Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong

UPDATED 11/4/2024 (14:o3 CST)

**PLEASE NOTE: CATHIE IS CLOSED TO QUERIES UNTIL MID-LATE DECEMBER 2024**

Dear Authors: Thank you for your patience, as I know many of you have been waiting for me to reopen to queries. Unfortunately, circumstances have left me needing longer to get my ducks in a row, and I will need to hold off reopening to queries for a few more weeks while I finish going through my current partial and full requests. When I reopen, I will announce via Blue Sky, Threads, Instagram, TikTok,  and my Facebook Page, so keep an eye on those social media platforms. If you currently have an outstanding query, partial or full in my hands, I promise you will get a response before I reopen. I just don’t want to reopen to new queries until all y’all have received a response from me.

Again, thanks for your patience!

Cathie

★・・・・・・★

WORKING WITH ME:

Before I sign every author, we have a “heart to heart” conversation about the importance of communication. For me, the open lines of communication are the most important aspect of any relationship, and an agent-client relationship must have this key component to be successful. My clients will always be able to count on me for honesty–sometimes painful, but always done with as much kindness as possible–and I absolutely require the same, asking that they never hold back their thoughts or concerns. I must understand fully what their concerns are in order to address them, and a straight-forward, honest approach is always the best way to resolve issues or conflict, if any arise. We are partners in this journey, and partners must communicate effectively to be successful.

★・・・・・・★

WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR:

WHEN I REOPEN, I’LL BE ACCEPTING QUERIES IN THE FOLLOWING GENRES. 

• Adult Only
• Romance
• Domestic or Psychological Suspense
• Horror
• Mystery
• Historical Fiction
• Women’s/Book Club Fiction

★・・・・・・★

MY SPECIFIC PREFERENCES

ADULT ROMANCE

YES (BUT NOT LIMITED) TO:

• Contemporary
• New Adult
• Gothic
• Dark Romance
• Mafia (Bratva!!!)
• Why Choose
• Multicultural
• Military
• Morally Grey Characters
• He falls first
• Any subgenre (Grumpy/Sunshine, Cinnamon Roll Hero, etc., but especially love Enemies/Rivals to Lovers).
• Crossover with other genres (i.e. Women’s Fiction, Paranormal, Horror, Suspense, Mystery, Thriller, etc.)
• Spicy or Behind Closed Doors, and everything in between.
• Always Clear Consent
• Plus size main character

NO TO:

• RomComs (at the moment)
• Romantasy (at the moment)
• Historical or Regency (at the moment)
• Stalker
• Sexual assault or rape fantasies
• Erotica (i.e. contains little or no character development and without the on-page sex, there is essentially no story—readers care about the steamy sex, not the characters and their journey)

★・・・・・・★

ADULT HORROR

YES TO:

• Demonic Possession or Supernatural
• Paranormal (i.e. Hauntings)
• Zombie
• Witchcraft
• Vampires or Shifters
• Psychological
• Gothic
• Dark Academia

NO TO:

• Slasher/Splatter or Monster
• Sexual Assault

★・・・・・・★

ADULT MYSTERY

YES TO:

• Standalone
• Series Potential

NO TO:

• Cozy (at the moment)
• Sexual Assault

★・・・・・・★

ADULT HISTORICAL

HOPING FOR:

• 16^th Century England, Scotland, or Ireland
• Civil War from a POC Perspective
• Civil Rights-era from a POC Perspective
• 1920s-1930s United States
• Any era by a POC author, with POC character representation
• Any historical perspective which highlights the fight for freedoms Americans currently enjoy and which may be threatened by specific political climate

NO TO:

• WWI or WWII Settings
• 1970s or Later

★・・・・・・★

YES IN ANY GENRE

• Native American representation, written by Native American authors
• BIPOC representation, written by BIPOC authors
• LGBTQ+ representation, written by LGBTQ+ authors
• Strong, bad*ss female characters with a F*** the patriarchy mentality, ambitions, or goals.

★・・・・・・★

NO ACROSS THE BOARD

• Children’s Fiction (YA/MG/PB)
• Science Fiction
• Fantasy
• Non-Fiction (Except by Request)
• Sexual assault UNLESS there’s a clear reason for including it, and then nothing graphic. I don’t like sexual assault strictly for shock value or as a story-telling device when it’s unnecessary and any other type of crime could easily be substituted.

★・・・・・・★

SOMETHING I’D REALLY LOVE TO HAVE

• Adult Dystopian with strong/bad*ss FMC who challenges the patriarchy. Think along the lines of The Handmaid’s Tale if all the handmaids were to rise up against the patriarchy. Bonus if it has a strong romantic thread, but the MMC takes a step back and supports the FMC without trying to save her or talk her out of her mission.
• Adult Romance: I’m forever looking for a really great enemies to lovers romance with two high-level athletes with the same energy, angst, and banter as Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney’s characters in The Cutting Edge. Bonus points if the FMC is a gymnast and repeatedly points out how much tougher gymnastics is than any other sport (IYKYK).

