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!

Paul McCartney, Prancing Poodles, and Girls Who Play Football: Miranda Kenneally in a blogshell

SCORE! 

Possible covers, just to tease us. (from Teen Fire)

I'm not yelling SCORE only because Miranda Kenneally agreed to do an interview with me on Operation Awesome! I'm also yelling SCORE because Miranda's debut YA novel, SCORE, is due to come out this year!


Here is Le Blurb from her website:

What girl doesn’t want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn’t just surrounded by hot guys, though—she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that’s just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there’s a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team…and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.

SCORE, my debut YA novel, will be released by Sourcebooks Fire in December 2011!

Add SCORE on Goodreads!   

Read an excerpt from SCORE

Meet Miranda Kenneally

Le Interview: 

Katrina: Brushing shoulders with President George W. Bush?! A thumbs up from Paul McCartney?! I was absolutely floored by your list of 25 things about you. 

Do you seek out these crazy experiences or are they the result of chance?

Miranda: These days, I’m about as introverted as it gets. I prefer sitting in my green chair with a book, and anytime I’m out of the house, I can’t wait to get home and back into my green chair.

I work for the government, planning high level events and conferences and summits and whatnot, so I often find myself in strange situations.  Like having to show Newt Gingrich where the bathroom is.  Or having to test every single pen that will be used by a world leader the next day. 

But when I was a teenager and a college goer, oh yeah, I totally got myself into trouble.  I was the idiot who tried to blow up a tree someone planted in my tanning spot on the grassy knoll I liked.  One time I got into a fight with Sister Souljah (don’t ask).  That is something I regret.  A lot. 

I also regret not speaking to John Green when I had the chance.  I saw him, and I just stood there straight as stale licorice. 

Katrina: What inspired a story about a girl playing high school football? Do you play?

Miranda:  In elementary school, I was awesome at baseball (always got chosen first!) and volleyball, so the boys let me play football, even though I wasn’t very good at it.  Okay, I’m terrible at football.  I can’t catch anything without a glove. 

In junior high, I asked to be on the team, but the coach said no.  So I wrote an essay entitled, “Why I should be allowed on the football team.” My only supporting argument was that I’d beaten a scrawny wide receiver at arm wrestling in the cafeteria one day.  It didn’t work.

Growing up, I mostly hung out with guys, and in high school, I was the manager of the boys’ soccer team, so I really understand the strange creature that is the teenage athletic boy.  So writing SCORE was pretty natural for me.  What’s not natural for me is writing about your standard cookie-cutter girl.  Now that would be a challenge!

What inspired SCORE? I really have no idea. I was bored one day at jury duty and just started free writing.

Katrina: Jury duty?! Best first-draft story ever! Okay, so SCORE is a romance, but our main girl is far from the stereo-typical romantic lead. What was the hardest thing about writing from Jordan’s perspective as a girl whose priority isn’t romance?

Miranda:  This actually wasn’t very hard. I mean, we’ve all been there.  We’ve all seen that guy who just makes our stomach curl up like a slug doused with salt.  We’ve all longed for somebody. 

That being said, it was definitely hard to show why seventeen-year-old Jordan had never gone after a guy, and why none of the guys had ever pursued her (you’ll have to read the book to find out more!). 

Katrina: Any news on the SCORE cover? The ones we’ve seen on Teen Fire and your website look amazing! Has a decision been reached?

Miranda:  YES! And I’m really thrilled with the final choice, but I’m not allowed to show it to anyone yet.  I’ll give you an update as soon as the handcuffs have been unlocked.

Katrina: You’ve got excerpts on your site for a romance (SCORE) and a comedy (BEST.DAY.EVER), and you mentioned working on a romantic thriller! Love the sound of that. Is there a particular genre where you feel more at home? What do you think would be the hardest genre to write? (Personally, I think it’s the acrobatic poodles genre.)

Miranda: Those poodles = My worst. Work. Ever.

