Literary Agent Interview: Kaitlyn Sanchez Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Kaitlyn Sanchez here. She is a literary agent at Bradford Literary Agency.

Status: Kaitlyn is open to queries until 6/6/2023. She periodically reopens for submissions so check her agency website and follow her on Twitter to find out when she is open to submissions again.

Hi Kaitlyn! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Kaitlyn:

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

Thanks so much for having me! I started in the publishing industry as a picture book writer. I love, love, loved critiquing, so I was in 9 critique groups - haha wouldn't recommend it. A little over three years ago, one of my critique groups and I became obsessed with Susanna Hill and Vivian Kirkfeld's contests, which start in October and go through March. If you're a winner, you could get a critique from someone in the industry or a wonderful book, etc. So when March came we were super upset that it would be MONTHS until we could compete again, so one critique partner, Ciara O'Neal, suggested we make our own contest, just in our group and I suggested we take it to the masses, and so we did! And do you know what my favorite part was? Connecting creators! I was very lucky to be critique partners with James McGowan and Andrea Walker, who were both agency interns at the time, and I asked them, if that's what an agent does: help edit stories and connect clients to those who will publish their book, and they said yes. So I did what any rational millennial does and posted on Twitter that my new goal was to be an agent. Andrea connected me with her agency, Olswanger Literary, and one of my other critique partners, Melissa Coffey, helped me with the resume, and the rest is history!

I'm absolutely blown away that in the past three years, we have sold over 30 of my clients' books - I'm so lucky to be part of such a wonderful and creative team.

About the Agency:

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

Bradford Literary Agency is a boutique agency which offers a full range of representation services to authors who are both published and pre-published. Our mission at Bradford Literary Agency is to form true partnerships with our clients and build long-term relationships that extend from the first draft through the length of the creator’s career.

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 kidlit stories from PB-YA with a particular interest in PB and MG. I'm always looking for unique picture books, middle grade novels, and young adult novels that are funny and/or sweet. I love adventures, mysteries, sci fi, and light fantasy. I'm particularly drawn to diverse stories and compelling voices. For more info, check out my MSWL https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/kaitlyn-sanchez/

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

I'm a sucker for bada$$ characters, funny characters, and unique hooky commercial premises for middle grade and young adult. For picture books, I'm on the lookout for super funny and/or super unique stories that I haven't seen before.

What She Isn’t Looking For:

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

Please note: I don't bring on clients for board books, chapter books, or adult novels, though of course, I do represent them if one of my current clients writes one. For picture books, I'm generally not the best fit for didactic stories or stories focused on the classroom (as a teacher, I'm in the classroom all the time - I prefer an escape when I'm reading) though of course for middle grade and young adult so much of their time is spent in classrooms that it's totally fine to be in class. I'm often not the best fit for pirates and dragons either, but guess what? I have all of the previous things that I shared I'm not the best for either on my list or of interest to me in my query box because they're done in a unique way, so essentially, if you write a great story, send it my way!

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?

Great question! My main philosophy is that we're a team and we work together to get their beautiful books into the world, and it's my job to help support them once the book has a deal.

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'm definitely editorial as I think part of my job is to use the feedback I receive and utilize it to help get my clients' work as ready as it can be before we send it to editors, but my process varies by client and what they need.

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?

Thanks for asking, queries can be submitted through this link https://bradfordlit.com/kaitlyn-sanchez/, and for the letter, I love seeing a pitch and how the author or illustrator or author-illustrator relates to the project.

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

I prefer to stay positive, so please see above for the things I like. :)

Response Time:

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

It always depends, but I think query tracker has this info if you're interested.

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 definitely open to representing clients who have self-published previously. My advice is to have awesome projects ready to go to entice an agent to represent you!

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 think the role of agents will always be to help their clients get their beautiful books into the world and support them in their careers.

Clients:

13. Who are some of the authors you represent?

Thanks for asking! I could talk all day about my amazing clients, check them all out here: https://kaitlynleannsanchez.com/literary-clients/

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.

Of course! All my Literary Agent info and posts can be found here:

 https://kaitlynleannsanchez.com/

Interview at the Mixed-Up Files (11/2023)

Links and Contact Info:

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

Queries: https://bradfordlit.com/kaitlyn-sanchez/

Website: https://kaitlynleannsanchez.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaitlynLeann17?s=09

Additional Advice:

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

Write what you love, and practice, practice, practice (prompts, contests, etc.) until you find your intriguing voice that readers just have to have!

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Kaitlyn.

Thank you for having me, Natalie! I love giving back to the writing community!

Kaitlyn 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 June 17th. 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.