Adria Goetz is no stranger to making magic in the publishing industry. Her many years of successful experience, insight, and talented cliental are well known. Book making magic is the essence in identifying great ideas, championing those ideas through the book making process, and delivering valuable stories to kids, families, and communities around the world. Literary Agent Adria Goetz shares perspectives and bares her soul in this eye-opening dive into her life as a book lover.

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Adria, it’s a pleasure having the opportunity to stand closely within the presence of your literary influence. When we first connected long ago, I was immediately struck with how approachable, sincere, and helpful you were as a Literary Agent. The term Literary Agent doesn’t seem descriptive enough to convey what it is you do in the world of book creation and dream representation. And now, after you just temporarily closed to queries, I find myself feeling a bit of loss for every manuscript and art portfolio that must wait until you re-open to once again bring new ideas and people through the journey of their hopes and dreams. Despite the incredible workload you manage representing books and people while teaching workshops and giving lectures (not to mention all the family life happenings), what goes into your decision to close or open to queries?

I know, it makes me sad too! This is the first time I’ve closed to queries since I started agenting. I’ve always tried to make it clear to the writing community that I truly do love receiving submissions.

My thought here is: if I am approachable then writers will—wait for it—approach me! And the more people who query me, the more likely I am to find something really special. That’s a big reason why I’ve never closed to submissions before—I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to find amazing projects. I’m only closing now because I’m about to be out of the office for a little while on a temporary medical leave. Rest assured though, I already can not wait to open back up when I’m ready! I hope that I get flooded with gems.

It’s very obvious that you genuinely put heart and soul into the #writingcommunity and treat those precious queries with kindness and respect. I’ve heard many agents ignore any queries received during their “closed” season. The more technologically savvy agents simply disable online query form submissions. But perhaps some queries inevitably make it through the firewall of armed assistants and email archiving rules. Have you decided what you’ll do if you return to work with a larger slush pile than when you left? Trash? Fire? Or will the grip of curiosity cause you to peak at a few?

Once I’m out on leave, any queries that sneak in will receive an automated response that tells them I’m closed to submissions, and it will invite queriers to resubmit once I’ve opened back up. And I hope they do!

Speaking of hoping they query you when you’re back open, people often wonder if they should keep querying an agent after multiple rejections. Seeking representation as an author and illustrator is such a soul-searching endeavor. Despite any thoughts leading one to believe material is perfectly suited for an agent, a long string of resounding “No thank you’s” leads one to believe they got it wrong and future material is, in fact, I’ll suited after all. At the same time, things change, people change, tastes change, and the market changes. How do you approach this issue and what do you hope people think when they consider querying you “again”?

People are always welcome to resubmit to me. Once I’m back open of course. I have several clients who queried me a couple times before we signed together. Most of the time in those instances though, I saw something in their work I liked and asked for them to query me again in the future with a different project or a more built-up portfolio of work. If someone has queried me a handful of times and I haven’t specifically indicated interest, then it’s probably not the right match.

You have an incredibly talented team of authors and illustrators with a diverse and beautiful catalogue of books to your team’s credit. You’re a champion of other people, their ideas, and the power of teamwork to bring value to communities and the marketplace. What has this past year been like for you? Have there been any changes significant enough that you believe have altered the landscape of the literary industry?

Well, thank you! 2020 was, somehow, my strongest year to date in terms of sales. I closed some deals I’m really proud of. 2020 was also the year in which I learned the art of the pep talk. I think the pandemic took a hit on everyone’s mental health and a lot of clients have needed extra support and encouragement. I love my clients and I’m always here to provide that support, but it can be hard sometimes to support people when you’re struggling too! I remember saying to my husband several times over the past year, “I’ve been talking people off ledges all week but nobody seems to realize that I’m right beside them on that ledge.”

As far as industry wide shifts: I think we all learned that much of what editors do can be done remotely so my hope is that this will lead to publishing beginning to move out of New York. It’s no secret that publishing being in such an expensive city is a huge barrier toward moving toward a more diverse industry. There’s so much talent that remains untapped because of this. I’ve spoken to several editors who have left the city during the pandemic, so we’ll see what happens. I think it will be a slow shift, but I’m hopeful it will lead to a stronger industry as a whole.

