developmental edits,
(12:33):
line edits and copy edits, andso typically I do those
separately.
If there's not muchdevelopmental work, I'll do it
at the same time.
And then of course, copy editscome at the very end, because
anything that you change isgoing to affect that last part.
So I I've already read theirmanuscript, so I'll open up the
document and I start puttingnotes, comments in the, in the
(12:54):
document, as opposed to creatingan edit letter at this stage.
So, and I do a lot, and so if Istart saying filtering, I'll
comment on.
You know this is filtering.
I'll explain what it is andI'll give an example of a
revision for that sentencewithout filtering, and I'll do
that a couple of times and thenI'll expect that they'll go
through the rest of themanuscript and address that.
(13:15):
So I do a lot of those comments, a lot more in the beginning
than at the end.
But I read the whole thingthrough and then I will go open
up a document and do like bigpicture if it's necessary, like
if there was a ton of, you know,misuse of dialogue tags and
action beats and grammar.
I'll say you know, this was a.
(13:35):
Do some research on this.
Here is a resource.
I'll put what's working,obviously because we need to
tell them what we love andwhat's what.
A second look is kind of how Ido it with what's working, what
needs a second look, and thenI'll go back into the document
for a second time and I'll gothrough and make sure that I
have some compliments that youknow in there because that's
(13:58):
important.
But I don't spend a lot of timeon that because they already
know I love their work, becauseI accepted it and so I don't
want to spend too much timetelling them how beautiful these
sentences are.
My time is limited so I'm goingto focus my time on what we can
do to improve your story that Ialready love, but I do go back
and make sure I have thosepositive comments and then I'll
(14:21):
read through it a third time,proofreading myself, basically,
and to make sure that I'm clearthat I didn't miss something,
because I, you know, I just so.
I usually read those commentsthree times.
I take about a month to do afull edit with an author.
I'm hearing more and moreeditors expecting super polished
work.
I just had a meeting with aneditor last week and she said
(14:43):
she appreciates polished work.
I just had a meeting with aneditor last week and she said
she appreciates polished workand she says that it is more
likely to get throughacquisitions than work that is
unpolished.
And yes, the editor at thepublishing house is going to
edit your work again.
You're going to go throughthree more rounds over there, or
four more rounds, becausethey're going to catch things we
didn't.
So that's just part of it To metaking an author's story and
(15:03):
their unique, creative,wonderful idea and helping them,
helping them get it as polishedas possible.
It's just, it's an honor, quitehonestly.
Beth McMullen (15:12):
The one last thing that I was thinking about
related to that, is that theseeditors at Big Five publishing
houses and other places are sooverworked.
They have so muchresponsibility that just runs
the gamut from editing toactually sales and marketing.
They have all these things thatthey're trying to do.
So it makes total sense to methat if I was an editor sitting
(15:33):
there and somebody gave me anice polished manuscript that I
didn't have to spend inordinateamount of times to get ready for
market, I would definitelychoose that.
If it's like between one that'slike kind of similar, but this
one needs a lot of work, I'mdefinitely going to lean into
the one that's like almost readyto go 100%, one of my friends.
Amy Neilsen (15:51):
One of my longtime writing friends is on.
Her.
I don't know what number booknow, but we were there in the
beginning, before either of ushad publishing deals, and we
learned the craft of writingtogether, taking courses
together, critiquing eachother's work, listening to
podcasts like this for years,and her first few manuscripts
went through a lot of editingbefore they got out there.
She now has an agent Her workthat she just got the agent for.
(16:15):
The agent had spent one weekreading it and giving her a few
bits of editorial advice andthen it was out in submission
one week.
So that's another reason whythe more polished your work is
when it gets to us, the quickerwe can get you on sub.
And I do have two otherresources I want to share with
you.
I created a self-editing guide,a developmental.
(16:38):
What did I title it?
It's a developmentalself-editing guide, so I just
posted that last week and it'spretty thorough and it has
little checkpoints at eachsection that I talk about
whatever you know back info,dumping, backstory, whatever.
I have little checkpoints forhow authors can look at their
manuscripts through that lens,and so I've been getting some
good feedback on that as a freeresource and my line editing,
(17:02):
self-editing guide is done.
I'm posting that one today andI really dive in on a line level
and I look at when I'm lineleveling or line editing.
I look at every word, even theword the.
If we can say this sentencewithout the word the, we're
cutting it, and so that'ssomething that I really enjoy.
So that resource will beavailable.
And then I'm going to do one oncopy editing, like commonly
(17:24):
misspelled words, you know,homonyms used incorrectly,
things like that.
And then I'm going to do afinal one on different writing
resources that I've used overthe years in courses that I've
taken that have helped me learnthe craft of writing.
Beth McMullen (17:39):
Wow that's a lot.
Wow, that's a lot well, andthese are all free resources.
Lisa Schmid (17:46):
That's amazing.
As you were speaking, I'm likeI'm gonna go check that out
because you know, sometimes I'mgoing back through.
I'm like on the last chapter ofthe, the book I'm currently
working on, and I say that, butI know, don't laugh bath,
because I keep saying it's thelast chapter and then it doesn't
turn out to be.
But it's just, it's always goodto think about that when you're
going.
It's the last chapter and thenit doesn't turn out to be, but
it's just, it's always good tothink about that when you're
going.
It's going over to my critiquecorner, but then I'm going to go
(18:07):
back through it before it goesto my agent.
So I think I'm going to checkout a couple of those resources.
Amy Neilsen (18:16):
Yeah, I think it's important and that's what you
are doing is to give back to thewriting community, because
there was a time in my writingjourney where there were authors
, agents etc giving back to me,critique partners, and that's
something that's reallyimportant to me is serving the
writing community.
So I try to make a ton ofresources that authors can just
(18:39):
click on and have at no charge,because you don't know what you
don't know, and so I really I'vespent probably a month on the
developmental editing guide justtrying to get it as polished as
possible and as easy tounderstand as possible, and the
paragraphs are short and thecheckpoints are short.
In the one for line editingthat I'm dropping today, I did
(19:00):
put links to tons of resourcesin there, you know, so you can
see an example of what filteringis, or show, don't tell and
that sort of thing.
But wonderful.
And hopefully all authorslistening.
One day they will be in aposition where they can give
back to the writing community.
Lisa Schmid (19:15):
Yeah, and that's the one thing.
And that's again why you know,like, why Beth and I do this.
It's just, it's fun.
We learn a lot as we're goingthrough these podcasts.
I've learned so much when we'retalking with different people
Also.
It's just, we've been there,we've been.
