Friday, June 11, 2010
Agent Interview: Sarah LaPolla
Sarah is super nice and very easy to get along with, just don't mention Thin Mints. (They're all sick of those evil little cookies.)
About Sarah (courtesy of the Curtis Brown website):
Now then, on to the
Me: I understand that you’ve been at Curtis Brown for a couple of years but that you are now taking on your own clients; how does that feel?
Me: Happy to have you! Now, what are some of the hardships/perks of being a newer literary agent and building your client list?
Sarah: Newer agents in general are usually more open to taking on debut writers, which is a group I love to support. I like the freedom of being a younger agent. It means I can devote more time to individual clients and take bigger risks on a project. I’m also a big believer in an agent’s editorial role, so I like the idea of having more time to focus on a single project before submitting. More established agents do editorial work too, of course, but sometimes they might have to pass on a project that needs revision because they don’t have the time to take on the extra work.
Of course, the main hardship of trying to build a list in the midst of established and successful agents is that possibility of seeing a project I love go to someone with more experience.
Me: Do you spend most of your time trudging through the slush, trying to make manuscripts shine, on submission to editors, or something else entirely?
Sarah:
Me: You heard it guys, she edits! :) Your page on the Curtis Brown site says that you represent YA, are you looking for anything in particular?
Sarah: My favorite type of YA is for older teens, or anything that can have crossover appeal. I like urban fantasy and paranormal lit, but I’d also love to see a return of realistic fiction. Usually what hooks me in YA is a strong narrator. That’s true for my adult preferences too, but I think it’s even more important in YA to have a voice that readers can connect with.
Me: You represent a variety of things, is there anything you absolutely don’t want to see in your slush pile? Do you have any pet-peeves in writing?
Me: It's never too early to say never! (I think.) It sounds like you really enjoy your job; what is your favorite part of being an agent so far?
Sarah: The best part of being an agent so far has got to be requesting a manuscript, realizing I LOVE it, and then realizing I have the power to make others love it too.
Me: That does sound pretty amazing. If you could give one piece of advice to writers, what would it be?
Sarah: For writers looking for help with their writing, take all advice in form of “suggestions.” For writers looking how to query, take all advice as gospel.
Me: That's really good advice! Do you have any tips or pieces of advice for those who want to become agents themselves?
Sarah: Keep up with publishing news and trends, and don’t listen to anyone who says publishing is dying.
Me: Good ad- wait, publishing is dying?! I kid, I kid. Are there any projects that you are working on right now that we can look forward to reading some time soon?
Sarah: I am anxiously awaiting a revision on an urban fantasy about a group of telekinetics in New Orleans
Me: Oh, sounds interesting! Okay, one last question for fun, what is the best book, published or not, that you have read recently?
Sarah:
Me: Haha, alright, now I *really* want to read this book. Keep me posted! Well, thank you so much, it was a real pleasure having you!
A huge thank you to Sarah for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions! I hope a few of you can add a new agent to your query list now if you didn't already have her. You can even follow Sarah's blog. She's fabulous and she's looking to expand her client list, so get querying!
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8 comments:
Great interview questions and answers! Thanks so much, Amanda & Sarah!
Thank you for this interview! It's great to learn more about Sarah. Her blog is fantastic, and I wish she represented my genre. :)
I love Sarah's blog. She's always got some great writing on there. Thanks for the advice and how fun was it to interview her??
Great interview! I think I'll throw a query her way, when the time is right!
I heart Sarah. Glad to hear she's as awesome in person as she seems on her blog and tweets.
Thanks for sharing the interview! :)
So cool that you got to meet Sarah. I'm super jealous. On my way now to read the interview. :)
Great interview, Amanda. As writers, some of us might tend to be unaware of all the hard work and hopes on the other side of queries, on the agents' side. Thanks for sharing!
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