SPOTLIGHT FEATURE: Rachel Hamilton from the Ben Illis Agency

Good morning, everyone!

Today’s feature includes a fantastic interview with Rachel Hamilton!

A woman of many literary talents, Rachel has experience as an author, editor, lecturer and agent. She currently works at the Ben Illis Agency, which represents authors including Lu Hersey (Deep Water), Mel Darbon (Rosie Loves Jack), and Kimberly Pauley (The Accidental Wizard).

Though she is currently closed to submissions for 2022, Rachel represents a range of genres for children’s and young adult fiction. She especially loves all things comedic and is on the lookout for a spooky or action-packed MG story.

Rachel is active on Twitter where you can find out what she’s reading and watching at the moment. She also does Agent One-to-One sessions with Jericho Writers, so don’t miss out on a chance to get her feedback on your work by booking your session here.

Check out some highlights from our interview with Rachel below.

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“Let yourself be excited! You have to love the process while it’s lovable.”

Hi Rachel, thanks for speaking with me today! I’d love to learn how you joined the industry and what you’re interested in at the moment.

What brought you to agenting?

For me, it’s been a weird, twisty kind of route. I’ve always loved reading and writing books, and my route in came through being published.

I had friends who were published at the same time, and during that process, I realised that I loved editing, probably more than writing, whereas some of my friends found it really frustrating. So, I ended up accidentally helping my friends edit their books, just because I loved it.

From there, I got more involved and started to do some freelance editing. And both my agent and Ben, who I work with now, asked if I’d considered being an agent.

I’d never really thought about it because there was so much going on with my writing and my work with literary festivals – there just wasn’t time. But then I wrote a series of books in quick succession, all on tight deadlines, and suddenly writing just seemed a bit less fun than it had before.

And so, I decided that when my contracts ended with Simon & Schuster and OUP, I was going to take a break and think about what to do. I kept remembering people saying I’d be quite good at agenting, so I gave Ben a call and just asked if he needed any help and if there was anything I could do for him. And that’s how I ended up working with him!

Has your experience as a writer influenced your approach as an agent?

It’s a bit of a curse, actually, in that I know what it feels like to be on the other side and to be waiting for a response, and I know how it feels for your book to be out on submission. And so, while I’ve got agent friends who can remain cool and calm while being chased by authors for information, I find it more of a struggle because I really feel from the author’s perspective!

So, I don’t know whether that experience is a good thing or a bad thing. I find it quite easy to put myself in the author’s position because I’ve been there, which possibly means I’m more sympathetic… but it also means I do stress more.

My experience means I have interesting relationships with publishers because some know me from being an author, some know me from my involvement with festivals, and some know me as an agent. I think that’s been helpful too, the fact that before I started as an agent, I already had a reasonable network of publishers, agents, editors and authors.

What’s at the top of your wish list?

I love comedy. It doesn’t have to be completely comedy, but something that has a comedic touch. I’m better at editing that, I’m better at selling that, and I’m better at understanding that, I think.

I watch a lot of TV box sets, so I love high-concept, fast-moving thrillers. I would also love a good, spooky MG. I’m a bit too easily frightened for a really scary YA, but spooky MG would be great.

That said, I’ve got an eclectic taste in my reading, and that carries over to my wish list. As many agents will tell you, we can all write a wish list, but what we really want is something brilliant that we’ll open and immediately get goosebumps from. That could be anything, really, so there isn’t a huge amount I wouldn’t want to receive.

Originality is also important. I want to see something different! I get a lot of submissions that are great but are very much like other submissions. What I love are stories that stand out and surprise me, things that I haven’t read before. But of course, that’s very hard to define!

Is there any genre you’d rather not receive?

There’s not much I don’t enjoy, honestly. I’m probably not a natural fit for anything with talking animals. Ben is, though, so I can pass those submissions on to him if I get them.

I’ve seen quite a lot of stories about fairies and witches and magic recently. That doesn’t mean I don’t like them, just that something would have to be really unique to stand out!

