***Suzie will be on query hiatus--and closed--to queries starting September 1st.***
Though my blog started as more of a personal blog and book blog - and still is - than an "agent" blog, I figured it might be time to go ahead and post some submission guidelines.
About Me
I'm an agent and an assistant to the CEO at FinePrint Literary Management. Check out the agency's blog or publisher's marketplace listing. I was a high school English teacher for six years before changing careers and joining FinePrint as an intern.
I love all subgenres of YA. In fact, I love all things YA. I'm especially looking for YA thrillers right now--paranormal/supernatural or otherwise.
I'm also looking for high concept literary middle grade like Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me or Hannah Moskowitz's forthcoming Zombie Tag.
Upmarket and issue driven women’s fiction. I love novels that would be great for book club discussions. I especially love authors like Jodi Picoult, Sue Monk Kidd, Anna Quindlen, and Alice Hoffman.
Paranormal romance. I’m an absolute junkie for steamy page turning paranormal romances. I own every Jeaniene Frost, Sherrilyn Kenyon, JR Ward, and Gena Showalter novel.
Historical romance sagas. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is one of my favorites, and I recently loved novels by Phillippa Gregory, Karleen Koen, and Elizabeth Chadwick. The Tudors is also a guilty pleasure of mine, and I find especially English and French history fascinating.
Urban fantasy. This is my absolute favorite genre as a reader, but I’m looking for something other than just vampires. The darker the better. Kim Harrison and Kelley Armstrong are on my must read list.
Dark romantic fantasy. The more epic the better. Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels Trilogy and Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series cost me friends since I spent days holed up reading.
I'm also interested in select narrative non-fiction (with special interest in food, memoir, pets, pop culture, and teaching). But I'm not interested in screenplays, poetry, or picture books. I live in Philadelphia with four dogs who know that chewing on shoes is okay but chewing on books is not.
How to Query
To see a pretty simple breakdown of what you need and how it's different for fiction, memoir, and non-fiction go here. For fiction and memoir, your manuscript must be complete and polished. Don't send unsolicited attachments of any kind. Be sure to include your full name, email address, mailing address, and telephone number in your query (and on your manuscript!). For fiction, include the word count (use the word count tool in your word processing program).
For well formated query examples, go here. For information on how to put together a strong non-fiction proposal, read this and this.
I'm open to queries via mail (send to the FinePrint address, at my attention) or email. In addition to your query, please include the first 5-10 pages (pasted into the body of the email - no attachments, please!). Don't worry about sending a synopsis - they're evil.