Alex Adsett is a literary agent and publishing consultant, who has been working in the publishing and bookselling industry for the last almost twenty years. Recently I spoke to Alex about what it’s like to be a literary agent, and if she has any hot tips for aspiring authors.

What would you look for in a fictional character? 

In a fictional character, I look for one that consistently rings ‘true’. I want to believe that they could be a real person – even if they might not be a person I would like. I love strong, stubborn, argumentative characters – I’m not great with weak or passive protagonists, but I still want my strong characters to be flawed.  No one in real life is perfect, so fictional characters shouldn’t be either. For example, I just adore the character of Pearl in Valentine by Jodi McAlister. She is smart and loyal and funny – but also bossy and not great at asking for help.

In a manuscript, what is something that would catch your attention?

In a manuscript, I’m looking for clear, concise language that tells a great story and draws me in. I want to disappear into the story and to be so involved that I forget that I’m reading. I am very much drawn to a strong narrative. So, beautiful writing and a lovely character description will not get my attention, unless there is a great story to go with it. An example of this is Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. That story just starts rollicking from the first page, and doesn’t let up.

Is there a genre in YA at the moment that you think there isn’t many books for?

Well, one of my favourite genres is new takes on traditional fairy tales, so I would love to see some more of these in YA (although there are already quite a few out there). I also love dystopia and apocalypse – but these are both incredibly saturated at the moment.  I would love to see more YA science fiction, or YA crime (particularly YA historical crime), but in all cases, it just takes an amazing manuscript to come along and blow all the rules out of the water.

What tip would you give to aspiring authors? 

Just keep writing! And reading too. But with writing, the best thing you can do once you have finished (and edited and polished) a manuscript, is to start another manuscript. Don’t just write one book (or one draft) and think you’re done. Keep writing!

What would be some clichés in YA? 

One cliché that bugs me is for the main character to wake up and then describe how she looks by looking in the bathroom mirror. There are many better ways to describe your character to readers. Otherwise, there are so many clichés (check out ‘Brooding YA Hero’ on Twitter for a fun take down of them), but a great novel will sometimes use the clichés well and they feel fresh again, or subvert them in some way. Cliches aren’t always bad, and sometimes we love them for a reason.

How much input do authors have in their book covers? 

Covers are a key marketing tool for the book and always designed by the publisher. The author almost never gets consent over them, and the best an author can usually hope for is to be consulted. If you get your ideas in early, a publisher or designer might look to them for inspiration though, so keep a file, Pinterest board or blog of images you think tie in with the images in your head, or keep a note of other covers you love, and ask the publisher if you can send them to the designer at the beginning of the process. If you don’t get in at the beginning, it is really hard to alter the direction of cover designs.