Kathleen Ortiz, Literary Agent

Kathleen Ortiz will be at the Missouri Writers Guild conference in 2013! Here's a quick bio:  Kathleen Ortiz is director of subsidiary rights and a literary agent at New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc., a full service agency that represents both juvenile and adult literature and works with only high quality writers. She is an agent member of the Association of Authors' Representatives and New Work Women in Communication. The agency is an active member of SCBWI, RWA and AAR.

In the middle of dealing with Hurricane Sandy, Kathleen took some time to answer questions for us! Thank you, Kathleen, and here we go. .  .

MWG: Welcome, Kathleen Ortiz, to the Missouri Writers Guild blog. We are so excited you are going to be part of our conference this year. Let's start with a little about you as an agent since you will be taking pitches. What kind of writing do you just love to see cross your desk?

Kathleen: I love, love, love stories with a strong protagonist and watching that protagonist grow throughout the story. Some snarky humor is great, but it can't tear me away from the story itself. Great world building and believable characters are a must!  

MWG: Thanks for those details! What do writers need to know who are going to sign up to pitch to you?

Kathleen: They absolutely need to ensure they know what I'm looking for in a story. I've just updated my 'wish list' which can be found here: http://kortizzle.blogspot.com/2011/04/wish-list.html . They also should know how to pitch -- a pitch is not the same as a query. I have a detailed post on how to pitch at a conference here (http://kortizzle.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-pitch-manuscript-correctly.html).

MWG: Great resources, thanks! What will you absolutely NOT represent--no matter how brilliant the writing--it's just not for you? 

Kathleen: Erotica, adult books (outside of contemporary women's fiction or romance with protagonists between ages 20-30), picture books, early readers.

MWG: You are also going to teach a master's class on Sunday morning. What are you going to teach about?

Kathleen: It's an advanced course on how to take your social media platforms and organize them so they work together to boost your outreach! Definitely for the author who has a Twitter or Facebook or Tumblr (or all three!) but perhaps just doesn't know how to reach their audience and readers.  

MWG: That sounds great AND like it will be a timesaver once an author learns some tips for using them together. Who will benefit from taking your master's class?

Kathleen: Authors who are published by a traditional publisher or self-published as well as unpublished authors who want a head start on organizing their online platform.

MWG: That covers a lot of us! Anything else you want to add about the pitch sessions or master's class or anything else about the conference?

Kathleen: This is my second visit, and I'm excited to be coming back! It's a great conference with friendly people and informative speakers.  

MWG: I agree! It's chock full of information and opportunities for a reasonable price. We are so glad to have you back. Thank you, Kathleen, for taking the time out to talk with us today!  

interview by Margo L. Dill