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Agent Sarah LaPolla returns to MWW

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Literary agent Sarah LaPolla returns to MWW13!

Sarah LaPolla is very excited to share her latest news that she is now with Bradford Literary Agency!

LaPolla Bradford

Sarah represents YA and adult fiction, and the genres she looks for in both of those categories run pretty parallel. She prefers contemporary stories to historical, unless there’s a very good reason for it to be historical. For “genre” fiction, she loves horror, mystery, science fiction, and fantasy, but looks for the word “literary” before any of those headings. Think Shirley Jackson as opposed to Dean Koontz for horror, or Gillian Flynn rather than Sue Grafton for mystery. If she’s not in love with the characters, it’s hard for her to pay attention to much else. She also loves magical realism, which is hard to define and is a very specific type of writing. Her quick definition is: A subgenre of literary fiction that infuses fantastic/surreal elements to the story that are not essential to the plot.

Sarah runs the literary blog Glass Cases and can be found on Twitter at @sarahlapolla.

MWW committee member Cathy Shouse (Twitter@cathyshouse) interviewed Sarah for this week’s newsletter.

Cathy: Most agents come to MWW just once. Why did you decide to come back?

Sarah: I’ll come back to MWW as many times as I’m invited! The staff and faculty are so organized and friendly and professional. It was great getting to know them on a personal level last year as well as professional. It’s nice when conferences aren’t all about business every second of the weekend. MWW seems to keep in mind that agents are people first and agents second. It’s just a great atmosphere to be a part of, and the quality of the writing I’ve seen there is worth the trip alone.

Cathy: Any tips for last year’s attendees who pitched to you and perhaps you took a pass? It’s not easy on either side when the answer is “no,” and the reasons why will vary. I ask because one writer said that she acquired an agent after they had multiple contacts at conferences over a period of years. Some of us may think a rejection means to avoid the agent forever.

Sarah: It always depends on why the pitch was rejected. If it’s something I don’t represent, then I’m not likely to change my mind. But if it’s something I asked questions about and passed on because certain elements were missing, then I’d be open to revisit it.

Cathy: When we last talked, you had not ever found a client at a conference. What is the status of your finding clients at conferences these days?

Sarah: Last year I met the fabulous Summer Heacock at MWW and requested her manuscript when she didn’t even pitch to me. We just got to know each other as people first and then I realized–through the other agents there–that her writing was just as clever as she seemed to be. So, I requested the manuscript, asked for a revision, and about four months post-MWW, I signed her as a client.

Cathy: Do you have a personal list of automatic rejection criteria for queries and submissions?

Sarah: I answer everything I receive with usually a form rejection, and then a personal rejection if it’s something I requested. (Or, the better case scenario, with an offer of representation!) There are two exceptions: When a query is attached instead of in the body of the email, it gets instantly deleted. The other “delete-without-being-read” query is when I see other agents copied on it. Writers should query multiple agents simultaneously, but they should be choosing specific agents they think will be a good fit for them. Mass emails show carelessness and a lack of professionalism.

Cathy: What premises or plot twists are you tired of seeing in your inbox?

Sarah:

  1. Anything paranormal. Vampires have finally subsided, but now I’m seeing too many genetically enhanced humans, teens with superpowers, and love interests who are paranormal creatures.
  2. Main character’s parents are dead/neglectful/drunk/other-excuse-for-absent, so main character must find self-actualization through a “wild” best friend or perfect soul mate.
  3. Teens who are bullied or are bullies. I’ve sold books like this and still think they matter, but I’m overloaded with them. Bullying as a YA topic has always been around, but in recent years it’s become a trend, and sadly that market has become saturated.
  4. Dystopian worlds that don’t do anything new with the genre. I love dystopian, but it’s too hard to sell in the post-Hunger Games market so 99 percent of the time I have to pass on it. Conspiratorial governments, characters living in a not-what-it-seems world, and the one girl or boy who’s meant to save the day are “basic” elements of dystopian that can’t stand on their own anymore.

Cathy: Anything writers should know about your change of agencies? Do you still handle foreign rights?

Sarah: I’m still the same agent! I represent the same genres and hope to grow my adult fiction side of my list at my new agency. I don’t still work in foreign rights, but since I came from that world and know how much it matters, I made it part of my job search to only seek agencies with a fabulous foreign rights agent. Among the many reasons I joined Bradford Literary was because I knew my authors would be in good hands with Taryn Fagerness as their foreign rights representative.

