A Peek into the World of Literary Agents Part One: Stacey Kondla
By: Leslie Wibberley
Tags: Publishing, Writing Tips, Books And Authors, Jobs, Writing

Stacey Kondla, photo by Stacey Kondla/The Rights Factory

Writing Tips From a Writer in the Trenches.

A Peek into the World of Literary Agents Part One: Stacey Kondla

Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with a bright new force in the agenting world.

Pull up a chair, get comfortable, and listen in on my conversation with literary agent, Stacey Kondla.

LAW: Thank you so much for agreeing to let me interview you, Stacey. I’m truly grateful to have a chance to chat with you.

SK: Thank you for thinking of me!! It’s so exciting!

LAW: This has been quite a journey for you. When we first met, you were a fairly new associate agent and now, in a very short period of time, you are a full agent and a rising star in the agenting world with a very impressive sales record.

SK: {{I’m blushing}} But I’m also very happy with 12 deals in 14 months. And they are all wonderful books written by extremely talented writers that I am eternally grateful for and honoured to represent ❤

*12 deals in 14 months is an extraordinary accomplishment for any agent, let alone someone so new to the business.

LAW: I believe you are an editor by trade and were a bookseller prior to becoming an agent. Do you feel these things have contributed to your success as an agent? Having a working knowledge of the publishing world, both in sales and on the editorial end must be so helpful.

SK: So, I started out in the publishing world as a Field Consultant for Scholastic Book Fairs and managed the kid's departments in a couple of Chapters-Indigo stores — so primarily a bookseller and passionate book lover. Once I joined the organizing committee of When Words Collide, I started beta reading for some writer friends. It wasn’t until I met Sam, (*Sam Hiyate is the owner of the Rights Factory, a literary agency based in Toronto, Canada)in August 2017 that I pursued editing and took three editing courses through Ryerson University. Those courses were both validating and very educational — I discovered that my years of reading taught me a lot about story, and the courses enhanced my editorial skills. I joined the agency as an associate agent in March 2018.

*Stacey is an editorial agent who works with her authors to ensure their work is the best it can be before sending it out on submission. Not all agents have the time or desire to do the same. If this is something you are looking for in an agent, it’s best to do your research before querying.

Having a bookseller background has been invaluable to me as an agent and it allows me to consider how a project will be embraced by both booksellers and readers. If I think I would have a hard time hand selling a book as a bookseller, it isn’t a project I can take on as an agent.

*Stacey’s knowledge of books sales gives her a keen edge when it comes to knowing which books will sell and where to pitch them.

LAW: Can you tell me a little about what first drew you to agenting?

SK: Two things drew me to agenting. The first thing is that I love a challenge and agenting would essentially be levelling up my bookselling skills.

The second thing is that I truly love writers, I have a lot of writer friends, I enjoy the diversity of personalities and the quirks that come along with creative minds. Spending time with writers is never boring and is always inspiring. So, having the chance to work closely with writers and to help them pursue their publishing journeys is super satisfying and fulfilling.

LAW: If there was one thing you could change about your job, what would that be?

SK: Overall, I absolutely love what I am doing. I guess I would like to make money as starting out as an agent is not a get-rich-quick sort of thing. It can take years of super hard work to develop your career to the point where it pays your bills every month and even that is not guaranteed.

*Literary agents can spend months and multiple rounds of editing before a book is even sent out on submission to editors. And they won’t get paid for that time until the book sells.

LAW: What is your favourite thing about being an agent?

SK: The people and the books!!

LAW: What is the hardest thing about being an agent?

SK: Saying no/declining queries — I fully recognize that every project I receive in my queries is the hopes and dreams and hard work of a dedicated writer. I am not in this business to be mean or break hearts. Saying no really sucks.

*As I stated earlier, agents are not here to destroy your dreams, they really do want to say yes.

LAW: Do you have a favourite book? One that you’ve read countless times and plan on reading again?

SK: It is absolutely impossible to choose a favourite book — I might be able to narrow it down to my top one hundred in no particular order. And I’m not a re-reader. As a child and teenager I did re-read some books several times, but as an adult, there are just way too many books I want to read for the first time and no time to go back and re-read a book I’ve already read.

LAW: Do you have a favourite genre to read, on a personal level and as an agent?

SK: As a teen and in my twenties, I almost exclusively read science fiction and fantasy. Once I joined Scholastic and was encouraged to read outside my comfort zone, I discovered that genre shouldn’t limit me and that I could get so much from reading broadly. Today, I read across genres and age levels, fiction and nonfiction — really if a story has a compelling hook or a nonfiction book is about a topic that sounds interesting to learn about, I will probably read it. For pure rest and relaxation and enjoyment, I love reading across the genres in the YA category the most.

LAW: Is there a favourite type of music, or a particular song that never fails to lift you up? In these troubled times, I think music can be a blessing. I have a special playlist for days when I’m feeling the weight of the world.

