Interview with Agent Naomi Davis from Inklings Literary

by Lisa Gail Green

Hi! Lisa here to welcome Agent Naomi Davis from Inklings Literary! We have a great interview to share so let’s get started.

Naomi Davis has a background in writing, editing, and customer service, has been Michelle Johnson’s assistant for two years and is now taking on select projects.

When she’s not entertaining her spawn, she’s immersed entirely in imaginary worlds with the characters who inspire her fiction, or reading stories with characters who spring off the page, grip her by the heart (/throat), and wring her emotionally dry. She loves a good bad guy, especially when he has a story to tell, too.

She currently represents a handful of select clients and is passionate about working with authors to shape their voice and platform to their fullest potential.

In fiction, Naomi is interested in Romance of any variety including Paranormal, fresh Urban Fantasy, general Fantasy, New Adult, and light Sci-Fi, as well as upper Young Adult stories in those categories.

What is it about a manuscript that excites you?

I’m often drawn in from the first few sentences. If the setting is somewhere I’ve never thought of before or the relationships are immediately presented in a way that blows my mind, I’m hooked.

What is on your wish list?

Right now I’m actively looking for YA and NA stories that feature unique settings and a dark tone within the genres of contemporary, fantasy, horror, and science fiction. I adore stories with added elements of romance and LGBTQ themes.

What are some things you love to see in a query?

I love to see queries that follow the submission guidelines on our website. I know the guidelines vary greatly between agencies, but when I’m sorting through 50+ queries in a day, it is far easier for me to process all the information if it’s presented in an organized way. I’m more likely to get excited about a story if I’m not frustrated from wading through unrequested materials.

What are some of the worst things you’ve seen in a query?

Please do not quote the last 20 rejections you’ve had. I realize they said complimentary things about your writing. I would like to evaluate your work for myself without my mind cluttered by all the compliments of others, especially when they were rejections, after all.

Can you define voice for us?

Voice is one of those things that is so hard to describe because it is different for every author, but I’ll do my best. Think of the way you talk: the things you say that make your friends laugh, the witty or deep observations you make in your head, the words you don’t say aloud when you’re emotional because they are too private, or too close to your heart. That’s your voice.

Each character in your story will have his or her own unique voice, and the way you link them together through the observations they make and feelings they have about each other becomes the overall voice of the story. If they are too similar, the story reads flat. If they are too different, the story reads chaotic.

Look at the people you hang out with in real life: they have distinct similarities to you (the main character) and they have distinctly different qualities, too, which then become things you admire or dislike about that person. Striking a realistic balance of the differences and similarities between characters makes the story believable, and your readers will relate to the characters so strongly that they’ll hang onto every word your characters say. They’ll CARE about the characters, so they’ll care about what happens to them (the plot). The sooner you can make your characters consistent within the story, the stronger your hook on your reader’s souls will be.

Coffee, tea, wine, chocolate, or any other vices?

All of the above.

Love it! Which is more crucial: emotional connection or current marketability?

By far emotional connection. Groundbreaking, market-smashing books were not such huge hits because they were what was “popular” at the time. They were unexpected and made the reader look at the world – or imagine a world – in a way they had never conceived of before.

Why did you become an agent?

Frankly? As an author, I have the best agent I could ask for who supports every endeavor I undertake and encourages me to grow in all directions possible. She provides me with feedback, champions my work like it’s the best thing since sliced bread, and cares about me as a writer, not as just a marketable project. Every single writer deserves an advocate with that kind of passion, and I hope I can be that advocate for the writers who snag my heart through their art.

Lisa Gail Green

Lisa Gail Green lives with her husband the rocket scientist and their three junior mad scientists in Southern California. She writes books so she can have an excuse to live in the fantasy world in her head. She likes to share these with readers. She has a parrot but would most definitely get a werewolf for a pet if she weren't allergic.

Post © Lisa Gail Green and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Jul 31, 2014

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: Literary Agents

Welcome to Transmedia Mutts

Yellow origami dog on a teal background

Unleash your creative bark!

Shout out to AYAP!

Logo for Adventures in YA Publishing

Thank you to the women who started Adventures in YA Publishing and ran it for years. AYAP and TMM have merged to form Adventures in PUPlishing, and the legacy AYAP posts are now part of TMM. Click here to learn more about the earlier AYAP team.

Click to Join our Facebook Group

Share advice, practice pitching, celebrate successes, and support each other through writing and publishing adventures.

← Previous: How to Write Scary by Gretchen McNeil Next: Confessions of a Serial Novelist (Part 3) by Clara Kensie →

The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

Dog holding a sign that says Pupdates!

Sign up for our newsletter for pupdates and publishing advice