You know, I've been there themost, in the sense that I've
made the most mistakes.
Amy Neilsen (19:38):
Mistakes is how we learn and grow.
I've got a lot of war wounds,so anyway, I go look back at
some of my early chap or earlyversions of my novel and I'm
horrified.
I've got to write a resourcefor authors out there so they
can fix this if it's in theirmanuscript.
Lisa Schmid (19:56):
Yeah, well, speaking of, let's move on to to
the next question, because youare full of good information,
and this comes really down towhat is your decision-making
process when taking on a newauthor, like, what are some
steps that you go through?
Amy Neilsen (20:12):
Well, first off, I'd love to sign everyone that's
ever queried me, ever.
I love you all, thank you.
It's hard for us to pass onanyone.
But obviously, first off, it'sa compelling story and good
writing.
It doesn't have to be greatwriting, but a compelling story
and good writing.
You know.
I mean all the parts of a storyare there beginning and middle
of end.
It has a structure.
It's on my manuscript wish list.
(20:33):
It's something that I'm lookingfor.
But digging deeper than that,obviously, if I have already an
author that has a competingtitle and I have had to pass on
some for that reason.
And that's tough because youare, you know you like that.
But the issue is and I ran intothis I signed a lot of picture
book authors really fast andthen I'm stuck because I've got
(20:55):
this picture book author at thiseditor, but this editor also
would like this picture bookfrom a different author, but
they haven't responded to me onthat one.
So I'm waiting.
So it becomes the cyclicalwaiting game of who did I send
what to and have they passed,and then I can send this one.
So I've got a lot of authorswaiting on different manuscripts
to be sent to different editorswhile I wait on them to pass.
So signing a lot of authors inthe same age range, genre, et
(21:18):
cetera can just kind of clog up.
There's only so many editors.
So I found that out.
And also this is reallyimportant to me when I sign
someone, I want to sign peoplethat are good literary citizens,
and what I mean by that is thatyou're reading other people's
work and writing positivereviews, that you're putting
(21:39):
positivity about publishing outin social media.
You know there's I've seenauthors put content on social
media that's negative about thepublishing industry, and I'm
like I don't understand why youwant to say negative things
publicly about an industry thatyou hope to be a part of.
So have those conversationswith your writing community
(22:00):
privately, but I think being agood literary citizen is just so
important.
I just find that I want to workwith someone that's positive
about the industry and someonewilling to accept feedback and
do the work.
Once you get to an agent, yourbook is still your book baby,
but it's now a product, and sowe want to make that product, we
(22:22):
want to put it in the bestposition possible when we go out
to try to sell it, and sosometimes that's very hard for
authors because they're reallyin love with something that you
as a third party may think needsto change.
I had that with my own editorwhen I was in the editing
process myself and she's likecut these two chapters gone.
(22:42):
And I'm like, no, and we had acollaborative talk about it and
there was.
I was trying to ratchet uptension from a scene before and
she's like, well, you've alreadyestablished that the tension is
ratcheting up.
This feels more like repetition.
She was right, but there wasone thing that was said by a
(23:02):
character in those two chaptersthat I wanted to keep.
It was just one line ofdialogue, because it was theme
stated from Save the Cat, and Iam not going to let go of theme
stated.
So I found another place to putthat dialogue and so the two
chapters got cut and I got tokeep that one line of dialogue.
She was happy, I was happy, andthat's part of that
(23:23):
collaboration.
And that's actually my next.
You know, what I'm looking foris authors that are willing to
collaborate.
I love brainstorming with myauthors about their next books
or how to revise this scene.
I think that is just so muchfun.
And then also I'm looking forsomeone that's serious, someone
that is serious about this as acareer.
(23:43):
They're joining professionalorganizations, they're building
a website Not that they have tohave already done that, but
eventually you hope to have apublishing deal.
So I believe in having authorsalready behave in the way that
they're published.
Let's manifest that right.
You are an author, you'vewritten the book.
(24:04):
You've queried.
You've got an agent.
Let's get your website built.
You've got content to put outthere.
Let's start building you adigital platform.
Beth McMullen (24:13):
I also love what you just said about taking
yourself and the industry andall of it very seriously.
I meet way too many peopleauthors who belittle themselves
before they're even out of thegate, Like we have talked in
this conversation about gettingpasses on your work.
You will have plenty ofnegative input.
You don't need to add to thatyourself.
(24:33):
Be your own champion.
Amy Neilsen (24:35):
That's another reason why it's so important to
build a writing community,because you have people that
understand what you're goingthrough.
And I say this all the time.
I also coach families ofchildren with autism.
My youngest son is autistic andI tell them this, and I tell
authors this you need three bestfriends.
(24:55):
You need someone that is goingthrough what you're going
through.
So that's your writing community.
They're querying in thetrenches, just like you are.
You're there to lift each otherup when you're feeling down.
You're there to encourage eachother.
You're there to share resources.
So I think your writingcommunity someone that's in the
same part of the journey you aretry to make friends with people
that are a little further inthat journey than you so you can
(25:15):
learn from them, so they canmentor you.
People like us that are willingto give free resources because
we want to help querying authors.
And then thirdly and maybeyou're not there yet, but
finding someone that needs yourhelp giving back to them.
I just think that's thedefinition of being a good
literary citizen is doing that.
So think that's the definitionof being a good literary citizen
(25:35):
is doing that.
So you know, this is avulnerable industry.
I mean, you're putting yourwords out there for the world,
and so put people around youthat are going to help support
you through.
Beth McMullen (25:47):
that, I think, is just really important.
Very wise, very wise words foreveryone out there.
Pay attention, write that down.
That's a good little checklistactually to keep handy when
you're thinking about well, whatis a good literary citizen
Right there?
Now you know.
Lisa Schmid (26:00):
I think it because you're a newer agent.
I think that sometimes peoplethink, oh, she's a new agent,
I'm going to wait until she'sbeen doing this for a while.
What do you think the benefitsfor you personally are of
submitting to a new, of queryinga new agent?
Amy Neilsen (26:22):
such as yourself.
Obviously, seasoned agents aregoing to have the experience in
the industry and therelationships with editors, et
cetera.
But fortunately, even thoughI'm a newer agent, I have access
to several seasoned agents asmentors.
So when you do query a newagent, you're not querying us
alone.
We have access to seasonedmentors, and so I think that's a
(26:43):
bonus to know that With aseasoned agent, you might stand
a little less of a chance ofbeing able to get across that
finish line with that agent,just because they already have
such a huge list of authors.
