CS4W: Welcome, Kate! Thank you for joining us. Please tell us about kt literary.
Thanks for having me here! I started kt literary earlier this year, in January 2008, after ten years with a big agency in NYC. I was planning a few life changes – moving, getting married, etc. – and it seemed like the perfect time to do something I’d been thinking about for a while. I was lucky enough to bring almost all of the clients I’d signed previously with me to kt literary, and since then I’ve added about another 6 or so authors. So, for the moment, we’re a small boutique agency (I just love that term!), but we have partners around the world and in Hollywood , so our reach is great.
CS4W: What genres are you actively acquiring?
I’m mostly looking for YA and middle grade fiction, but I also love reading funny women’s fiction and other commercial genres – I have a client who writes scifi and fantasy – as well as an interest in pop culture narrative nonfiction. As for genres within the YA and middle grade age ranges – anything goes!
CS4W: What is your preferred method of submission? What is your standard response time?
All of the guidelines for submitting to kt literary are on our website. I’m basically looking for a query letter and the FIRST three pages of your manuscript. I have to emphasize *first* because you’d be amazed how many authors think I want to read a couple of pages halfway through their book, because “that’s where it really gets going.” If that’s the case, why don’t you start there?
Anyway, I try to respond to all queries within two weeks, and if I request a partial (usually the first five chapters), then I try to get back to people on those within two months. On full manuscripts, I’m afraid my response time is a little longer, but I welcome authors to follow up with me if I’m taking too long.
CS4W: How many partials would you say you request out of the numerous queries you receive each week?
Well, just the other week I had about 100 queries to go through (I live blogged my responses to them here and here), and of those, I requested partials on 4 of them. I’d say that’s about standard.
CS4W: If an author queries you and you decline, can that author query you in the future with a different manuscript?
They can, sure, but please not right away. If I say no to something and you just turn around with something else, I don’t get the feeling you’re offering me something better, merely grabbing back into your junk drawer, so to speak, for something else. Agents hope and expect that you’re sending us the best of your work the first time, so if something gets a no, it’s hard to believe a lesser work may do it for us.
Now, if I reject and specifically ASK for something else, that’s different. Also, if you were rejected, and 9 months later come to me with another book, that’s doesn’t give me the same desperate vibe.
CS4W: How closely do you work with your authors? Do you offer editorial advice?
I do, to a degree, but I like to say I’m about the big picture – do I like this character, do I believe in her motivations, can you find a way to insert a little more humor, is there a way to trim the endings? I read books like a reader, and I want to love them, really I do. I think the best thing I can do in some cases is to let the author know what questions popped up for me on a reading, and see if we can find a way to answer them. I’m happy to read revisions and work with an author to polish a text – but I also know editors like to get their hands into a manuscript, so I don’t feel a book is finished when I’m done with it, just ready to go out to someone with another critical eye.
CS4W: What type of contract do you offer? Is it book-by-book or for a certain length of time?
My retainer letter is for a specific title, but I want to work with an author for their career, of course, so there’s room to add additional titles to our contract.
CS4W: What do you enjoy most about your job?
Free books? No, seriously, I love having a job where I can read all day (I don’t, usually, since there’s a lot of other work to do, but I could) and I love the people that work in this industry – the writers, the editors, the publicists, the artists. If I was going to throw a party, I’d want these people as guests. Also, free books. I’m addicted.
CS4W: Unfortunately, there are a number of unscrupulous people out there claiming to be legitimate agents. What should an author be aware of when seeking representation?
You want to look for experience, and that’s where the internet is one of the best tools out there for a writer. Check out any agent on Predators & Editors, make sure their name isn’t an oft-repeated subject on Absolute Write, see if they’ve made any recent sales on Publishers Marketplace, and check what other writers have to say about them on the Verla Kay and SCBWI boards. Do that before you send a query, and then if an agent offers representation, see if you can talk to any of their clients. I’m always happy to provide references, and I state my commission right out front so you know what the terms of our agreement would be.
CS4W: What can an unpublished author do to improve their chances of getting an agent?
Polishing their writing is the best course of action, followed by networking and learning the industry. You should definitely be in a writers group – I think they’re invaluable for learning how to give and receive criticism. Go to workshops and conferences. Go to author signings at your local bookstore and ask questions. Read other writers’ blogs. Follow the trades.
CS4W: What trends do you see either coming or going in the market today?
Ack, I hate questions like this. Unfortunately, so often if you see a trend and can comment on it for a writer, it’s already too late. Luckily, trends come around again, so all those vampire and werewolf books that can’t get sold right now because of the glut in the market may become viable at some point in the future. In general, I will say paranormals are strong, and I think a lot of editors would love to find great YA fiction for boys.
CS4W: What encouraging advice would you like to share with our readers who are seeking an agent?
Keep at it, do your research, and don’t stop writing. Even when you’re at the stage of submitting, don’t let that be a full time job. Take time to keep working on the next novel, so that you’re ready for that enviable conversation when an agent says, “I love this, what else do you have?”
About Kate:
After nearly ten years with industry powerhouse agency Janklow & Nesbit Associates, Kate Schafer Testerman formed kt literary in early 2008, where she concentrates on middle grade and YA fiction as well as diving into some adult commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction. Bringing to bear the experience of working with a large agency, she's looking forward to concentrating on all aspects of working with her authors, offering hands-on experience, personal service, and a surfeit of optimism.
Her clients include Maureen Johnson, Alyson Noël, Ellen Booraem, Susannah French, Daniel J. Blau, Josie Bloss, and Matthew Cody, among other exciting newcomers. Kate is a graduate of the University of Delaware's Honors Program, a former cast member of the New York Renaissance Faire, and an avid collector of shoes. Her interests cover a broad range including teen chick lit, urban fantasy and magical realism, adventure stories, and romantic comedies. She is an active member of the SCBWI.
