Cathie Hedrick-Amstrong

Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong is a literary agent at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency with nine years of industry experience. a life-long lover of books, Cathie enjoys vivid memories of the exact day she unlocked the secret code behind the letters that combine to form words. Since then, it’s the rare occasion when you’ll find her without a book in her hand, a Kindle in her purse, or a pair of AirPods in her ears while she devours the works of whatever author she’s selected as her new favorite of the month.

Cathie’s journey in publishing began in 2014 when she wrote her first book, The Edge of Nowhere, a work of adult historical fiction inspired by her grandmother’s life as a widow raising fourteen children during the one-two punch of the 1930s Dust Bowl and The Great Depression. Three years later, she followed up with her sophomore novel, Roam, a young adult title inspired by the unhoused community in a small Minnesota town. The release of this second book coincided with Cathie’s first job as a literary agent where she spent eight years learning the industry before joining the team at Marsal Lyon in May 2024.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Cathie is a 1992 graduate of the University of Oklahoma and holds a B.A. in Journalism with a minor in history. She’s a rabid OU Sooners football fan, and follows the Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Minnesota Vikings. Currently, she resides in Minnesota where she and her husband of 33 years share two adult children and have the pleasure of claiming a third adult child as their son-in-law.

1. You started your literary career as an author yourself, which then morphed into you becoming a literary agent. How did that come about?

As with everything I do, it happened by accident. I made an off-hand comment to my then-agent that she should hire me since she was looking for new agents, and she took the bait and hired me on the spot. It was one of those, “Oh my gosh! What have I done” moments, but I haven’t regretted it a second since the moment I jumped in with both feet. But it did take me a bit to get past the whole imposter syndrome and embrace the idea that I could actually do this!

2. You graduated in 1992 from the University of Oklahoma, where you received a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in History. What made you decide to pursue those fields and how has it impacted your job and writing?

In truth, the only thing I ever truly excelled at was writing, and at the time, the only field I knew about that required writing was Journalism. As for my minor in History, that was truly an accident. I had this AMAZING college professor who taught 16th and 17th Century English and Scottish History, and I literally took everything he taught because I couldn’t get enough of his lectures. The next thing I knew, I had a minor in history.

As for how it’s helped me, I guess the journalism has been incredibly helpful in reinforcing sentence structure and grammar rules, but the truth is that Journalism writing and Fiction writing are so completely different that I had to rewire my brain to write and understand good fiction writing.

3. You have three novels published, of which one is an anthology of short stories with a few other writers. Are there plans to publish more novels, or did you stop writing once you became a literary agent?

In truth, I’d love to find the time to publish more of my own work, but my agenting job takes up so much of my time that I can’t seem to find more time for my own pursuits. With that said, I have another completed novel that I just need to find a block of about three straight weeks, and then it’ll be ready for me to find my own agent.

4. If you are traditionally published, who is your agent? If you are self-published, what publishing software do you prefer/ who is your publisher?

I no longer have an agent and will be looking for one as soon as I finish the edits on my work in progress–a women’s fiction title about a young woman escaping a domestic abuse marriage who relocates in Wyoming where she finds herself with the help of a completely unhinged octogenarian, her drag queen grandson, and a new love.

5. What genre(s) do you represent?

Mostly adult in the genres of romance, mystery, suspense, and light horror. I also do very selective non-fiction, usually with a cultural commentary, and very-very-very limited YA.

6. Who are some of your clients?

Oh gosh…I have so many amazing clients. Among my traditionally published clients are Shameez Patel, Annie McQuaid, Christy Swift, Jennifer Wilck, Christina Elle, J.C. Kenney, Erica Lucke Dean, Jamie McLachlan, Emiily Colin, Cathy Lamb, B.B. Swann, and Rebecca Crowley. I’ve also signed several indie-first clients recently including Emilia Finn, Mila Kane, Shandi Boyes, Ivy Fox, Ines Johnson, and Odette Stone. And then I have a couple of non-fiction authors including Forest Jones and Michael Gardiner. And that doesn’t even begin to touch on the amazing unpublished authors currently on submission whose names I won’t drop because I know I’ll forget one.

7. What is your favourite part of being an agent?

My clients. Truly, I have THE BEST clients in all of publishing. I love my daily interactions with them and working to see their dreams become a reality.

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

Romance or Psychological Suspense are my favorite go-tos.

9. We know it’s hard to pinpoint what drew you to a book or a character, or what made you connect with a story that you immediately needed to get that author’s book out there, and it’s one of those moments that you just know this is the client for you. But …what are you looking for when reading that query letter/synopsis/novel?

In the query, I’m looking for a great hook–something that makes me stop and think, “WOW! That sounds amazing!” But sometimes, even a great hook won’t sell me on the book–it’s the manuscript and writing that do the trick. So expecially in the first few pages, I always tell authors to make me feel something–humor, concern, anger, surprise. The key is to evoke a response from me and make me keep reading.

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

My MSWL is probably the best place to find everything you want to know about me. I write a lot about myself there because I think it’s important that authors find the right fit in an agent. So that’s the best place. Otherwise, I’m on Blue Sky and Threads, and I do a Substack with Vicky Weber from Creative Media titled “Agent Antics with Cathie and Vicky” where a lot of my personality and philosophy related to agenting and publishing shines through.

11. What are two fun facts about you other than you’re a football and Garth Brooks fan?

I’m a mom to my core. That means that I love my children with every fiber of my being, but I also can’t help being a mom to others and advocating for them in the same way I woudl my own children…which really means I’m a mama bear when it comes to my clients. I try to be a really nice person, but I can be petty as heck when it comes to anyone who hurts my “children.”

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

Never allow another person’s “no” to become your final answer. When you hear a no think instead ‘for right now.” Then brush yourself off and keep on plugging along. This business is hard, and those who will find ultimate success won’t always be the most talented, but those who are the most persistent and refuse to take no for an answer.