We are building our listactively, we have more time
because we have less clients andwe are passionate to start
(27:09):
getting books sold to editors,and so I think that and it's all
what you're looking for, ifyou're looking to grow with an
agent together, I think that's abeautiful thing.
I mean, my first signed clientsare just.
They're like family and friendsto me already.
You know so I don't have thatmany, so we do, we text each
other and you know I really lovethat relationship.
But you know I also wanted tosay that new agents we also talk
(27:33):
to each other.
So I'm part of a huge discordgroup of newer agents.
On the last two to three years,some newer, and so we
communicate on the regular.
We have different channels, weshare editor information, so
we're there for each other.
So really I don't thinkhonestly you can go wrong with a
seasoned agent or a newer agent, because we are all part of the
(27:57):
same community.
There are very few people thatdon't want to be involved,
whether we're at the same agencyor not.
We share submissions.
If I get something that I knowa friend of mine at a different
agency would love, I will askthe author if I can send it to
them.
You know it's a verycollaborative, positive group.
I know sometimes publishinglooks like a jaded industry out
(28:19):
there.
I've not seen that.
I've seen collaboration acrossthe board.
So I think you should query whoyou think you'd like to work
with.
Lisa Schmid (28:31):
You know what?
I think that's a great response.
And I just putting in a plugfor new agents.
My new, my agent, was newerwhen I signed with her and I
adore, I adore Leslie, and wehave.
I feel like we've growntogether.
She's just a wonderful agentand I've never you know, I've
always been so appreciative ofeverything she's done and I
(28:53):
never felt like there was ever askip in anything or a missed
beat.
So I think it's one of thosethings that, no matter where you
are at, like you were justsaying, you have like a huge
resource behind you of people.
So that's yeah and that's.
You know, to overcome that fearof anybody who is out there
thinking, oh, should I wait?
Don't wait, don't hesitate.
Amy Neilsen (29:15):
If that's somebody that you think you want to query
to do so, yeah because younever know, by the time you
think you're ready to query them, they may, you know, have
filled that spot in their wishlist for the type of manuscript
that you've written.
But yeah, just know, all theagents I know have a huge
support system.
Beth McMullen (29:33):
Yeah, I like the idea too of the fact that newer
agents are often building theirlist, so there might be a little
bit more bandwidth there forsomething that you're doing.
So rather than taking one in aspecific category or genre,
maybe you're taking two.
I was explaining this tosomebody that I'm working with
who has written an adult horrornovel.
(29:55):
He comes from a pretty bigtelevision career and I was
seeing a lot of kind ofinteresting agents changing
their, their wishlist.
So maybe they were doingpicture books at middle grade
and now they're looking formiddle grade or adult horror,
say, for example.
And he was like I don't know,it looks like they're doing this
(30:16):
other thing and I was like no,no, no.
This means that they'reactively seeking what you are
trying to send.
They're good agents already.
They know the agenting stuff.
They're just changing theirfocus.
So I mean a lot of things toconsider, but I do love that.
You know, newer agents bringlike a different, different,
different energy to the table.
Amy Neilsen (30:32):
I think Well, and we're hungry.
You know we are hungry for thatto start getting those books
sold and building thisrelationship and signing authors
.
I love the industry so much.
I loved it when I was alibrarian for 20 years and being
on the other side of it it'slike a full circle moment.
Instead of putting books intothe hands of readers, I'm
helping authors get their bookspublished, so then they can go
(30:54):
into the hands of readers.
Lisa Schmid (30:56):
I'm helping authors get their books published, so
then they can go into the handsof readers, so it's just an
absolute honor.
Speaking of that, what exactlyare you looking for right now?
Let's wrap up this session withwhat everyone is keen to know.
What is on your manuscriptwishlist?
Amy Neilsen (31:11):
Well, right now.
Unfortunately, I am closed toqueries at this time because, as
I said to you before, I haveseveral hundred in my inbox and
I'm waiting until I meet withall these editors.
So I don't pass on somethingthat an editor is looking for.
And I'm hoping to start readingqueries again back in November
and, just like most agents, I'mhoping to have them gone through
by the end of the year.
So fingers crossed that I cando that.
(31:32):
That's going to be my goalbecause I don't want to keep
people waiting over the holidays.
That's hard.
Once I do open back up, mostlywhat I'm on the lookout for is
neurodivergent characters.
I also will be looking for,always on the hunt for
positively represented LGBTQIrepresentation, queer joy.
(31:53):
I really enjoy seeing that.
I like to think that we're onthe other side of coming out and
we're living in a world wherewe're all just our authentic
selves.
Diverse representation is veryimportant.
I'm in picture books If I openback up to picture books, which
I want to sign more.
I enjoy humor.
I just want to see kids laugh.
I love books that are greatread alouds.
(32:13):
I love books that bring parentsand kids together and I also
like nonfiction content as wellas a librarian, I purchased all
of that.
I had the biggest budget in theschool.
It was so fun.
So I think that there's roomfor pretty much everything in
picture books, honestly.
And then genre wise, it's justI'm really looking for LGBTQ
(32:35):
representation andneurodivergent characters in all
the genres on my wish list.
I get a lot of things sent to methat is not.
I don't rep high conceptfantasy or sci-fi.
I'm just not that smart.
Those authors are the smartestin the room because world
building is tough.
So you know, I'm looking formore contemporary, but I'll get
things.
I'm like this is nothing that Iwould ever be able to be.
(32:57):
I would not be a good agent forthis person.
I don't have editors in myorbit.
That sign that I don't have theskill set to help in the
revision process.
So you really want to submit toagents that are looking for
what you write, you know.
So I think it's just reallyimportant to do that research on
the front end.
Beth McMullen (33:12):
So you are currently closed to new
submissions.
When you decide that you'regoing to open up again, where
will people be able to find thatinformation the best?
Amy Neilsen (33:21):
place to find information about me is Twitter
Agents that you want to query.
I would follow them on whateversocial media platform they're
most active, because that'swhere you're going to find the
most up-to-date.
Sometimes we're going toannounce on Twitter when we're
open quicker than we're going tobe able to update our
manuscript wishlist.
Not that Twitter is the onlyplace.
Maybe your agent you want is onthreads or Instagram.
(33:41):
I'm more active on Twitter.
That's where I'm going to shareresources that I write.
I opened up for 24 hours inJune for Pride and that's where
I announced it.
So that's.
I think finding where youragents are on social media is
the best place to know.
Beth McMullen (33:58):
Perfect.
So now people know to keep aneye on Twitter and they can spot
when it is that you decide toopen up to submissions.