The hardest genre? Literary adult fiction. I would never even attempt this. My dad writes literary adultish stuff, so when he reads my stuff, he’s all like, “Well this doesn’t totally suck.”  Snob.  :D

I feel most at home writing your standard YA contemporary transformative/character development novel a la Sarah Dessen.  BEST. DAY. EVER. is a quest novel about a girl from poverty who gets to shadow a famous disgruntled country star for a day, and it changes both their lives in positive and negative ways.  It’s like Before Sunrise meets Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets Pretty Woman meets American Idol. 

I also love writing crappy free verse and haikus and stuff.  SCORE is partially written in verse. 

AWESOME POEM TO FOLLOW the end of this interview.

Katrina: What’s your writing process like? Are you a plotter, panster, or a mix?

Miranda:  These days it goes like this:  I tell my agent what I’m thinking and she says either, “OOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOHHHHHHHH” or “Eh, it’s been done.”  If it’s the former, I write a crappy first draft over a few weeks.  I send it to my dad.  He tells me why it’s crappy.  I get back to work on it.  Then I send it to other people to read.  They tell me what is good and what is bad.  I play up the good, kill the bad.  This continues for several months until it turns into a book. 

To me, writing is a team effort, and that’s not a bad thing.

Sometimes I start writing first drafts and then quit after a day or two, because it feels forced. 

I figure if I haven’t sold the book yet, no harm, no foul.

Katrina: How much time do you spend on revision versus writing the first draft?

Miranda:  My (crappy) first drafts take me less than a month.  Revisions can take anywhere from three months to six.  I haven’t gone over six yet.  Knock on wood.

Katrina: Are there any snacks, rituals, music tracks you simply must have to get into your writing zone? Paint a picture for us of what it’s like in your writing space.

Miranda:  Green chair, Diet Coke, Twitter, notes scratched on napkins and on my hands, husband constantly interrupting me and me ignoring said husband. J 

Katrina: I think we’re all a little envious of you for your agent, Sara Megibow. What’s she like to work with and what’s the most important thing you’ve learned since you started working with her?

Miranda:  Sara’s great.  I’m really honored she took me on as a client.  First, she always answers my emails in a timely fashion, and she always tells it like it is.  She’s not a big sugarcoater.  She carefully reads everything I write and offers LOADS of suggestions on how to make it better.

The most important thing I’ve learned from her is to relax and not try so hard. Forcing anything is BAD.  

Katrina: You’ve got an agent and a book deal, so that puts you on the other side of a Cat’s Claw fence from those of us still searching. Is there any advice you can offer to those of us in the querying stage of our careers?

Miranda:  Just keeping searching for the right story that fits your voice.  That’s the key, I think.  For so long I tried to write stories that just weren’t “me.”  The minute I started writing like myself (and not trying to be the next Orson Scott Card or Terry Pratchett or Phillip Pullman) was when I started getting attention.

Katrina: Thank you so much for answering my questions!

Miranda: THANK YOU!!! :D

And now, in Miranda's own words (channeling her character, Jordan)...

Silly poem from SCORE:

Evolution (a.k.a. Second Attempt at Tackling a Poem)

I’ll admit it

When I first saw Jake Reynolds

     I thought I’d died and gone to the Super Bowl

                   (as starting QB)

That blonde surfer-boy hair

That tan body that won’t stop

That bottom lip: upturned, a sexy invite 

And then he spoke

“Damn, Jordan. You should play tight end

     because your ass is wound tighter than a baseball.”

Now every time I see a hot guy

     my first reaction is to brace myself

       Wait for the sewage to seep out of his mouth

       I thought Henry was the last of his kind

       I thought hot nice guys had gone extinct

       Be still, my hormones

       Ty is here to repopulate the species

Give Miranda a shout-out in the comments. She's kindly agreed to answer some questions today from the comments, as well! Woot! 
Follow her on twitter for cover news pending