Literary Agent Interview: Sarah Stephens Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Sarah Stephens here. She is a literary agent at Red Fox Literary.

NOTE: Sarah is closed to queries but has created a special submission form on Query Tracker for Literary Rambles followers that will be open until March 2023. You can find the link in this interview. 

Hi­ Sarah! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Sarah:

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

I joined Red Fox in May of 2021, I was looking for way to work more collaboratively in the children’s book world that I adore, and a good friend told me I should talk to Abigail Samoun about agenting. The timing was perfect because Abi and Karen Grencik, the other principal at Red Fox, were in need of assistance and generously offered me the chance to help out and do some shadowing—to try on the fox ears, if you will. Turns out they were a great fit!

I have signed nine clients, four single-title projects, and negotiated twelve contracts in a year and a half—though a few of those contracts were in the works before I stepped onto the scene. I have amazing clients and the work of making connections is truly satisfying!

 

 About the Agency:

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

Red Fox is a boutique children’s literary agency with eight amazing agents. Though we all have strengths—industry knowledge, editorial prowess, negotiating know-how, straight-up magic—to varying degrees, we support one another to get the best for our clients. I think relationships are paramount for all of us and we work hard to provide every client what they need. For that reason the services tend to be as personal and unique as the individuals. I knew I was in the right place when Karen told me that the most important things to her are honesty and kindness. (Which together equal integrity, right?) That’s when I knew I was in the right den!

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 all age groups, board books to YA. I would say my sweet spot is picture books, but I’d love to work with a feisty beginning reader or chapter book creator or see a character driven series for this age group. I like innovative and entertaining nonfiction picture books. In all ages I am looking for untold stories, strong voice, and diverse creators.

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

N/A

What She Isn’t Looking For:

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

I do not like books with overt lessons, or jokes that wink over the heads of children. I don’t generally go for sentimental or issue books and I’m not a good agent for sci-fi or fantasy unless it’s a really fun fuzzy mash-up like Catstronauts.

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?

In order for me to be the best champion for a person or a project I need to feel a connection and I think that should go both ways. Trust and honesty are essential (again, both ways). I think we are all looking for the right match. It may be cliché, but when I am looking at queries I need the goosebumps, the excitement, the can’t-stop-thinking-about-it feeling. This all sounds like bad relationship metaphors! But agenting is a commitment so it’s best to be in love with the stories.

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 do consider myself an editorial agent—largely because of my experience writing co-writing and editing, and the fact that I love the creative process and being collaborative! I give feedback from general to detailed line edits depending on what a project needs. This feedback can come in the form of letters, emails, or phone calls depending. I make suggestions and I am always cognizant of the facts that my client is the creator and has control of their work and I am not the ultimate editor. My goal is to help my client get their work to a point that an editor can see its potential.

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?

In a query letter; tell me briefly about why you are passionate about the story you’re submitting, what makes you uniquely suited to tell it, and also (of course) a brief idea of what the story is.

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

I like queries to be brief because I want to get to the story!

Response Time:

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

I do my best not to keep anyone waiting longer than three months. Most of the time it’s 3-4 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 am open to that. I encourage writers to pursue traditional publishing because there are SO many aspects to bookmaking beyond writing. Publishing with a small press is a great avenue. I submit to small presses for my clients because they are often able to give creators more attention.

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?

I haven’t been wearing my agent hat for very long so it’s hard for me to speak to how that role has and is changing. But I have been working in the industry for 26 years and can tell you the only constant is change. We are all adapting constantly. The good news is that great books continue to get published.

Clients:

13. Who are some of the authors you represent?

Monica Clark-Robinson, Vicki Conroy, Moni Ritchie-Hadley, Rebecca Hirsch, author/illustrator Emmeline Forrestal, and illustrator Melodie Stacey, to name a few.

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.

Links and Contact Info:

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

QueryManager.com/Sarah_Stephens/Spotlight

I am not currently open, but I created an event submission form on Query Tracker that will be open until March.

http://www.redfoxliterary.com/index.html

Find me on Instagram at quick.redfox

Additional Advice:

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

You may have heard this advice before, because it is some of the best, but read, read, read! Knowing your craft, working hard, and persevering are the key ingredients.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Sarah.

­Sarah 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 22nd. 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.