Melanie Figueroa and I discuss in depth how she built
her career as an agent at ROOT LITERARY. We talk about what makes her agency
different, how she uses query manager to review submissions, how she evaluates manuscripts,
how she manages her time and avoids industry burnout, and how she reframes
negative narrative. And she divulges information from the secret section of the
Root Literary website, among other very interesting topics you won’t want to
miss.
Melanie Figueroa is a literary agent at Root Literary. She represents middle grade, YA, and adult fiction along with select nonfiction and picture book titles. What she loves most about the job is the balance of creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit. After graduating with a masters in writing and book publishing from Portland State University, she worked as an in-house editorial project manager and then as a freelance editor for several years before joining the agency in 2018. Melanie was born and raised in Southern California in a multicultural, blended family, so she has a soft spot for books that shine a spotlight on the nuances of relationships and identity. She currently lives in Southern California and can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @wellmelsbells.
Greg Van Eekhout and I discuss climate change, Norse mythology, and the awesomeness of dogs, all of which are on display in his newest novel, FENRIS AND MOTT. We talk about the psychology of writers, how he found the confidence to know he’ll adapt as a writer, helpful activism in the face of book bans (beyond Twitter), Whovian philosophy, writing from outlines designed for contracts, Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster, murder hornets, and more.
Greg van Eekhout was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, in neighborhoods with hippies, criminals, working people, and movie studios. His parents were Dutch-Indonesian.
Like many writers (and many people who aren’t writers, for that matter), Greg has done a number of things to put food on the table and keep a roof over his head. He has worked as an ice cream scooper (or dipper, as people who sell ice cream are sometimes called), a political fundraiser (or telemarketer), a comic book store clerk, a bookseller, a bookstore assistant manager, an educational multimedia developer, and a college teacher (of English and of multimedia development). Among other things. His next book, Fenris and Mott, comes out August, 2022.
Greg has lived his entire life in the Western half of the United States. He prefers beaches to deserts. He currently lives in San Diego.
A girl and her puppy face down the end of the world—which the puppy’s partly responsible for—in this middle grade story from acclaimed author Greg van Eekhout, perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and J.C. Cervantes.
When Mott finds a puppy abandoned in a recycling bin, she’s ready to do everything she can to protect him. What she doesn’t realize, however, is that this is the legendary wolf Fenris, who’s prophesied to bring about the end of the world by eating the moon.
Now Mott has found herself in charge of making sure the hungry pup—who’s busy munching on lampposts, cars, and water towers—doesn’t see all of California as an appetizer, while also hiding him from the Norse gods who are hot on his trail, determined to see the prophecy come true.
Mott vows to protect Fenris, rescue him from his destiny, and prevent the world from ending. But will she be able to keep her promise? Or has she bitten off more than she can chew?
Molly O'Neill and I discuss her career in publishing from her start in marketing with Clarion Books to her time as an editor with Harper Collins to her current role as a literary agent with Root Literary. She shares the experience of discovering and editing DIVERGENT (and I reveal an embarrassing encounter I had with Veronica Roth). We talk about the relationship between authors and editors and how to keep it from going off kilter, the truth about rejection, and some practical tips for writing the dreaded synopsis. As a special bonus, we're treated to a live reading of ROBERT PATTINSON: ETERNALLY YOURS from one of its coauthors. This episode is packed with insight into the world of publishing and you'll want to listen to it multiple times through.
Molly O'Neill is a literary agent with Root Literary. For the past sixteen years, she has held various roles inside the publishing industry: previously, she was an Editor at Harper Collins Children's Books, where she acquired Veronica Roth's juggernaut Divergent series, among many other fantastic projects; the Head of Editorial at Storybird, a publishing/tech start-up; a member of the School and Library Marketing departments at both Harper Collins and Clarion Books; and an Agent at Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.
Molly loves the creative process and early-stage project development, is invigorated by business strategy and entrepreneurial thinking, and is fascinated by the intersections of art, commerce, creativity, and innovation. Molly is especially passionate about the people behind books, and takes pride in discovering and evangelizing talented authors and illustrators, expanding the global reach of their work, and finding new ways to build connections and community among creators, readers, stories, and their champions. She hunts for new talent and speaks about the importance of books for young people at a variety of conferences for writers, illustrators, and educators around the world each year, and is on the faculty of the Columbia Publishing Course, where she helps train new generations of publishing professionals.
Molly is an alum of Marquette University, an erstwhile Texan, and a current dweller of Brooklyn, NY. She is drawn to authors and artists who constantly challenge themselves, who are adept at communicating with their audiences, who are creative and flexible thinkers, and who have as much enthusiasm for their readers as for their own successes. Wit, strong writing, vivid settings, a passion for craft, or a well-timed reaction gif will always catch her eye.
Literary Agent Holly Root and I discuss her career in publishing from working in the mail room, to making a name for herself as an agent, to now running her own agency. She also takes us through the cycle of a published manuscript from the time it starts out as a query in her inbox, to the time she negotiates its contract, to guiding its author through launch and onto their next book and the rest of their career. And she makes a JURASSIC PARK reference, so you know she's awesome. Prepare to learn a lot about publishing and to be inspired.
Holly Root began her publishing career as an editor in her hometown of Nashville, TN. Prior to joining the Waxman Literary Agency in 2007, she worked at the William Morris Agency and Trident Media Group. Holly has launched over two dozen New York Times bestsellers before founding Root Literary in 2017. The agency's clients benefit from its agents' proven skills in identifying talent, negotiating advantageous deals, and advocating for its books all the way from submission to publication. They offer their clients broad-based industry insights as well as individualized strategic thinking to empower each author to define and pursue their own unique path to success. Holly's wishlist: general fiction: I'm particularly interested in upmarket execution of commercial concepts. I love book club fiction; I want to read the book you'd recommend to all the women on your favorite group text. I'd love to work on a page-turning domestic suspense (my taste leans more on the domestic end, a la Liane Moriarty--I find the interplay of human relationships, when well done, every bit as potent a story driver as espionage). I like structural conceits (whether in the form of timeline, a la One Day, or an epistolary novel like Attachments, or anything surprising). Open to speculative elements within general fiction, too.
middle grade fiction: I love books that respect their kid readers. I like humor, great settings, and books as weirdly wonderful as the minds of their intended readers--whether they're realistic contemporary or high fantasy. Open to most genres within the category.
SF/F: I love very accessible, five-minutes-in-the-future grounded SF...but also I grew up reading anything and everything with a dragon on the cover, so this category is often determined by voice for me. I'm open to science fantasy, SF, and fantasy.
In all areas, I love a good high-concept hook.
My nonfiction list is smaller, and therefore a little harder to define a wish list for. The projects I'm most likely to pursue pair a distinctive voice with a strong platform to match.
