INSIDERS #4 with literary agent Francesca Riccardi

A dealmaker - and voracious reader!

Welcome to another thrilling INSIDERS interview, an occasional series where I pick the brains of industry professionals across the worlds of publishing, film and TV.

Francesca spoke to my writers group earlier this week, and it was such a great chat I figured that our interview was worth posting again. We learned a lot, and I’ll be sharing some of her further words of wisdom in an upcoming Monday mote!

One of the most important relationships an author will have is the one with their agent. That and the one they have with coffee (or is that just me?).

It’s a relationship built on trust and so it’s no surprise that when I ask literary agent, Francesca Riccardi, if she can remember the first writer she signed, she remains discreet.

“I can, and she knows who she is,” says Francesca. “But I would say that I genuinely feel a huge amount of professional achievement whenever I sign up a new client. The trust that authors put in their agents is huge, and I feel privileged to work with so many talented people.”

An agent at the Kate Nash Literary Agency, Francesca has more than 15 years of experience under her belt and a keen eclectic taste to match. With a soft spot for crime and thrillers, especially when there’s a determined detective or an unconventional sleuth at the helm, her authors include Jenny Morris, Hannah Hendy, June O’Sullivan and CJ Griffiths. She also enjoys books about unusual family dynamics, toxic friendships and people keeping secrets.

With a background in sales and marketing at some of the UK’s most respected publishers, including Atlantic Books and HarperCollins, Francesca’s journey began at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), where she would transcribe books into accessible formats for blind and partially-sighted readers.

Here, Francesca, who hails from Peterborough but currently lives in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, explains why writers should worry less about social media and more about sticking to submission guidelines, the overall health of the publishing industry and why that ‘dystopian future’ novel you’re writing, might just need to be tucked away for a few years.

It’s good stuff! So settle down for an exclusive INSIDERS interview that may just hold the key to your publishing future…

Welcome Francesca, thank you for talking to The TEN. Firstly, can you outline your career path, and how you came to be an agent at Kate Nash?

My pleasure! I actually started my publishing career in the charity sector; I worked as a support worker for a blind woman whose job was to transcribe books into Braille. After doing that for a while I became her colleague on the transcription team and worked mainly in creating files to be output to audio, which led to a job at HarperCollins in the early days of ebooks.

From there I worked in production, marketing, and sales, at a few publishers before leaving that side of the business to become an agent and do the bit I loved best - working directly with authors.

How many writers do you currently represent, and what are your areas of interest?

I currently represent 24 writers, but the Agency as whole represents over 100. My specific areas of interest are crime fiction, and historical fiction. I am particularly drawn to women’s stories and experiences of underrepresented communities.

I have quite commercial tastes but also like the odd bookclub novel. A few authors on my list that showcase my taste are Jenny Morris (An Ethical Guide to Murder - a crime fiction novel with a speculative edge); Charlotte Cross (author of upcoming debut, The Brides - a prequel to Dracula focussing on the women who would eventually become his brides); Chris Griffiths (Male Unknown, a medical thriller set in a major UK hospital with themes of ethics and power); Daniel Sellers (author of the DI Lola Harris series, and The Lollipop Man, often gruesome and gritty crimes but featuring characters an enormous amount of heart); Hannah Hendy (author of The Dinner Lady Detective novels featuring a sixty-something year old lesbian couple who solve crimes in a small Welsh town); and June O’Sullivan (author of The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife, a historical novel about a woman working to keep her family and her sanity safe when her husband is appointed principal lighthouse keeper on an inhospitable island). I could go on and on, but hope these show the breadth of my tastes.

They do indeed! And if you have one, could you tell us what your typical day looks like, and describe the qualities that make someone an effective literary agent?

There is no typical day as such, but agents may spend their time reading (there is a LOT of reading involved in agenting - whether that’s reading current clients work, or reading submissions); checking in with clients on what they are working on; meeting with publishers to understand what they are looking for; sending out books on submission to publishers and negotiating contracts; and talking with the wider team at the Agency to make sure we’re all cohesive in delivering a great experience for our clients.

At the moment, I have a lot of client reading to do, and as the London Book Fair has just finished I also have a lot of follow up emails to get working on!

In terms of submissions, why is it so important that authors carefully follow an agent’s guidelines? And should a writer be clear if they’ve submitted elsewhere?