Cathy: What are some examples of current published works you enjoy, to give us a feel for what interests you?

Sarah: My favorite book published last year was Gone Girlby Gillian Flynn. This year (and yes I know it’s only half over), my favorite is Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. Two very different books, but at their core they’re both about characters you can’t stop reading about.

Cathy: For those with pitch appointments with you in July, how should they prepare? This is your chance to describe an ideal pitch appointment, or take it in the reverse, what is a poor one?

Sarah: I always tell writers to relax! The point of a pitch session is to tell an agent–succinctly–what your book is about. If you do that, you’ve won the pitch session. No agent will offer you representation based on a pitch session. If you get a “sure, send me material,” the agent still needs to read your work. So there’s no reason to get worked up during the pitch. Even if it’s a “no,” then the writer still did the job.

Cathy: If someone doesn’t have a pitch session, may that person still approach you? If so, how?

Sarah: Of course. I’ll probably be put off if a writer approaches me with their pitch, but a simple “hello, how are you, oh by the way I have a book you might like” can work out quite well. Also? They should attend the session I’m teaching with Summer Heacock at MWW on how to approach agents at conferences!

****

Sarah’s Part II sessions include:

  • Agent Panel Q&A: Sarah LaPolla, Victoria Marini, John Cusick, Amanda Luedeke, Brooks Sherman. Topics: The 3-minute pitch, query letters, etc.
  • Publishing in a Brave New World Panel – Sarah LaPolla, Roxane Gay, Barb Shoup, Jane Friedman, D.E. Johnson
  • How to Make a Connection at Conferences – Sarah LaPolla and Summer Heacock

Writer + agent = MWW success

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MWW12 participant Summer Heacock (@Fizzygrrl) shared the good news that she is now represented by Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown Ltd.

How did that happen? They met at MWW!

Q: So what’s the story, Summer?

Let’s see. Here is a Cliff’s Notes version of my agent tale:  When I signed up for MWW12 I was actually planning to pitch my YA/Fantasy manuscript. In the time between registering and the actual conference, I ended up trunking the YA and focusing on revising my Women’s Fiction manuscript written four years ago. I had queried if and obviously not reached the finish line the first time around.

On the last day of the workshop, I ended up with a fantastically dramatic request from Sarah that turned into interest in a full manuscript a few days later. From there she sent me amazing notes for an R&R (Revise and Resubmit) and I worked on those and ate my body weight in Jelly Bellies while I did.

I had some very random and possibly terrifying interactions with other agents who were considering the manuscript as this was all going on, but ever since I met Sarah at MWW, she was the one I was holding my breath for. Once she had the revisions, I soon had an offer from another agent and had to send the fabled OFFER OF REP email to Sarah literally while she was in the middle of Hurricane Sandy.  So, that was weird…

After well, you know, her office was opened again a week later after storm insanity, she got the manuscript, and a few days later, emailed me to set up The Call.  I tried to be very suave about everything, but after hearing her notes and ideas, when she officially offered me representation, I was all but yelping YES into the phone.

Q: In your opinion, why should readers of our newsletter register for MWW13?
Because it’s awesome. Seriously. Aside from being impeccably run and more organized than a writer’s gathering has any right to be, I have never learned so much about the industry in such a short time.  One of the things that makes a conference in Indiana special is that we are never going to be as jam packed as bigger cities. It made meeting people and connecting with the professionals a dream.  I made friends that I still talk to and see regularly. And well, it ended up with my landing an agent, so, yeah. You can count me as a big ol’ fan.

Q: How do you put those cool moving photos on your blog?

Oh man, the GIFs (a special moving type of picture) are my favorite part of blogging. I swear, I get a bigger kick out of them than anyone. I will literally be sitting in bed laughing like a crazy person for an hour while I search.

I use Google and hope for the best. I search the Internet and sometimes come across really hilarious or appropriate ones and giggle until it hurts. My husband, Drew, is also a computer ninja and makes them for me occasionally.

Q: Do you plan to make MWW 2013?  And lastly, where are you from?

YES.  Yes, I really do.  It is a very genuine dream of mine to one day be a speaker or faculty at one of the Workshops. So yes, I will be there until someone bars me from returning, 🙂 And I live in Lebanon, Indiana.

NOTE: Kelsey Timmerman gets the excitement on video!

MWW12: Summer Heacock's big news!
MWW12: Summer Heacock’s big news!

TWEET from Sarah LaPolla @sarahlapolla

That video makes me totally miss the whole @MidwestWriters crew. Conferences really do work, writers! Find ones in your area & attend them.

