Kaitlyn Johnson
Literary Agent
Belcastro Agency
Agent @belcastr. insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
Literary Agent
Amalie/A.R. Frederiksen @ARFrederiksen
@RedPenKaitlyn Thank you for doing this! What's an overdone cliché/trope in SFF that you're tired of seeing, even when it's done with a fresh, twisty perspective?Hmmmm that's tough. I feel like I see a lot of "reluctant hero" lately or "person suddenly has powers awaken in them". I'd love to see things that have the hook built in more to world/character instead of forced in #askagent
Literary Agent
Lyz Mancini @Lyzasterous
@RedPenKaitlyn Thoughts on comp titles that are a mix of books and tv/movies?Totally fine! As long as you include one book and let us know what in it relates to your story, feel free to use other media forms #askagent
Literary Agent
R.H. Berry @AuthorRHBerry
@RedPenKaitlyn #askagent - Do you ever make offers based on partial submissions?No, I always have to read the full manuscript before making a decision. I'm not comfortable partnering with someone otherwise #askagent
Literary Agent
Neil Saul Glaser @nsglaserwriter
@RedPenKaitlyn Are YA or MG verse novels a hard sell? I adore writing & reading them! Thank you for this brilliant #askagent thread. Appreciated.I'm not a huge novel in verse person, so to me, I think they're hard to sell. That being said, there are amazing ones out there and GREAT agents selling the crap out of them #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Matt Gorgans @MatthewGWrites
@RedPenKaitlyn Any tropes you’re enjoying in recently published middle grade and/or young adult?I love enemy to friend in MG or siblings! In YA, I'm a sucker for villain to lover or forbidden love #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
Crystal @WrittenAnomally
@RedPenKaitlyn Hello! I'm wondering how pseudonyms fit into querying? Is this something that should be brought up immediately, or mentioned later if their manuscript is acquired? Would you consider it poor taste for someone to query you under a pseudonym? Thank you for any insight you give! :)That's often up to the publisher. I talk it over with my client first and then tell the publisher they want to use one. It works if you sign your query with your name and then (writing as ....) #askagent
Literary Agent
Jasper Worms @jasperworms
@RedPenKaitlyn 1. Query Letter length, better half a page or full page, assuming proper formatting?2. If we are categorized as #ownvoices and writing in a specific demo, is it assumed in the pitch?
3. How old is "too old" for a #mswl request?
4. Fun: 1st or 3rd person?
If you want it to be known that it's #ownvoices, I would state in the query. That's up to you.
For MSWL in person, I'd try not to wait too long. For something like, my website MSWL, that is ongoing until I change it
Eh, I like both! Depends on story/voice #askagent
Literary Agent
Jasper Worms @jasperworms
@RedPenKaitlyn 1. Query Letter length, better half a page or full page, assuming proper formatting?2. If we are categorized as #ownvoices and writing in a specific demo, is it assumed in the pitch?
3. How old is "too old" for a #mswl request?
4. Fun: 1st or 3rd person?
I give this structure:
1st para: greeting/metadata
2nd: character intro/opening situation
3rd: conflict intro
4th: stakes
5th bio
(1/?) #askagent
Literary Agent
_Dacre_ @Elbow_Jumper
@RedPenKaitlyn Hi Kaitlyn.What are your thoughts on artwork in novels (illustrations in a similar vein to The Selected Works of TS Spivet)?
Depends on the age/genre. It usually ends up being up to the publisher, though, not the agent #askagent
Literary Agent
Isa @PeacockGoals
@RedPenKaitlyn Awesome!1) What would you consider to be the best word count range for upper MG fantasy? I see a lot of conflicting numbers.
2) Would addiction being discussed in an MG novel be something you would reject?
for Upper MG Fantasy I'd say 60-70k. There's some wiggle room but, for me, that's a great sweet spot.
For me, it'd depend on form of addiction. The kid or family or what? I'm not huge into drug abuse #askagent
Literary Agent
Belinda Grant @belindamgrant
@RedPenKaitlyn Should people from other countries Americanise their English for US agents, or doesn't it matter? #AskAgentNot necessarily! If you're not from the US, I usually assume it'll be in your country's style. If it needs to change, that'll often come up with the publisher, not the agent. #askagent
Literary Agent
Shannon Hawkins @sionnanigans
@RedPenKaitlyn Say you signed a trilogy, and the project is doing really well, but you feel you can/need to add more stories to the series. Is it possible to negotiate more books into a contract, or is that contract locked?Depends on the publisher. You can always schedule a chat with your editor to discuss the potential. Sometimes they won't agree to new books or add an addendum to the contract until they see how well the original titles sell first #askagent
Literary Agent
Evan Dave @EvanDave8
@RedPenKaitlyn, how important is it to have previous writing credits? I have quite a few, but all are non-fiction (I work at a NG museum, and have written texts for exhibits) #askagentFor fiction, it's not important. Is it helpful or nice to see? Of course, but it shouldn't dictate you being picked up. In nonfiction, a platform/audience often is preferred because of the nature of that form of writing #askagent
Literary Agent
Michelle Young @michelle13136
@RedPenKaitlyn What's on your current manuscript wishlist? #askagentOoooo a lot lol definitely MG with LGBTQ+ characters and I really want more historical in all ages. Check out my MSWL pg for more! #askagent
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
M.A.Greene PHYSICAL DISTANCING 2 FLATTEN THE CURVE @MAGreene996
@RedPenKaitlyn @MegLaTorre How do you make your query letter stand out from others.Show what makes your story unique! We all have aspects that are similar to other stories. So what makes yours the one to stand out amongst others? #askagent
Literary Agent
Kat is Writing YA! @kat_longoria
@RedPenKaitlyn #askagent Would an agent reject a YA cont romance or urban fantasy based on being written in 3rd person? I don’t like 1st. Do you have resources where I can see examples of close 3rd person?Definitely not. It's all about preference and many agents love either, or, both... If they pass on it based off 3rd person, it usually just means that's not the thing to grab them but it's not an "every agent will say no" thing (I personally like 3rd person) #askagent
Literary Agent
Michelle Young @michelle13136
@RedPenKaitlyn How do you feel about international authors querying you?Totally fine!!! I have multiple international authors on my client list =] #askagent