Nov 23, 2011

Joanna Is Closing to Queries

Dear Writers,

I am officially closing to submissions as of next Thursday, December 1, 2011, and I won't be re-opening until late spring.

If I have your manuscript or partial currently, I am still considering your submission and will respond to you personally when I have finished reading.

This was a difficult decision, but ultimately, I would like to focus on my clients and developing the projects that I currently have in the works.

But! No reason to despair! We've got three other fantastic agents at Nancy Coffey Literary: Suzie Townsend, Kathleen Ortiz, and Nancy Coffey herself!

So I do hope you'll try one of these ladies. Their full bios and interests can be found here.

However...if you want the skinny on what they're really looking for....

Nancy has been on the lookout for a strong, commercial, character-driven thriller for as long as I've known her. She's picky, but she's hungry for one--and she's one of the best agents in the business, in my humble opinion.

Kathleen is drawn to projects that have a darker edge. She also likes ones that can make her laugh. But what she's really had her heart set on for a while is a kick ass cyberpunk with strong narrative and world-building.

Suzie has just joined the agency, and though she has a solid client list already, she is actively looking for more fabulous clients. She is one of my closest friends in the industry, and I can tell you right now...she is a romantic at heart. She is interested in all kinds of stories, but if the romance sweeps her off her feet...you've got a good shot! And she's been on the lookout for a hi-fantasy YA forever (though it would need to be very different from Cat Hellisen's When the Sea Is Rising Red, which is an *awesomely* beautiful and haunting read, pre-order it now!).

I hope this insight helps!

And don't worry...I'll be back!

Best,
Joanna Volpe

10 comments:

Juli said...

Oh no! We'll miss you, Joanna!

Question: So we can still query you until 12/1, right? And if we have significantly revised the query for a project we previously got rejected for (the query. Not submission), can we re-send it?

Thanks so much! I wish you and your clients the best of luck!

Anonymous said...

That is correct, Juli!

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Have a good query break, Joanna!

P.S. I was just about to check the Query Log and couldn't find it at the top of the blog. Does that mean you guys are all caught up on queries?

Anonymous said...

Krista V--We're going to be revamping the query log. Now that we have so many agents reading, we're working on a better way to keep track and post on the blog.

As of last night at midnight, both Nancy and I were caught up on e-queries, though Suzie and Kathleen each still had a fair amount in their folders.

We're working on it though!

Heather said...

So, if we haven't heard from you, even a form rejection as of midnight last night, we won't receive one and we can assume we've been rejected. Just want to clarify.

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Good to know, Joanna. Thanks for the response!

Anonymous said...

Hi Heather, did you receive an auto-response? If you didn't, then we didn't receive your query.

The auto-response explains that we will respond within 2 weeks if interested. This is also listed on our website.

If you didn't receive an auto-response--resend your query!

J

Rebecca said...

Should we also assume that if we did get an auto-response but haven't heard from you after two weeks that the agency is passing? Or could we query again but to Nancy, Kathleen or Suzie?

Anonymous said...

Hi Rebecca,

Sorry for the delayed response. How is it Dec 7 already?? Eek!

Yes, I'm all caught up, so if you haven't heard from me, it means I am passing. Though you can sub to Kathleen or Suzie. While we do share queries and projects in-house, we're 100% comfortable with re-queries. Just please don't query more than one of us at the same time.

I hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

When are you reopening submissions? Thank you.