SK: This is a weird one for me — as a teen and up to December 2016, I loved listening to music, also rather broadly across musical genre’s — I could listen to Great Big Sea, Rage Against the Machine, Justin Timberlake, Pearl Jam, John Denver, and Josh Groban all in one day. Since surviving a stroke in December 2016, I rarely listen to music of my own accord, and when music is on, I can only handle an hour or so of it before I need to get away from it. It is overstimulating and makes me agitated. Same with TV and it is because of the noise. My perfect environment is a quiet one. Sometimes, I will put a movie soundtrack that is purely instrumental or classical music, but at a low volume and not for very long. I also have been preferring to listen to audiobooks, but only when I am doing chores and housework and never for long stretches of time. When I am working on editing silence is best.

LAW: I understand you have had many different pets. I love animals and over the years my girls have had pet rats, dogs, and fish. Growing up I had three horses, countless dogs, cats, a few rabbits, and even a pet duck. A question to you about animals in stories. Is it a deal-breaker for you if an author kills off an animal in a story? I’ve heard that some agents will stop reading if a dog dies.

SK: It’s not a dealbreaker for me, if it is important to the story, but I draw the line at gratuitous violence and abuse.

LAW: Is there any one thing you would like querying authors to keep in mind before querying you in particular, and any agent in general?

SK: I think there are two things; first is to do your homework and make sure you are sending queries to agents that represent the kind of work you do, and second, is to remember that agents are also people with individual circumstances just like you, and as such, can be slow to respond, or forget to respond, or be too overwhelmed to respond, or they just might not connect with what you write — my point is to not treat agents any more harshly than you would like to be treated as an author. And that goes both ways.

LAW: Is there anything in specific you are dying to see in your inbox right now?

SK: I’m closed to children’s and YA fiction right now, but would love to see nonfiction proposals for children’s and adult nonfiction.

In the kids market, I am ideally looking for projects that will speak equally to children, the parents who buy books, and teachers and librarians in the education market. That said, if a truly dynamite nonfiction project comes along that is super kid-centric, I am happy to go with that too. I tend to avoid anything too message-driven, and look for projects that are fun, entertaining, beautiful, or educational in a fun and curiosity-driven way, not in a preachy way. For kids nonfiction, I’m looking for picture book, middle grade and YA nonfiction, preferably in science, nature, or social justice.

I am open to adult nonfiction in the areas of cultural/social issues, history, medical, nature & ecology, pets, science, and technology, as these are the types of nonfiction I gravitate towards and enjoy on a personal level. I am not open to memoir or naturopathic or spiritual works.

LAW: Considering that we appear to be living in a dystopian novel these days, do you foresee a glut of stories in a similar vein in the future? Do you think that now is a good, or bad time to be writing these? Impossible questions, I know, because personally I think this will be a very subjective situation and vary from agent to agent, and editor to editor.

SK: Truly an impossible question to answer. Leading up to now, I have been gravitating more toward contemporary fiction, but will take on dystopian if it rocks my world. I sold one dystopian last year that rocked my world called The Hill by Ali Bryan, and it will be published this fall 2020 by an independent New York press called Dottir Press. It is a super cool feminist dystopian about a group of feral girls living on a reclaimed garbage dump and it hooked me immediately. Right now, with all the gravity in the world, I have to say that funny and light is hitting the spot for me.

LAW: With all the libraries closed, have you seen an increase in book sales? Or has the uncertainty of our situation pushed sales down?

SK: I don’t think we will have accurate numbers on this for a couple of months. I think some communities are supporting local independent bookstores who are offering free in-town delivery, and I am sure a lot of people continue to leverage the library via ebooks and audiobooks, and continue to support big box via online shopping and ebook and audiobook purchases. It is realistic to expect a downturn across all of these retail channels if personal income is reduced for a prolonged period of time and to see a greater upswing in library ebook and audiobook usage.

LAW: Do you see university presses and smaller presses closing down in the wake of this situation? Is there anything we as authors can do to help?

SK: I think a number of small businesses across the publishing industry are probably in jeopardy. All we can do is hope for government and community support and see where things land when life starts approaching normal again — whatever that looks like and whenever that happens. I think university presses may have support from the larger educational institutions they are attached to, but I’m not entirely sure how their funding works. Losing some small presses and independent bookstores is likely inevitable as sad as that is. Authors and readers alike can help simply by supporting the industry — shop(if you can) at the businesses you want to stay in business. If you can’t shop, then try to check out books from the library apps that belong to the publishers you want to support. If you love audiobooks, consider switching to Libro.fm because every purchase is credited to the bookstore of your choice and they get a commission on that audiobook purchase. The other audiobook retailers don’t support your community brick-and-mortar bookstores in this way.

