Editor Turned Literary Agent, Shelly Romero Shares Important Insights on Traditional Publishing

Former Scholastic editor Shelly Romero just made the leap to literary agent. 

And she's spilling the industry secrets most writers never hear. 

After eight years of editorial experience and now with an agent's perspective, Shelly reveals…

• What really happens when agents read your opening pages
• Why manuscripts need to be more polished than ever
• The submission mistakes that trigger instant rejections. 

What You'll Learn:

• Why voice trumps plot in manuscript submissions
• Exact polish level needed for today's publishing market
• Query red flags that guarantee instant rejections

Click here to learn more about Shelly Romero

Connect with Shelly on Instagram

Guest Bio: Shelly Romero began her publishing career in 2017 at Scholastic, where she rose up the ranks from editorial assistant to associate editor, where she acquired her own titles and assisted on series publishing for The Bad Guys and Goosebumps. She later joined Cake Creative as Lead Editor, and she was most recently a freelance editor. She graduated from Stephens College with a bachelor’s degree in English and attended the 2017 NYU Summer Publishing Institute. Shelly was selected as a 2020 Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree and is a member of Latinx in Publishing & People of Color in Publishing. Born and raised in Miami by Honduran parents, she now resides in New York City, where she might be found at a movie theatre viewing the latest release from her Letterboxd watchlist.

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Transcript

David Gwyn: 0:00

Shelly, welcome to the Thriller one, one podcast. Really excited to have you.

Shelly Romero: 0:03

Thanks so much for having me. I'm really excited.

David Gwyn: 0:05

Yeah. So we have a, we have a lot to talk about. I, I'm really excited to chat with you. You're on that kind of newer agent

Shelly Romero: 0:10

Mm-hmm.

David Gwyn: 0:11

where you're, you're diving into it for the first time, which I

Shelly Romero: 0:13

Yeah.

David Gwyn: 0:14

to, to people where you are, and hear a little bit about, you know, what were the expectations, what were you thinking it was gonna be like, and how did that kind of align? So let's, let's start at the beginning here. What made you wanna become an agent?

Shelly Romero: 0:25

So I've actually been publishing, it will be my eight year anniversary, I think this August. Which is pretty crazy to say that number like out loud. It'd be like, oh my God, it's almost been a decade. But it almost has been a decade. And I came up as an editor. So I worked first at Scholastic. I also worked at a book packager did a lot of freelancing on my own. But one of the things that when I started having these kind of conversations last summer actually about maybe transitioning from editorial to Agenting was, you know, you know, I was getting posed a question like, what is the thing that you're really looking for? And for me it was very much control. Right. So as an editor, you know, I always tell people like, I will be your in-house, like in-house champion. I will be your advocate, like a mentor, like part-time therapist, whatever your cheerleader. But when it comes time, I. For those in-house kind of situations or, you know, complications or even the negotiation stage against an agent. I don't represent the author. I don't represent the creators. I represent the house.

David Gwyn: 1:35

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 1:35

that's a really difficult part about being an editorial because. You know, you get to be so passionate about these books and about the creators that you're working with. At the same time, it's kind of like you have one hand tied behind your back where you know you have limitations. Whether it's the, you know, what can you acquire, you know, is it going to be a right fit for the list? Is it even going to be a right fit for this house? Like, are, you know, is this imprint going to do a good job with this book? To things like, you know, I. Do I really want this creator, but it's just gonna be like a complete mess. And sometimes, you know, you make the decision to take that risk, you know, talk to your superiors and try to take it to acquisitions and then get shut down there, or potentially get that green light. But what drew me was definitely that control. Like I have worked with so many wonderful creators over the years. And one thing I have always lamented was the fact that I don't get to be with them for. A majority of their career I get to work with them. You know, it might be a, like a book or a couple of books. But Agenting really allows you to be that first gatekeeper, right? We always talk about that agents are the first gatekeeper to the industry. And being able to choose, okay, who am I going to work with? But I'm not just working on with them on that. One title, it's okay. What are your dreams? You know, what are the, your hopes and dreams, your pie in the sky things, and some more grounded, realistic, you know, hopes And how can we work together to make sure that you are writing careers fruitful.

