Recipe for Success in 2022 from an Agent’s Point of View: Jemiscoe Chambers-Black, Andrea Brown Literary Agency #SCBWIWinter22

Before Jemiscoe "Jem" Chambers-Black joined Andrea Brown Literary Agency in 2020, she was an assistant director for film and television. Her love for books prevailed, and she went back to school to study English Literature and creative writing in fiction and earned her MFA. She represents illustrators, picture book authors (by referral only), MG, YA, and adult authors. In picture books, she enjoys laugh-out-louds, tight rhyming, and heartfelt books that deal with family, friendships, and emotional literacy.


Jem’s talk was all about goal setting—something all creators need to get into the habit of doing. Jem loves discussing short and longterm goals with her clients. Also, keep in mind while setting those goals: If you happen to be writing a Golden Girl’s mystery, Jem wants be your best friend!


What are your short and longterm goals? What do those fancy writer goals look like? Imagine yourself in five, ten, twenty years from now. What does your career look like? What awards do you hope to win? Reflect on those goals and dream big!


What are your yearly goals? What can you do in a year to reach your big goal?


And this blogger especially likes this one—> Take a vacation or staycation. In publishing, burnout is real. Find your inner couch slug. Find a way to unplug, to relax.

Find your writing community and critique partners, people who will root for you when publishing tries to keep you down.

Read, read, read—and then some more. But don’t read as a reader. Read to learn. Analyze what you are reading. What do you like about a particular story—pacing? Implement that thing into your own creation. And what are you not liking about what you are reading? Do not implement that thing!


Be sure to include the staycation in your monthly goals.