What do you want to see in a query letter? And what do you hate?

I like to know very quickly what the story is about. We’re not a huge agency and when we’re open, we often receive more than 50 submissions a week, so we have to read them quite quickly. And so, by the end of the first few paragraphs, I need to understand exactly what the premise or the narrative question at the heart of the book is. Once that’s drawn my attention, I’ll happily read more about it.

Personally, I like to see the connection between the author and the book. I like to understand why this person has chosen to write this book, and why nobody else could have written this book in the same way. It’s interesting to know somebody’s credentials as an author, but what I really want is their credentials for writing this particular story. If there is an own voice element, what is their connection? If it’s about a historic event or if they’ve had to do research, how is it relevant to them?

If authors give comparative titles, I like at least one of them to be contemporary. Sometimes you can get an inkling quite quickly from a query letter that people don’t read in their genre or in the contemporary kids’ marketplace, and that’s a potential problem.

Same question when it comes to the synopsis. What should writers do? What should they avoid?

I like to see the story told in a synopsis. Sometimes, authors use synopses to explain the way they want their book to be formatted or structured, but that’s not really necessary yet. I just want to know the plot – what’s happening, and who is it happening to?

It’s important for the whole synopsis to be led by the decisions of the main character or characters. I want to know whose story this is, what they want, what will happen if they don’t get it, and what stands in their way. I don’t want to see a list of events; I want to see something like “Character A decides to do X because of Y, and as a result Z happens.” That way, everything flows and I feel that there’s a story being told.

I also like for to the story to mean something. I’m not saying there needs to be moral or an Aesop’s Fables kind of message, but I like there to be a heart and for me to feel that when I read this story, it will affect or touch me somehow.

What are you looking for in the opening pages of a novel? What really excites you?

I want to be immersed in it. That doesn’t mean that I need it to start with some crazy action sequence where a character is at risk of death and destruction – that would feel a bit too sudden – but as soon as I open the book, I want to be pulled in. I either want to feel that I am in the place where it’s set, or that I’m in the head of the character that’s narrating it. That can be done through action and dialogue or through interior voice; there are lots of ways you can make a reader feel like they’ve been transported somewhere.

I also want to feel excited – not the sort of terror-excitement you get from a horror movie, just the kind where I have to find out why an event happened or what’s going to happen next.

Tell us about a recent deal (or three) that really delighted you.

In terms of forthcoming books for current authors, I’ve loved working on Mel Darbon’s follow up to the wonderful Rosie Loves Jack. So, I can’t wait for the launch of What the World Doesn’t See, which will be out soon with Usborne.

With recent deals, there are several very exciting things that I can’t talk about yet, but two names you’ll be hearing a lot of soon are Gemma Cary and Dev Kothari.

Any final words of advice for authors in the querying process?

Enjoy the good bits. Because the process is so up and down, any good moment – even if it’s some really positive feedback that comes with a rejection – should be something to be excited about.

I hear so many people saying, “Oh, no, I don’t want to get too excited yet…” No, you should let yourself be excited! Enjoy the moment, because you’re going to have real highlights and real low points. There have been times when author friends of mine have been feeling really down and ready to chuck it all in, and then the following year, they’ll be nominated for an award or featured in a celebrity Book Club. The process is so temperamental, you have to love it while it’s lovable, I think.

Secondly, it sounds like a ridiculous piece of advice, but just be nice. It’s a tight-knit industry where everybody knows everybody else, so kindness can go a long way. Understand that yes, an agent may seem to be taking a long time to get back to you, but there can be a very good reason for it, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic where so many people’s lives have become really difficult.

So yes, I think that’s my advice. Enjoy the good bits and be kind to others through the bad bits.

Thanks, Rachel!

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In the meantime, if you’re struggling with your query letter and synopsis, do check out our free resources on our website. We have lots of info to help you on your way. Or, better still, if you’re a member with us, our lovely Writers Support team will be happy to offer you a free query letter review!