David Gwyn: 3:16

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 3:16

Fulfilling both financially and creatively. So that is definitely one of the reasons why I was like doing a lot of these informationals basically last summer. And then also kick started it like the, again, this early year and then, you know, made the decision, okay, let's, let's do this. Which is very, you know, it was very, scary, you know, you, you know, going from, you know, working in-house with a consistent salary, but, you know, dealing with all the, you know, kind of Game of Thrones political things of inside publishing houses to being freelance and it being very unstable to being commission only. So,

David Gwyn: 3:55

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 3:56

you know, there were a lot of kind of things that I took into account, but I really. Do wanna be the advocate for authors, and this is the best possible way for me to do that.

David Gwyn: 4:07

Yeah. I, I think that's, that's so great. I, I am always interested to hear kind of very few people go, like, from nowhere in the publishing world to agenting. Right? Like, very few people make that leap. And so I'm always curious to hear where people were before. And, and, and I think if I'm listening to this and I'm, I'm a writer, and I'm like, okay, like the Shelly s the right fit, like. Having that editorial background is something that is so valuable for, for debut writers, and I'm sure, I imagine you kind of are bringing that editorial

Shelly Romero: 4:37

absolutely.

David Gwyn: 4:38

doing your work.

Shelly Romero: 4:39

I like

David Gwyn: 4:40

about that? Like

Shelly Romero: 4:41

absolutely.

David Gwyn: 4:42

translate into agenting?

Shelly Romero: 4:43

Yeah, so I mean, I'm in, I'm a developmental edit editor and a line editor, like I, sorry to the copy editors that is, and proofreaders, that is a skill that I absolutely do not have. And they are like God sends when you are getting into those nitty gritty. You know, last moments of the publishing process, but, so I'm a developmental editor, editor first. I'm always looking at the big picture. What are the things that we can tweak?

David Gwyn: 5:11

Mm-hmm.

Shelly Romero: 5:12

I'll send my authors, you know, like edit letters. I think maybe one of the longest ones, and this is like short for some people, like, I think one of the longest ones I sent was ever like. Eight pages. You know, but I always want to tackle like those big themes in that edit letter. Miscellaneous little things. I'm also an editor that like goes in and I'm like leaving, you know, comments just like reaction to whatever's happening. Like, oh my god, what? Like, or questions. And I'm like, later on, sometimes I'm like. Oh wait I, you answered that question. Nevermind. Ignore that. Like, you know, things like that. And then later on in that process, when we're done with those dev edits I'm a line editor. I love going into the manuscript and I turn into Victor Frankenstein at that moment where, you know, I'm just really getting in there and cutting things up or putting them back together.

David Gwyn: 6:04

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 6:05

And. It's, it's, that's a hard process. It takes me, I think, like one of the longest, I think it, it takes a lot of people the longest just because of how detailed it is. But that's like what I'm bringing to the table. Like I, I told, you know, folks, like, I'm not gonna be someone who just is like, oh yeah, yeah, your book. Yeah. Good. Sounds good. Because I know what to expect from an in-house editor and a lot of the time is that we are needing. To have books be at this really polished stage in order to have a fighting chance. You know, we, we wanna give it. The best opportunity. And that means that there's gonna be revisions, there's gonna be edit letters, there's gonna be line edits. So that's the type of agent I am, like a very editorial agent. And I'm also just in general bringing that experience of like knowing how the sausage gets made right?

David Gwyn: 7:01

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 7:01

for a lot of debut writers, the industry is very opaque and it's very purposeful in being opaque. And so one of the things I like to do is to try to. Make it less, you know, opaque and mysterious and like, you know, whatnot. I remember when I was working with one of my former authors, I think I gave her the call real quick to be like, we're going to copy edit, or we're going to, yeah, I think, think, I think I was like, we're going to copy edits, we're going to production. And I said that, you know,'cause I also forget I'm, you know, it's very inside baseball of, oh, I know what that means. And she was like, wait. And she was a debut. She was like. Wait, what does that mean? And I was like, oh, wait, yes. Let me tell you. Okay, go into production editor. We're getting this copy editor. We're gonna get a proofreader. We're going to, you know, make sure everything's consistent. Okay? You're gonna start seeing this look like a real book soon instead of a Microsoft doc, you know, or a Google Doc. Like it's not. Gonna be all that and it's gonna be like a book now. You know, so there are those things that, you know, a lot of authors don't know, and so hopefully I can help demystify all of that.

David Gwyn: 8:16

No, I think that's, that's really important. I, I feel like we hear more and more as people who, who are living, living around the industry. We're like that, that books manuscripts really need to be as polished as possible.