Amy Neilsen (34:06):
Leave one more comment to querying authors.
Absolutely yes, please.
I just want to tell you that weare honored, that you trust us
with your work.
We know that it's vulnerableand even when you get a pass
from us, know that we arehonored, that you trust us with
your work.
We know that it's vulnerableand even when you get a pass
from us, know that we read yourwork and we considered it and we
want you to keep going anddon't give up.
Beth McMullen (34:23):
I love that.
That is the perfect way to wrapup this conversation.
I'm gonna post links to some ofthe resources that you gave us
in the podcast notes.
So for sure, everybody checkthe podcast notes or the blog at
writerswithwrinklesnet.
Those links will be there.
And Lisa and I are back onNovember 11th when we are
talking to E-Train.
I know a lot of you guys whowrite middle grade know who
(34:45):
E-Train is.
He's going to be talking to usabout what kids are actually
reading, so we can get to thebottom of that and until then,
happy reading, writing andlistening.
Hi friends, I'm Beth McMullen and I'm Lisa
Schmidt, and we're the co-hostsof Writers with Wrinkles.
This is season three, episode37.
Today we're excited to talk toAmy Nielsen, a literary agent
with Purcell Agency.
Amy spent nearly 20 years as ayouth librarian.
Daily immersion in story tookroot and she penned her young
adult debut Worth it behind hercirculation desk.
(00:22):
Amy is also a picture bookauthor, literary agent and
freelance editor helping authorspolish their submission packet
for querying.
I love so much that you wrotethis book at the circulation
desk.
Amy Neilsen (00:35):
I love that I have to admit to my principal that
you know there was many times Iwas sitting back there acting
like I was working and I waswriting.
But, honestly, you know writingwhen you're in the publishing
industry, whether you're alibrarian or an editor, when
you're writing you're stillimmersed in that space.
You know, and my students knewI was writing and so I would
(00:56):
read things to them and theywould help me come up with names
for characters, et cetera.
So that was fun.
Beth McMullen (01:02):
That's amazing.
I love that.
Can you tell us a little bitabout this book that you wrote
behind the circulation desk?
Amy Neilsen (01:07):
Sure, and then I revised it for 10 years after.
Beth McMullen (01:11):
Okay, now that's like the hard truth that
everybody should pay attentionto out there, the provision
Exactly.
Amy Neilsen (01:17):
So I'll just read the back real quick.
So this is a young adult noveland it is inspired by my lived
experiences.
It is a fictionalized retelling, so that's important to know.
17-year-old Angela Carterintended to pick out prom
dresses with her best friend andfill out college applications
during her senior year.
But her father abandons thefamily and her addict mother
kicks her out.
(01:37):
The now pregnant teen's newnormal is keeping her pressure
cooker older boyfriend, Dale,from erupting.
When an intoxicated Dale losescontrol of her car one night,
Angela fears she'll never holdher unborn child, Desperate for
what little stability heprovides and for fear of his
retaliation.
Angela lies to the police whenquestioned about the accident.
Her lie not only protects himfrom a DUI but also conceals a
(02:00):
darker secret what happensbehind the closed doors of their
single wide trailer Set inCentral Florida in the late 80s
Worth.
It is a story of courage,redemption and the power of
becoming your own hero, so ithas some tough social themes in
there.
One of the things that I'm mostproud with that book is that
I've partnered with a localnonprofit in my area that helps
(02:20):
teens in crisis, and so aportion of the proceeds of my
book go to that organization.
I've already helped severalteens and it's just a wonderful
feeling, knowing that I'm usinga time in my life that was
challenging, to help other teensin similar situations.
Beth McMullen (02:36):
That is remarkable.
How difficult was it for you towrite?
Amy Neilsen (02:42):
Because you said it's a fictionalized account but
drawing from a lot of personalexperiences, Well, I encourage
authors to fictionalize yourpast trauma, because it does put
some distance between you andit.
It becomes fiction.
So at first I was writing asmemoir, not knowing anything
about the publishing industry.
And then you know it's like Idon't know if I can write this
(03:02):
as real life because, first off,who's going to want to read
your memoir if you're alibrarian in Central Florida,
you know.
But I was writing it for me andthen, as I started learning
more about writing, I'm decidingto fictionalize it and started
learning about story beats andstory structure and could throw
in some things that made it moreinteresting and more believable
.
There was never times that wastough for me to write it.
(03:23):
There have been many times thatpeople that I know it's been
tough for them to read it, andso I had one guy, a friend of
mine from high school, and callme after he read it and he goes
(03:49):
no-transcript.
But it is a good way to kind ofcompartmentalize some of that
and to tell the story the wayyou wished it would have
happened, you know, or wished itwould have ended.
So I'm very proud of it andit's been getting great reviews.
And it's just, you know, andit's exciting for me as an agent
to have gone through thatwriting process so I know what
(04:15):
it is like for my clients and Ican have that empathy.
I was a librarian for 20 years.
I've published nonfictionfiction, picture books and then
an editor, so I feel like Ibring a lot to the table for my
clients and I think that'simportant.
Beth McMullen (04:26):
Yeah, I think that's huge actually, just to be
able to know what theexperience is like for yourself.
Lisa Schmid (04:32):
Are you ready to be in the hot seat, Amy?
Absolutely.
Amy Neilsen (04:36):
I'm in Florida, I'm always in the hot seat.
Lisa Schmid (04:38):
Okay, so I'm just gonna.
This is just one we kind ofjust ask everyone, because it's
really basic and it's goodinformation.
I think everyone always has adifferent answer.
What are the do's and don'ts ofquerying?
Because I'm sure you've seenthem both, but maybe just give
us an example of a really gooddo and a really bad don't.
Amy Neilsen (04:59):
Well, I have a list that I'll quickly run through.
They're mostly do's.
I only have two quick don'ts,but I do think it's important to
be a part of the literarycommunity.
You know, writing is a solitaryexperience, but it takes a
community to help get you acrossthat finish line and also for
people to be there for you whenthose challenging times do come.
(05:23):
I do think it's important tostudy the craft of writing.
I think to me, the mostimportant do is to follow the
agent submission guidelines andespecially where an agent
requests where they want thesubmission sent.
I've had submissions sent to myLinkedIn, instagram DMs, twitter
(05:44):
DMs, personal email, privateemail, and they're all over the
place.
And the reason why and it's notto be, you know for us not to
be accessible, but if I, if anagent, asked them to be sent an
inquiry manager, then I know allof my queries are in one place.
I can sort by date, title, Ican search for an author, If
someone said someone queried me.
