Jeanne De Vita

Before moving onto the agency side of the business, I worked in publishing for over a decade as an acquisitions editor and developmental editor for traditional publishers and authors. I’ve worked with hundreds of new and aspiring authors as well as established NYT bestsellers across the genres. I understand the mechanics of a great story and am looking for un-putdownable voice, expert structure/pacing, and a premise that I want to stay up late reading. I still teach writing and editing craft at the college level, so I’m a technician who reads quickly and assesses books based on how successfully the submission meets the expectations of the genre, sub-genre, or niche. Are you a superfan of the genre you are writing? Can we swap excited stories about our favorite books and have honest conversations about the business, the process, and the work that goes into creating great stories? I have an editorial approach, a practical perspective on the business, and a deep passion for this work.

I’m currently open to most commercial genre fiction, and I especially encourage new authors, indie authors, and authors underrepresented in traditional publishing to query. I am always open to LGBTQIA+ authors and #OwnVoices stories.

I AM ANTI-AI and do not use AI in editing, on social media, etc. If you’re an author that has used AI for images on social media, covers for books, or in the creation/writing of your book or query letter, please do not query me. 

**PLEASE NOTE: Please submit YA in all sub-genres to another agent at Martin Lit. I am closed to YA at this time.

Please do not submit any work that has been previously published anywhere (unless you’re an established author with a significant backlist and sales history), and no short stories, anthologies, collection, or novellas. Full length novels (a minimum of 60,000 words) only, please. I will automatically decline most works over 120,000 words, so while I may make occasional exceptions, please ensure your word count is appropriate for the genre you’re writing.

Genre fiction is my happy place: romance, romantasy, thriller, horror, mysteries, spec-fic. I’m also a fan of really compelling book club/upmarket fiction that is character-driven with strong themes and sub-plots. I’m not a great fit for some genres, so please do not query the following:

• YA (young adult, any sub-genre, should be queried to another Martin agent, please)
• memoir unless you’re writing something immersive that reads like a novel like Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner or Know My Name by Chanel Miller
• Christian/inspirational/religious novels and nonfiction
• children’s books and middle grade fiction and nonfiction
• grimdark
• any genre that includes cults, overly religious themes (even fantasy or invented religions), pastors, and churches as characters or literary devices
• on-page sexual violence

Please use QueryTracker to query, as I do not accept email queries.

Submission Guidelines

Please submit a concise query letter that includes your title, genre, word count, and a brief pitch along with the first five pages of your book. Please use QueryTracker to query, as I do not accept email queries. Please include any applicable social media links/handles, your email, telephone number, and your legal name. (You’re welcome to include a pen name if you have one/want to use one.) Include relevant publishing history or brief biographical information that may be relevant to my assessment.

I will not open attachments and any email sent with attachments will be deleted unopened, so please paste your submission into QueryTracker only.