★・・・・・・★

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT MY TASTES

MY CURRENT AUTHORS INCLUDE:

Jennifer Wilck, Erin Rose, Christy Swift, Annie McQuaid, Shameez Patel Papathanasiou, Erica Lucke Dean, Emilia Finn, J.C. Kenney, Courtney Whims, Christina Elle, Rebecca Crowley, Haley Phelan, Kelly Beck, B.B. Swann, Jamie McLachlan, Lawren Wood Largue, Soniya Kulkarni, Nina Nouwens, Tara Lundmkark, Cate McMinn, Hannah Hartley, Andee Reilly, and A.N. Caudle.

★・・・・・・★

SOME OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS:

Mary Kubica, Heather Gudenkauf, Joshilyn Jackson, Lisa Scottline, Cathy Lamb, B.A. Paris, Ruth Ware, James Patterson, Talia Hibbert, Helen Hoang, Colleen Hoover, Christina Lauren, Tessa Dare, Alyssa Cole, Courtney Milan, Rachel Van Dyken, Emilia Finn, Meghan Quinn, Lucy Score, Lyssa Kay Adams, Jen DeLuca, Kate Morton, Evie Dunmore, Elena Armaas, Ali Hazelwood, Kelly Cain, Sarah J. Maas, Amanda Linsmeier…(I could go on and on!)

★・・・・・・★

A NOTE ABOUT QUERIES

ALL QUERIES SHOULD BE SENT TO QUERYMANAGER.COM/QUERYCATHIE

PLEASE DO NOT SEND QUERIES TO ME BY EMAIL OR THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

• Though I don’t mind the occasional DM contact to ask questions, please follow my submission guidelines for all queries.
• All queries sent to my email are immediately deleted without reading and without a reply to the sender.

MY RESPONSE TIME:

Queries: 30 days
First 5 Chapters: 90 days from date received
Full Manuscript: 90 days from date received

TIPS FOR YOUR QUERY:

All good queries should include the Title, Genre, Word Count and a 2-4 paragraph BRIEF Synopsis of your manuscript. Think of it like the back cover of your book. It should include the following 5 elements:

1. Who is your main character?
2. What does your main character want?
3. What or who is standing in your main character’s way of getting what they want?
4. What must your main character overcome to get what they want?
5. What are the consequences of reaching for that goal? What might they gain or lose. **NOTE: this is called the stakes of your story. Without the stakes, your query is incomplete**

WHAT MAKES ME PASS ON A QUERY OR OPENING PAGES?

• An incomplete query. I must know what the story is about or I have no incentive to read. (See the 5 elements above)
• A query that drones on and on for multiple paragraphs and doesn’t get to the point. Your brief synopsis should be roughly 250 words and hit the 5 elements listed above. Get to the point–there’s no need to list every action the character takes.
• A manuscript that is far too long or far too short for the genre. For more information, a quick Google search for “manuscript word count by genre” will give you a rough estimate. This is only a guideline, but it’ll get you in the right ballpark. So if, for example, the guideline for the romance genre is 70-90K words, you’re pretty safe with me at 55-95K. But if I get, for example, a Romance submission at 35K or 135K, you can be pretty confident it’ll be a pass for me.
• Bad or “loose” writing. I’m looking for a manuscript that needs minimal editorial help. While I can help with edits and often do, editing can be time-intensive and it takes time away from my other clients. So before submitting, make sure you’ve edited, edited, and edited again. Get a couple of good critique partners who aren’t afraid to give you honest feedback. Here is a  link to an editing document I created for my clients before going submission. I strongly suggest you look through this document before sending me a query as I tend to be a stickler for a few things.

Above and beyond everything else, have fun and good luck! Remember that a pass from an agent or editor DOES NOT mean your work is bad or that nobody will ever like it. It simply means that what you’ve written is not a good fit for that person. Most querying authors receive upwards of a hundred passes before finding an agent. Let me repeat that in a different way: you may receive a hundred or more passes before finally finding an agent. That’s completely normal, so don’t allow it to make you feel defeated!

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to querymanager.com/querycathie

2025 CONFERENCES

I am currently scheduling conferences for Spring, Summer and Fall of 2025. If you are interested in having me attend your conference, please feel free to send me an email with the details.

CATHIE’S 2024-2025 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

September 27–29, 2024

Colorado Gold Writers’ Conference

Denver, Colorado

(Remote) Taking Pitches

October 4–5, 2024

The 2024 Online Florida Writing Workshop

(Remote) Presenting and Taking Pitches

October 12–13, 2023

Emerald City Romance Writer’s Conference

(Remote) Taking Pitches

October 25–26, 2024

Wisconsin Writers’ Association Conference

LaCrosse, WI

(In Person) Taking Pitches

November 1–2, 2024

The Online Seattle Writing Workshop

(Remote) Taking Pitches

December 6–7, 2024

The 2024 Chicago Online Writing Conference

(Remote) Taking Pitches

June 25–26, 2025

Novel Boot Camp

Racine, WI

(In Person) Taking Pitches

August 1–2, 2025

RomanceLahoma

Oklahoma City, OK

(In Person) Taking Pitches

Guidelines & Details