(06:05):
So it really is in the author'sbest interest to make sure that
they send that submission wherethe agent wants it and that
you're doing things like makingsure that your submission does
fit what's on their wishlist,etc.
I think that sticking to astandard query structure is very
important To me.
(06:25):
This isn't the place where youget creative.
This is the place where you'regiving the information about
your book so the author knows ifit's worth their time and yours
for them to read it.
Because if in that query we seethat you're subbing us
something that's epistolary andwe don't rep that, we can
quickly give you a pass so youcan check us off your list and
then we don't have to take timefrom other authors by reading
(06:47):
that.
And so those are just reallyimportant.
And I think when you had Kathyon not so long ago, she walked
through how to write a query.
I believe that was an excellentepisode.
By the way, I'm one of herbiggest fangirls, so she was my
dream agent and I was luckyenough to get to be her
assistant and she's still mysupport system as far as you
(07:08):
know, being a new agent.
So she's wonderful.
But I wanted to kind of reviewthat again because I have a very
easy template that is on mywebsite.
I have an article calledpolishing your submission packet
for querying.
It also has a presentation downthere for free.
It's like a free mini courseand there are only four parts
for query needs.
(07:28):
That is it four, and they'revery simple.
And the first one is agentpersonalization.
Why are you sending this to me?
Did I meet you at a conference?
Did I tweet something?
Did we have an interactionsomewhere?
Just why?
Very briefly, so that way Iknow the agent knows that you've
done your research.
Very briefly, so that way Iknow the agent knows that you've
done your research.
It's better for an author tospend more time really
(07:49):
researching agents and submit toless than to send to a bunch
that you haven't researched.
So use your time wisely.
And then the metadata isparagraph two.
That's the title, in all caps.
Word count, age range, genre,comps very important.
And I also encourage authors toput in a unique structure.
So if your book is, as I said,epistolary, dual timeline,
(08:12):
anything like that, put thatright there in the beginning,
because, again, you're going toget a pass quicker if the agent
knows what this is, if it's notsomething they're interested in.
And I know how it is as anauthor to have all those unread
queries and you just don't knowwhere you are in their inbox.
And then the third paragraph isthe plot.
(08:33):
So who is the main characterwhat do they want, what's
standing in the way of what theywant and what's at stake if
they don't get it?
And so, quite simply, this canbe if they choose choice A, they
risk X.
If they choose choice B, theyrisk Y.
It's very formulaic, but itworks.
And then bio short and sweet,about 50 words who are you If
(08:54):
you have any writing credits,but you don't have to If you're
members of any professionalorganizations.
What's your day job?
And this is also the place youcan be kind of voy.
At the end of my bio I usuallysay when I'm not reading or
writing, you can find me boatingthe waters of Tampa Bay with
(09:15):
two canine co-captains inMermaid Life Fest.
So you can put a littlesomething cute there at the end.
A lot of authors do that.
So I think those are my bigdo's.
And then my only two don'ts aredon't take a personal.
When you get a pass, you are inthe game and those first few
hurt.
And when you get two and threein one day, it can be
frustrating.
But you two probably rememberthis was a couple of years ago
(09:38):
there was an author on Twitterthat had a piece of picket fence
that every time she'd get apass, she'd paint a flower.
So she's building this gardenof showing her how much work
that she's doing to get herselfpublished.
And I did hear that sheeventually did get an agent.
So I just think you know, ifyou get a pass, that means
agents are reading your work.
Did you ever think before youwrote a book that an agent would
(10:01):
be reading what you've written?
So I think, even if it's a pass, I think that's important to
just really hone in on thepositive, the positive aspect of
it.
And then my other don't isdon't give up.
If you really want this, keepat it.
This is a game of tenacity andso keep at it, don't give up.
Those are my, those are my twodon'ts.
Lisa Schmid (10:19):
Oh my God, that is so good, like it.
Just, this is like the ultimatepep talk.
If you are queering out thereright now, you know, pause for a
second and take that all in,because, amy, that was such good
advice, but just across theboard, and it was similar in
nature to what Kathy said, butyou added your own spin on it,
(10:40):
which was really important.
So, all my queering friends,there's your pep talk for the
day and anytime you're feelingdown and out, go paint a flower
on a fence, which I never saw.
That and I love that so much.
It's better than you know.
I don't know kicking ourselvesand then laying on the bed and
crying, which is what I used todo.
(11:03):
Go paint a flower, that'sawesome.
Amy Neilsen (11:07):
I loved it.
I loved following her as shewas doing that.
You know the writing communitywas like.
I hope she gets another passand paints another flower.
And also, notice I use the termpass.
I do not use the term rejection.
It is not a rejection, it issimply a pass.
No one's rejecting you.
Beth McMullen (11:22):
And you do.
You have to be ready for a lot.
That's just the name of thegame, and after you get through
the first few, you're like, okay, that didn't work, turning my
focus elsewhere.
But yeah, that's very, all,very important and necessary
advice for those who are in thequerying trenches.
So we understand that you arean editorial agent.
(11:43):
You're also an editor, so thatmakes sense.
With that in mind, what is yourprocess when you're working
with a client on a project?
How editorial are you with themand what does that look like?
Amy Neilsen (12:07):
because I go deep in my editing and not all agents
are editorial agents and theydon't have to be.
An agent's job is really tomatch.
We're matchmakers, we're tomatch your work with an editor
that wants it and get you a selland walk you through the
negotiation, the contract, etcetera.
But some of us do editorialwork and a lot of the newer
agents, like me, do moreeditorial work because we're
getting more debuts in our inbox, which we love.
And so my process is I gothrough developmental edits,
(12:33):
line edits and copy edits, andso typically I do those
separately.
If there's not muchdevelopmental work, I'll do it
at the same time.
And then of course, copy editscome at the very end, because
anything that you change isgoing to affect that last part.
So I I've already read theirmanuscript, so I'll open up the
document and I start puttingnotes, comments in the, in the
(12:54):
document, as opposed to creatingan edit letter at this stage.
So, and I do a lot, and so if Istart saying filtering, I'll
comment on.
You know this is filtering.
I'll explain what it is andI'll give an example of a
revision for that sentencewithout filtering, and I'll do
that a couple of times and thenI'll expect that they'll go
through the rest of themanuscript and address that.
(13:15):
So I do a lot of those comments, a lot more in the beginning
than at the end.
But I read the whole thingthrough and then I will go open
up a document and do like bigpicture if it's necessary, like
if there was a ton of, you know,misuse of dialogue tags and
action beats and grammar.
