Kurestin Armada
Literary Agent
Root Literary
Literary Agent at @RootLiterary . Specializes in science fiction, fantasy, & graphic novels for all ages.
Literary Agent
Joel Arcanjo @Joelarcanjo
#askPSLA What really grabs your attention in an opening chapter?A killer first line, a main character who I can already envision in my head bc of strong voice, a beginning of the plot/trouble #askPSLA
Literary Agent
S.L.Hutchinson @SLHutchinson
#askPSLA What's the best thing an aspiring author can do to build an audience/brand before publication?Fiction or nonfic? For fiction, don't focus on building a brand, focus on building a community of peers! #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Cimone Watson @bachbunny
#askpsla Do you like for querying authors to have ideas about their books' marketing, and should we mention that in the query?Not really, assuming you mean fiction! Skip any marketing/publicity talk and focus on plot (unless you're BFFs with a celeb?) #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Liam D @elprime
@PSLiterary If a book aimed at adults has a younger MC (teen/tween), does that create confusion? Enough to endanger a query? #askPSLA @kurestinarmadaNope, but this is where it might be good to add a comp to underline that your tone is still firmly adult. #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Casey Bond @AuthorCaseyBond
Would you consider a successful indie author's unpublished works in progress? #askPSLApersonally I only consider finished works #askPSLA
Literary Agent
not often, bc we can all see the queries, but maybe! #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Kerstin Wolf @Kerstin_Wolf
#askPSLA Is there any specific skill that you find is necessary when doing your job?it would be hard to pick a specific one! So much is mental, like taste, perseverance, reading the market/people, etc #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Elizabeth MacKinney @Elizabe62668090
#askPSLA Is 120,000 word count too high for an adult paranormal romance?not an auto reject, but there are probably places you can cut #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Sophie Pinkoski @sophiemlpink
#askPSLA would a really dark, violent opening turn you off?maybe, most likely because I don't care enough yet for it to have any emotional impact #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Moniza Hossain @moniza_hossain
#askPSLA are agents less willing to take on Writers who live far away from them (in Asia, for example)I have two Australian clients and one traveling the world by boat... So no :) #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Michele DeWerth @mdewerth
Which has a better chance of being picked up - fiction based loosely on some aspect of real world or a nonfiction account of same? #askPSLAMemoir is a VERY tough sell, so probably fiction, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be easy either! #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Can't give you blanket advice, sorry! All depends on what the ms needs and what you do well #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Shay Quast @shayodi_quast
Would a young author make you hesitant to work with them? (Ex. 18) #askPSLAI won't rep under 18, and it would take an amazing MS to make me consider under 20. Usually needs more practice #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Kerstin Wolf @Kerstin_Wolf
#askPSLA As far as internships go, is it considered poor etiquette to be doing two at one time?If 2 agencies, would depend on how private the agents are. Would def require full disclosure &a huge time commitment #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Adam Zero @adamzero6
Weird one. Have you ever passed on a query that you eventually saw become published elsewhere? #askPSLAnot a query, bc I probably forgot it quickly. But yes on a partial, and I'm very happy for them! #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Lisa @LmarieWrites
I see a lot of different suggestions for what a YA contemporary word count should be. What are your thoughts? #askPSLA50-70k maybe? It's pretty wide, but I would probably avoid 90+ #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Kerstin Wolf @Kerstin_Wolf
#askPSLA When looking for a job at an agency, is there any other place that it could be posted besides a blog, BookJobs, and PubLunch?sometimes for internships they'll post on Twitter, other times it's all friend of a friend #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Sophie Pinkoski @sophiemlpink
#askPSLA is 138,000 way too long for a YA scifi/fantasy?not too long for me to consider, but I'll probably suggest cuts in edits #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Adam Zero @adamzero6
Can you hire a third party person to do cover art if the book gets published? #askPSLAmost major pubs will do it in house #askPSLA
Literary Agent
Heath Fields @HeathRFields
#askPSLA 72 agents quer'd, 2 partials reqd, 3 fulls reqd. 3 personalized rejections. If I were ur friend, what hard advice would u give me?it's either your query or your book is really niche market. Get your QL in front of a professional to know which! #askPSLA