Get ready to meet Kathleen Foxx, affectionately known as “Kat” by her friends, an assistant literary agent at The Rights Factory.
This is Part 2 of our Q&A, where Kat talks about authors setting realistic expectations and the importance of authors honing their craft. She also does a deep dive into what literary agents like herself look for in manuscripts and why having an agent still matters today.1
And who exactly is Kat Foxx? And why am I excited for you to get to know her?
I’m so glad you asked.
Outside of creative work, Kat enjoys travelling, photography, creative cooking, hiking, and spending summers in Ontario’s beautiful cottage country. A romantic to her core, Kat considers herself to be mostly country with a bit of big city splash. She’s convinced her old soul resides somewhere in old world Europe.
Kat is building her list of exceptionally-talented authors in commercial and book club fiction as well as some select nonfiction topics. She keeps a detailed manuscript wish list and what she’s looking for in queries on her website at kathleenfoxxagent.com/mswl.
A huge shout-out to Kat for her generosity in answering my questions. Whoo-hoo!
Q: Please share a bit about The Rights Factory and what it offers to its authors.
A: We are actually celebrating our 20th anniversary this year, so 2024 is a big year for us! We represent many authors from all over the globe.
I love our little work family! Even though we’re spread out across Canada, the US, and Europe, we stay in touch almost daily and everyone is friendly and helpful.
We all work very editorially with our clients because we know that publishers expect the best. That’s what we want to give them. (And it increases our chances of selling our clients’ manuscripts.)
It’s a great place to be a part of a team!
Q: Do you have a team behind you? When a client signs on with you, who will be working on their book?
A: Indeed! TRF is very much a team-based environment. We work together to get help with perfecting pitches, or if we come across anything we haven’t dealt with before in publishing contracts or submissions to editors, etc. We have in-house readers to help get more fresh eyes on our clients’ projects—so that’s super handy. I love our work fam!
Q: Are you someone who likes to work closely with an author during the editing process before you consider submitting to a publisher? (i.e., stylistic editing, copy editing, both?)
A: As I’ve mentioned, we are a literary agency with editorially-minded agents. We all work very closely with our authors on the editing process.
I am a freelance editor as well, which is unrelated to my agenting job, but it shows you that I love editing and I do it all the time, every day. It’s my main source of income right now. I offer structural/developmental, stylistic (line), and copy editing, and I bring those skills with me into my agenting position.
Q: There are a lot of disillusioned authors who are tired of asking agents and publishers to pick them. And since it’s so easy to self-publish today, why should an author get an agent?
A: There’s no right or wrong path to publication; it comes down to what an author’s goals are.
Agents help with the negotiation process, which is really important because you want to make sure your best interests are recognized and that you’re not taken advantage of by publishers.
If you have an editorially-minded agent, you know that they’ll be working with you to ensure your manuscript is as polished as it can be before being submitted to editors for consideration.
And, of course, if an author wants to be published traditionally with a Big 5 imprint, they can’t do that without an agent because most of those imprints don’t accept manuscripts from un-agented authors.
An agent will help champion your book—they selected it, so they love it just as much as you do! And the more exposure your book can get, the better its chances are of selling well.
If you don’t have an agent, it’s all on you to take care of everything. You have to be ready and willing to put in a lot of extra effort and that can be challenging if you aren’t experienced or well-known in the industry.
Q: There’s a popular belief among authors that if they self-publish and demonstrate that their books can generate huge sells, a traditional publisher will take an interest in their work. Is this true? What’s the reality?
A: This is also tough news to share. Yes, it can happen, but it’s very, very rare.
A traditional publisher wants to have an author’s debut if at all possible. If an author has already published books themselves or with a small indie press, that part is no longer possible. If they’ve already established a name for themselves—or not, depending on how sales, marketing, and publicity are going—then, the “allure of the debut” (as literary agent, Cece Lyra, has called it) is gone.
And if it’s not going well, a traditional publisher won’t want to take on the risk because they’re in the business to make money—that’s what it comes down to. If the public finds that an author’s books haven’t sold well, it establishes a track record and it can taint people’s views and negatively impact sales. And if that author is now associated with a big publisher, it can taint the view of the publisher.
Traditional publishers know how big of a risk it is to make a deal on a book because there’s still no guarantee it will sell well. But if an author already has a not-so-great track record, they will stay well away from that risk.
That said, there have been times when a self-published author has done so well that traditional publishers want to take them on because they’ve assessed the risk and are confident that they’ll be able to continue with the great sales or even increase them. But for this to happen, an author will have to have sold books in the high tens or even hundreds of thousands, which brings me back to how rare this happens. It’s not impossible, but the chances of getting a traditional publisher after you’ve already self-published are very low.
Q: Some authors have had the experience of being told by an agent that their story is wonderful and their writing is fabulous, but then, they’re turned down. What is the decision-making process when taking on new clients?
A: This is such a disheartening part of the process. And I’ve been in a querying writer’s shoes, so I know how this feels! But now being on the other side of things, I can more easily understand why this happens.
I think it’s safe to say that one of the most-heard and maybe the least-favourite words in the industry is subjective. But it’s true—it’s a very subjective industry. I might come across a manuscript that’s well polished, but something about the premise isn’t resonating with me as deeply as I would need it to in order to feel that I’m the best champion for it.