I'll say you know, this was a.
(13:35):
Do some research on this.
Here is a resource.
I'll put what's working,obviously because we need to
tell them what we love andwhat's what.
A second look is kind of how Ido it with what's working, what
needs a second look, and thenI'll go back into the document
for a second time and I'll gothrough and make sure that I
have some compliments that youknow in there because that's
(13:58):
important.
But I don't spend a lot of timeon that because they already
know I love their work, becauseI accepted it and so I don't
want to spend too much timetelling them how beautiful these
sentences are.
My time is limited so I'm goingto focus my time on what we can
do to improve your story that Ialready love, but I do go back
and make sure I have thosepositive comments and then I'll
(14:21):
read through it a third time,proofreading myself, basically,
and to make sure that I'm clearthat I didn't miss something,
because I, you know, I just so.
I usually read those commentsthree times.
I take about a month to do afull edit with an author.
I'm hearing more and moreeditors expecting super polished
work.
I just had a meeting with aneditor last week and she said
(14:43):
she appreciates polished work.
I just had a meeting with aneditor last week and she said
she appreciates polished workand she says that it is more
likely to get throughacquisitions than work that is
unpolished.
And yes, the editor at thepublishing house is going to
edit your work again.
You're going to go throughthree more rounds over there, or
four more rounds, becausethey're going to catch things we
didn't.
So that's just part of it To metaking an author's story and
(15:03):
their unique, creative,wonderful idea and helping them,
helping them get it as polishedas possible.
It's just, it's an honor, quitehonestly.
Beth McMullen (15:12):
The one last thing that I was thinking about
related to that, is that theseeditors at Big Five publishing
houses and other places are sooverworked.
They have so muchresponsibility that just runs
the gamut from editing toactually sales and marketing.
They have all these things thatthey're trying to do.
So it makes total sense to methat if I was an editor sitting
(15:33):
there and somebody gave me anice polished manuscript that I
didn't have to spend inordinateamount of times to get ready for
market, I would definitelychoose that.
If it's like between one that'slike kind of similar, but this
one needs a lot of work, I'mdefinitely going to lean into
the one that's like almost readyto go 100%, one of my friends.
Amy Neilsen (15:51):
One of my longtime writing friends is on.
Her.
I don't know what number booknow, but we were there in the
beginning, before either of ushad publishing deals, and we
learned the craft of writingtogether, taking courses
together, critiquing eachother's work, listening to
podcasts like this for years,and her first few manuscripts
went through a lot of editingbefore they got out there.
She now has an agent Her workthat she just got the agent for.
(16:15):
The agent had spent one weekreading it and giving her a few
bits of editorial advice andthen it was out in submission
one week.
So that's another reason whythe more polished your work is
when it gets to us, the quickerwe can get you on sub.
And I do have two otherresources I want to share with
you.
I created a self-editing guide,a developmental.
(16:38):
What did I title it?
It's a developmentalself-editing guide, so I just
posted that last week and it'spretty thorough and it has
little checkpoints at eachsection that I talk about
whatever you know back info,dumping, backstory, whatever.
I have little checkpoints forhow authors can look at their
manuscripts through that lens,and so I've been getting some
good feedback on that as a freeresource and my line editing,
(17:02):
self-editing guide is done.
I'm posting that one today andI really dive in on a line level
and I look at when I'm lineleveling or line editing.
I look at every word, even theword the.
If we can say this sentencewithout the word the, we're
cutting it, and so that'ssomething that I really enjoy.
So that resource will beavailable.
And then I'm going to do one oncopy editing, like commonly
(17:24):
misspelled words, you know,homonyms used incorrectly,
things like that.
And then I'm going to do afinal one on different writing
resources that I've used overthe years in courses that I've
taken that have helped me learnthe craft of writing.
Beth McMullen (17:39):
Wow that's a lot.
Wow, that's a lot well, andthese are all free resources.
Lisa Schmid (17:46):
That's amazing.
As you were speaking, I'm likeI'm gonna go check that out
because you know, sometimes I'mgoing back through.
I'm like on the last chapter ofthe, the book I'm currently
working on, and I say that, butI know, don't laugh bath,
because I keep saying it's thelast chapter and then it doesn't
turn out to be.
But it's just, it's always goodto think about that when you're
going.
It's the last chapter and thenit doesn't turn out to be, but
it's just, it's always good tothink about that when you're
going.
It's going over to my critiquecorner, but then I'm going to go
(18:07):
back through it before it goesto my agent.
So I think I'm going to checkout a couple of those resources.
Amy Neilsen (18:16):
Yeah, I think it's important and that's what you
are doing is to give back to thewriting community, because
there was a time in my writingjourney where there were authors
, agents etc giving back to me,critique partners, and that's
something that's reallyimportant to me is serving the
writing community.
So I try to make a ton ofresources that authors can just
(18:39):
click on and have at no charge,because you don't know what you
don't know, and so I really I'vespent probably a month on the
developmental editing guide justtrying to get it as polished as
possible and as easy tounderstand as possible, and the
paragraphs are short and thecheckpoints are short.
In the one for line editingthat I'm dropping today, I did
(19:00):
put links to tons of resourcesin there, you know, so you can
see an example of what filteringis, or show, don't tell and
that sort of thing.
But wonderful.
And hopefully all authorslistening.
One day they will be in aposition where they can give
back to the writing community.
Lisa Schmid (19:15):
Yeah, and that's the one thing.
And that's again why you know,like, why Beth and I do this.
It's just, it's fun.
We learn a lot as we're goingthrough these podcasts.
I've learned so much when we'retalking with different people
Also.
It's just, we've been there,we've been.
You know, I've been there themost, in the sense that I've
made the most mistakes.
Amy Neilsen (19:38):
Mistakes is how we learn and grow.
I've got a lot of war wounds,so anyway, I go look back at
some of my early chap or earlyversions of my novel and I'm
horrified.
I've got to write a resourcefor authors out there so they
can fix this if it's in theirmanuscript.
Lisa Schmid (19:56):
Yeah, well, speaking of, let's move on to to
the next question, because youare full of good information,
and this comes really down towhat is your decision-making
process when taking on a newauthor, like, what are some
steps that you go through?
Amy Neilsen (20:12):
Well, first off, I'd love to sign everyone that's
ever queried me, ever.
I love you all, thank you.
It's hard for us to pass onanyone.
But obviously, first off, it'sa compelling story and good
writing.
It doesn't have to be greatwriting, but a compelling story
and good writing.
You know.
I mean all the parts of a storyare there beginning and middle
of end.