LAW: Do you think historical stories set in previously troubled times might make a resurgence? I wonder if they will, simply because these stories had a resolution, and that can provide a sense of comfort to people. I think it is the unknown that is driving people’s fears. Perhaps if we look to the past and see how humanity rose to the occasion and prevailed, it could bring a sense of calm.

SK: I am unsure of this and really don’t have an answer. I think there has been a small uptick in interest in books about contagious disease, fiction and nonfiction — I’m not sure that will translate to future acquisitions.

LAW: How soon do you get a sense that a manuscript you’re reading is going to be something special? I’ve heard that some agents can tell within the first page.

SK: I would agree with that — when you have a super solid query and a manuscript really grabs you on page one, it feels magical.

LAW: If a query is poorly written but the pages are exemplary, will you consider requesting the manuscript, and what about the opposite scenario. A fabulous query, but disappointing first pages.

SK: When I read queries, I always read the sample, so even if a query isn’t as great as it could be the sample has a chance to hook me. No matter how fabulous the query, if the sample disappoints, then I have to pass.

LAW: What would make you willing to take a chance on an author if their submission material isn’t quite there if indeed there is anything?

SK: Ultimately the sample must hook me and show me the writer can really write. So, a bad query with me isn’t endgame, but a bad sample is.

LAW: How long typically does it take you to decide to offer representation to an author, from reading their query, to finishing their MS, and to that all-important phone call? Would you be willing to share what your process looks like?

SK: There are a lot of factors, like how busy I am with other clients, but if I love a manuscript or proposal, I generally reach out to the author quite quickly via email to request a phone call. I can be quite slow in actually reading a requested manuscript — I don’t have the luxury of lying around reading all day, and I have submissions I am sending out, emails and phone calls with editors and clients, I do a lot of editorial work for my signed clients on projects we are working on, and I work 25–30 hours a week a book store to help pay my bills — so reading manuscripts and proposals has to fit in there somewhere and that is why I am not fast.

LAW: When you sign an author, what is the first step? Do you dig into revision immediately, or do you have several conversations with the client first, to see where you both sit on the plan for the manuscript?

SK: This depends on where I am at in the process with my other clients and projects that are in the queue and where the new project is in the editorial process. Some projects need more work and time than others, and I don’t rush editorial work. Rushed work is sloppy and I’d rather be slow and do it well. Once a new client is signed, I do have a phone call with them and we work out first steps together and it turns into an ongoing dialogue and back and forth until the project is ready to submit.

LAW: Do you already have markets in mind for an author’s work when you sign them? Or is that something that you develop later on?

SK: I generally almost always have a few editors that leap into my mind for each project, but a lot can change between when a client is signed and when the project is ready to be submitted. So once the project is ready to go, I tailor make a submission list for it using our agency database, Publisher’s Marketplace, and Google to make sure I am sending the project to the editors that will be most interested.

LAW: Is there a great deal of variability in how many rounds of revision a book might go through before you send it out on submission? Have you ever offered on a book that was ready to go as is? (I can’t imagine that happening, but one never knows. Lol)

SK: Some projects are certainly more ready than others. The longest I’ve worked back and forth with an author before submission has been almost ten months. I haven’t submitted any projects that didn’t go through some amount of editorial first.

LAW: Can you give us a list of the most important factors in establishing a satisfactory working relationship between an author and an agent?

SK: I think this really depends on the author and the agent because different people need different things from their work relationships. For me, the most important thing is a feeling that you can and will work well together — trust your intuition and have an open and candid conversation about what each of you expects and needs from each other. Open communication is critical for both parties.

LAW: Would you consider taking on a client who parted ways with their former agent? I understand this is not that uncommon, and would likely involve a bit of research into why that relationship did not work out. But are there any red flags that would make you say no?

SK: Absolutely yes and I already have a few clients that parted amicably from their previous agents before approaching me. Like any relationship, it is possible and common for agents and clients to grow apart. This is another reason why open communication is so important. Just because an author and agent choose to part ways doesn’t necessarily mean that either of them have done anything wrong — it can be as simple as an author wanting to try new things, or an agent developing their list in a different direction.

The only red flags that would make me say no is if an author bad mouths their previous agent, or blames their agent for failure, or if the author seems at all resistant to editorial work prior to submission. Other than that, it really hinges on how much I love the project and how easy the author seems to work with. Nobody wants to be in a professional relationship with someone who is hard to work with.

LAW: Any parting words of wisdom for all the anxious authors out there in the depths of the query trenches?

SK: Only two things — make sure your manuscript is the best it can be prior to looking for an agent, and once you’ve started querying, be patient — half the process is learning how to wait because nothing happens super fast in publishing. It’s a long game.

You can find Stacey on Twitter and Instagram. If you have a project that matches her wish list, do consider querying her.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into the world of a literary agent. Stay tuned for Part Two: Naomi Davis of Bookends Literary.

Now, go write.

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