Adria Goetz

Adria Goetz is a senior literary agent and illustration coordinator at KT Literary. She represents picture books, middle grade, graphic novels, and adult fiction. She was recently proud to represent the instant NYT and Indie Bestseller MILLIE FLEUR’S POISON GARDEN by Christy Mandin, THE WHATIFS by Emily Kilgore, THE OCEAN CALLS by Tina Cho, and Indie Bestseller THE CRESCENT MOON TEAROOM by Stacy Sivinski. In her spare time she can be found rewatching Gilmore Girls for the millionth time, listening to Taylor Swift, and dreaming about the mossy stone cottage in the woods she would like to live in one day.

You got your start in publishing as an intern in 2013 and began agenting in 2016. What drew you to this industry?

Growing up, every career aptitude test I took in school pointed toward a career in publishing. So to me it always felt like an exciting inevitability that I’d end up working in this industry and therefore it was just a matter of figuring out the logistics and which role best suited me. I originally thought I’d want to go the editorial route, but when I got my first internship at a local literary agency and got to see what agents did up close, I was hooked.

What genre(s) do you represent, and where can we find a list of your clients?

I represent picture books, middle grade, graphic novels, and adult fiction. I’m particularly looking to build out the adult fiction presence on my list right now, particularly when it comes to magical realism/cozy fantasy, thrillers, mystery, upmarket book club fiction, and romance. You can find my obnoxiously detailed manuscript wishlist at https://adriagoetz.wpcomstaging.com/manuscript-wishlist/, or on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/adriagoetzbooks/ if you’re more of a visually minded person! You can find a list of my clients at www.kt-literary.com/adrias-clients.

What is your favourite part of being an agent?

Helping people’s bookish dreams come true. That never gets old!

If you sit down to read a novel, which genre do you gravitate to first?

I’m always looking for something that has a light tinge of magic! Magical realism, contemporary fantasy, cozy fantasy.

We know it’s hard to pinpoint what drew you to a book or a character, but besides “wanting clients to love the books they write and make money writing them”, what are you looking for when reading that query letter/synopsis/novel?

I’m looking for books that feel special. I’m looking for books that feel like they’ll have a long shelf life, rather than being a flash in the pan. I’m looking for books that linger. I’m looking for books that make you forget you’re reading because the writing is so propulsive. And I’m looking for books that are so good they feel irresistible—whether you’re a reader or a publisher, you just can’t pass them up.

Are there any other social media links, websites, or other places to learn about you that we should add?

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adriagoetz/

Website: www.adriagoetz.com

Manuscript Wishlist: https://adriagoetz.wpcomstaging.com/manuscript-wishlist/

Newsletter: https://t.co/rkYJNK8mhi

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/adriagoetzbooks/

Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity—or biggest challenge—in each category?

I think there’s an exciting opportunity right now for books featuring illustrations that have a more hand-rendered style to them, like a more hand-drawn look, watercolor art, colored pencils, cut paper/collage, etc. Illustration styles have been trending toward a more digital look in the last decade or two, but with the onset of AI illustrations (barf) I’m beginning to hear editors express interest in art where you can really see the human hand behind them. I think this is going to be an exciting time for artists who are already creating art in these styles, and I think it’s going to be exciting to watch artists with a more digital style begin to explore and play around with some other styles. As far as challenges in these spaces, I think the market is getting louder and louder and so now more and more books are seen as “quiet” when they wouldn’t have been seen as a quiet book just 5 or 6 years ago. This is something I’ve been thinking about and strategizing with clients about a lot lately. Sometimes the answer is trying to create a really loud project that can hold its own in the loud market, and sometimes the answer is trying to focus on projects that can make up for their “quietness” with a slew of marketing entry points.

If you could give any advice to a new writer/author, what would it be?

Keep watering the carrot seed. There’s this really charming allegorical picture book called The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and Crocket Johnson that was published in 1945 about a boy who plants a carrot seed. Everyone around him tells him it isn’t going to grow. Everyone thinks he’s dumb for trying to grow the carrot. Everyone keeps pointing out that they can’t see any growth. But the boy keeps tending to it, he keeps watering the soil, he keeps pulling the weeds around it. He doesn’t let the naysayers hold him back from cultivating that darn carrot. I’ll let you guess how the book ends. :) Keep watering your own carrot seed. Keep cultivating your craft, even if it’s taking longer than you’d like to see progress. Keep learning, keep writing, keep networking, even if there are naysayers that discourage you. Especially if YOU are one of those naysayers. The carrot seed will sprout eventually, if you keep watering it.