Literary Agent Interview: Lynnette Novak Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Lynnette Novak here. She is a literary agent at The Seymour Agency.

Status: Update on 9/28/2024: Lynette is open to submissions.

Hi­ Lynnette! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Lynnette:

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

I mentored in Pitch Wars for two years (2015 and 2016) as a freelance editor. It was amazing. I loved having contestants send entries to me and enjoyed going through my slush pile to choose a manuscript I wanted to help a writer improve. That first year gave me the itch to become an agent and my Pitch Wars time in 2016 confirmed it. I pushed that feeling aside, believing you had to become an intern at an agency right out of university. I didn’t do that, so I thought I’d missed the boat.

At times, I divided my day between my elementary teaching job, freelance editing, and writing. You read that right! I used to write, so I know what writers go through and can totally relate! I wrote romantic suspense novels and was starting to get somewhere, winning awards or coming close. I even had an offer of representation from an agent for one of my books. So exciting!!! However, a conversation I had with another agent while attending the RWA conference as a Golden Heart Finalist threw me for a loop!

I told her how much fun I had as a Pitch Wars mentor and I wished I could be an agent too. She laughed. She said with seventeen years freelance editing experience, I could jump right into agenting.

Wait. What…

I had some thinking to do. There was no way I’d start two new careers at the same time (as an author and agent). My hair would all fall out! So, I asked myself which career path I NEEDED to pursue. Agenting. No question. I get to read for a living. I get to experience so many worlds, characters, and plots—much more than if I had been writing my own stories. And I get to work with talented editors, agents, and authors aka My Peeps! I contacted a handful of literary agencies, received three offers, and chose to work with The Seymour Agency in 2017.

Best. Decision. Ever.

About the Agency:

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

The Seymour Agency strives to offer aspiring and established authors the representation and resources they need to succeed in the ever-evolving publishing industry.

 

Our literary agents firmly believe in exploring every opportunity for our authors. From foreign and audio rights to film, television, and other multimedia and digital prospects such as gaming and apps, we strive to provide hands-on emotional, professional, promotional, and editorial counsel to each one of our authors.

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?

Currently looking for: (Always looking for own voices, diversity, and LGBTQ+!!!)

In adult fiction: thrillers, psychological suspense, contemporary romance, romantic comedy, and mysteries (traditional, amateur sleuth, and cozy).

In young adult fiction: thrillers, psychological suspense, horror, contemporary, mysteries, and fantasy.

In middle grade fiction: contemporary, horror, fantasy, action/adventure, mystery, humor, and novels in verse.

In children’s fiction: picture books (non-rhyming preferred).

In graphic novels: chapter books, early readers, MG, and YA.

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

This is constantly changing, but right now, I’m looking to add to my middle grade and young adult lists, including graphic novels in those age groups.

What She Isn’t Looking For:

At the moment, I’m not looking for science fiction in any age category.

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

I’m not interested in adult nonfiction or Christian fiction.

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?

It’s very important to me to represent marginalized voices so I can help get those voices into 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’ll bet you never guessed I’m an editorial agent. Did my seventeen years as a freelance editor give it away? LOL Of course, it depends on the project, but generally speaking, we do at least one big picture/developmental edit. I read the MS and give the author notes on what is and isn’t working. I make suggestions on how to fix issues, but I don’t expect the author to necessarily use my suggestions—although, they’re more than welcome to. What I’m really saying is, “There’s a problem here. Please fix it.”

After the author sends the revised MS back, I then open Track Changes and make comments about all kinds of things like stilted dialogue; buried dialogue; repetition; passive writing; information/backstory dump; not enough emotion; show, don’t tell; talking heads, POV slip; not enough conflict; stakes aren’t clear; scene feels rushed; GMCs need to be fleshed out; pick up the pace; and the list goes on.

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?

Please query me through Query Manager: https://QueryManager.com/QueryLynnetteNovak. Queries sent to my email address will be deleted, unread. I like a one-page query that includes a pitch and short bio. The first five pages should be attached. If you start with a prologue, you can mention it, but I’d rather see the first five pages of the actual story unless I’ve requested to see more. Note: If I “heart” your pitch in a Twitter pitch party, I want you to send it to my query email address not Query Manager. Yes, it’ll be read and I’ll reply to let you know if I’m interested.

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

If the query is more about the author than the story, I might not be able to get a strong feel for the premise and could reject for that reason. Sell me on your writing.

Response Time:

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

That varies. It depends on my schedule at the time. I TRY to stay on top of queries by responding between 1 day and 1 month.

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 have hybrid authors who self-publish and are traditionally published (or seeking to be traditionally published), and I have clients whose first book was with a small press. I won’t represent a book that has already been published, even if it was self-published. Many publishers won’t touch them. I’d rather have a new story to shop. As far as advice goes, be transparent. You don’t want to start a professional relationship with your agent by “forgetting” to mention the book has already been published.

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?

Publishing is constantly changing, so we adapt accordingly. As long as there are contracts to be negotiated, agents will still be around.

Clients:

13. Who are some of the authors you represent?

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Megan Hart/Mina Hardy

USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon Charts bestselling author M.M. Chouinard

Award-winning picture book author Joanna Rowland

Laura Brown

Stacey Agdern

Joel Shulkin, MD

Marzieh Abbas

Sahtinay Abaza

Alice Lin

Akure Phénix

Medeia Sharif

Interviews and Guest Posts:

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

N/A

9/2/2022 Update: Agent of the Month Intro, Part 1 Interview, Part 2 Interview at Writing and Illustrating 9/2022

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/QueryLynnetteNovak

Additional Advice:

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

Having realistic expectations and a thick skin can make this industry a little more bearable.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Lynnette.

­Lynnette 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 September 3rd. 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.