Literary Agent Interview: Rebecca Eskildsen Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Rebecca Eskildsen here. She’s a junior agent at Writers House. 

Hi­ Rebecca! Thanks so much for joining us. 

About Rebecca: 

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

 

In a tale as old as time, I’m a book lover who knew quite early that I wanted to work in publishing. Of course, I expected to work on the publishing house side after college, as an editor, but I landed first at JABberwocky Literary Agency. There, I realized agenting was a much better fit for my personality – advocating for my clients is one of my favorite aspects of this job. In 2017, I moved over to Writers House, where I began building my own list in 2020. I am actively building a list of writers I’m extremely passionate about!

 

About the Agency: 

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

Writers House is one of the largest full-service literary agencies in the world. We pride ourselves on the quality of client care we provide, combined with the benefits of robust Global Licensing and Contracts departments. We’re a wonderfully collaborative group of people with an incredible wealth of experience across the agency. We all share insight and advice with each other, which makes us all better at advocating for our clients. 

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, YA, and adult books. You can get updated info about my wishlist on my website! I’m open to most commercial genres, including contemporary, romance, fantasy, and horror. Voice is very important to me, so that’s the number one thing I’m looking for when I start reading pages – if the voice is strong, I’ll keep reading! 

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

As of right now, here are a few things I’d really like to see: 

In middle grade, I’m currently looking for the messy kids. The kids like Joey Pigza, Junie B. Jones, Devi Vishwakumar – bring me the kids who are trying their best and leaving everything they have out on the field, while getting into a lot of trouble along the way.

For YA, I’ll consider pretty much anything, as long as it’s got a great voice and a tight and exciting plot. See my website for updated specifics!

In the adult space, horror is really having a moment, and I’d love to see more of it. For both horror and upmarket fiction, I love when a book forces us to sit in the uncomfortable spaces of our world, while keeping us wildly entertained. If you have a zeitgeisty story in the vein of Yellowface, Knives Out, or White Lotus, please send it my way! I’m also looking for rom coms that are extremely fresh, with something new and hilarious to say.

What She Isn’t Looking For: 

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

I’m not seeking picture books or graphic novels at this time. (Lots of people at Writers House are, though, so check them out!) 

I’m also not the best fit for something very literary, but if you’re not sure and think we might be a good fit, you’re welcome to try me with it anyway. 

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’m looking for authors who want to build a career with me, so I’m usually asking what else they want to write, so we can get a sense of whether we’re a good long-term fit. For individual books, I’m looking for stories that have something to say. I’m committed to uplifting underrepresented voices across the board, including BIPOC and LGBTQ voices.

Overall, my philosophy is that it’s my job to figure things out for my clients. So if I take on an author for a YA book, who maybe plans to write an adult book soon, but then they decide to pivot to a picture book or nonfiction, it’s my job to figure out how to sell those, too. I have so many resources at my fingertips here at Writers House, there’s always someone to ask if I’m exploring a new area a bit outside my usual wheelhouse.

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’m highly editorial. My editorial letters tend to be very involved and detailed, with as much actionable feedback as I can offer. It varies by book, but I typically do a minimum of two big editorial rounds, followed by more if needed. I make myself available to brainstorm and talk through edits with my clients as well. We want to make it as hard as possible for an editor to say “no” when they read the book.

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 should check my website for query guidelines. I’ll be sure to post any updates there! For now, I’m looking for an emailed query letter and 15 pages, pasted into the email, with the subject line “Query [genre] [TITLE].”

 

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

 

This probably sounds really obvious to most people, but please, I’m begging you, sign your name at the end of your query letter! A surprising number of queriers send in a query letter and sample pages, but their own name is nowhere to be found – this is even more challenging if their email address doesn’t include their name. I’d like to know who you are so I can personalize my response with your name!  

Related to that, I’d also love to see a brief bio in your query, telling me a bit about you. There’s no need to worry about publishing accolades if you don’t have any, but it’s nice to know your background – where you live, what you do for work, why you’re the best person to tell this story, and maybe a public social media handle, if you’re comfortable sharing that.

Response Time:

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

My goal is 6-8 weeks to respond to unsolicited queries. The reality is that sometimes I take a bit longer, but I try to close to queries for a while if I’m getting too far behind. For requested material, the timeline really varies, but I am pretty transparent with the authors – I’m fine with receiving follow-ups about requested material, and I’ll send my own check-ins about my updated timeline as well.

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’m open to these authors. My main advice is to be very patient, if you want to break into traditional publishing, because trad pub moves so slowly most of the time. That’s not for everyone, but if you want to make that jump, it helps enormously to keep that in mind.

 Clients:

 12. Who are some of the authors you represent?

My clients include Andrea Beatriz Arango (whose very first novel won a Newbery Honor!), Triona Murphy, Hannah Yang, Savannah Benton-Smith, and Sabrina Lotfi, among others. I’m actively growing my list.

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.

I was interviewed for the LitTea publishing podcast, hosted by my wonderful client Sabrina Lotfi.

Links and Contact Info:

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

Please visit my website for info about my MSWL and query guidelines.

You can also find me on Bluesky @rebeccaesk.bsky.social. Reach out to me there if you have trouble submitting your query.

I’m less active on Twitter these days, but you can find me @rleskildsen.

Additional Advice:

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

To start, patience and kindness will get you far! Beyond that, my advice is to find or create a community of fellow writers. The publishing process can be long and sometimes discouraging, so it’s helpful to have a community that can help you maintain the joy of writing and will be a resource for you to compare notes about standard practices.

And on the topic of standard practices, I want to remind all writers that when you receive an offer of representation, you should notify all the agents who still have your work under consideration, and then you’re entitled to take a minimum of 2 weeks to consider your options and make a decision. Also, YOU get to set that deadline, not the offering agent. Good luck out there, and I hope to see your queries!

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Rebecca.

 Giveaway Details

­Rebecca 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 May 3rd. If you do not want to enter the contest, that’s okay. Just let me know in the comments. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

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.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Monday, April 28th I have an interview with debut author Alby Williams and a giveaway of their MG Where There Be Monsters 

Thursday, May 1st I’m participating in the Come What May Giveaway Hop 

Monday, May 5th I have a guest post by author Donna Galanti and a $50 Barnes & Noble Gift Card giveaway to celebrate the release of her MG Loon Cove Summer 

Wednesday, May 7th I have an interview with author Aimee Phan and a giveaway of her YA The Lost Queen and my IWSG post 

Monday, May 12th I have a guest post by author Leah Stecher and a giveaway of her MG A Field Guide to Broken Promises 

Wednesday, May 14th I have an agent spotlight interview with Analía Cabello and a query critique giveaway 

Friday, May 16th I’m participating in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop 

I hope to see you on Monday!