Today I’m thrilled to have agent Reiko Davis here. She’s an agent at DeFiore & Company.
Hi Reiko! Thanks so much for joining us.
About Reiko:
1. Tell us how you became an agent, how long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been doing as an agent.
I’ve been working in publishing for twelve years (basically since I graduated from college!). I worked as a literary assistant for a few years before I started building my own list. In 2016, I joined DeFiore and Company and have been an agent there ever since.
About the Agency:
2. Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors.
DeFiore and Company is a mid-sized agency based in Manhattan. Our office is near Union Square. Many of our agents, including the head of the agency, Brian DeFiore, were high-level editors and publishing directors for many years before they became agents. It’s an asset to have colleagues who deeply understand the inner workings and acquisitional decision-making within publishing companies when we’re on the other side of the negotiating table as agents. I consider DeFiore a very collaborative team, which is important. As agents, we’re working independently on our own clients’ projects much of the time, so it’s wonderful when we come together as a group to exchange information, expertise, and guidance. I count myself lucky to be at an agency with a dependable “brain trust” and supportive environment, and I think my clients also benefit from being a part of DeFiore as a whole.
What She’s Looking For:
3. What age groups do you represent—picture books, MG, and/or YA? What genres do you represent and what are you looking for in submissions for these genres?
I primarily represent middle-grade nonfiction and fiction, along with
the occasional picture book. I tend to take on more MG nonfiction than
fiction these days, but I’m always interested in finding an MG novel to
fall in love with and champion. For MG nonfiction, I enjoy working on
books that explore mental health, science, political activism, outer
space, the natural world/environmentalism, and narrative history. I’m
most drawn to writing that disrupts hegemony, centers community, and
helps young readers feel more informed, grounded, and empowered in the
world. For MG fiction, I’m very open. I enjoy contemporary and
historical, realistic and magical/speculative, humorous and more
emotionally serious.
4. Is there anything you would be especially excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in?
I’d love to find more MG nonfiction by authors with established platforms and diverse perspectives. I’d also love to see more MG mysteries or MG adventure/survival stories set in wild, unexpected places (anything that features nature or the environment).
What She Isn’t Looking For:
5. What types of submissions are you not interested in?
I’m currently not interested in YA projects or graphic novels.
Agent Philosophy:
6. What is your philosophy as an agent both in terms of the authors you want to work with and the books you want to represent?
I believe in Walter Dean Myers’s statement: “Reading is not optional.” I want to work on books that are educational and super entertaining, and that humanize people and events. I want young readers to get excited about literature because, as we know, reading deepens our empathy and shapes us into better humans and citizens who can make a positive difference in our communities. Obviously, I’m preaching to the choir here because children’s book people—whether they’re writers or publishing workers—already know and love this part of the job of reaching kids through storytelling. I want to work with authors who are singular in their writing voice and also passionate about this mission to both entertain and expand the hearts and minds of kids.
Editorial Agent:
7. Are you an editorial agent? If so, what is your process like when you’re working with your authors before submitting to editors?
Yes, I consider myself an editorial agent. The length of the editorial process varies by project. Some projects need more development than others before I go on submission. Once an author and I are officially working together, I will send them written editorial notes along with a marked-up manuscript with my smaller edits and comments in track changes. Then we usually hop on the phone to discuss my feedback before the author steps away to work on a revision. The number of editing rounds we do depends, again, on the project.
Query Methods and Submission Guidelines: (Always verify before submitting)
8. How should authors query you and what do you want to see with the query letter?
Authors should follow my query guidelines on my agent page on DeFiore’s website .I want to see a query letter, author bio, and the first twenty pages of the manuscript pasted in the body of the email. If it’s a nonfiction project that’s in the form of a proposal rather than a full manuscript, I want to see the query letter, author bio, and the overview and chapter summaries sections of the proposal pasted in the body of the email.
9. Do you have any specific dislikes in query letters or the first pages submitted to you?
I dislike it when authors pitch me projects that do not align with
anything I represent or have expressed interest in representing. So my
pet peeve is a lack of research. I would say that at least 40% of the
queries I receive are not relevant to my work, and it eats up a lot of
time sorting through them to get the queries from authors who’ve spent
time researching agents and being intentional about the people they
approach.
Response Time:
10. What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a manuscript?
Response time is generally no more than a month if I’m requesting a partial or full manuscript. I’m unable to respond to every query I receive, so writers should consider it a pass if they do not hear from me within six weeks.
Self-Published and Small Press Authors:
11. Are you open to representing authors who have self-published or been published by smaller presses? What advice do you have for them if they want to try to find an agent to represent them?
Yes. I’ve worked with several authors who’ve been published by smaller presses before I represented them. I wouldn’t discount an author simply because they’ve had either self-publishing or small press experience before trying to find an agent.
Clients:
12. Who are some of the authors you represent?
Andrea Debbink (The Wild World Handbook series), Dawn Cusick (The Astrochimps), Sean O’Brien (White House Clubhouse series), Stephanie Seales (My Daddy Is a Cowboy), MinuteEarth (the team of science communicators behind the YouTube channel; their How Not to Go Extinct is forthcoming from Bloomsbury Children’s), Lindsey Klingele (The Truth Lies Here),Lucy Jane Bledsoe (Running Wild).
Interviews and Guest Posts:
13. Please share the links to any interviews, guest posts, and podcasts you think would be helpful to writers interested in querying you.
https://www.midwestwriters.org/2024/10/16/meet-agent-fest-online-faculty-reiko-davis-defiore-company/
https://www.writingdayworkshops.com/blog/short-story-collection-literary-agents-an-interview-roundup-with-reiko-davis-kim-lindman-and-amanda-orozco
http://www.middlegradeninja.com/2018/07/7-questions-for-literary-agent-reiko.html
Links and Contact Info:
14. Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on the Web.
Writers should contact me by email. My email address is on my agent page on the DeFiore website. My agent page is the most up-to-date place to find my query guidelines and other information about my wishlist and client list.
I also have a Member page on Publishers Marketplace: https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/rodavis/
Additional Advice:
15. Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we haven’t covered?
Toward the end of 2024, I was feeling mentally burned out, which is pretty common in publishing. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to read more books for pleasure. So far this year, I’ve read six books (for 100% pleasure, not a nagging “I feel like I should” read this book). This has reinvigorated me. It’s even helped in how enthusiastically I find myself reviewing manuscripts for work and thinking about edits.
I think this is the best advice I could give to an aspiring author right now: don’t forgot what pleasure reading does for you. I can definitely get caught in work! work! work! all the time, whether it’s writing, or editing, or thinking constantly about how to get a book published. But that eventually drains the joy from my work if I’m not maintaining a strong connection to why I do it in the first place: getting lost in a transformative book, closing the cover, and thinking, wow, all that time reading was entirely well-spent.
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Reiko.
Giveaway Details
Reiko is generously offering a query critique to one lucky winner. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment through March 8th. If your email is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. If you do not want to enter the contest, that’s okay. Just let me know in the comments.
If you follow me on Twitter or mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. This is an international giveaway.
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or email me at natalieiaguirre7@gmail.com
Note: These agent profiles and interviews presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found here is subject to change.
Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops
Saturday, March 1st I’m participating in the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop
Wednesday, March 5th I have a guest post by debut author Angie Dickinson and a giveaway of her YA Truth Cursed
Monday, March 10th I have an interview with author Angie Millington and a giveaway of her MG Once for Yes
Sunday, March 16th I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop
Monday, March 17th I have an interview with debut author Carol Baldwin and a giveaway of her upper MG/YA Half Truths
I hope to see you on Sunday!