A surefire way to determine an agent is the best fit for your manuscript/writing career is by learning everything you can about them. Such information is great when choosing who to query and deciding who you’d love to work long term with. As a site dedicated to guiding writers through the publication journey, we’ve put together awesome agent interviews for you!
Today, we’re introducing Katie Ferriello of the Mansion Street Literary Management team!
• Path2pub: How did you become an agent?
My path to agenting started with the Writers With Wrinkles podcast. I was listening to the episode featuring Kaitlyn Sanchez of Bradford Literary when inspiration struck. I saw myself in a lot of what Kaitlyn was describing and decided to reach out to her directly to ask if she’d take me on as an intern.
To my luck, she agreed. She was a perfect mentor and taught me everything she knows, which is a lot! We had so many great conversations about the publishing world and I was fascinated by every detail. At first, the internship was exploratory. I wanted simply to learn, but it quickly became clear that agenting was the perfect fit for me. I developed my editorial database throughout the year, practiced writing submission letters and creating lists, managed her QueryManager inbox, etc. It was supposed to be a six month internship, but Kaitlyn and I clicked so well that I stayed with her for ten.
After that, I synced up with Michelle Witte of Mansion Street Literary Management. Michelle and I had met through BlueSky and she’d given me some advice about becoming an agent earlier in the year. So, when my internship with Kaitlyn was wrapping up, I reached out to Michelle to see if she’d consider mentoring me. Just like with Kaitlyn, Michelle and I get along really well, so I was lucky she agreed. After about four months as Michelle’s intern, I became an agent with Mansion Street myself, so I’m really lucky because I still have her mentorship.
I also have a background as an English teacher and realtor, and both of those experiences really accelerated my learning. I’m very used to giving constructive feedback as a former teacher, so I am more of an editorial agent. Real estate helps because I have loads of experience with contract negotiations already.
• Path2pub: What genres do you represent and why did you decide ‘these are what I want to help bring to the world’?
Right now, most of my focus is on building my romance/fantasy/dystopian list in YA, NA, and Adult. I also will be looking for middle grade authors (a category that totally has my heart!) and picture book authors. For me, reading has always been about escapism. Whether you’re a kid or an adult, sometimes the world is heavy and picking up a story allows you to mentally travel elsewhere or feel something different.
It sounds silly, but I think it’s so important that we have these escapes from reality. Books teach us empathy and help us relate to people whose experiences differ from our own, so I believe that even fictional characters can have a deep impact on the world.
• Path2pub: What instantly catches your eye in a query letter/manuscript?
A great premise is what instantly catches my eye in a query letter.
What I mean by that is one that is familiar, yet unusual. It has to have some sort of a hook. Sometimes, “hook” is hard to define but what I mean is some aspect of the premise that would appeal to a certain subset of readers. If a premise can appeal to multiple types of readers, then the hook is strong. So, that is first and foremost for me. The voice needs to be engaging, and both the query and the manuscript need to be fraught with tension.
• Path2pub: What is that element that makes you know at once that a story is not for you?
Hmm. This is a hard one to quantify. I hate to just say “never this” because I’m open to being surprised. I do notice that if a story starts with a lot of immediate dialogue, I am not usually drawn in. Or if there is a TON of detail, I am not the right person for the work. That doesn’t mean either of those things are wrong. They’re just personal reading tastes.
• Path2pub: How hands-on are you editorially?
I’m very hands-on editorially. Even prior to becoming an agent, I’ve been a part of some pretty large writing groups and constantly critiquing for others. I feel like my three strengths as an agent are:
1. transparent communication with my clients
2. strong negotiation skills when it comes to selling a book
3. my editorial vision.
I work closely with clients to make sure their book is solid before we go on submission. I do a developmental pass, line edits, and a final proof read.
• Path2pub: How submissions-ready do you prefer a queried manuscript to be?
I want authors to query with the best version of their work that they can put forth. I am willing to take on a book that may need some work if I feel really strongly about it and think it has a great chance to sell. As a newer agent, I have the time to help with deeper edits, but for me to take on a manuscript that needs some extensive revisions, I need to have a solid editorial vision for it.