Shelly Romero: 8:28

Yeah.

David Gwyn: 8:29

no longer are the days where someone will take a chance on something that needs a ton of work. It's like editors are looking for manuscripts that, that you've had your hands on, right? Like, and someone who's got an editing experience. And I think for, for people who are listening to this, I hope you're thinking like. is the type of agent you want. This is the, you know, this is your best chance at getting a book published. Because if you're going with an agent who doesn't have a ton of editorial background, or isn't willing to put in editorial work, which is, you know, different too, that is something that is, you're gonna have to really think about, you know,

Shelly Romero: 9:02

Yeah,

David Gwyn: 9:02

fit? You know, especially for a debut.

Shelly Romero: 9:04

absolutely. And every agent is so different. Like even in my agency, I think there's like 14 of us and we all operate so differently and some of us have transitioned from the editorial space, toing. Some of us, you know, some. Came up just through the agenting ranks and we all bring something different to the table. And that is, I think, the truth across the board. You're gonna have so many different agents and styles of working. And it's always like what, like you said, like what is the best fit for you and your writing and your career. Whether you want someone who's like, oh, we have an in-house editor and I'm not very much editorial, but I know how to do. X, Y, and Z. Or if you want someone who's in that editorial path and is like, okay, I know that before I go out on any submission, I'm gonna be revising and I'm gonna be put to that work. You know? So it's very much like, you know, not one size fits all.

David Gwyn: 10:01

No. Yeah, and the, the longer I, the more agents I talk to, and the longer I'm here, I'm like everyone does things a little bit differently. And it's really, I think the, the, the group, the pairings that are really successful are the ones who just happen to find that fit of, you know, as a writer, I need this and this agent provides that. And that's, that's where, you know, you, you see a lot of success. But I do want to, before we get any further, I

Shelly Romero: 10:20

Mm-hmm.

David Gwyn: 10:20

what genres you are looking for. So for people who are listening.

Shelly Romero: 11:11

Absolutely. I'm looking for a wide gamut of genres. I'm someone who reads a lot of different genres, so I'm definitely looking for all things horror. I know this is a podcast, but like imagine just like a living room filled with like horror movie posters and also like Michael Myers and like Ghost Space masks and like other spooky things like. My husband calls it Goth Cracker Barrel. Which, yes, so I'm always looking for something, horror, thriller mysteries. I'm looking for a lot of gothic. So a lot of that kind of mix of the genre, right? I'm really wanting to see a lot of regional gothic storytelling. While I'm from Miami, I spent like. Nearly a decade in Missouri and Midwestern Gothic is so different than New England Gothic or Southern Gothic. They all have their different little nuances and things and folklore, right? So that's definitely something that I'm really looking for. I'm always looking for marginalized creators. That's something that when I came up in editorials, it, like as soon as I, I was in editorial, I'm like, this is the goal. I wanna represent these creators because they have been marginalized and the industry is still so wishy-washy, you know, with traditionally marginalized creators. And especially right now in the era that we're in, where we're feeling kind of this weird, you know, ebb and flow of what happened in 2020 to now, you know, in 2020 everything was like being fixed. And what like, or. People were trying to fix things, whereas now it's kind of receding and you're not having the same support.

David Gwyn: 12:58

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 12:58

I'm not a good person for like epic fantasies. I know this is the thriller mystery, you know, so I, you know, but if there's anyone out there who's like, I, you know, do those, I'm not big on like epic fantasy. Always more kind of to the grounded speculative fiction type. But I am someone who like, loves a procedural drama. It is like, let me tell ya. Did I do like so much of great. Yes. Right now it's the obsession between Chicago Fire and Chicago. Me. Y'all like but one thing I'm not looking for, which is something that, you know, I is like a little bit of like, oh,'cause it's thriller and crime and mystery. Genres. I'm not looking for cop detective, military protagonists.

David Gwyn: 13:45

Hmm.

