One of the best things about having an agent is that she usually knows the little details about editors and what they like. An agent knows that Editor Jane has a thing for firefighters and Editor Fran is so claustrophobic she can't even read about tight spaces. She also knows that Editor Brad loves anything to do with the Civil War, especially from a Northern perspective, while Editor Lois is conservative politically and not interested in anything from the "other side."
It's hard for authors to do know these things though. While agents might give some insight into their interests through Twitter or agency guidelines, most don't usually get into the nitty-gritty of what makes a book stand out in their particular genres of interest. So we thought we'd change that. Here is some of the nitty gritty on BookEnds. These are the types of themes that stand out, as long as they fit the genres on our submission guidelines.
If you’re writing….. Submit to.....
dark, creepy and very nasty serial killers Jessica F
billionaires/sheikhs/princes/CEOS Jessica A
shy, awkward girl who ends up with tattooed, motorcycle-riding, misunderstood badass Kim
dark & gritty with tough, unusual female leads Jessica A/F
dark & gritty with tough, unusual female leads Jessica A/F
LGBT Beth
military or secret agent heroes Jessica A
spaceships, teleports, and/or cybernetics Beth
suspense or mystery set in LA Bayou Jessica F
blind/scarred/crippled, bitter, reclusive heroes Kim/Jessica A
gory or macabre Jessica A/Beth
siblings or old friends with a deep, dark secret Kim
medical examiners or forensic anthropologists Jessica A/Beth
cabin romances (hero/heroine stranded together) Kim
international romantic suspense aka Homeland M1-6 or Mossad agents Jessica A
voyeurs Jessica A/F
female-driven books about bibliophiles Kim/Jessica F
protagonists with memory loss Beth
four Weddings and a Funeral style romance Jessica A
psychological mysteries Beth/Jessica F
curmudgeonly Mr. Rochester-type hero Kim/Jessica A
voyeurs Jessica A/F
female-driven books about bibliophiles Kim/Jessica F
protagonists with memory loss Beth
four Weddings and a Funeral style romance Jessica A
psychological mysteries Beth/Jessica F
curmudgeonly Mr. Rochester-type hero Kim/Jessica A
And keep in mind, we keep an eye out for everyone at BookEnds which means we're always passing queries and manuscripts back and forth. If I feel something I receive might be better for someone else I'm going to happily pass it to her.
Looking forward to seeing what you've got!
4 comments:
What, no historical era/setting breakdown? Perhaps, as a follow-up post? :0)
Okay, now that I've got that part settled, I just need to finish polishing my query letter. Thanks!
Great info! Thanks!!
jan
I feel that as a new writer we have all the confidence in the world until we submit our queries. Great fear overwhelms us and then we begin to think "what if." What if we chose the wrong person to query? What if this person will take my concept for another more established writer? What if the person keeps my query from someone at their agency that would be better suited for me? Many thoughts flood our brains but at the end of the day we have calm in the literary force that everything will be okay. I feel that calm in this blog. Thank you :-)
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