What a great analogy – talking someone off a ledge while you’re standing on the same ledge! I feel like the phrase, “What a year!” is going to stick around for a while. What are some of your most recent sales that you’re really excited to see popping up on store shelves? Who are some of your newest author or illustrator additions to the team and what was it about them and their work that resonated with you?

You just asked my absolute favorite question to be asked!! I love talking about my amazing clients and the incredible books they create. A few upcoming books I’m particularly excited about are LOU by Breanna Carzoo, publishing with HarperCollins, which is about a fire hydrant who has grown tired of being the neighborhood “dog toilet.” It’s hilarious.

I’m also really excited for THE INVENTIONS OF GOD (AND EVA) by Dave Connis and Amy Domingo, publishing with WaterBrook, which is a faith-meets-STEM story.

And I am over the moon about MERMAID AND PIRATE by Tracey Baptiste that my client Leisl Adams is illustrating, which publishes with Algonquin.

I just recently signed author / illustrator Andrea Floren and I loved the projects she had in development. They all have a very energetic, exciting quality to them. I love how she uses vibrant colors in her illustrations, and I love that her work is a mix of hand-drawn art (color pencil, watercolor, gouache) and also digital. She has one project in particular called IN THE GROVES, inspired by her abuelo who worked as a caretaker for orange groves in California, that I think is going to make a spectacular debut. Knock on wood!

Andrea’s portfolio is so vibrant! It brings up a wonderful question I know lots of artists ask but I’d like to expand it to authors. While each person has their unique style of art and writing, what do you look for in a digital portfolio or digital platform? What basic elements do you wish more people focused on in their digital self-presentation?

I love when a portfolio’s website url is the author’s first and last name. It makes it easier to find them! And I love when the home page includes a bunch of thumbnails of their work so I can see a birdseye view of their portfolio. When I meet with illustrators at conferences, here’s the checklist I give them, of what I love to see in a portfolio: children (and representation in terms of different body types, skin colors, disabilities, etc.), different emotions, animals, food, settings/environments, examples of light (like lamps, fireflies, stars, etc.), standalone images that tell a story. And for those interested in graphic novels, I want to see examples of sequential storytelling, whether that be a quick little comic similar to what you’d see in the cartoons section of a newspaper, or a sample graphic novel page.

What do you hope to see when you visit an author-only website? Do you expect writing samples, blog posts, or some other written product showing their engagement in literary pursuits or a field of expertise? What might go through your mind if an author or illustrator you’re interested in does not have an established digital platform?

For an author-only creator who hasn’t been published, I don’t expect them to have a website yet. I do try to find them on social media though, just to see if I can get a sense for their personality, and to see if they seem like they would be nice to work with. For illustrators, I do want to see a website or at least a very active Instagram. I’m pretty sure that 100% of my illustrator clients had websites at the time they queried me.

Personality is so intangible and yet so critical! If you had to pick, which one of your clients has had the most incredible or helpful or persevering personality through the pandemic? In other words, who has helped talk YOU off the ledge over the last year while you were pouring your cup out for others?

Oh gosh! All of my clients are such lovely, kind people, and so many of them have been encouraging and supportive over the years, and especially last year. But I mostly turn to my husband, sisters, and best friend when I need a boost.

What a blessing to have such an amazing team of people and loved ones around! You’ve been with Martin Literary Management (MLM) for nearly 5 years now as an agent and 2 years before that as an intern, correct? With 7 years of experience at MLM, what’s the current pulse of the company? What is MLM passionate about right now and have any areas of focus changed during your tenure there? Is MLM moving into any new markets or enhancing focus in any specific genres or types of media currently?

That’s pretty darn close yes! I joined the agency as an intern in 2013 and started agenting the fall of 2016. We’re really excited about the new talent that has joined our agency recently.

We have Lindsay Guzzardo, who is focusing on adult fiction, Delia Berrigan Fakis who does adult nonfiction, fiction, and a select number of picture books, and Sera Rivers who does middle grade, young adult, graphic novels, and picture books. And Delia is well-connected in the audiobook space, so I personally am excited to begin retaining audiobook rights more often.

Nobody really expected there to be a market for picture book audiobooks, but it’s been picking up steam recently which has been a pleasant surprise. I especially love the Hair Love audiobook narrated by Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter!

