Agent Spotlight: Kristin Ostby Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Kristin Ostby here. She is a literary agent at The Greenhouse Literary Agency.

Hi­ Kristin! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Kristin:

1. Tell us how you became an agent, how long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been doing as an agent.

Hi! Thank you for having me at Literary Rambles! I was a children’s book editor for many years, chiefly at Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. Over time, I began to wonder in the back of my mind if agenting might be a good fit. My creative relationships with authors and illustrators have always been incredibly important to me; I also get so much satisfaction out of my industry relationships—I love book talk with publishing friends. Being able to pair great clients with great editors sounded really satisfying.

When Greenhouse came calling and it was the perfect fit. Their sterling reputation and remarkable track record speak for themselves, and Sarah Davies and Chelsea Eberly approach the job with a strong set of values and a sincere love for the work. Since joining Greenhouse, I’ve been reading queries, signing clients, and laying the groundwork for what I hope to be a successful career representing true talent.

About the Agency:

2. Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors.

Greenhouse is a place where writers and illustrators can grow—we’re committed to fostering our clients’ careers. We’re an established, reputable agency that leads with not just our taste but our values, and we have a proven track record of success. Currently, our agents each come from the editorial side of the desk. That means we have been through the acquisitions and negotiations process at major houses and we know how publishers think. It gives us a big advantage as we work to find the best possible homes for our clients’ works.

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 represent middle-grade and young adult fiction, as well as picture book author/illustrators.

In middle grade, I’m looking for voicey, character-driven stories of the commercial and/or literary variety. I love middle grade that uses humor as a tool to reveal funny, unspoken truths about kids’ experiences or to carry heavier themes about family life or the world at large. Books should honor children’s capacity for understanding and imagination, and I’m not afraid of stories that artfully push the envelope in addressing evolving societal issues or norms (all wrapped in a page-turning narrative, of course). I have a soft spot for middle-grade mystery. I also love lyrical middle-grade writing.

In YA, I’m largely drawn to contemporary, be it literary fiction, humor/romantic comedy, or thriller.

In both middle grade and young adult, I would love to find tightly written, tightly plotted, fast-paced commercial stories. I also enjoy subversive narratives, genuinely surprising twists, and unreliable or unexpected narrators, and I particularly adore stories with unabashedly intersectional overtones.

4.  Is there anything you would be especially excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in?

Underrepresented voices.

What She Isn’t Looking For:

5. What types of submissions are you not interested in?

I am not looking for picture book manuscripts or issue books.

(Please also note that Greenhouse does not represent poetry collections, short story collections, screenplays, erotica, or titles for the Christian/inspirational market.)

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 want to work with authors whose writing captivates me, pure and simple—typically that means writing that showcases craft and ingenuity while also being good, raw entertainment. I want books that are daring and surprising and hopefully funny too. And ideally many of the books I represent will help to create empathy for the unique ways in which children from all backgrounds experience the world.

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?

I am an editorial agent, yes. I take a lot of pleasure in the creative process. With a manuscript, I give it a close read, compile a lot of notes and ideas, and draft an editorial letter outlining my vision for how to shape the story. After the author has read the letter, we will hop on the phone and discuss, working collaboratively to find the best approach for revisions in order to take the manuscript to the next level and get it ready to go out on submission. (This stage is where the magic happens—putting our heads together on ideas is incredibly energizing.) Sometimes we will do two or three rounds of this, and at the end I’ll go in and line edit, making suggestions to help the story sing at the sentence level. (My former side gig as a freelance copy editor also comes in handy at this stage for preparing a clean manuscript.) Once the author and I are feeling good about the text, and confident editors will share our vision for the book’s potential, it’s ready to go!

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 can query me through Query Manager: https://querymanager.com/query/kristinostby

The strongest query letters give me a tagline or hook right up front with the genre/age category, followed by a succinct summary and a brief biography. I always appreciate comp titles. And I like it when authors bring their voice to the query letter too—it’s nice to get a sense of personality.

9.  Do you have any specific dislikes in query letters or the first pages submitted to you?

It’s disappointing when I can tell an author hasn’t put in much time or effort into their query letter. I prefer to work with authors who are willing to put in the work, and a query letter is often indicative of whether or not that’s the case.

Response Time:

10. What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a manuscript?

I try and reply to queries within a few weeks; same with manuscripts.

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?

I’m focusing on representing previously unpublished works, though I’m open to new works by previously self-published authors or authors who have published with small presses. It can be particularly compelling for an agent if you can share strong sales data, press, or awards for previous works, whether self-published or with a small press.

12. With all the changes in publishing—self-publishing, hybrid authors, more small publishers—do you see the role of agents changing at all? Why?

A good agent will always have the best interests of their clients in mind and work to the best of their abilities to match good books with the right publisher.

Clients:

13. Who are some of the authors you represent?

So far my clients include Winifred Conkling, Alexandra Diaz, Natalie Lund, Meghana Narayan, Molly Kasperek, Tricia Springstubb, Sophie Stewart, and Shawn Stout.

Interviews and Guest Posts:

14. Please share the links to any interviews and guest posts you think would be helpful to writers interested in querying you.

n/a

5/30/2022: Agent Spotlight: Kristin Ostby at From the Mixed-Up Files 5/30/2022

Links and Contact Info:

15. Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on the Web.

https://querymanager.com/query/kristinostby

https://www.greenhouseliterary.com/the-team/kristin-ostby/

https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/kristinostby/

Additional Advice:

16. Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we haven’t covered?

n/a

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Kristin.

­Kristin 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 October 23rd. If your e-mail 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 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 e-mail 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.