Today, I’m thrilled to have agent Carter
Hasegawa here. He’s an agent at Tugeau 2 Art &
Literary Agency.
Hi
Carter! Thanks so much for joining us.
About
Carter:
1. Tell us how you became an agent, how
long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been doing as an agent.
Thanks so much for having me. While I’ve only
been a literary agent for *checks calendar* seven months, I’ve been working in
publishing for nearly two decades. Even I can’t believe it’s been that long. Am
I really that old?!
Before I was an agent, I was an editor at
Candlewick Press for 14 years and change. I was also a bookseller at various
independent bookstores in Seattle and Boston. Most notably I was at Porter
Square Books in Cambridge, MA for 10 years. But agenting—I feel like I’ve been
preparing for this job my entire career.
Beyond learning just exactly what a literary
agent does these past seven months, I’ve also been building an incredible list
of authors and illustrators for the children’s market. It’s been mostly a mix
of getting artist portfolios ready for publishers’ eyes, strategizing with my
authors which of their books to submit first, reading query submission, and
editing lots and lots of manuscripts.
About
the Agency:
2.
Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors.
We’re a tight team at Tugeau 2 Art and
Literary Agency (T2). Nicole Tugeau founded the agency over 20 years ago mainly
as an illustrator’s agency, but she’s since built T2 to be this incredible
fount of talented authors and illustrators. About three years ago, husband-and-wife
team Ethan and Heather Long joined the agency, and they work in tandem with
their team of authors and illustrators. I knew Ethan in my previous role as
editor. He’s actually the one who recruited me to T2.
Because we’re a small-ish agency, we’re able
to keep up with each team’s client list. We have regular meetings where we
provide feedback on creator projects, and we share insights and offer advice on
industry-related matters. It’s a continual back-and-forth of support,
mentorship, and inspiration.
What
He’s Looking For:
3.
What age groups do you represent—picture books, MG, and/or YA? What genres do
you represent and what are you looking for in submissions for these genres?
Because I worked on a bit of everything when I
was an editor, it only makes sense for me to continue that pattern as an agent.
I represent PB, MG, and YA, fiction and nonfiction, in nearly any genre.
Generally, I’m looking for that something special that only you can bring to a
project. I want authors and illustrators who have something to say with their
medium. And I want it to matter.
4. Is there anything you would be especially
excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in?
I suppose I’m not really interested in seeing
your take on “X.” If there are 20 books in the market right now with a similar
plot/theme, I’m not going to get too excited if yours is just another version
of what’s already out there. In all cases, I want something original. Again,
something only YOU can create.
What
He Isn’t Looking For:
5.
What types of submissions are you not interested in?
More of the same.
Agent
Philosophy:
6.
What is your philosophy as an agent both in terms of the authors you want to
work with and the books you want to represent?
Before I sign a client, I like to get to know
the person that I’m potentially going to work with— and I want them to get to
know me. First and foremost, beyond being talented (because, of course), I want
to like the person that I’m representing. Also, it’s not a requirement
by any means, but it’s icing on the cake when my authors are able to pivot
their writing between audiences and genres. Many of my clients have been at
this for years, so for the most part we’re working with a whole portfolio of
projects that we’re looking to submit. It changes the workload and the
relationship when it’s not just developing the early career of a creator –
although, it is often this – we’re looking at career management in a way that I
imagine is something that usually comes with time in an agent’s career.
Editorial
Agent:
7.
Are you an editorial agent? If so, what is your process like when you’re
working with your authors before submitting to editors?
It’d be pretty funny if after a decade and a
half of editing I suddenly came to agenting and was like, “yeah, I’m done with
that.” No, I am totally an editorial agent. I’ve seen how it works on
the publisher’s side of things, so I think my role as an agent is to get my
client’s project to a point where it can get through the acquisitions process.
It’s not my role to get your book publish-ready—save that for the editor and
the publisher’s creative team. That being said, “getting through the
acquisitions process” is a fairly vague definition. Basically, my goal is to
anticipate the “NO’s” and edit the book so that the only answer that makes
sense is a yes.
