I had the very distinct pleasure of being Literary Agent Mary Kole's personal host at the Indiana SCBWI Annual Conference this past weekend. When it was over I was left with one certainty: If you're in the market for an agent, Mary Kole should top your list. Here are 5 reasons why.
1. She's brilliant Succinct, insightful answers were forever at the tip of her tongue. I was wowed by her savvy.
2. She's friendly I got a hug for picking her up at the airport. Everyone who approached her was welcomed with a smile. She was open and chatty and a joy to be around.
3. She's witty The girl made me laugh until my cheeks hurt--even with dinner stuck between my teeth. Humor is a real bonus in any agent's bag-o-tricks, methinks.
4. She's tough I'm quite confident she could win an arm-wrestle with her stare-down.
5. She's compassionate When I did the ultimate embarrassing thing and couldn't find money or a credit card in my purse (I'd accidentally stuck it in my computer bag when rooting for change for a parking meter) she bought my coffee without even rolling her eyes a little.
I am telling you. If you can nab Mary Kole as an agent, you want to! Polish your manuscript, spit-shine it and then polish again before submitting to her. Because I promise, you do not want to be on the wrong side of her stare-down.
*moans and kneads wrestlin' arm*
Good luck!
(And, yes, I came back and edited the title of this post because I realized the original: "Ode to Mary Kole" sounded a bit stalkerish and I'd make a horribly pathetic stalker.)
1. She's brilliant Succinct, insightful answers were forever at the tip of her tongue. I was wowed by her savvy.
2. She's friendly I got a hug for picking her up at the airport. Everyone who approached her was welcomed with a smile. She was open and chatty and a joy to be around.
3. She's witty The girl made me laugh until my cheeks hurt--even with dinner stuck between my teeth. Humor is a real bonus in any agent's bag-o-tricks, methinks.
4. She's tough I'm quite confident she could win an arm-wrestle with her stare-down.
5. She's compassionate When I did the ultimate embarrassing thing and couldn't find money or a credit card in my purse (I'd accidentally stuck it in my computer bag when rooting for change for a parking meter) she bought my coffee without even rolling her eyes a little.
I am telling you. If you can nab Mary Kole as an agent, you want to! Polish your manuscript, spit-shine it and then polish again before submitting to her. Because I promise, you do not want to be on the wrong side of her stare-down.
*moans and kneads wrestlin' arm*
Good luck!
(And, yes, I came back and edited the title of this post because I realized the original: "Ode to Mary Kole" sounded a bit stalkerish and I'd make a horribly pathetic stalker.)
Posts
haha...laughing at that last line. My R from her was really nice - and I give agents kudos when they can write a R letter and still make you feel like you've achieved something. :)
ReplyDeleteI'd say that's a 6th virtue, Angie. ;) Darn about the R, though. :( Darn.
ReplyDeleteWell, if I ever have a book length ms, I'll be sure to keep her in mind! I popped over to her blog and saw that some of her wish list items are things I could possibly do (e.g. creepy...I LOVE creepy!). :)
ReplyDeleteOh I would really like to meet her someday! :D
ReplyDelete