It has a structure.
It's on my manuscript wish list.
(20:33):
It's something that I'm lookingfor.
But digging deeper than that,obviously, if I have already an
author that has a competingtitle and I have had to pass on
some for that reason.
And that's tough because youare, you know you like that.
But the issue is and I ran intothis I signed a lot of picture
book authors really fast andthen I'm stuck because I've got
(20:55):
this picture book author at thiseditor, but this editor also
would like this picture bookfrom a different author, but
they haven't responded to me onthat one.
So I'm waiting.
So it becomes the cyclicalwaiting game of who did I send
what to and have they passed,and then I can send this one.
So I've got a lot of authorswaiting on different manuscripts
to be sent to different editorswhile I wait on them to pass.
So signing a lot of authors inthe same age range, genre, et
(21:18):
cetera can just kind of clog up.
There's only so many editors.
So I found that out.
And also this is reallyimportant to me when I sign
someone, I want to sign peoplethat are good literary citizens,
and what I mean by that is thatyou're reading other people's
work and writing positivereviews, that you're putting
(21:39):
positivity about publishing outin social media.
You know there's I've seenauthors put content on social
media that's negative about thepublishing industry, and I'm
like I don't understand why youwant to say negative things
publicly about an industry thatyou hope to be a part of.
So have those conversationswith your writing community
(22:00):
privately, but I think being agood literary citizen is just so
important.
I just find that I want to workwith someone that's positive
about the industry and someonewilling to accept feedback and
do the work.
Once you get to an agent, yourbook is still your book baby,
but it's now a product, and sowe want to make that product, we
(22:22):
want to put it in the bestposition possible when we go out
to try to sell it, and sosometimes that's very hard for
authors because they're reallyin love with something that you
as a third party may think needsto change.
I had that with my own editorwhen I was in the editing
process myself and she's likecut these two chapters gone.
(22:42):
And I'm like, no, and we had acollaborative talk about it and
there was.
I was trying to ratchet uptension from a scene before and
she's like, well, you've alreadyestablished that the tension is
ratcheting up.
This feels more like repetition.
She was right, but there wasone thing that was said by a
(23:02):
character in those two chaptersthat I wanted to keep.
It was just one line ofdialogue, because it was theme
stated from Save the Cat, and Iam not going to let go of theme
stated.
So I found another place to putthat dialogue and so the two
chapters got cut and I got tokeep that one line of dialogue.
She was happy, I was happy, andthat's part of that
(23:23):
collaboration.
And that's actually my next.
You know, what I'm looking foris authors that are willing to
collaborate.
I love brainstorming with myauthors about their next books
or how to revise this scene.
I think that is just so muchfun.
And then also I'm looking forsomeone that's serious, someone
that is serious about this as acareer.
(23:43):
They're joining professionalorganizations, they're building
a website Not that they have tohave already done that, but
eventually you hope to have apublishing deal.
So I believe in having authorsalready behave in the way that
they're published.
Let's manifest that right.
You are an author, you'vewritten the book.
(24:04):
You've queried.
You've got an agent.
Let's get your website built.
You've got content to put outthere.
Let's start building you adigital platform.
Beth McMullen (24:13):
I also love what you just said about taking
yourself and the industry andall of it very seriously.
I meet way too many peopleauthors who belittle themselves
before they're even out of thegate, Like we have talked in
this conversation about gettingpasses on your work.
You will have plenty ofnegative input.
You don't need to add to thatyourself.
(24:33):
Be your own champion.
Amy Neilsen (24:35):
That's another reason why it's so important to
build a writing community,because you have people that
understand what you're goingthrough.
And I say this all the time.
I also coach families ofchildren with autism.
My youngest son is autistic andI tell them this, and I tell
authors this you need three bestfriends.
(24:55):
You need someone that is goingthrough what you're going
through.
So that's your writing community.
They're querying in thetrenches, just like you are.
You're there to lift each otherup when you're feeling down.
You're there to encourage eachother.
You're there to share resources.
So I think your writingcommunity someone that's in the
same part of the journey you aretry to make friends with people
that are a little further inthat journey than you so you can
(25:15):
learn from them, so they canmentor you.
People like us that are willingto give free resources because
we want to help querying authors.
And then thirdly and maybeyou're not there yet, but
finding someone that needs yourhelp giving back to them.
I just think that's thedefinition of being a good
literary citizen is doing that.
So think that's the definitionof being a good literary citizen
(25:35):
is doing that.
So you know, this is avulnerable industry.
I mean, you're putting yourwords out there for the world,
and so put people around youthat are going to help support
you through.
Beth McMullen (25:47):
that, I think, is just really important.
Very wise, very wise words foreveryone out there.
Pay attention, write that down.
That's a good little checklistactually to keep handy when
you're thinking about well, whatis a good literary citizen
Right there?
Now you know.
Lisa Schmid (26:00):
I think it because you're a newer agent.
I think that sometimes peoplethink, oh, she's a new agent,
I'm going to wait until she'sbeen doing this for a while.
What do you think the benefitsfor you personally are of
submitting to a new, of queryinga new agent?
Amy Neilsen (26:22):
such as yourself.
Obviously, seasoned agents aregoing to have the experience in
the industry and therelationships with editors, et
cetera.
But fortunately, even thoughI'm a newer agent, I have access
to several seasoned agents asmentors.
So when you do query a newagent, you're not querying us
alone.
We have access to seasonedmentors, and so I think that's a
(26:43):
bonus to know that With aseasoned agent, you might stand
a little less of a chance ofbeing able to get across that
finish line with that agent,just because they already have
such a huge list of authors.
We are building our listactively, we have more time
because we have less clients andwe are passionate to start
(27:09):
getting books sold to editors,and so I think that and it's all
what you're looking for, ifyou're looking to grow with an
agent together, I think that's abeautiful thing.
I mean, my first signed clientsare just.
They're like family and friendsto me already.
You know so I don't have thatmany, so we do, we text each
other and you know I really lovethat relationship.
But you know I also wanted tosay that new agents we also talk
(27:33):
to each other.
So I'm part of a huge discordgroup of newer agents.
On the last two to three years,some newer, and so we
communicate on the regular.
We have different channels, weshare editor information, so
we're there for each other.
So really I don't thinkhonestly you can go wrong with a
seasoned agent or a newer agent, because we are all part of the
(27:57):
same community.
There are very few people thatdon't want to be involved,
whether we're at the same agencyor not.
We share submissions.
If I get something that I knowa friend of mine at a different
agency would love, I will askthe author if I can send it to
them.
