Agents Panel: Josh Adams

I had the pleasure of chatting with Josh Adams of Adams Literary at last year's conference, and he couldn't be a nicer dude. Everyone at the conference, especially Lin, admired the tomato red stay-crease action slacks he wore to this morning's panel. And when I say everyone admired them, I mean everyone, Josh just told us he's got a black belt in Taekwondo. Josh sees his agency as a boutique agency exclusively dedicated to children's and young adult. Josh says Adams Literary is looking to represent authors, not books, and both Josh and his wife, fellow agent Tracey, love coming to conferences to find those needle-in-a-haystack talents.

Some of the most recent Adams Literary titles:

How do you get an agent or a book deal? 

Josh: "Our clients are really passionate about what they do, they work really hard at their craft, they have voice..." Some actions to take: "Read a lot, know your audience, attend conferences like this, tell your story, really do your homework, don't be in a rush to get published, submit when you are ready."

On paying attention to the market in terms of writing to trends: "We are aware of trends, but by the time you identify them, they're done. We don't want derivative, we want original."

Common mistakes you see your clients or industry newbies making?

Josh: "We're here to help manage your career over the long term, you need to think strategically about the editors you're going to work with, don't be scattered all over many houses. Take your work and yourself very seriously."

Final word from Josh:

JUST KEEP WORKING.