The short answer is that because if you don’t follow the guidelines the agent may not read your query. If an agent is asking for information it means that they need it for some reason - don’t try and second guess what is important and provide them with everything they ask for.

In terms of letting us know they’ve submitted elsewhere I would say that’s not necessary, but if you are offered representation or a publishing deal, let the agents you are out on submission with know.

What gives you a thrill when you read a submission? Is it usually a definite yay or nay, or are you sometimes undecided until you meet or talk to the author?

An exciting voice. A hook that I haven’t seen before. Clever genre blending. If it’s something that I love reading, then I know it’s something I will love talking about, and my pitch and passion will be easily communicated to editors and publishers. We have to want to champion the books we represent!

Can you tell us the best thing a writer could do when sending a query letter. And the worst?

The best thing is to provide all of the information that is requested by the agent, and the worst thing is to say “there is nothing else at all like this novel, it is unique”, if you are asked for comparison novels.

For me, that is incredibly off-putting. We need to know where your book sits in the market. Publishers often look for things that are similar but different, and so using those touch points helps to give an idea of the demographic and size of the market that you are writing for.

How involved are you in the editing process?

It depends. I always do at least one close read and give extensive editorial notes, but ultimately, when I have taken on a client, I know that they are happy to work with me in order for us both to end up with a book that we’re confident with.

Some authors need just a couple of notes, but I have also been known to make writers delete whole characters or lose whole threads if I think they aren’t interesting enough.

What sort of things should a writer ask you, if you’ve made an offer to sign them?

Absolutely anything they like. I am an open book. One thing that we work really hard at within the Agency is helping to demystify the publishing industry for writers. I am always happy to ask any questions at all, and want writers to feel comfortable speaking to me.

Let’s talk genres! What’s popular right now?

Christmas/Seasonal is always popular. There are certain times of year that people love to hunker down with a great book; Christmas is a time when people like to get cosy, summer is a time people want a nice read for their hols, and Halloween is is when many people read spooky novels and watch spooky films! Publishers know this and create seasonal slots in their schedules to serve the markets.

Right now, additional things that are popular are romance and ‘romantasy’ in general, and horror/sci fi novels. I am personally finding that things set in a not too distant dystopian future are more difficult - perhaps because the world itself feels a bit like a horrible dystopia at the moment? - but that psychological horror and sci fi is much sought after.

With the popularity of ‘booktok’, the rise of book clubs and the most recent six-figure book deal announcements, would you say the industry is buoyant?

LBF was very buoyant and a lot was going on. It feels like the industry is doing well and of course, we can all see the huge deals reported in The Bookseller.

However, I think that publishers more generally are being fairly cautious with acquisitions. Costs are rising across the board, and publishers want to feel like they can see a clear route to market for every book published.

Currently, I feel that there is less room for risk at publishers, but who knows when that might change? The good thing about the publishing industry is that it’s never boring!

What qualities do you think make a successful writer?

Tenacity, ability to adapt, and a genuine desire to work with people on your novel. Be open to change and don’t be scared to kill your darlings.

Also, how important is social media for an author? There’s much discussion around this but there seems to be a split as to how important a social media presence is for new writers especially. I’d love your take on that.

Personally, I think not very. I’ve never taken on an author and expected them to be very social-media-y. I think if it’s something you do and enjoy then great, but it’s not a deal breaker for new writers. I’d much prefer my clients spend their time writing!

What are you currently reading? And do you have time to read for fun?

I try to read a bit in bed each night to reset my brain. Part of my job is to be aware of what is working in the industry and so I try hard to read as much as I can! I am currently reading The Peepshow, by Kate Summerscale, and am enjoying it a lot.

I’m also reading Can You Solve The Murder? by Antony Johnston, as the publisher sent me an early proof copy. I’m enjoying this one as it’s like one of the ‘choose your own adventure’ novels I used to have as a child. Very fun.

I also enjoy listening to audiobooks while I’m driving and have just finished The Hotel Avocado, by Bob Mortimer. I bloody love that man and as he’s the narrator, listening to his books feel a like a warm hug from an old pal.

Finally, what advice would you give to a new writer as they enter this process for the first time?

Join writing groups and find beta readers. Read widely in the genre you’re writing in, and try to understand how the stalwarts of the genre keep their novels fresh. And as soon as you’ve written a book, get an agent! Agents are your touchstone between your writing and publishers themselves.

Find out if Francesca is open to submissions by visiting QueryManager.

To read more from the INSIDERS, click here.