Agent Spotlight: Carey Blankenship-Kramer
From chatting about #RevPit in 2020 to discussing agenting in 2024, Carey Blankenship-Kramer and I have been in the writing orbit together for a long time. I was so excited for her when I found out she’d been hired as a literary agent at Belcastro Agency and just knew she would be a great addition to the publishing world.
An author herself, Carey’s debut book GHOST SCOUTS HONOR, a middle grade ghost story that explores neurodiverse themes, is scheduled for January 2025 by Scholastic.
On the agenting side, she works at Belcastro Agency as a junior agent acquiring a range of genres from picture books to horror.
She was kind enough to sit down with me and chat about her journey to becoming an agent, her manuscript wish list (MSWL), and video games!
Q: How did you transition from your day job to being a literary agent? How do you find balance between a day job and agenting?
A: I actually graduated college in 2016 with the goal of working in publishing. Back then, remote opportunities weren’t really a thing, so I quickly gave that up that goal because I didn’t want to move to New York.
I ended up working in marketing and just… every now and then, because I still loved working in publishing and was a writer, too, I would pick up an internship or be a first reader for an agent. And then last year, I got very serious about it.
[I] spoke to some very lovely agents who gave me advice to kind of—like, you cold query agents [and agencies]—and asked if they had room for someone like me who was a little awkward who, you know, I had experience but wasn’t ready to sign on my own clients yet.
I do still have my day job. A lot of agents don’t get paid until they [sell] their first book and I wanted to do this in the long run so I needed to continue to do my day job.
Q: Going from a querying writer yourself to an agent, what were your expectations? What did you not expect?
A: I honestly never thought I was gonna get an agent. Querying is so long and hard, and I had been doing it for years and years with multiple projects. So my expectations were very low [because] I never thought I’d make it.
Everything’s just been blown out of the water because I’m in a very unique situation, too, because the two weeks after I got my agent—literally I was still considering the offer—I got the offer on the job at Belcastro.
So it happened at the exact same time. I remember even with my current agent I was like, “Hey, just so you know… I’m going to be an agent, too. Let me know if that changes anything.” I don’t know why I thought it would. I’ve been so fortunate.
She’s been such a great mentor for myself, too, and Jill and I [are] very good friends now. I never expected any of that.”
I think what everyone deserves [and] what everyone should absolutely have is a communicative partner and someone who really supports you and, on your worst days, believes in you and your stories even when you can’t.”
Q: Would you say having an agent impacts the way you agent?
A: Oh yeah. I think so. Just because I learned so much from her and I’m very, very fortunate to [be at] Belcastro. Everyone there is so, so talented and great and we text all the time. I bother all of them with questions and they all look at my pitches.
The most important thing as a baby agent, if you’re going to potentially sign with them, is their support system. Because we all have to start somewhere. We may not have sales yet, but you have to look at who’s behind them. So it’s fortunate to have the entire Belcastro Agency behind me. And also my agent.
Q: On the querying side, you know how hard it is to be a querying author. But now you get to see queries every single day. What is the biggest mistake you see writers make?
A: You know, I was a little shocked by this, but the amount of non-queries I actually get where it’s just like, in the box it’s just like, “Hey, here’s my story,” or there’s nothing at all. I didn’t even know that was possible.
So if you have a good query, you’re already steps ahead of a lot of the slush pile. So that was a little shocking for me.
I don’t see a lot of mistakes in my inbox. I think it’s just so subjective. There’s a lot of luck that goes behind it and finding the right person for your story [and] to fall in love with your story. If there’s a mistake like you address me by the wrong name, [that] doesn’t bother me because I did that.
Q: Say the stars align and you fall in love with a manuscript and you offer and they accept. When you first sign a new client, what is your immediate process from signing the paperwork to submitting to editors? Are you an editorial agent?
A: Very much so. I warn people I’m about to sign with that I love editing. I’m sure you understand. That’s my favorite part.
My step by step is: they’ll get an email from me with the breakdown of the edit letter that I provided on the call. I do that all on Google Docs with track edits so they see very change, every comment I suggest, and they all know it’s very, very collaborative.
You understand, too. The last thing I want to do as an editor is erase your voice. You can reject anything I suggest and I’ll give my reasonings why as far as marketing.
For example, one Middle Grade fantasy client I’m working with. We’ve worked really, really hard to cut down her word count, which is hard for her. She writes very beautifully and has all these beautiful sentences, but editors want shorter Middle Grade right now. Which is a stab to my heart.
But she would push back on some lines and [I’d be like], “You know, you’re absolutely right. Let’s cut somewhere else.” So I think it’s really important that authors work with collaborative agents who understand the importance… this is your child.
