Catching Kaitlyn, an Interview and Giveaway with Author and Agent, Kaitlyn Sanchez

Hello friends! Please join me in giving an enthusiastic welcome to the writer and agent, Kaitlyn Sanchez, who is making a guest appearance on my blog, Eye on Writing. Kaitlyn has graciously agreed to let me pick her brain, and I am psyched to share our conversation. Thank you, Kaitlyn!

Here we go!

Question 1: When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did it change as you worked your way up through the grades, or did it remain the same?

Kaitlyn: When I was a kid, I always said, “I want to be a people doctor, an animal doctor, and a writer in my spare time.” Then, in third grade, I had a magical teacher, Mrs. Cripe, who somehow harnessed my “social butterfly during class” tendencies and propelled me into using that energy for school work. From that year on, I wanted to be a teacher, like Mrs. Cripe. Of course, the next year, I wanted to be a fourth grade teacher, and when I got to middle school, I told my parents that I couldn’t decide if I wanted to teach English or math because I loved them both. So, of course, my dad – an analyst – went to the computer and came back with printed papers (ya know, the kind where you got to peel the outer edge off of – one of my favorite things to do as a kid!). He said something to the effect of, “When you’re an adult, they’ll need more math teachers than English teachers.” So it was decided; I would teach math, which is what I’m doing now. I started as a high school math teacher, and now, I’m loving teaching middle school math. Writing was always part of my life, I just never knew it could be a career, but that’s a whole different story.

Sarah: Wow, kudos to your dad for such insight!

Caption: Kaitlyn (bottom right) and her family

Question 2: In this interview with Ellen Levanthal, you said your husband said “…make sure there’s time for us…” after showing support for you becoming an agent intern. WOW! Sounds like you’ve got a strong relationship there! Good for the three of you! So, how DO you make time for hubby and Kiara while you’re teaching, writing, being an agent, and spreading your knowledge enthusiastically across social media?

Kaitlyn: Aw, thank you so much. I am very lucky to have such strong relationships, starting with my parents. They have always been so supportive, and I’m beyond lucky that my husband and friends are as well.  A lot of people talk about their loved ones not getting their writing, and agenting can be even more complicated to explain. But luckily for me, my family and friends have actually believed in me more than I have myself more often than not. 

Caption: Kaitlyn’s cousins held a celebration for her when her first book as an agent, Mushroom Rain by Laura K. Zimmermann illustrated by Jamie Green, came out.

Beyond my family, my agency has really helped me find a balance because as an agency, we’re off duty from Friday through Sunday, so that allows me to use that time to be with my family. I also leave work at work when I’m teaching. I’m also trying to take my therapist’s advice to plan out times to start and stop agenting stuff each day to ensure a balance – I’m still working on that because I get really excited and obsessive when I work on agenting things like editing and making submission lists, but I’m getting there. Also, recently we implemented Thursday night Family Nights at my house, where no phones are allowed once I get home from work, and my clients have been incredibly supportive of this, which I think goes to show how wonderful and compassionate my clients are. So, everyone reading, please support these wonderful writers by ordering/pre-ording these books:

HATTIE HATES HUGS, by Sarah Kovorka  (Click here to purchase.)

MUSHROOM RAIN, by Laura K. Zimmermann (Click here.)

OLD FRIENDS, by Margaret Aitken (Click here.)

BRAVE LIKE MOM, by Monica Acker (Click here.)

Sarah: I love love LOVE the idea of Thursday night Family Night! I will have to try that with my family! 

Question 3: What are the benefits of signing with Context Literary Agency over another literary agency? 

Kaitlyn: There are so many wonderful agencies out there, but I adore Context for many reasons. To name a few, we’re one of the only agencies with a Brand Manager, Monica Rodriguez. She helps our clients with their brand as well as helps them understand and implement their publishers’ marketing plans. We’re also incredibly collaborative, with weekly roundups, weekly meetings, and tons of discussions on Slack.

Question 4: Who is your favorite mathematician and why?

Kaitlyn: As usual, I can’t choose just one, but one of the stories that always sticks with me from math history, due to its uniqueness is Galios’ as he was so amazing and also died tragically young. For more info, check out this link: https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/mysterious-death-of-a-mathematician-finally-solved

One of my favorite female mathematicians is Ada Lovelace because she proves what I love to share:  that math and writing are more similar than some people think as she was a mathematician and so wonderful at using her imagination as well.

Question 5: I was struck by something you said in one of the links on your website, how having a good support group helps you handle rejections. Do any of your critique groups have a “thing” they do for rejections (ritual, celebration of progress, chocolate)?

Kaitlyn: That support really keeps me going. We don’t have any rituals per se, but just sharing and supporting each other, knowing others are going through it and feeling the same things just really helps.

Question 6: Your excitement at finding your voice (enthusiastic!) is palpable on your website. Do you think ‘knowing’ our voice, as writers, comes from ourselves or from the observations and comments of others?

