"Are You Ignoring Me on Purpose?" and Other Burning Questions for a Literary Agent (ft. Amelia Appel)

Spine & Page is back from the dead! For its comeback post, we’re having a fireside chat with the lovely Amelia Appel, assistant literary agent at Triada US. Do you have burning questions you’ve always wanted to ask a literary agent but felt weird about? And everyone else conveniently ignores these questions in their...

Spine & Page

November 20, 2017

What Is Going on With You?!

Hi everyone! It’s been a while. As some of you may know, things have been somewhat transitional for me over the past several months in terms of my professional life, which is why I have been closed to queries and not actively taking on new clients. This post is to give an update and explain...

Spine & Page

May 10, 2017

Update: Currently CLOSED for queries

Hi all. Happy new year! Just an update that I am currently closed for queries as of 1/6/2017. Any queries received after 2pm on this date will not be considered. Please refer to this space as well as my twitter for updates re: when queries will reopen. This does not apply to requested material, just unsolicited...

Spine & Page

January 7, 2017

Surprise! Not Everyone in Publishing Was an English Major

One of my favorite things to do here on Spine & Page is to lift the curtain on the publishing world, as I know there are many misconceptions (many of which I have held myself at one point or another) about it out there. The misconception that is my favorite to SMASH WITH A HAMMER...

Spine & Page

December 8, 2016

Halloweekend Reading! 5 Under-the-Radar Books to Make You Shiver

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Fun fact: Halloween originated in Ireland as the festival of Samhain, where the line between the world of the living and the dead is thinnest. As a lover of all things dark, spooky, gothic, mysterious, and eerie, you can get why this hoilday is my scene. Especially when it comes...

Spine & Page

October 28, 2016

"I Just Sit and Read All Day!" Said No Literary Agent Ever

Working at a literary agency is great. For someone like me whose life is basically run by books, it's the dream. However, I do get a lot of assumptions about my job, which are basically this: "Don't you just sit and read all day?" Sadly, my friends, no. (I also got this question when working as...

Spine & Page

September 22, 2016

FIRST FIVE FRENZY with Shannon Powers of McIntosh & Otis

Thanks to Amy at Chasing the Crazies for picking my brain about those crucial first 5 pages! Hope this is helpful - enjoy and be sure to check out her blog for more great info and advice on the query process.

Spine & Page

August 26, 2016

8 Useful Things to Do While Waiting to Hear Back on Your Query

Ah, the waiting game. Truly publishing's favorite pasttime. For authors, agents, and editors alike, it's a huge part of the process and unfortunately unavoidable. Authors just starting to query their work are most likely in for a long wait  before things start to move along. (So sorry about this, guys.) Agents run behind on their...

Spine & Page

July 18, 2016

Let’s Talk About Middle Grade! Content, Voice, Issues, and More

If you’re a middle grade author, you’re in luck! Lots of agents and editors are on the hunt for middle grade in this YA-dominated writing world, myself included. Anytime I get a middle grade query I’m excited to take a peek. It really is a wonderful age to write for, and there’s a reason...

Spine & Page

June 20, 2016

10 Books on My Summer TBR

Memorial Day weekend is upon us, officially kicking off the start of summer. The internet is flooded with summer reading lists at the moment and I've got a pretty hefty one myself, with a mix of old and new. I know I'm always curious what other people are planning to throw in their beach...

Spine & Page

May 27, 2016

So You Got an Offer of Rep...

So you've been querying your manuscript for what feels like forever, tirelessly researching agents, proofreading email drafts until your eyes bleed. And then you waited, and waited, and waited. Then maybe you revised, then you waited some more. And then finally! Someone said they want to represent you and your work! This is what...

Spine & Page

May 2, 2016

The Written Model: How Instagram is Making Books Prettier

If you peruse the #bookstagram hashtag on Instagram, you’ll be treated to over 3 million recent posts - pictures of books open on tables next to cute little lattes, drop dead gorgeous covers on display, creased spines, monthly book hauls delicately arranged alongside themed props. Books are a new class of model, constantly being...

Spine & Page

April 5, 2016

The Rise of the Restless Girl

One of my favorite authors is Megan Abbott, whose praises I sing daily and loudly. She wrote Dare Me, a noir-ish novel set on a high school cheerleading squad. The standout line from this novel is so delicious - “There’s something dangerous about the boredom of teenage girls.” I’m very drawn to female coming of...

Spine & Page

March 21, 2016

ABC's of Publishing

As my first real post on this blog (which I intended to happen much sooner but was sidelined by an office move) I thought it would be nice to start with a little primer on words you might hear being tossed around as you get your feet wet in the vast ocean of publishing....

Spine & Page

March 11, 2016

Welcome to Spine & Page!

Hi everyone! This is my first post on this blog, which I've created to share some publishing insight, talk about books, connect with authors, and probably occasionally ramble. For starters, I've made a couple of pages (linked on the left) about me, what I'm looking for as an agent, as well as advice on queries. You'll also...

Spine & Page

February 16, 2016