Agent Spotlight: Brent Taylor



Nov. 4, 2016


Today we are excited to feature Brent Taylor, Associate Agent at Triada US. He is actively building his kidlit list.

Be sure to enter to win a GOLDEN QUERY PASS, to get to the head of his submission line.

Tell us about your background and how you came to agenting?

I started out as an intern at a literary agency in 2011. From 2011 to 2014 I interned for a variety of literary agents, observing every agent’s individual style and strengths. In 2014 I joined Triada US as a summer intern, and was then hired as an assistant, and a little over two years later I’m an associate agent and subsidiary rights manager.

What type of books are you looking for these days?

I have eclectic tastes across a very broad range of categories (from picture books to women’s fiction), but these days I’m focusing more on kidlit. I’ve just done my first two picture book deals and I’m very excited to grow my list of author-illustrators. I’ve sold a lot of middle grade, but I would love to find a terrific chapter book project—something fun and fresh with a dash of a STEM tie-in. 
In middle grade and YA, my sweet spot is realistic fiction but I’m open to anything.

What type of agent would you say you are? What is your communication and working style?

In the words of my authors, I’m a hands-on, dedicated, passionate, and unceasingly optimistic agent. I like to be as communicative as possible with my authors; the best author-agent relationships for me are the ones that are collaborative, open, and fun. 

I’m high-energy and creative, so I want to work with someone who’s enthusiastic and ready to conquer the world. Whenever I find an author whose energy and passion levels match mine, I find that I feed off that enthusiasm and it only makes me want to go out and do my absolute best for them and their work. I hope that my authors are able to feed off my energy in the same way.

What are some common mistakes you see in queries?

I’m really sad whenever I find a query with a terrific voice but no stakes. I always tell writers they should answer the following questions in their query letter: Who is your character? What do they want? What is standing in their way? What’s going to happen if they don’t get it?

What are the most common reasons you would turn down a manuscript?

I turn down a lot of terrific material just because I don’t feel that special spark. For me, offering representation is a huge commitment of my time and energy, so I can only offer when I just can’t imagine not working on the project and am willing to do whatever it takes to sign the author.

I’m most interested in building careers, not single books, so I’m more forgiving of plotting and pacing (which can be fixed) than I am voice and prose.

What excites you most in a manuscript?

A fantastic, fabulous, boisterous voice. Reading so much material can make you feel like you’re speed-dating characters, and when you find one who is uniquely themselves and with whom you instantly click, there’s nothing like it. When I started reading my author Whitney Gardner’s debut novel YOU’RE WELCOME, UNIVERSE, I loved the unlovable Julia from the very start. I’d never encountered a character like her before, and I just had to tag along for her journey.

I also felt this way when I received the submission of Eric Bell’s debut novel ALAN COLE IS NOT A COWARD. I am not one for bathroom humor at all, and there was a ton of bathroom humor on Eric’s first page alone, but Alan Cole’s voice felt so authentic and true-to-life that I couldn’t stop reading.

So, in short, it’s character that excites me most in a manuscript. I want to meet someone that I adore so much I’d follow them to the end of the earth.

What is one thing most people don't know about you?

I’m a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad driver. Maybe I’m just a clumsy kid at heart, but I’ve had my fair share of near-accidents.

What is the best way to query you?

Authors can query me by sending their query letter and the first ten pages of their project pasted in the body of the email to brent [at] triadaus [dot] com. Put “Query” in the subject line. I try to respond to all queries in a few days and all requested material within a few months.


Brent Taylor is an associate agent at Triada US. He represents upmarket fiction across a broad range of categories: picture books, chapter books, middle grade, young adult, graphic novels for kids and teens, crime fiction, women’s fiction, and coming-of-age literary fiction. You can find him on Twitter @NaughtyBrent.

Comments

  1. Enjoyed learning about Brent Taylor.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Since my entire crit group is now querying it's goos to see stakes mentioned by Brent. I'd love to work w/a high energy, enthusiastic agent like him.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brent has some great advice on querying - taking notes!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for sharing Brent's agenting style. I'm sure Brent's writers appreciate his upbeat nature.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Speedy response time! Thank you for this insightful post!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for the helpful tips! I have WIP for STEM concepts and it is inspiring to hear it mentioned here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What an exciting opportunity! Thanks for the insight as well!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great interview!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the agent spotlight posts!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for the reminding to always make the stakes high and exciting in the query. I often forget to do that (or to consciously do it). :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Such an inspiring spotlight post! And, as an author-illustrator, I find the coffee-stained drawing of Brent absolutely delightful! :) Yay for coffee fueled smiles and crazy hair! :D

    ReplyDelete
  12. One of my CPs is Brent's client, and she has nothing but good to say about him.

    ReplyDelete
  13. He sounds like the perfect combination of enthusiasm, determination, hard work, and fun.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I've been at a critique session with Brent. He is an all-around awesome guy! It was a pleasure to spend time with him through a local SCBWI interaction. He'd be a wonderful agent to have!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love the emphasis on enthusiasm and voice! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  16. You made me laugh telling us about being a no good rotten horrible driver.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Loved his reasons for rejecting a query. It seems so simple when stated that way. Thanks for the great interview.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ok. If I could have answered those questions with the answers of my dream agent, yeah...that was it. It sounds like I may have met my match in the enthusiasm department-love that. Whether I win the ticket to the front of the query line or not, I will certainly be subbing my work!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Brent seems really great from my twitter interactions with him. And looks like he's really doing well in the sales department. Go Brent!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great interview and love insight in what turns off an agent in queries. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Everybody who doesn't have an agent--apply for that query pass! From what my crit partner (Eric) says, he's amazing!! Good luck everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Insightful interview -- thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for the insight Brent. Great interview.

    ReplyDelete
  24. What a fun interview! Love it! Thanks, Brent!

    ReplyDelete
  25. So interesting learning about Brent. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thanks for the chance to win a golden pass to query, Brent!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Brent sounds like the kind of agent any #kidlit writer would love to have! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Brent sounds like a wonderful kidlit agent!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Brent sounds like a wonderful kidlit agent!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I appreciate the reminder that queries need stakes!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Great insight on beefing up query letter! Much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Thank you. This post helps us understand what we're doing well and what could be done better.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thank you. This post helps us understand what we're doing well and what could be done better.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Thanks for the insights into what you like, Brent. I thought the speed-dating idea was pretty interesting and will keep that in mind as I work on my manuscripts.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Thanks for the interview. Love his energy and enthusiasm.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment