Space City Scribes

  By Margaret Lea If you had met Deeba Zargarpur ten years ago, she would have been working in the medical field. Now, she’s a senior editor at a Big Five publishing house, finding herself in surreal conversations with the likes of Christopher Paolini (Eragon) or Malala Yousafzai (I Am Malala). What caused this dramatic shift? After growing up in Virginia, Deeba earned her psychology degree from Drexel University and began applying her knowledge to that field. But her passion for books—long kindled through avid reading, fan fiction writing, and even finishing a novel—eventually pushed her to pursue a career in publishing. Her family's protests of, “Are you crazy?” calmed when she got an editorial assistant job with a company they’d heard of—Disney Publishing Worldwide. She then spent several years working for a book packager, generating ideas for their projects. In March 2020, Simon & Schuster hired her, where she works as an editor for their Books for Young Readers imprint and...

By Margaret Lea Sheila Fernley joined Storm Literary Agency in March 2024 as an Associate Literary Agent, and is an agented picture book author herself, as well as a former editor and special education teacher. If you are reading this before November 2024, and would like to hear her speak, register for our free Zoom meeting .  Here are her answers to some of querying authors’ most common questions. 1) Do you prefer a query salutation to be Dear Ms. Fernley, Dear Sheila Fernley, or Dear Sheila? I prefer query letter salutations to be personal – Dear Sheila, or even Hi Sheila.    2) How far do you read of each genre (PB/MG/YA) before you usually know it’s a pass? Do you represent all three categories?       I represent authors who write PB, MG, and YA subgenres, requesting a full manuscript for picture books and the first three chapters of a MG or YA. I also represent author/illustrators. I can usually tell by the end of the first page if the project wil...

  Getting to know  Morgan Hughes By Renee Nolte Lubbock-based Morgan Hughes is from the Midwest. You can take the girl out of Kansas, but you can't take Kansas out of the girl! She and her family are HUGE Chiefs fans, especially Quarterback superstar Patrick Mahomes. She is doubling up on rocking the support because she also attended Texas Tech with him; that's super cool!  While in college, Morgan interned for agent extraordinaire and NY Times Best Seller Holly McGhee. Hughes learned a great deal from her, including how to exude confidence, which has helped her gain respect in the industry and empowers her to advocate for her clients. Morgan is now a literary agent for FinePrint Literary, working remotely from the sidelines, taking in Football, and hoping to score some new clients!   Getting down to the nitty-gritty, here are inquiring questions you may find helpful: What happens if a pitch is not accepted? First, research who is the best agent for your book. I...

In an interview with Renee Nolte, Heather Cashman, Agent at Storm Literary Agency, shares an inside view of growing successfully in the publishing business. By Renee Nolte Should everyone have an agent?  Having an agent for representation has advantages and disadvantages. Whichever your choice, literary agent Heather Cashman believes your work is valid and has an audience. But with that said, an agent is not for everyone.  Heather says if a person’s work is not commercial enough for the trade market, or if they enjoy the freedom of self-publishing and do not want to relinquish editorial control, then an agent would not benefit them.  There are those who are both equipped and better served pioneering the self-published road, but there is also power in a team. (fun fact: T.E.A.M. stands for together everyone achieves more.) And it's this synergistic work of people joining in a common goal that many of us are looking for.  Heather shares that an agent is a good idea if ...