Query
Methods and Submission Guidelines: (Always verify before submitting)
8.
How should authors query you and what do you want to see with the query letter?
Please use
QueryTracker. For a query letter, I obviously want to know a little about the
project and about you. But what I think a lot of people forget is that this is
a human endeavor. It is a one-on-one conversation. This means that I want the
letter to feel like it was written just for me. Not “I see you like humor, so
I’m sending you my funny picture book.” I want your perspective / personality
to come through your letter. Why you’re the one to tell this story and why it
needs to be told.
9. Do you have any specific dislikes in query
letters or the first pages submitted to you?
When the queries feel like they could’ve been
written by and/or sent to anyone.
Response
Time:
10.
What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a
manuscript?
Now that I actually
have a client list, it takes me longer than I want to reply to a query.
However, I’ve started working with readers to help me get through the queue.
Yes, I have queries that are literally months in my inbox, but I’m doing what I
can to respond as quickly as possible. And I will respond. My goal is to have a
one-month turnaround, but I fully admit that I’m a long ways away from this
being a reality.
Self-Published
and Small Press Authors:
11. Are you open to representing authors who have
self-published or been published by smaller presses? What advice do you have
for them if they want to try to find an agent to represent them?
I’m happy to work
with self-published and/or independently published authors. Some of my clients
have had a lot of success in this area. However, I’m likely not interested in
trying to find a traditional publisher for an already-published book.
Clients:
12.
Who are some of the authors you represent?
About two-thirds of
my authors will be debuts in the American children’s market. Of the folks
who’ve been published in the US, they include: Marcie Flinchum Atkins, Skila
Brown, Henry Herz, Alethea Kontis, Cynthia Platt, Madelyn Rosenberg, AJ Smith,
and Kip Wilson. About half of my clients are folks that I knew before I became
an agent. A couple of them were authors whose books I’ve edited.
Interviews
and Guest Posts:
13.
Please share the links to any interviews, guest posts, and podcasts you think
would be helpful to writers interested in querying you.
I’m usually in the
background, so this is only my 2nd interview since becoming an
agent. (Pleased to meet you!) You can read my first interview here:
https://fromthemixedupfiles.com/meet-carter-hasegawa-literary-and-illustration-agent/
Links
and Contact Info:
14.
Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on
the Web.
QueryTracker: https://querytracker.net/agent/19614
Tugeau 2: https://tugeau2.com/about#:~:text=Carter%20is-,open,-to%20Author%2C%20Illustrator
Additional
Advice:
15.
Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we
haven’t covered?
Before I made the
decision to switch to agenting, I chatted with an agent who has been in the
industry for over 40 years. And they said that they’ve never seen the market this
bad before. It’s tough out there. But if we look at history, the market always
rebounds. People will always want books to add to their shelves. What we do –
what we provide – matters.
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Carter.
Note: These agent profiles and interviews presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found here is subject to change.
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or email me at natalieiaguirre7@gmail.com
Giveaway Details
Carter is
generously offering a query critique to one lucky winner. To enter, all you
need to do is be a follower (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on
the right sidebar) and leave a comment through November 29th. If you do not want to enter the contest,
that’s okay. Just let me know in the comments. If I do not
have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must
leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email
address.
If you follow me on Twitter or mention this contest on
Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you
an extra entry. This is an international giveaway.
Upcoming
Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops
Monday, November
24th, I have a guest post by R.M. Romero and a giveaway of her MG The Tear
Collector
Monday,
December 1st, I’m participating in the Holly Jolly Giveaway Hop
Wednesday,
December 3rd, I have a guest post by Leigh
Madrid and a giveaway of her YA My Lips, Her Voice, and my IWSG post
Monday,
December 7th, I have an interview with Sarvenaz
Tash and a giveaway of The Treasure of Ocean Parkway
Wednesday,
December 10th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Andie Smith and a query
critique giveaway
Monday,
December 15th, I’m participating in the Dashing December Giveaway Hop
Wednesday,
December 17th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Marissa Cleveland and a
query critique giveaway
I hope to see you on Monday!