Kaitlyn Katsoupis
Literary Agent
Belcastro Agency
Agent @belcastr. insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147

Literary Agent
Michelle Young @michelle13136
@RedPenKaitlyn How do you feel about more "zoomed in" fantasy stories? Like a story that takes place in a fantasy setting but is more focused on a smaller cast of characters and not so much the whole world? Instead of a big war, it's more focused on a personal battle, etc?I'd love that. We see a lot of "whole world" stakes and it's nice to pull that in #askagent

Literary Agent
Ana Gardner🦔 @whataremetaphor
@RedPenKaitlyn @WannerCheryl (if i can sneak another q in) what would be a good spot for upper MG historical? some conflicting MG word count guidelines out there for upper...I'd stay b/w 50-60k. That feels (to me) enough to show worldbuilding and plot are fleshed out without going too overboard #askagent

Literary Agent

Literary Agent
Michelle Young @michelle13136
@RedPenKaitlyn How formal should I be in a query?At the end of the day, it's a business proposal, so I'd remain that way throughout. If you get a request or the agent wants to chat further, that's where things get a bit looser #askagent

Literary Agent
A M Duperre (Doo-perry) @A_M_Duperre
@RedPenKaitlyn For comps, do you prefer”x meets y” or do u like to know why they’re comping to those stories?I love to know why. Otherwise, there could be many things about that title that might relate to your story #askagent

Literary Agent

Literary Agent
Evan Dave @EvanDave8
@RedPenKaitlyn, how would you feel about reinterpretations of popular Western fantasy novels given a non-Western twist? For example, something analogous to Lord of the Rings from the perspective of the Haradrim (or what J. Carey did with The Sundering books)?I'm not huge into stories akin to sprawling epics like LOTR so not sure this would be a good fit for me unfortunately #askagent

Literary Agent
Michelle Young @michelle13136
@RedPenKaitlyn My WIP does have a character who has experienced sexual trauma, e.g. she refuses to go into a certain part of town because it's where she was attacked. Would something like that be okay? It doesn't happen on page.That is fine. When it's something in the past, I'm usually ok with it more so than in the main plot or on the page #askagent

Literary Agent
Jasper Worms @jasperworms
@RedPenKaitlyn Awesome, thanks for doing this! That structural format in particular is handy. One last Q: If pitching a problematizable source (Lovecraft/Dracula), is it better to get ahead of assumptions or better to reveal purposeful subversion of "immigrant invasion" story if inorganic?Not sure on the answer to that one cause it's hard w/o knowing the story angle. I think you're still ok if you really state what YOUR story is about despite deriving inspiration from those sources #askagent

Literary Agent

Literary Agent
Cheryl Wanner @WannerCheryl
@RedPenKaitlyn What is the word count guideline for YA contemporary?I'd say best is 60-80k. Stay between that and you should be good #askagent

Literary Agent
Michelle Young @michelle13136
@RedPenKaitlyn Have you ever auto-rejected a query, and if so, why?If it's a genre I don't represent or it's something like incest/rape. Or if it's offensive/racist. Deff an auto reject #askagent

Literary Agent
L. Dean @designerldean
@RedPenKaitlyn How long does it usually take for an agent to decide on a full request?Depends on how many subs/queries we are reading, how many client ms we get in the meantime. I tell writers to check in with me after 3 months of sending me the materials #askagent

Literary Agent
Sarah Underwood @s_e_c_underwood
@RedPenKaitlyn how serious is your aversion to stories based (loosely) on greek mythology? let's pretend I'm asking for a friendI'm not huge on greek mythology right now. If it's VERY subtle and I have to dig to realize what myth it is, I'm more open to it #askagent

Literary Agent
Margaret A. F. @snowysil
@RedPenKaitlyn @e_parman piggy-backing on this! Would something we saw on your MSWL post be count? e.g. "i'm querying you because I saw that you're looking for a ghost hunter story and LGBTQIA+ protags"? or is that still too vague/ bad to quote your mswl back at you? #askagent ty!
Literary Agent
Tom @DelusionalWrit
@RedPenKaitlyn My 1st chapter (which every agent asks for) seems unrelated to my story for the first 3/4 of the book. I fear this disconnect between my query and my first chapter may cause confusion or a feeling of dissonance. But then I really like the story layout. Should I doubt my strategy?Hard to say w/o seeing the story, but usually this brings up the question WHY is it your first chapter if it doesn't relate to the first 3/4 of the book? This doesn't seem to be the strongest opening if that's the case #askagent

Literary Agent
M.A.Greene PHYSICAL DISTANCING 2 FLATTEN THE CURVE @MAGreene996
@RedPenKaitlyn I heard for a YA SFF the the word count shouldn't be over 100k. Is that true? If it is how many words over that is acceptable without more than likely going in the slush pile?I would try not over 110k. Sweet spot seems 100-110. If I see a YA SFF around 120k, my eyebrows go up and it probably needs more editing #askagent

Literary Agent
Michelle Young @michelle13136
@RedPenKaitlyn What's the best advice you could give to an author sending out their very first query?Deep breaths and be sure to get a few readers to look over your query. Also, email it to yourself first to ensure the formatting looks ok #askagent

Literary Agent

Literary Agent
E A Hill @BansheeHill
@RedPenKaitlyn Does a mediocre query letter ever keep you from reading the sample pages?No. If you still have something interesting, despite not being amazingly written, I will go to your pages and see how the writing is there #askagent