Shelly Romero: 13:45

I think that to me is a bit fantastical to have you know, the protagonist and, and the hero be, you know, police officer. So that is my opinion. Like y'all, there's other. Agents that think otherwise. But for me, I'm very much interested in like the everyday person. Right. And I think that's what drew me to, like Veronica Mars for example. Like I did not watch that until like. You know, re like a few years back, I think during the pandemic it was like one of my pandemic watches and I loved her. Like, I love that type of like, okay, I'm gonna take matters into my own hands, or I'm the one who knows that something's up and I'm not getting that help. I think like another similar comp would be the Fire Keeper's daughter by Angeline Booley. Who's a phenomenal indigenous writer. So I'm really looking for, you know, those other types of stories. I want to focus on that person. I'm trying to think of like, what else? It's always really hard when you're like, put on the spotlight of like, what do you want? And I'm like, I could tell you. I'm like, I'm telling you. But at the same time, like it, you know, and this happens to like every, I think editor and agent like. I, you could send me something that ticks off all these boxes and I might reject it.

David Gwyn: 15:07

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 15:07

And you, then you could send me something, you know, someone could send me something that is kind of, maybe a risk and I might love it. Right? So that's also like, again, it's like very, this is a very subjective industry. Y'all, like, everyone has their own like quirks, likes, dislikes and things. So always remembered that.

David Gwyn: 15:28

I love that caveat and you're, you're one of many agents who, who gives that caveat, which is like, this is what I think I'm looking for, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's like a lock and it doesn't necessarily mean I won't go after some other things. Usually people have like a hard line where they're like, ah, that's not my thing, but.

Shelly Romero: 15:44

Yeah.

David Gwyn: 15:45

if you're, if it feels like this, right? Like if, if your book kind of feels, has this vibe or something. If, so, if you're, if you're listening to this and something that Shelly said is you're like, yeah, like that's, that's my book, right? Like, at least part of it. It sounds like,

Shelly Romero: 15:56

Yeah.

David Gwyn: 15:56

Send, send it over and, and let

Shelly Romero: 15:58

Yeah, and I'm very much a person who like lo, okay, listen, I have a letter box and so I'm always at a movie and so. There's definitely like that correlation of like what I watch is often what I'm also looking for. So I'm always someone who's like, I love a movie comp. You know, a lot of the books that I've worked on all have been comped to movies like The Witchery by s Isabel, I called it. Like the craft meets the covenant, but with an all like female cast and it being, you know, different from the craft because we had three black girls who were the main protagonist, who were so different from each other. And then you had their fourth who was you know a white girl. But I'm always using like movie comps and things like that. And, you know, I do love like certain movies and I know I just said I might sound like a hypocrite, but like, you know, some of my favorite, like crime and thriller movies have been like, minority Report

David Gwyn: 16:57

Hmm.

Shelly Romero: 16:58

Tombstone. I love Tombstone like. Incredible movie. Like I, you know, I just, I could be your huckleberry. I know, and I know it's like a US Marshal. I know this, y'all like a little bit of a hypocrite, but I, you know, I love that style. And while I don't like westerns, like I, you know, I love that kind of style of storytelling and, and again, like I mentioned, I know Minority Report, you know, was Philip k Dick. But you know, having that kind of. Vibe of, you know, it is kind of sci-fi, but at the heart of it, this is a crime movie. This is a thriller similar to like total recall.

David Gwyn: 17:36

Hmm.

Shelly Romero: 17:37

more so like the original, like the, the deal was fine. It was like fine. But yeah. So I'm often you'll see or hear me talking about movies.

David Gwyn: 17:46

Yeah, no, that's great. I, and so I, I do wanna, I do wanna, I'm really curious now that we've had this conversation around the genres and what you're looking for. I'm wondering what you look for in opening pages. You like get a, get a submission here and you get a manuscript in front of you. Like what are some of those things that you look

Shelly Romero: 18:03

Mm, mm-hmm.

David Gwyn: 18:04

make you wanna read more?