• Path2pub: Do you have goals for how many clients you want to acquire in a year?
I plan to grow slowly and intentionally. Currently, I have two clients and I would be happy closing out the year with about six total. I want to give my complete attention to the clients I have and avoid taking on manuscripts just for the sake of building a list. I am very mindful to make sure that I am absolutely in love with a manuscript before offering—especially because as an agent, I will read that same manuscript multiple times.
I also want clients who have vision for future works that are within my editorial wheelhouse. Any client I sign is one I hope to partner with for a long time, so I’m really mindful about taking my time to be sure a client is a perfect match.
• Path2pub: What is your favorite trope?
I love a slowburn romance, enemies to lovers, and fated mates in romance. Also, the chosen one, found family, hidden worlds and secret societies.
• Path2pub: What are some books you think everyone should read?
This is a hard one to answer because as an escapist reader, I think people should read whatever books resonate with them. A book that is life changing for me may mean absolutely nothing to someone else. Also, I don’t think a book even needs to be life changing. If it sparks joy or awe in a reader, then its served its purpose.
In The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez left an impression on me when I read it in college and Pride and Prejudice has such great wit, but these days, I tend to pick up more commercial books. I really enjoy the Fourth Wing series for the intensive plotting and was blown away by Manacled by Senlinyu (a dark fanfic that has since been reimagined and published under the title Alchemized).
I adored the whimsy of The House on the Cerulean Sea and the poetic writing of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. In the middle grade space, I loved The Book of Stolen Dreams and Nevermoor, and I miss the height of YA dystopian.
• Path2pub: If a writer could write a book specifically for you, what would you want it to be about?
There are two things I’d really like to see right now. The first is a dystopian, but one that feels really fresh and different. Bonus points if it has romance mixed in and if it mixes dystopian with another genre. I loved how The Hunger Games gamified the plot and the way the author drew inspiration from both reality t.v. and gladiators of the past.
It felt like she had something to say about how barbaric humanity can be and how little we’ve changed since Roman times, much as we think we have. I also have a very random request for a book about an elderly person on an adventure. I really enjoyed Phaedra Patrick’s The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper for this reason. Imagine a book about an elderly person discovering their magic or something wild like that. They deserve to be protagonists, too.
• Path2pub: What is your favorite part of being an agent or an agenting experience you’ve had that you’ll always cherish?
Developing a relationship with my clients is the best part of being an agent. I love letting them know I want to represent their book because I know what it’s like to dream of that day as a writer. Helping them revise to make their manuscript truly shine is such a fun collaborative brain puzzle. For me, it’s not just about the manuscript, but working together on a passion project that we collectively want to bring to the world.
• Path2pub: What advice do you have for querying writers?
I firmly believe that it’s simply a matter of time before a querying writer gets an agent. It’s a matter of the right premise, enough practice with the craft, the market, and the agent looking to fill a very specific spot on their list. I don’t say that with delusion. I have written and queried and face the rejections myself. I know how tough it is.
Some of success is timing and luck, but if someone keeps at it, eventually, I believe they will make it. Send the queries out, then get back to writing the next thing, continuing your writing education and swapping with critique partners. Unfortunately, everyone in this business faces a lot of rejection, agents as well, so making it takes a lot of grit. Don’t give up!
• Path2pub: What are your non-publishing related hobbies?
I live in the mountains so I am always mountain biking, skiing, and camping. I have pipe dreams about spending a lot of time at the beach learning to surf one day, too. And, I have a background in Olympic Weightlifting. So basically, I love sporty activities when I’m not reading or writing.
Thank you for a wonderful interview!
Katie Ferriello is the newest literary agent to join the Mansion Street Literary Management team. Her focus is on adult romance and on children’s fiction. She particularly loves fantastical worldbuilding, deeply emotive characters, and strong voices. She earned her BA in English from Manhattan University and a M.Ed. from Fordham University. She has a background as an English teacher as well as a realtor. Now, she’s combined her love of books and business as literary agent. Though born in New York, she currently lives in Utah. In her spare time, you can find her camping, mountain biking, skiing, and, of course, reading and writing.
Submission Link: https://QueryTracker.net/query/katieferriello
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