Unputdownable voice, expert structure/pacing, and a compelling premise for commercial genre fiction.
YA in all sub-genres.
Jeanne De Vita is a literary agent at Martin Literary Management with over a decade of publishing experience as an acquisitions and developmental editor for traditional publishers and authors. She has worked with hundreds of new and established authors, including New York Times bestsellers across multiple genres. She maintains an editorial approach, teaching writing and editing craft at the college level while specializing in commercial genre fiction.
Please submit a concise query letter that includes your title, genre, word count, and a brief pitch along with the first five pages of your book embedded in an email. Please include any applicable social media links/handles, your email, telephone number, and your legal name. (You're welcome to include a pen name if you have one/want to use one.) Include relevant publishing history or brief biographical information that may be relevant to my assessment. I will not open attachments and any email sent with attachments will be deleted unopened, so please paste your submission into an email only. Please use QueryTracker to query, as I do not accept email queries. Word Count Requirements: - Full length novels only (minimum 60,000 words) - Will automatically decline most works over 120,000 words What I'm Looking For: - Unputdownable voice - Expert structure and pacing - Strong premise - Commercial genre fiction: romance, romantasy, thriller, horror, mysteries, spec-fic, and more - New authors, indie authors, and underrepresented authors in traditional publishing - LGBTQIA+ authors and #OwnVoices stories What I Don't Want: - YA (young adult, any sub-genre) - Previously published work (unless established author with significant backlist and sales history) - Short stories, anthologies, collections, or novellas - Memoir (unless immersive and reads like a novel) - Christian/inspirational/religious novels and nonfiction - Children's books and middle grade fiction and nonfiction - Grimdark Additional Notes: Please submit YA in all sub-genres to another agent at Martin Lit. I am closed to YA at this time.
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