Literary agent JL Stermer wants to hear your pitches!

JL is adding to her nonfiction list in both YA and adult categories with smart pop-culture, health & wellness, self-help, comedy/satire, fashion, memoir and more. She’s also growing her fiction list (a bit more selectively) and is looking for adult and YA: coming-of-age, humor, dark and edgy stories, and across the board she is excited about new and original POVs from underrepresented voices in both commercial and upmarket projects.

Some of her clients include: How To Be Alone: If You Want To, And Even if You Don’t by Lane Moore (Simon & Schuster, 2018), Are U OK?: A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health by Kati Morton (Hachette, 2018), Where Am I Giving?: A Global Adventure Exploring How to Use Your Gifts and Talents to Make a Difference by Kelsey Timmerman (Wiley 2018), Again, But Better by Christine Riccio (Macmillan, 2019), Dear Haiti, Love Alaine (HarperCollins 2019).

JL is looking for voices that reflect the world as it changes, stories that share the human experience of life, love, growth, and achievement. And they don’t have to all be serious-having fun is important! Some of her favorite reads include: The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll, Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood by Janet Mock, Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, The Rap Yearbook by Shea Serrano, Less Than Zero by Brett Easton Ellis, and A Fighting Chance by Elizabeth Warren.

A born and bred New Yorker, JL has lived in Manhattan her entire life and is a lover of all things arts & culture, people watching, and doughnuts.

JL’s Wish List:

Currently adding to her nonfiction list in both YA and adult categories, JL is looking for: smart general pop-culture, social justice, current events, comedy/satire, fashion, health & wellness, self-help, memoir, essays, pop business, tech, and science. For fiction: commercial adult and YA: coming-of-age, humor, dark and edgy stories, and new, original, under-represented voices. She also loves graphic novels.

MWW board member Lylanne Musselman interviewed JL about her life as an agent and about coming to MWW Agent Fest. 

MWW: Let’s jump right into what writers are eager to know: What questions should a writer coming to the MWW Agent Fest ask an agent who is offering representation? Is there anything that writers should always ask, but may not know to because they’re new to being represented?

JLS: If we were to work together, what would be the next steps for us?

Would I be able to review your agency agreement?

What is your preferred method of communication? (email, phone, email to set a call…)

What kind of timeline do you envision to getting my work out on submission?

When would I be able to announce on social media?

MWW: What kind of fiction and nonfiction projects are you taking queries for? Are you looking for more in one genre than the other?

JLS: My list is currently 80/20 non-fiction/fiction, and I am looking for both adult and YA in both categories.

I’m looking for contemporary projects that can be easily linked to what’s happening in the world today: pop-culture, social justice, underrepresented voices (including POC and LGBTQ) family stories, fish-out-of-water stories, coming-of-age stories and anything that make me feel a real feeling. (Very subjective, I know.) Not looking for sci-fi or fantasy.

MWW: What makes a query stand out to you? Have you ever had a query grab you, but the manuscript didn’t live up to expectations? What does make a manuscript grab you?

JLS: It feels so obvious, but it’s the truth: VOICE. Voice is the equivalent of personality–it’s how you figure out if you like someone, if you want to hang out with them and hear what they have to say. Voice determines if you care about a character and if you can relate to them. Voice is a character’s style and representation. This holds true for both queries as well as for full manuscripts.

I haven’t had a query knock my socks off and then the manuscript was mediocre, but I know that can happen!

MWW: Finally, what are you tired of seeing?

JLS: I’m tired of seeing people who hold themselves back. If you want to write something that is new and out of the box–give it a shot! Be smart about how you’ll fit into a commercial landscape, but shake it up and tell the stories that matter most to you. (I know you’re probably looking for tired tropes and concepts, but I really don’t pay those any mind. If I’m not feeling it, I just move on to see what’s next!)

MWW: Oh, and just for fun…I see you love doughnuts, what’s your favorite kind?

JLS: Anything from The Donut Pub on 14th Street & 7th Avenue in New York City. This is an old school spot that blows any new fancy shops away!

 

Come to the Agent Fest and pitch to JL!

Read more about the MWW Agent Fest: May 10-11, 2019. (Including hotel options)

Register Today! Do this thing.