The last thing I want to do is step on your toes too much, but I will bring my [marketing thoughts] so we can make this book very sparkly for editors who will, again, tear it apart later.
Q: When it comes to queries and rejections, people will often try to analyze form rejections. Is there any point in which a form rejection means something? What time would you give a personalized rejection?
A: I know this has shifted with some of the baby agents that have come to the scene
I try really hard, if I’m looking at my inbox and I’m feeling more negative, I close it and come back at a different day. Because maybe I’m cranky. And that can impact the query inbox for any agent. We’re humans, unfortunately, too.
At the bottom of [my forms], I have a link to a blog I wrote that is like, “Here is the exact wording of this form rejection and here’s a further explanation of what I meant by that.” But I will give personalized rejections on fulls or partials.
Q: What would turn you away or draw you in within the first fifty pages?
A: This is something I’ve been thinking about because every Belcastro agent is so different. We’ve shared manuscripts based solely on the level of introspection we like. Like internal dialogue. I like it a little less heavy handed and [another] agent likes it a little more heavy.
[It’s] a really hard thing to edit out and learn, so as an agent, even if I really like your story idea but it’s too much, I can’t do that for you because that would require so much linear edits and I don’t want to do that to you.
I always read the synopsis, too. And if there’s this one plot point I don’t like but it would change so much of your novel, then I don’t… I think that’s too selfish to offer as an agent. So things like that.
First, I’ll see if it’s a concept I really like. Then I’ll jump down to the synopsis. Usually, I only read the first page and then I’ll know, “Okay, I want to request this.” It really will just come down to the writing a lot of the time.
Q: For the synopsis, what are you looking for? Are you looking for plot holes or the amount of edits that it might need?
A: All of the above, really. And [if] I like where the story’s going, if it’s something I’m interested as a reader. I don’t care how polished your synopsis is. I think I would lean toward just getting as much information in as you can. We’ll work on it later down the road if we need to.
Q: How do you see the future of publishing with editors being overworked and publishing houses consolidating for agents and for writers?
A: That’s a good question. I don’t like where it’s going right now, I can tell you that. I feel like there is probably going to be a switch and it’s already happening. All the Belcastro agents are very communicative about, “Okay, this editor is actually responding. This house is being weird, let’s not submit there.”
And I just think we have a lot more power than we think we do. So I could see a lot more small publishing houses getting more submissions, newer editors getting more submissions, stuff like that. Working with people that actually care, you know? And aren’t making very poor decisions.
That’s a conversation I have with my clients, too. Like, what are your dreams? If you really want to go for that big publishing house, we absolutely always do. But we consider, “this publishing house is known to treat authors poorly” and do we just not submit to them or do we submit to an editor that at least we know is good somewhere else?
It is so frustration and very disheartening on both sides. The only thing I can do is try to help more diverse stories get published and support diverse editors and people who are actually putting in the hard, empathetic—keyword there—work.
Q: How do you feel about self-publishing and do you offer representation to authors who maybe want to do both as a hybrid author?
A: Yeah, absolutely. The only time I won’t offer is if the book has already been published and you’re querying me with that, I can’t for legal reasons. But I know there’s several Belcastro agents who have clients who do both.
There’s not really any market for self-publishing Middle Grade, unfortunately, but there’s really been one for rom coms and Adult fantasy. And romantasy. That’s a fun term.
So if my client wanted to do it, we would discuss why they’re wanting to, what’s the best step, can we even try traditional, and then… you know. That’s just the best decision they make for themselves.
Q: I saw on your website that you started off roleplaying.
A: Oh God.
Q: I had to ask. So how did that develop you as a writer? Do you want to say what the RP’s were?
A: Oh, yeah. Warrior Cats. I would just sit in our little computer room at home and just go onto Pony Island dot net—I was a huge horse person—and we would do Warrior Cat role-plays and make up our own stories.
I would make friends and we would go off in DM’s and do individual role-plays and that’s where the plotting came in. Don’t knock it until you try it.
Q: Are there any video games that translate over to your wish list or have inspired you to write?
A: I feel like consuming good content, no matter what content, can help your story. One of my favorite video games is Night in the Woods, which is just—it looks adorable. It’s just these little cats walking around and it’s so deep. It’s very emotional and deals a lot with neurodivergent thoughts, so that would be top. If you have anything like Night in the Woods, I want it.
I feel like that leans toward what I like, anyway. A little dark, a little sad, a little cute.
I will often be doing my tasks in between rounds of Dead by Daylight, or, like, Fortnight’s really big right now. In general, I would really like to represent a gamer story. I think that would be really fun. I also love horror games. I think […] the top of my list is Japanese horror from a Japanese writer.
Carey’s wishlist and submission status is subject to change. Be sure to follow her on social media and check the Belcastro Agency website for updates!