You know it's a verycollaborative, positive group.
I know sometimes publishinglooks like a jaded industry out
(28:19):
there.
I've not seen that.
I've seen collaboration acrossthe board.
So I think you should query whoyou think you'd like to work
with.
Lisa Schmid (28:31):
You know what?
I think that's a great response.
And I just putting in a plugfor new agents.
My new, my agent, was newerwhen I signed with her and I
adore, I adore Leslie, and wehave.
I feel like we've growntogether.
She's just a wonderful agentand I've never you know, I've
always been so appreciative ofeverything she's done and I
(28:53):
never felt like there was ever askip in anything or a missed
beat.
So I think it's one of thosethings that, no matter where you
are at, like you were justsaying, you have like a huge
resource behind you of people.
So that's yeah and that's.
You know, to overcome that fearof anybody who is out there
thinking, oh, should I wait?
Don't wait, don't hesitate.
Amy Neilsen (29:15):
If that's somebody that you think you want to query
to do so, yeah because younever know, by the time you
think you're ready to query them, they may, you know, have
filled that spot in their wishlist for the type of manuscript
that you've written.
But yeah, just know, all theagents I know have a huge
support system.
Beth McMullen (29:33):
Yeah, I like the idea too of the fact that newer
agents are often building theirlist, so there might be a little
bit more bandwidth there forsomething that you're doing.
So rather than taking one in aspecific category or genre,
maybe you're taking two.
I was explaining this tosomebody that I'm working with
who has written an adult horrornovel.
(29:55):
He comes from a pretty bigtelevision career and I was
seeing a lot of kind ofinteresting agents changing
their, their wishlist.
So maybe they were doingpicture books at middle grade
and now they're looking formiddle grade or adult horror,
say, for example.
And he was like I don't know,it looks like they're doing this
(30:16):
other thing and I was like no,no, no.
This means that they'reactively seeking what you are
trying to send.
They're good agents already.
They know the agenting stuff.
They're just changing theirfocus.
So I mean a lot of things toconsider, but I do love that.
You know, newer agents bringlike a different, different,
different energy to the table.
Amy Neilsen (30:32):
I think Well, and we're hungry.
You know we are hungry for thatto start getting those books
sold and building thisrelationship and signing authors
.
I love the industry so much.
I loved it when I was alibrarian for 20 years and being
on the other side of it it'slike a full circle moment.
Instead of putting books intothe hands of readers, I'm
helping authors get their bookspublished, so then they can go
(30:54):
into the hands of readers.
Lisa Schmid (30:56):
I'm helping authors get their books published, so
then they can go into the handsof readers, so it's just an
absolute honor.
Speaking of that, what exactlyare you looking for right now?
Let's wrap up this session withwhat everyone is keen to know.
What is on your manuscriptwishlist?
Amy Neilsen (31:11):
Well, right now.
Unfortunately, I am closed toqueries at this time because, as
I said to you before, I haveseveral hundred in my inbox and
I'm waiting until I meet withall these editors.
So I don't pass on somethingthat an editor is looking for.
And I'm hoping to start readingqueries again back in November
and, just like most agents, I'mhoping to have them gone through
by the end of the year.
So fingers crossed that I cando that.
(31:32):
That's going to be my goalbecause I don't want to keep
people waiting over the holidays.
That's hard.
Once I do open back up, mostlywhat I'm on the lookout for is
neurodivergent characters.
I also will be looking for,always on the hunt for
positively represented LGBTQIrepresentation, queer joy.
(31:53):
I really enjoy seeing that.
I like to think that we're onthe other side of coming out and
we're living in a world wherewe're all just our authentic
selves.
Diverse representation is veryimportant.
I'm in picture books If I openback up to picture books, which
I want to sign more.
I enjoy humor.
I just want to see kids laugh.
I love books that are greatread alouds.
(32:13):
I love books that bring parentsand kids together and I also
like nonfiction content as wellas a librarian, I purchased all
of that.
I had the biggest budget in theschool.
It was so fun.
So I think that there's roomfor pretty much everything in
picture books, honestly.
And then genre wise, it's justI'm really looking for LGBTQ
(32:35):
representation andneurodivergent characters in all
the genres on my wish list.
I get a lot of things sent to methat is not.
I don't rep high conceptfantasy or sci-fi.
I'm just not that smart.
Those authors are the smartestin the room because world
building is tough.
So you know, I'm looking formore contemporary, but I'll get
things.
I'm like this is nothing that Iwould ever be able to be.
(32:57):
I would not be a good agent forthis person.
I don't have editors in myorbit.
That sign that I don't have theskill set to help in the
revision process.
So you really want to submit toagents that are looking for
what you write, you know.
So I think it's just reallyimportant to do that research on
the front end.
Beth McMullen (33:12):
So you are currently closed to new
submissions.
When you decide that you'regoing to open up again, where
will people be able to find thatinformation the best?
Amy Neilsen (33:21):
place to find information about me is Twitter
Agents that you want to query.
I would follow them on whateversocial media platform they're
most active, because that'swhere you're going to find the
most up-to-date.
Sometimes we're going toannounce on Twitter when we're
open quicker than we're going tobe able to update our
manuscript wishlist.
Not that Twitter is the onlyplace.
Maybe your agent you want is onthreads or Instagram.
(33:41):
I'm more active on Twitter.
That's where I'm going to shareresources that I write.
I opened up for 24 hours inJune for Pride and that's where
I announced it.
So that's.
I think finding where youragents are on social media is
the best place to know.
Beth McMullen (33:58):
Perfect.
So now people know to keep aneye on Twitter and they can spot
when it is that you decide toopen up to submissions.
Amy Neilsen (34:06):
Leave one more comment to querying authors.
Absolutely yes, please.
I just want to tell you that weare honored, that you trust us
with your work.
We know that it's vulnerableand even when you get a pass
from us, know that we arehonored, that you trust us with
your work.
We know that it's vulnerableand even when you get a pass
from us, know that we read yourwork and we considered it and we
want you to keep going anddon't give up.
Beth McMullen (34:23):
I love that.
That is the perfect way to wrapup this conversation.
I'm gonna post links to some ofthe resources that you gave us
in the podcast notes.
So for sure, everybody checkthe podcast notes or the blog at
writerswithwrinklesnet.
Those links will be there.
And Lisa and I are back onNovember 11th when we are
talking to E-Train.
I know a lot of you guys whowrite middle grade know who
(34:45):
E-Train is.
He's going to be talking to usabout what kids are actually
reading, so we can get to thebottom of that and until then,
happy reading, writing andlistening.
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