New Year, Completely New Business Plan?
The news is out... I'm a literary agent!
If you follow me on social media, you’ve likely seen the news: I am, as of December 1, 2025, a literary agent with Martin Literary Management!
This is a huge pivot in my business life, but here’s the inside story of why/how and why now.
2018 was a Turning Point
As you might know if we’ve chatted in past, I started my publishing journey as an acquiring editor in 2011. I content edited everything I acquired. While I worked primarily in romance, by February of 2015 when the publisher I was running (I was promoted to acting Managing Director in 2014) closed due to the illness and eventual passing of the company founder, I was acquiring and editing in every genre.
After that publisher closed, I freelanced with a number of other trad publishers as a content/developmental editor and acquisitions editor, and opened my freelance practice working with clients. I also started teaching and have continued a really amazing practice of editing, teaching, and also ghostwriting since 2015-2016.
In 2018, I reached out to a literary agency I knew repped a lot of wonderful romance authors and was offered a job interview. In that interview, I learned three things:
That at least on paper, I had the skills and experience to become an agent. (Whoo-hoo!)
That agents earn $0 base salary/benefits, and it generally takes 3-5 years of actively acquiring to earn an income from sales. (Yikes.)
That many agencies require a 40-hour per week commitment to the agency in the form of editorial support, admin work, etc. (Ohhh no.)
Suffice it to say for an adult who supports herself, that business model was a non-starter for me. But I never gave up the dream of being an agent, and continued to work with my private clients to understand the publishing market in the hopes that maybe someday the right opportunity would come around.
The Right Opportunity Came Around!
And here we are, nearly 7 (8?!) years later and the opportunity at Martin is a dream. I’m permitted to support the agency’s efforts as much/as little as time allows, and I can continue teaching, editing, and ghostwriting. That means, in full transparency, that I can continue to earn an income while I build an agency portfolio.
I thought I was living the dream before, but now? I get the best of all worlds!
What Does This Mean for My Indie Clients?
Absolutely nothing! If you’re an author who wants to stay indie, you can hire me for consultations, marketing, editing, etc., and nothing changes at all. Status quo!
Since there are many genres I will not represent, and many books that are not going to be a fit for the traditional market, if you’re an indie author, carry on! And I hope to see you in my inbox someday!!
If You Plan to Query Me
Thinking about trad publishing? At the moment, I’m only actively pursuing romance and romantasy, horror, mystery, thriller and select fantasy (no grimdark, no sci-fi.) All adult, no YA at the moment. I’m open to some upmarket fiction, but my appetite there is very limited. I do plan to pivot into more spaces over time as I develop relationships as an editor. (I am so excited to look at narrative nonfiction and true crime, but not yet!)
If you think you have a novel you’d like to query, please use this link to query me via QueryTracker.
What Does This Mean for Book Genie!
The good news: nothing bad! We’re still here working with authors who want to prep for querying (other agents, not me!) and self-publish or publish with a small press. We can still build websites and help with marketing. I will still teach at UCLA, Stanford Continuing Studies, and privately, but know that if you plan to query me, I cannot work with you privately through Book Genie. (You may take classes I’m teaching at another university, but know that doing so in no way impacts my likelihood of acquiring your work!)
I’ll continue to share craft-related articles here and announce opportunities to work with me as well as pitch events. If you have writer friends, please feel free to share this Substack so they know how to find me, my agency wishlist, and other content that will be helpful over the coming months.
Thank you so much for being part of the Book Genie community. We’re not going away. We’re adding a wheel to the bus so we can transport even more authors on this ride and bring great books even closer to their dreams.
Questions? Concerns? Ask me anything! Happy New Year, happy writing, and happy publishing, friends!
You go, you! That's quite a lot on your plate. I'm excited to see what you champion.
That's so cool! You're going to be an amazing agent and your future clients are lucky people :D