Welcome to our live-recorded event with agent Lizzie Poteet!
*****Please note that there are some adult topics mentioned in this episode. We aren’t the MPAA, but we’d rate it PG-13.*****
Originally from Nashville, TN, Lizzie Poteet is an agent at The Seymour Agency after several years at St Martin’s Press/Macmillan. A hopeless romantic, she’s eternally grateful she found a way to channel her immense feelings about feelings into a legitimate job where swooning is considered a job skill.
A spitfire from an early age, she once tried to write a series of book reports in high school on Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, and Julie Garwood. It did not go over well. Lizzie’s addiction to romance only grew from there, which explains why she decided to study abroad at the University of St. Andrews in college. Just on the off chance she would fall back in time and meet her own warrior soul mate. Sadly, she didn’t and now lives in New York with her dog, Mr. Darcy, where she watches a lot of TV.
Lizzie is looking for Romance, Women’s Fiction, New Adult, Religious, Romantic Suspense, Historical Romance, and Inspirational Romance.
You can follow her on Twitter @lizziepoteet.
Learn more about these events here: manuscriptacademy.com/member-lounge
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The questions:
11:00: What are some word count trends in romance and YA contemporary, and does an agent reject based off of low word count?
13:02: Can you talk about how agents edit with their authors?
16:29: What jumps out at you in the first few pages, structure wise, that makes you want to keep reading?
18:06: Are you looking for a one book or career long relationship?
20:50: How do agents feel about writers who’ve had a full editorial edit before submitting? Is it necessary? How much editing should you do before you submit your work?
23:46: What prompts you to ask for a partial, and what prompts you to ask for a full? What are you NOT looking for?
26:05: Do you ever take on an offer and realize that it’s just not working?
29:10: How to prevent that from happening?
31:30: What reader expectations have changed with romance in recent years? When can romance explore deeper issues?
35:19: How do you include heavy topics in your work, and know your agent will accept it? When do you need to include a trigger warning?
41:27: Can you talk about LGBT romance novels?
43:55: Should you write what you love or what’s marketable? How do you balance that? What if you’re writing more than one book at a time?
48:32: How is New Adult doing? Why is it mostly romance? And is there room for New Adult sci fi?
54:36: What tips do you have for writers?