Interview with agent Sarah LaPolla

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Meet Sarah LaPolla!

LaPolla Sarah LaPolla is an associate agent at Curtis Brown, Ltd. She studied creative writing at Ithaca College, and has an MFA in creative nonfiction from The New School. She joined Curtis Brown, Ltd. in 2008 as the assistant to the foreign rights department, and became an associate agent in 2010. Sarah represents both adult and YA fiction. For adult books, she is looking for literary fiction, urban fantasy, magical realism, mystery, literary horror, and has a soft spot for short story collections. On the YA side, she welcomes contemporary/realistic fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, magical realism, mystery, and horror. No matter what age the intended audience, Sarah tends to be drawn to voice-driven narratives, strong female protagonists, and complex characters.  Sarah runs a literary blog called Glass Cases and can be found on Twitter.

Q. What is the advantage to writers meeting and pitching you at a conference and do you think they are more serious and perhaps their decision comes faster, as examples? Have you found clients at conferences in the past?

I haven’t found a client at a conference yet, but I have made requests at conferences that I might not have just through receiving a query. I think writers who pay to go to conferences are serious, but I don’t think writers who can’t do that are any less serious. That said, being able to speak with a writer in person makes a difference. If I need a writer to elaborate on query, it usually means the story isn’t being conveyed well enough. I don’t have time to engage in a conversation with everyone who queries me, so those usually just get rejected. In person, I’m able to ask questions and see their enthusiasm for their novel.

Q. We have a list of what you don’t want in the comments that follow. What exactly are you looking for, and please be specific. For example, suspense and thrillers are not easy to define. Are you looking for either and please give a quick description of what they are?

I represent both YA and adult fiction, and the genres I look for in both of those categories run pretty parallel. I prefer contemporary stories to historical, unless there’s a very good reason for it to be historical. For “genre” fiction, I love horror, mystery, science fiction, and fantasy, but I look for the word “literary” before any of those headings. Think Shirley Jackson as opposed to Dean Koontz for horror, or Gillian Flynn rather than Sue Grafton for mystery. If I’m not in love with the characters, it’s hard for me to pay attention to much else. I also love magical realism, which is hard to define and is a very specific type of writing. My quick definition is: A subgenre of literary fiction that infuses fantastic/surreal elements to the story that are not essential to the plot.

Q. What else would you like to say? Also, I’ve seen that you are not keen on self-publishing. Why not?

I’m actually quite keen on self-publishing, but if you asked me this question two years ago I may have answered differently. I still think traditional publishing is a better route for most writers, but in some cases self-publishing is actually the better option. I think the quality of writing in self-publishing has gotten better because writers are voluntarily choosing it now. They know that a good book needs editing and marketing, and they are doing the jobs of ten different people to get their book in the hands of readers. Not all writers want to do that or even can do that, but the ones who are deserve to be taken seriously. A few years ago, it felt as if self-publishing was where writers went after they got too many rejections, and the quality of the work reflected that. That still happens, for sure, but the self-publishing landscape is definitely moving forward and I respect it for becoming a legitimate force in the industry.

Q. Do you have a personal list of automatic rejection criteria for queries and submissions?

I answer everything I receive with usually a form rejection, and then a personal rejection if it’s something I requested. (Or, the better case scenario, with an offer of representation!) There are two exceptions: When a query is attached instead of in the body of the email, it gets instantly deleted. The other “delete-without-being-read” query is when I see other agents copied on it. Writers should query multiple agents simultaneously, but they should be choosing specific agents they think will be a good fit for them. Mass emails show carelessness and a lack of professionalism.

Q. What premises or plot twists are you tired of seeing in your inbox?

1) Teenage girl or boy leads a normal life until he or she meets [insert love interest and/or paranormal creature here].

2) Main character’s parents are dead/neglectful/drunk/other excuse for absent, so main character must find self-actualization through a “wild” best friend or perfect soul mate.

3) A main or supporting character is or becomes a vampire, werewolf, or zombie. (Sadly, this is still all-too-common in my query pile.)

4) Dystopian worlds that don’t do anything new with the genre. I love dystopian, but it’s too hard to sell in the post-Hunger Games market so 99% of the time I have to pass on it. Conspiratorial governments, characters living in a post-apocalyptic world, and the one girl or boy (sometimes with super powers) who’s meant to save the day are the “basic” elements of dystopian that can’t stand on their own anymore.