October Mystery Agent Revealed: Sara Megibow

Drumroll, please.


The incredibly talented Mystery Agent for October is...

Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary

(pic and bio from her agency website)

Sara has been with the Nelson Literary Agency since early 2006. Her first responsibilities included reading the query letters, sample pages and full manuscripts that were submitted for representation. In early 2009, she was promoted to Associate Literary Agent and is now actively accepting submissions of her own. From sexy romance to epic fantasy, Sara has loved reading since picking up her first copy ofThe Hobbit. Sara has a B.A. in Women’s Studies and a B.A. in American History from Northwestern University. She lives in sunny Boulder with her beat-boxing husband, adorable son and two fuzzy cats. Read about Sara's submission notes, clients and sales at Publishers MarketplaceFollow Sara on twitter @SaraMegibow

Sara's TWO winners (and why) in her own words:

Thank you sincerely. What fun! These pitches were so so so good! I had a hard time choosing.

Soooo...

I am going to ask for 50 pages of two submissions:

#31 THE ELITE

#39 HARBINGER

(Note from Katrina: I'll be contacting winners with further instructions.)

As for why - it was tough, but here's my two cents...

#39 Title: HARBINGER
Genre: YA cyberpunk fantasy

With her brother scheduled to become a Golem, a cybernetically enhanced soldier (love the concept!) , 17-year-old Kai will do whatever it takes to save him,(spot on character motivation in under one sentence - great work!) including using the abilities she promised her brother to keep secret--she can see the threads of time and manipulate them.(In this short pitch, the reader gets a spot on sense of what's at stake, what's the character motivation, what's the story. To me, this means that it's a really well-written pitch. The concept is strong although not totally unique and that's the one sticking point I see here. I love that I am 100% clear on the inciting incident - brother is scheduled to be turned into a Golem and that I get the story, the world, the characters. Those things sway my decision and push me over the edge toward ask-for-sample pages.)


#31 Title: THE ELITE
Genre: YA Thriller

Sixteen-year-old Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada at the Champs-Elysees when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. (this first sentence is blow me away good. It captures the narrative voice, is totally unique and well written. Absolutely perfect! See how powerful even one sentence can be?) They are part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Elite and they need Avery as a pawn--or want her dead. (this sentence is a wee bit awkward. Her "newfound family" - I'm assuming that she's been reunited somehow and that's part of the story. The writer does the right thing here by NOT fleshing that out too much and leaving it to mystery. However, the wanted-dead-or-alive hook isn't as well written as the first sentence)

Her only hope is a race across Europe with the two boys the family sent to kidnap her—beautiful, volatile Stellan and darkly intriguing Jack—to decipher the ancient mystery that’s putting her life and the world in danger. (this sentence is clunky and if this had come through the slush pile I probably would have ended up passing on asking for sample pages. The first sentence is soooo good that I'm going to go out on a limb here and accept it anyway, but now we see how tough the slush pile is. I don't need to know what Stellan and Jack look like, and the "her only hope" hook feels generic.)

When I critique queries - this is what the critique looks like - a line by line dissection of the pitch. In our experience, the query letter is an accurate representation of the publish-abilty of a novel and we're very picky. In both of these submissions, the genre and sub-genre are irrelevant - I evaluated all queries equally (I am looking for superior writing and a unique concept, period). For this contest, I read each of the 50 pitches three times before deciding and they were all really good. What elevates something from "really good" to "ask for sample pages"? It's a tough thing to explain and we see some of the thought process here in the critiques. What I can say is that the process works - Jennifer Shaw Wolf came from the slush pile, as did Sherry Thomas and Jamie Ford and Sarah Rees Brennan.

Thanks to everyone for participating! I am very much looking forward to reading THE ELITE and HARBINGER. Feel free to cyber-stalk me on twitter @SaraMegibow or read about my clients/ sales/ personal tastes at: http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/SaraMegibow/

Thank you so much, Sara! It's nice to get a glimpse into the decision process and to know how thorough you were in reading every pitch. It bears saying again: You rock!

Fun questions/answers from Ms. Megibow:

 
Katrina: As far as dream clients go, pick three authors, dead or alive, you would have loved to represent.

Sara: Ooooo - so hard to choose! I love to read, so I'm constantly buying books and falling in love with new authors!

Kody Keplinger - author of THE DUFF - one of my all-time favorite Young Adult reads.

NK Jemisin - author of THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS - an absolutely brilliant debut epic fantasy novel that I recommend to everyone.

Megan Hart - because I love her style on twitter and her funny posts convinced me to buy NAKED which I absolutely loved!

Amparo: Which of your favorite TV characters (teen or not) would make a great YA protagonist?

Sara: uh - last time I owned a TV was the year that Friends debuted. No kidding - no TV for a long time. Next question?

Katrina: What are you seeing too much of in the old query inbox this week?

Sara: Young teens who learn they have a magical power that will save the world and Greek goddesses. However, these would be compelling to me too if done really well.

Katrina: If you could take bribes from prospective clients, what would be on your wish list? (purely hypothetical, of course)

Sara: Coffee of course...Or a trip to Hawai'i to take my son snorkeling.


Katrina: And, of course, please share any agency/client news. We love to get excited about up-and-coming bestsellers!

Sara: I just love the words "bestseller" and "client" in the same sentence. *smiles*

Do you love contemporary, fun, funny, romantic young adult novels? Try CATCHING JORDAN by debut author Miranda Kenneally (www.mirandakenneally.com) - it's about a girl who is captain and quarterback of her high school football team when her position (and potential college scholarship) are threatened by a new player...a player who is also really hot. We're enjoying great early buzz on this book and ridiculously amazing reviews!

Or, do you prefer deliciously sexy, contemporary, hot, compelling romance novels? Pre-order CRASH INTO YOU by Roni Loren (www.roniloren.com) about a social worker from a difficult past who chooses to trust a former lover. CRASH INTO YOU is the lead title in January's Writers Digest magazine and has already earned this review: ""Hot and romantic, with an edge of suspense that will keep you entertained.” --Shayla Black, New York Times Bestselling author of SURRENDER TO ME.

And, for the epic fantasy readers out there - THE FALLEN QUEEN by Jane Kindred just hit pre-order status tonight. Woo hoo! Jane is online atwww.janekindred.com and her novel is incredible - stuffed full of Russian mythology and beautiful writing (as well as love, lust, epic battles and magic). It's about the heiress to the throne of Heaven, deposed in a celestial coup, who is hidden on earth by a pair of nefarious demons.

Happy reading!!!


THANK YOU, Sara!! Congratulations to the winners! And another thanks to all those who entered. I can understand why Sara had a tough time choosing. Stay tuned because there will be a November contest on the first of next month.

A few of the books/authors repped by the Nelson Literary Agency:

Sara's Other Interviews:

Anita Laydon Miller's Blog

Mother. Write. (Repeat.)

Jairus Reddy Blog

Literary Rambles: Agent Spotlight

YA Highway

WriteOnCon Live Chat 2010

Chiseled in Rock

Not an Editor

On WeBook

For even more, I highly suggest checking out Casey McCormick's blog, Literary Rambles for the Agent Spotlight. She's more thorough than I could ever hope to be!