Kaitlyn: That’s a great question! I think it can come from either. For me, it came from others pointing it out, but for others, it can come from their own observations. The most important thing is to keep writing, writing, writing, and reading, reading, reading so that you can find and continue growing your voice.

Sarah: Yes, that is so write; I mean right. How far back can you remember telling stories to family and friends? Can you remember all the stories you created when you first learned to write? Do you think your voice has always been enthusiastic?

Kaitlyn: Haha, I’m so glad I’m not the only one who accidentally writes “write” when I mean “right”! As for storytelling, I’ve definitely always been a storyteller; my parents always loved sharing stories with my sister and I, whether they were about their intriguing lives or completely made up, so I bet I get it from them. I have always been notoriously bad at remembering my stories without writing them down. In fact, when I was a kid, maybe around 7 or 8, my family and I went on a snow trip. Some background, I was a sick kid growing up, sick so often, the school nurse and I were super tight. Anyway, of course, I had to get sick the first day of our trip and spent the whole time indoors, so I wrote and wrote. I adored that story, but I lost it! I tried rewriting it the whole way home, but I couldn’t remember most of it. I’m still devastated to this day that I can’t remember it. As for my voice, I think my writing probably has been enthusiastic since I’ve always been an enthusiastic person, but I’m delighted at how it’s developed over the years.

Question 7: You mentioned in another interview that you write when you’re inspired. Does that mean you WAIT for the muse? (Gasp!) Do you designate certain times on certain days to write? Are you inspired all of the time? 

Kaitlyn: I definitely love writing when the muse strikes! For me, it’s often an image in my head that I get the honor of writing a story about. That’s probably why most of my contests have image components, ha! I definitely don’t write my own writing every day. For me, it’s usually during school breaks and every now and then on weekends when I’m inspired to write. Like last weekend, I woke up from a dream and thought that it could be a good idea for an MG or YA. I’ve never finished writing anything that long, but I do have a desire to write novels and a few ideas up my sleeve, so hopefully someday I’ll actually write them. I may have to do NaNoWriMo someday.

Sarah: Yes! Definitely try NaNoWriMo! (Click here, readers, if you want to learn more!) If you do, give me a heads up, and you’ll find the “Sarahnator” cheering you on in November!

Question 8: And now for our last question(s)…What are you looking for as an agent and what are your favorite books of all time? As you add to the list of favorites as new books come out, do you find that what you’re seeking as an agent also changes?

Kaitlyn: What a whopper of a question! How much time do you have? Lol. One of my favorite books as a kid was The Rainbow Fish – the bright, shiney scale totally intrigued me, and I also loved the Clifford books, but one that others may not know/remember is George and Martha. I have ‘Round and ‘Round practically memorized. For novels, I adored Thursday’s Child by Sonya Hartnett as well as Black Boy by Richard Wright and the Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.

I definitely think as new books come out, my agenting wants change. I love Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend, The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel , The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson, and would love to rep a book that could comp to any of them. I think TV and film also influence my agent wants too because I would LOVE to have a book like The Mitchell’s Vs the Machines or Burden of Truth.

So there are a few agent wants. I also would be intrigued to see some good commercial NF for PB and some new hilarious PBs or PBs that really play with format.

As we conclude our conversation, and this blog post, I’d like to shout out a HUGE thank-you to Kaitlyn for taking time out of her super busy life to share her insight and knowledge with us. I am grateful for being able to interview this fabulous woman! 

Thanks for stopping by, friends! Please support Kaitlyn and her clients by purchasing HATTIE HATES HUGS, MUSHROOM RAIN, OLD FRIENDS, and BRAVE LIKE MOM. 

Kaitlyn, you are crushing it!

Oh wait, do I smell a giveaway?

Giveaway- An Above the Slushpile Giveaway for Agent Kaitlyn Sanchez

So…HOW can you win this fabulous prize? There are several ways to gain points, and the more points you gain, the higher percent chance you have of winning! 

1. Share that you added MUSHROOM RAIN, HATTIE HATES HUGS, OLD FRIENDS, AND BRAVE LIKE MOM to your Goodreads “Want to Read” list and/or your Amazon Wishlist. (1 point total)
2. Share that you ordered/pre-ordered a copy of MUSHROOM RAIN, HATTIE HATES HUGS, OLD FRIENDS, OR BRAVE LIKE MOM (1 point each; 4 points total)
3. Share that you did a purchase request for MUSHROOM RAIN, HATTIE HATES HUGS, OLD FRIENDS, OR BRAVE LIKE MOM at your library (1 point each; 4 points total).
4. Share that you left a review on Amazon OR Barnes and Noble for ANY of these books (1 point each; 8 points total).
5. Share that you retweeted or quote retweeted my tweet about this blog post on Twitter AND tagged some friends (1 point total).

I will RANDOMLY select one winner one week after I post this blog. May the luckiest person win! Thank you, Kaitlyn, for this wonderful opportunity!