Agent Spotlight: Kristin Nelson

This week's Agent Spotlight features Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency, LLC.
Status: Closed to submissions except for referrals. Please check the agency website to find out when she opens to submissions.

About: “My goal as an agent is simple: I want every client of mine to make a living solely from writing and 90% of my authors do without help from any other source of income. I established Nelson Literary Agency, LLC, in 2002 and over the last decade+ of my career, I’ve represented over forty New York Times bestselling titles and many USA Today bestsellers. Although I’m a very nice Midwesterner, I’ve heard through the grapevine that editors call me “a hard-working bulldog agent that will fight for you.” What a compliment!
"When not busy selling books, I’m quite sporty. I attempt to play tennis and golf. I also love playing Bridge (where I’m the youngest person in the club). On weekends my husband Brian and I can be found in the mountains hiking with our 15+ year old rat terrier, Chutney.
"My client list is eclectic as I’m looking for a good story well told. How you tell that story doesn’t need to fit in a neat little category. For specifics, check out the books I represent and the more detailed info I give on the Submission Guidelines page. All queries are submitted via Query Manager.
"You can also read about my latest sales at Publishers Marketplace.” (Link)
About the Agency:
Nelson Literary Agency was founded in 2002 and is based in the chic/hip urban setting of lower Downtown Denver—otherwise known as Lodo. Embodying a modern philosophy that technology is meant to be used, the Nelson Agency is a living example that a powerhouse agency does not have to be located in New York.
We are a hands-on agency that strongly believes in taking on clients for their whole career. We provide editorial and marketing guidance as well as aggressive expertise in contract negotiation. (Via email)Web Presence:
Nelson Literary website.
Pubrants (blog).
Publisher’s Marketplace page.
Twitter.
#mswl on Twitter.
Facebook.
AAR.
AgentQuery, QueryTracker.
What She's Looking For:
From the Nelson Lit Website:
"

• Voice and character driven stories well told.
• Literary or literary/commercial adult novels (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet, Where’d You Go Bernadette?, A Man Called Ove) 
• Historical/literary adult novels
• Big crossover adult novels (literary or upmarket level writing) w/one foot squarely in genre (Wool, Station 11, Lexicon, Ready Player One)
• Literary Speculative Fiction
• Voice & character-driven thrillers, science fiction & fantasy
• Voice & character-driven upmarket women’s fiction, upmarket and smart Chick Lit and Rom Com (Think Crazy Rich Asians, The Kiss Quotient)
• Young adult & middle grade novels (all genres including contemporary, #ownvoices, boy adventure, magical, girl power, STEM girls are my jam, characters who use brains over brawn)"

From an Interview (03/2010):
“If the manuscript is well-written with an original concept, we are interested in all submissions for young adult and middle grade. Don't look at our current list and make assumptions that we wouldn't like dark or wouldn't like a male protagonist or anything like that. We love everything in the YA and MG field.” (Link)
What She Isn't Looking For:
Nonfiction, picture books, early reader chapter books, memoir, screenplays, short-story collections, poetry, Christian/inspirational (Link)
Editorial Agent?
Yes.
Clients:
A list of Nelson Literary clients can be found on the website.
Ms. Nelson’s clients include: Ms. Nelson’s clients include: JD Barker, Gail Carriger, Ally Carter, Jana DeLeon, Simone Elkeles, Jamie Ford, Hugh Howey, Stacey Lee, Marie Lu, Josh Malerman, Scott Reintgen, and Sherry Thomas.
Query Methods: Ms. Nelson is closed to submissions except for referrals.
E-mail: No.
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: Yes.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
"Because we are an agency that responds to each and every query email received, we are now accepting queries solely through QueryManager as a way to manage the volume. To submit…
Please see below to review what each agent is looking to acquire. You may submit to only ONE agent of your choice—because we share queries with each other here at NLA, a pass from one is a pass from all. When you’re ready to query, click the purple query button for the agent you have chosen. This will take you to that agent’s query form, where you will be asked to submit the following information:

• a brief bio, including any writing credentials you may have
• the title, genre, and word count of your book
• your query letter
• the first ten pages of your book" (Link)

See the Nelson Literary website for complete up-to-date submission guidelines.
Query Tips:
There are Query Dos and Don’ts listed in this interview at WOW.
Response Times:
Three weeks for queries and two months for full manuscripts
What's the Buzz?
Ms. Nelson is a highly respected literary agent.  She’s shed tremendous light on the publishing industry via her blog, Pub Rants, and continues to educate writers and industry professionals on a weekly basis.  She’s a member of the AAR.
Worth Your Time:
Interviews and Guest Posts:
Literary Agents and the Hybrid Author at Jane Friedman (08/2016).
Fast Five with Kristin Nelson at Bookshelf Detective (09/2015).
Kristin Nelson and Stacey Lee Guest Post at Literary Rambles (03/2015).
Interview with Agent Kristin Nelson at Pub Crawl (02/2013).
SCBWI Bologna 2010 Agent Interview: Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency at Cynsations (03/2010).
Agent Advice Interview with Kristin Nelson at the Guide to Literary Agents blog (01/2010).
Blog Posts:
Ms. Nelson has one of the best industry blogs around, and I’d be listing posts for days if I tried to highlight the particularly helpful. Check out the sidebar on her blog, Pub Rants, where she’s linked all her Agent 101 posts, Client Queries that Worked, Submission Pitch Letters to Editors, and an entire Query Pitch Workshop. If you have a question about publishing or her agenting style, it’s likely she’s covered it at some point. Check the labels for archived posts. I also recommend that you subscribe to her newsletter.
Contact:
Please see the Nelson Literary website for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 5/19/2020.
Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent?  5/21/2020
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Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at natalieiaguirre7(at)gmail(dot)com

Note: These agent profiles presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.