May 1, 2018 Interview With Literary Agent Sean Mccarthy Of Sean Mccarthy Literary Agency

About Sean: Sean McCarthy founded his own full-service literary agency in 2013. He began his publishing career as an editorial intern at Overlook Press and then worked at the Sheldon Fogelman Agency as the submissions coordinator and permissions manager before becoming a full-time literary agent. He works on children’s books for all ages, and is actively looking to build his client list. His clients include New York Times Bestseller Zachariah OHora, Jamie A. Swenson, Hyewon Yum, Mark Fearing, Dana Wulfekotte, Andrea Offermann, Kurt Cyrus, and Judith Robbins Rose, among others. Sean graduated from Macalester College with a degree in English-Creative Writing, and is grateful that he no longer has to spend his winters in Minnesota.

Connect with Sean:
www.mccarthylit.com
https://twitter.com/mccarthylit/
https://www.facebook.com/mccarthylit/

Why and/or how did you become an agent? 

Some people in publishing knew from a very young age that they wanted to work in the industry. I was not one of them. I knew that I wanted to work in some capacity with books, but I had no idea what that would entail. Fortunately, when I was applying for an agent assistant position at Sheldon Fogelman Agency, they had three immediate openings, so it was great timing on my part. I had a chance to learn on the job, and with my familial background in accounting (both of my parents are CPAs), agenting turned out to be the perfect fit.

What’s a day in the life of literary agent Sean McCarthy like? 

It varies so much on a day-by-day basis. Usually it involves some combination of responding to emails, working on client manuscripts and submissions (and following up on those submissions with tardy editors), redlining contracts, and reading submissions. Most of my job isn’t very glamorous, but that all changes if an offer comes in, or good news about sales or subrights. I spend more time on the phone than people might realize – communication is so important as an agent, and sometimes that can get muddled with email.

Are you a one-man team?

If you don’t count the two rabbits (Chewy and Woodstock) that somehow occupy most of our home office space, it’s just me at Sean McCarthy Literary Agency.

What do you love most about your job? 

Honestly, I love everything about it, even the tedious parts (like comparing contracts word-for-word to make sure that I’m aware of any changes that a publisher might make). I get to work on children’s books for a living – what could be better?

What are some of your goals within the industry? Overall vision for you and your agency?

I’m a big believer in the idea that I represent people, not books. I try to have a long-term vision and approach for all of my clients to craft a viable career in children’s publishing over many years. For my agency, I’ve grown every year since I’ve been on my own, and that’s something that I’m looking to continue and build on going forward.

Is there a specific project you recently sold that you’re especially excited about? 

I’m excited about all my projects, and sometimes the most fun ones are the ones that are still under wraps. Though I have to remember that recently sold projects won’t be coming out for a couple of years, so I have to be patient!

What would be your dream project? Dream big! 

I will always be excited to represent debut books – there’s nothing like being able to tell a client that their lifelong dream is coming true. That’s big enough for me!

What sets a great manuscript apart from the rest of the crowd for you?

Ideally, it’s a combination of a sharp and precise narrative voice, an immediately compelling commercial hook, and presented in a way that’s fresh and original. A brilliant idea that’s executed flawlessly.

When and where do you read queries? 

I do all my reading on my computer or Kindle, and it’s usually in the evenings or weekends when the work day has slowed down.

Do you respond to all queries? And what’s your average response time?

I do all my reading after I’ve finished client work, so if it’s been a busy period at the agency, regretfully that means that queries take a backseat. I try to answer all queries within 8 – 12 weeks, though my response time can take much longer.

What do you look for first and foremost in a query letter?

I’m really looking for the author to showcase their work, and demonstrate how much they know about the trade children’s market. Other than that, I’m just looking for the basics – what the book is about, why it will stand out, and a little bit about the author’s background and qualifications as a writer. The writing is still the thing for me.

What’s on your #MSWL? 

The longer that I’ve worked in publishing, the more broad that my taste has become. I really just want a manuscript that will demand my attention from the first page, and keep it the entire time I’m reading. With that being said, I’m still looking for a Riot Grrrl-themed YA, and I’d love to see more MG with humor and heart.

Anything that’s definitely not a fit for you? 

I tend not to be the best match for issue-driven stories, but other than that, I’m open to all genres.

For those of us who are picture book authors, what do you look for in a picture book? 

Character, character, character. That’s usually the first thing that will draw me into a picture book text. Beyond that, I’m looking for lively and precise language, impeccable pacing, a sense of humor and heart, and prolific authors.