I’ve wondered that same question about audiobooks for picture books. While technology is ever consuming more of our lives, I believe only relatively recently have we started seeing it permeate the youngest in society. More and more parents are giving kids increased responsibility and selection authority when it comes to technology-based media. It’s critical that children’s media be full of high-quality, helpful, and educational content. Are there any other “final frontier” type activities in the literary industry that you or MLM is keeping an eye out for? Anything that “isn’t quite there yet” but might become a mover and shaker in the next couple years that authors and illustrators would benefit staying informed on? I think of things like artists delving into the NFT scene, virtual reality stories, micro-story delivery straight to phones via text message, etc.

Hmm. I think that the format that sort of straddles the line between book and game, like an e-book with highly interactive elements, will pick up steam in the future. But other than that, not sure!

I think there are a lot of video games lovers who and jumping up and down with that! You’ve seen a lot of pitches, book blurbs, and synopsis. It’s no secret that boiling a book down to a brief summary is tough! What do you believe works well in breaking down a book as a pitch or simply to give people the tantalizing “big idea”? Have you come across any book blurbs that do this extremely well?

When you’re able to succinctly explain the plot of a story AND capture the essence or feeling of the project at the same time, that’s when a pitch really sings. That’s why I love when the pitch for THE WHATIFS, written by Emily Kilgore, illustrated by Zoe Persico, because you can hear the voice:

What if my dog runs away?

What if I forget my homework?

What if the sun stops shining?

What if my crayon breaks?

Cora is constantly worrying about everything. Because of this, the Whatifs love her. They sneak up to her and give her all kinds of doubts: big or small, silly or frightening, likely or impossible. As she prepares for an upcoming piano recital, the Whatifs cling on tighter and drag her down, making her anxious about messing up during the concert. Will she be able to change her worry-filled thoughts into hopeful ones?

Ah, I want to read that book now! There seem to be two big categories of pitches and blurbs- those that ask the reader questions and those that make statements. Do you believe one is more captivating than the other, a hybrid of statements and questions is best, or do you have any guidance on when questions or statements might be most appropriate to attract a reader?

I don’t have an extremely strong opinion here, but I’ve noticed with novels in particular I tend to like pitches that set the scene for a story, and then end with questions that build suspense and highlight the questions that the main character will spend the duration of the story seeking the answers to. Here’s an example of a pitch like this for NO ORDINARY THING by G.Z. Schmidt:

Adam doesn’t mind living at his uncle’s bakery, the Biscuit Basket, on the Lower East Side in New York City. The warm, delicious smells of freshly baked breads and chocolate croissants make every day feel cozy, even if Adam doesn’t have many friends and misses his long dead parents very much.

When a mysterious but cheerful customer shows Adam a snow globe and says that adventures await him, it’s too strange to be true. But days later, an unbelievable, incredible thing happens. Adam finds a similar looking snow globe and immediately travels back in time, first to Times Square in 1935, then a candle factory fire in 1967.

But how are these moments related? What do they have to do with his parents’ death? And why is a tall man with long eyebrows and a thin mustache following Adam’s every move?

Wow, that’s so good! Even a topic I wouldn’t normally look for, I want to read it just by reading the pitch. No more asking you about pitches because the TBR pile is already too big! Let’s round out the interview with some spit-fire questions and answers. Please go with your gut on these.

Name a client with extraordinary work ethic.

Leisl Adams!

Who’s your funniest co-worker?

My cat assistants, Maple and Mulberry.

An agent you admire NOT at MLM?

Holly Root is an icon.

An editor who’s got an “eye” for great stories?

Sasha Henriques at Random House Children’s, and Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook Press.

What’s your go to brain food/drink?

To quote Lorelai Gilmore, “I need coffee in an IV!”

What would “current you” say to “child you”?

“You did it!!!”

What do you wish people knew about you?

Oof. Well, you said to go with your gut, so my gut is: I wish more people knew that I have anxiety and depression. I’m trying to be more open about that. I used to try to hide it or downplay it because I didn’t want people to think I wouldn’t be a reliable agent or something, but I realized recently that my anxiety in particular makes me a very organized, thorough person. I’m so anxious about making a mistake that everything is color-coded and alphabetized and double or triple checked.

And finally, what’s the best way for people to follow your journey, connect with you, and see what books you’ve helped put on shelves?

Twitter is a great place to follow along (@AdriaMGoetz), as well as Instagram (@adriagoetz). You can also see my list of client books on this Amazon shopping list and this Pinterest board.

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