Good agents must be passionate about their clients’ projects. I fully believe that passion helps sell a manuscript.
There are those books that you enjoy reading, yes, but then, there are those books that make you feel things deep in your bones. They make you reflect on your own life experiences. They resonate so deeply with you that you can’t stop thinking about them—and this makes you a passionate reader.
It doesn’t mean that those other books aren’t good. It’s just that this particular book resonated more. Readers bring their own experiences into a book when they’re reading, so the words will hit them in different ways.
If I find a manuscript that hits me that way, the premise is unique, the line-level writing is spectacular, and it includes all the things that make me curious as I’m reading it, then I know it’s a book I can get behind with the passion I need to (hopefully) place it with an editor.
Q: How important are first lines?
A: For me personally, they are everything!
I LOVE a killer opening line because they can accomplish more than one thing:
- it establishes the tone/vibe of the story
- it can establish character voice
- it can tell us setting
- it can tell us something about the character’s personality, etc.
I love opening lines that are just so unexpected. They immediately invoke a sense of curiosity and compel me to keep reading.
Q: Besides “good writing and voice,” what else do you look for?
A: Well, I’ll say that voice is extremely important in a manuscript, and that plays into how good the line-level writing is.
Additionally, no matter what genre or category, there must be tension. Tension leads to curiosity, and curiosity is what makes people keep turning the pages. If they’re curious, they’re theorizing. And that’s exactly what their brains should be doing as they’re reading.
The more actively engaged a reader’s brain is in a story, the more invested they’re becoming. So, you need to keep that momentum going and keep them hooked until the very end.
There are so many things that go into it, like dropping curiosity seeds, hints, clues, etc., while not withholding information, which is a tricky thing to pull off.
There needs to be distinction between different characters’ voices—and by voices, I don’t just mean their dialogue. I mean their personalities—the ways they think and act.
Line-level writing is super, super important. You might have a fantastic story idea, but if the line-level writing isn’t there, it won’t be good enough for representation.
Anyone can have a story idea; it’s all in how you tell that story. Line-level writing is a combination of how well things flow, how well sentences are strung together, knowing how to make things more impactful, etc. I often recommend that writers take courses on these types of things.
I’ll be offering more courses in the future, but I also point them toward courses taught by “The Shit No One Tells You About Writing” hosts, Bianca Marais, Cece Lyra and Carly Watters.
Bianca Marais is a bestselling author and award-winning creative writing instructor. Cece Lyra is a literary agent who’s been a writer; she’s so full of insights and knowledge and experience in terms of writing. Carly Watters teaches more on the side of the business of being a writer.
But in terms of writing, Cece and Bianca are excellent teachers and you won’t be disappointed! Nailing opening pages, making your line-level writing shine, taking your manuscript to the next level, writing memoirs—these are all things that they cover (and more) in webinars and previously-recorded courses. They’ve helped a lot of writers go from good to great, who then go on to find representation and book deals.
I also recommend that writers read Lisa Cron’s books, Story Genius and Wired for Story. These are excellent craft books that teach you not only what stories need to accomplish and how, but why it matters so much. Understanding the “why” is an important step to learning how to do it right. If you can nail all these things, it’ll show in your pages, and that’s what I look for.
Q: What advice would you give to writers at the beginning of their career?
A: Always put your best self forward! Be true to yourself, be honest, be friendly, be respectful, and be helpful when you can. This goes for socials, website, phone and Zoom interactions, in-person events, etc. Be open to feedback from your agent.
We absolutely have your best interests in mind, and we’re bringing our experience and insights and knowledge into it. If we’re making suggestions, it’s because we think it’ll elevate your story, which will only increase the chances of selling your book to a publisher.
We don’t make money unless you do, so every recommendation we make is with the goal of selling your book in mind.
If you don’t agree with a suggestion, tell me why it’s better the way you have it. Or, maybe we can brainstorm and find a different idea all together that we both love.
At the end of the day, it’s your story, so you have to be 100% ok with it!
This concludes Part 2 of my interview with Kat. Thanks for joining me for this conversation!
But wait! Get ready for Part 3, where Kat talks about marketing, royalties and author platforms and explains why she’s so passionate about her job and her clients.
If you want to learn more about Kat, here are two ways:
- Catch up on Part 1, where Kat dishes on the best way to get an agent’s attention and shares her top tips for crafting pitches and query letters.
- Check out or follow Kat’s work at:
Authors can view Kat’s MSWL (manuscript wish list) at kathleenfoxxagent.com/mswl. And if you think she’d be a good match for you, your work and your career, please query her using Query Manager at Query Submission for Kat Foxx.
The resources mentioned by Kat are here:
- The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast
- Lisa Cron’s books, Story Genius and Wired for Story
And before you go, remember: sharing is caring! If you think someone in your circle would find value in this interview, don’t hesitate to pass it along.
- In order to make the interview fit into a blog post format, I’ve made some minor edits to Kat’s answers and formatted them, e.g., Kat did not say things like, “make a bullet list here” or “add more white space there.” I’ve made the edits to improve the interview’s readability only.
And please also note that where Kat refers to editors at publishing houses, she means the publisher’s acquisition editor and/or team. ↩︎