Today I’m thrilled to have agent Jon Cobb here. He’s an agent at HG Literary.
Hi Jon! Thanks so much for joining us.
About Jon:
1. Tell us how you became an agent, how long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been doing as an agent.
About the Agency:
2. Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors.
HG Literary is a boutique literary agency, formed by Carrie Hannigan and Josh Getzler in 2011. Our agents have decades of combined experience in the publishing industry and represent a diverse list of best-selling and award-winning clients.
What He’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?
In children’s, I represent MG and YA. My tastes are pretty wide within those categories–contemporary, mystery, thriller, romance, speculative, fantasy–so I don’t want to close myself off to any potentially interesting projects!
4. Is there anything you would be especially excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in?
I’m biracial and part Filipino, and would be interested in reading submissions of any genre from authors of Filipino descent. I’m also a sucker for grounded science fiction, particularly anything involving alternate universes, time loops, or other weird phenomena.
What He Isn’t Looking For:
5. What types of submissions are you not interested in?
I’m mostly interested in fiction, so nonfiction projects would be a better fit for another agent. While I’m a big fantasy fan, I am particularly interested in fantasy with unique and unexpected settings, so projects that feel too archetypal to the genre–wizards in pointy hats; knights in gleaming armor; dragons, castles, feudalism, etc.–tend to not interest me as much.
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?
The author-agent relationship is a collaborative one, and I like to work with clients who are able to contribute equally to that relationship. That means being able to accept criticism and feedback. At the same time, it’s important for authors to make strong choices and not just roll over at the slightest resistance. I like to say that my editorial notes aren’t orders or decrees, but the start of a conversation. Often the best and most successful editorial passes on a manuscript come from me and the author working together, brainstorming, bouncing ideas off each other.
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?
Yes! I go through multiple editorial rounds with my clients before a project is ready for submission. We typically start with a developmental edit, often more than one round, where we will look at foundational issues and make big, structural changes to the plot; and then a closer line edit focusing on pacing. clarity, removing redundancies, etc. It’s rarely a quick process, but editors’ standards are incredibly high so it’s always worth it to polish a manuscript as much as possible before submitting it widely.
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?
I look for 4 things in the synopsis portion of a query letter: Character, Goal, Obstacle, Action Against Obstacle. Who is your main character? What are they trying to achieve/obtain/prevent? What obstacle stands in their way? And how are they going to act against that obstacle to achieve their goal? It’s a pretty basic rubric that won’t map 1-to-1 onto every story. But if you want to clearly communicate the arc of your story, answering those 4 questions is a good place to start.
Another thing I look for in every query letter is an author bio. It doesn’t have to be very long or detailed, and it doesn’t have to be full of honors or accolades either; I just want to get a feel for the person who wrote the attached manuscript, and a query always feels incomplete to me without it.
9. Do you have any specific dislikes in query letters or the first pages submitted to you?
My colleague Josh Getzler introduced me to the term “the modifier zone.” It describes some authors’ tendency to try to impress agents and editors in their opening pages with lots and lots of adverbs, adjectives and other modifiers (or just generally an excess of flowery, purple prose). It’s a common mistake! Hopefully putting words to it will convince some of the authors reading to avoid the modifier zone.
Response Time:
10. What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a manuscript?
My target is to respond to queries within 60 days of receipt. Once I request a partial manuscript, I can review it fairly quickly, within 1-2 weeks, but expect another 60 day wait for reviewing a full manuscript.
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?
Of course! Being published by a smaller press or self-publishing is neither a plus nor a minus for me. I’m willing to consider their work regardless. My advice to such authors is to be honest and thorough about your past publications when querying agents. The info is usually just a Google search away, so save the agent the trouble and direct them to your work.
Clients:
12. Who are some of the authors you represent?
Some of my authors include A.A. Vora, author of Spin of Fate and the upcoming Wheel of Wrath (Putnam); Brian Wasson, author of Seven Minutes in Candyland and the upcoming Two Truths and a Lionel (Quill Tree Books), and Shay Kauwe, author of the upcoming The Killing Spell (Saga).
Interviews and Guest Posts:
13. Please share the links to any interviews, guest posts, and podcasts you think would be helpful to writers interested in querying you.
https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/jon-cobb/
https://manuscriptacademy.com/podcast-ambika-vora-jon-cobb
https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2024/08/23/august-agent-of-the-month-jon-cobb/
Links and Contact Info:
14. Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on the Web.
Please submit your query letter and the first 5 pages of your novel to me via QueryManager. Use the link below to reach me. Looking forward to hearing from you!
https://QueryTracker.net/query/Cobb
Additional Advice:
15. Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we haven’t covered?
Any author looking for an agent is familiar with the word “no.” We agents say that a lot in our line of work, and we understand that it’s discouraging to hear. My advice is to not let that “no” discourage you to the point of giving up. Obviously, you shouldn’t flatly ignore criticism and feedback, but neither should you view rejection as a permanently blocked path. All you need is a single “yes.”
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Jon.
Jon 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 January 27th. 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.
Thursday, January 16th I’m participating in the Winter Wishes Giveaway Hop
Monday, January 27th I have an interview with debut author Nicole Hewitt and a giveaway of her MG The Song of Orphan’s Garden
Saturday, February 1st I’m participating in the Heart to Heart Giveaway Hop
Monday, February 3rd I have an interview with Rosanne Parry and a giveaway of her MG A Wolf Called Wander
Wednesday, February 5th I have an interview with Shelly Page and a giveaway of her YA Brewed With Love and my IWSG post
Monday, February 12th I have an interview with Elly Swartz and a giveaway of her MG Same Page
Sunday, February 16th I’m participating in the Wish Big Giveaway Hop
I hope to see you tomorrow!
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