Eva Scalzo

Literary Agent

Speilburg Literary Agency

a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q10: Historical Fiction: This story has a lot of really great themes, but it's a little more on the upmarket side of things than I am comfortable repping. Pass. #tenqueries 13/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q9: Fantasy: I'm not sure this time travel fantasy is for me. Time travel in general has been very hard for me to sell, and I've already got one based in ancient Greco-Roman times on my list. Pass. #tenqueries 12/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q8: YA: This f/f romance was a tough call, I liked a lot about it, but in the end I just felt like the opening pages didn't leave me wanting. I wanted to want it, but didn't. Pass. #tenqueries 11/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q7: YA Fantasy: This query is on the low-word count end of the scale and isn't really distinguishing itself from all the YA Fantasy I see in my inbox and on bookshelves. Pass. #tenqueries 10/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q6: Urban Fantasy: Oh, so I don't think now is the time for white writers to co-opt Asian folklore/mythology. We need to let AAPI voices speak for themselves. Pass. #tenqueries 9/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q5: Women's Fiction: I actually don't know what this story is about after reading the query. It's a young woman's journey but...to what? This is too vague. Pass. #tenqueries 8/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q4: YA Sci-Fi: This has some great background research but the setting isn't quite my jam. And this is a weird blend of SFF where I'm not sure I have the right vision for selling it. Pass. #tenqueries 7/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q3: YA: This query has the MC distanced from all the action, so it's hard to see what the actual plot of this is other than a lot of surveillance. Pass. #tenqueries 6/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q2: MG Fantasy: This is cute but a bit more commercial and on the younger side of what appeals to me. Pass. #tenqueries 5/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q1: YA Sci-Fi: This query and sample is well-written but I found my attention wandering as I read the opening pages and I just don't think this is for me. Pass. #tenqueries 4/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

TL;DR, this thread is more about me than about the individual #tenqueries I cover, and my goal is to keep myself honest by spending time in my query box, and also to share some behind the curtain insight into what might work for me 3/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Agenting is an exceedingly subjective job, and a pass from me isn't a value judgment on the work, there are so many reasons why a project might not be a good fit, & nothing is absolute! Two projects might sound the same in 280 characters but have different appeal #tenqueries 2/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Now that I've re-opened to queries, I'm going to bring back my weekly #tenqueries threads to keep me honest. Before I dive in I just want to make sure that it's clear that my intentions are to be helpful by giving authors some insight into what influences my thought process 1/

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

And that's a wrap for this week. As of now all queries prior to November 1st have been answered. I've read up to November 15th, & have a handful between those dates that I need some extra time with. I have 36 pending from November & 44 pending from December. #tenqueries

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q10: YA Paranormal: The logline for this is basically the same logline as most of the YA paranormal out there. This is missing that high-concept hook. Pass. #tenqueries

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q9: YA Contemporary: The stakes for this one don't quite work for me, in that I don't believe anyone would be forced to give up a career in STEM if their parents care. Like it doesn't make sense. Pass. #tenqueries

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q8: YA Fantasy: I'm just intrigued enough by this contemporary fantasy to see where it is headed. Full Request. #tenqueries

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q7: YA Fantasy: These have all been really difficult, there's something about the voice here that doesn't feel right for YA, so I'm letting it go. Pass. #tenqueries

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q6: Fantasy: This is an epic historical fantasy and a multi-generational saga and those keywords are generally not a good fit for me. Pass. #tenqueries

Eva Scalzo
@evascalzo
Literary Agent
a boricua🇵🇷 who has never met a tangent she wouldn’t follow | lit agent @ Speilburg Literary | AALA & SCBWI | she/her/ella/ms. | links in bio
89 MSWL
444 Queries
39 Tips

Q5: Paranormal Mystery: Again this has a lot of elements I like, which makes these really tough calls. But in the end, the opening pages don't grab me in a way that makes me want to keep reading. Pass. #tenqueries