What makes a successful author-agent relationship?

One of the most important aspects of a successful author-agent relationship is clear communication, and making sure that your goals are the same from the start. Agents (and editors) have vastly different ways of working w/ authors, and it’s important for an author to find an agent that has a shared vision for their writing.

What’s a unique way in which you champion your clients? 

One of the benefits of working as an independent agent is that I have a close, personal relationship w/ all of my clients, and that will come through when I talk about their work with editors and art directors. I work directly with my clients on all facets of their work (from revisions to submissions strategy to foreign rights and more), so that gives me a little more insight as to how to best position their projects.

How important to you is a potential client’s social media presence?

It’s not really a dealbreaker either way for me. I think it’s more important for YA authors to have some presence, because it tends to be the best way to directly connect w/ your future readers, but I work with some clients that have little to no public social media presence, and it’s not an issue. I would recommend that every author or illustrator have their own website (even if it’s a free one), so that agents and editors can learn more about you without searching too hard.

Do you receive many manuscripts from diverse authors? 

I’m always looking to see more submissions from diverse authors or authors from marginalized backgrounds. I’m seeing more manuscripts than I was from a few years ago (and a huge amount of gratitude goes towards people like Beth Phelan and the work that she’s done on #DVPit that have called attention to this issue), and it’s something that I’m actively looking for in my submissions inbox.

What do you perceive to be some of the greatest challenges to diversity faced within the industry?

I think that the way that many publishing companies and agencies are structured can be a huge challenge for publishing. Although children’s publishing has usually been better on gender than other industries, that tends to disappear as you move up the corporate hierarchy to presidents, publishers, CEOS, and owners. Additionally, the starting salaries for entry-level publishing positions are so low (or require experience that often come from unpaid internships) that there’s an invisible class barrier as well.

How do you approach and encourage diversity?

I try to be more aware about the choices that I make as a reader and an agent, even (or maybe especially) when they don’t feel like choices at all. Back when I had more free time to read for fun, I would use Goodreads to track any book that sounded remotely interesting to me, and I would add it to my “to-read” list. After a year or two of doing this, it dawned on me that nearly all of the books I was selecting were by authors that looked like me (or came from a similar background), even though I wasn’t intentionally trying to do this. I try to pay closer attention to the books that I’m reading or the authors that I’m considering working with, and to make changes if I’m falling short of where I want to be.

When it comes to diversity, what would you like to see more of in children’s literature?

Pretty much everything! More diverse authors, characters, books, agents, editors, and so on. We have so much further to go on all fronts, and I’m so excited and hopeful to see where children’s literature will be going in the future.

What are some ways you feel agents can increase diversity within the publishing industry? 

I think it’s important to add more diverse authors and illustrators on our lists, and doing the same for our offices and people that we work with professionally. And to make sure that we’re using our platform and role within publishing to promote those values as well.

Are there any upcoming conferences or twitter events you’ll be participating in? 

I’m doing a few SCBWI conferences in the fall, but I don’t think they’ve been officially announced yet. I have a list of my upcoming and past events on my website (http://www.mccarthylit.com/conferences.html), though it is sporadically updated. I love speaking at conferences and having a chance to connect w/ authors and illustrators on a face-to-face basis.

Final advice for writers and/or illustrators?

There’s so many parts of publishing that are out of your control (e.g. finding an agent, getting a manuscript through acquisitions, etc.), that I recommend authors and illustrators set their goals on the things that they can control: their output. If the dream is to find an agent, make this the year that you write and finish your manuscript, or that you spend as much time revising as you do writing, and so on.

Wildcard Questions:

If you could spend a day with any person, living or dead, who would it be?

My sentimental answer would be my grandfather on my mother’s side, who passed away before I was born. My fun answer would be Kurt Cobain, which would make 14-year old Sean extremely happy.

If you had a magic wand that could change anything in the world, what’s the one thing you would change?  

This year, it would be for the subway to run on time. I would even settle for the subway to run on time during rush hours.

What’s your patronus and why? 

I have a strong affinity for possums, and was even a possum muse for my girlfriend’s debut picture book, RABBIT & POSSUM.

If you could have any career (outside of publishing), what would it be and why? 

The boring answer would be accounting, since both of my parents are CPAs and I did that before I became an agent. I actually kind of like doing tax returns and bank reconciliations, though I am much happier to be working my dream job.

Thanks for your time, Sean!