Shelly Romero: 18:06

Absolutely. I think it always depends on the genre and then also what age category, right? So for if I'm popping open a middle grade or a ya, I want that voice to feel authentic. You know, you can always tell by word, you know. By like the vocabulary or verbiage or slang whether it feels, you know, a little bit closer to what that kid would sounds like. Right. And, and you know, like I love things like comps, like the Goonies, but like, you know, the writing and the Goonies is very different than like. You know, what is it Gen Alpha now or whatnot? So like, that's like a thing that I'm looking for. I'm like, okay, does it match this age category? I'm always looking for that kind of like very hooky beginning. I'm someone who does really love voice a lot, so if your character has a very strong voice and personality and I can just get it from the get go, or you already automatically are getting that sense of place and time, that's something that draws me in. And I think especially when you're doing. Genre res like horror, sci-fi, you know, thriller mysteries. When you are able to make the story in the setting, feel like its own character that is like a big bonus for me.'cause then I'm like, okay, cool. Like this is really spooky, or this is like very eerie. Like why are people going missing all the time in the Appalachia woods? Like, what is in there? You know? And it makes me, you know, it makes me wanna read, but it is hard, like sometimes I'll, I will leave the submissions in there for a while, even if I had already p you know, poked it open and, and took in a PA peek. Because sometimes I'm like, sometimes I'm not in that mind space, like the right mind space to read that one right now. And I wanna give it that shot because, you know, it could be that, like I read it and I was like super tired on like a Thursday afternoon, but then like I come back to it, I'm like, wait a minute, this. You know what, let me maybe request the fool to see what's happening. When I am requesting fools, like I'm looking to see that hopefully that voice stays strong, that that setting that we're getting from plot point A to plot point B and that we're not kind of crumbling you know, you can fix those things. But there are things that like, are very hard to teach. Like, like I mentioned, voice. You know, everyone has like a different style. These are things that you just really learn from doing it. You have to keep writing, but also reading what's being published right now in those age categories. And while that might not be what the genres or like the types of stories that are gonna be popular in a couple years from now, they're still giving you so much to work with and to learn from you know, and also. Genres come and go. Like we may be seeing a, like reemergence for example, of like YA dystopia, which I'm like, whoa, 20, welcome back 2010s. I guess, you know, so that's another thing to remember too about publishing psych, like publishing trends is that they can be very, very slick cyclical. I cannot talk, but yeah. So yeah, I think, you know.

David Gwyn: 21:32

Yeah. No, I, I think that's spot on. I, I, it's funny, I have a sneaking suspicion, and you don't have to admit this, but I do ask agents. This usually is because when I ask this question, I get kind of the same answer. I think I have a sneaking suspicion that voice is the number one thing that allows your submission to go from.

Shelly Romero: 21:55

Yeah.

David Gwyn: 21:56

the next stage. Like an agent will be like, eh, I don't love that plot point, but the voice is so good. Let's just like, well,

Shelly Romero: 22:02

Yeah. And the,

David Gwyn: 22:03

I

Shelly Romero: 22:03

yeah,

David Gwyn: 22:04

I can

Shelly Romero: 22:04

exactly. It's like, yeah, I can talk about that in the editorial letter. Or even if it is like minor little tweaks to things, you know, even if it is like, oh, you just had this one line that is just not fitting this voice, it's not fitting the tone. You know, tone is also a little bit harder to teach. But. You're right. Like that is definitely something that's going to give me like a little bit of pause and be like, oh wait, maybe, maybe there is something here. And maybe I need to like look at it. I will say for me personally, something that has when reviewing queries now that like kind of ticks me. This is like a yellow flag. It's like a yellow orange flag for me is comps comparative book titles that are just completely tentpole classics and mainstream. And what I'm saying is that if you're reading kind of that thriller crime mystery genre, and you're giving me comps like, oh, this comps to like Agatha Christie or Dean Kunz, but like also fans of like. Also fans who are gonna be readers in their 14 and up, and I'm like, wait a minute. Which, which,

David Gwyn: 23:21

do

Shelly Romero: 23:22

yeah, I'm like, I'm like, wait a minute, that doesn't make any sense. And which teenager's gonna be reading Dean Co. I mean, there might be,

David Gwyn: 23:29

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 23:30

you not kids, you know, kids have very interesting, you know, taste. But that kind of gives me a bit of a hit of you're not quite doing that research, you're not quite thinking of what is around and like using, for example, one of those 10 pole classics. Like if you're like. Stephen King, you know,'cause it's horror or whatnot is fine. But like I'm, I'm gonna need to see that you also have been reading something from the last three to five years. Because otherwise you're, you're not really seeing what's being published. You're not learning from your contemporaries. And it's not gonna be very helpful when you're querying. I will say the other thing, and this goes back to like my manuscript wishlist, like, you know, when it's just completely from my, like, do not send me and I can tell that you haven't read my manuscript wishlist. I'm like, reject.

David Gwyn: 24:27

Yep.

Shelly Romero: 24:28

Like, you know, it, it shows me kind of like this lack of research and a bit of like a lack of care to what you're doing. And instead it feels like, you know, and I understand'cause like you're trying to, you know, send out your book as wide as possible to as many agents to, you know, increase your chances of representation. But at the same time, I can tell when you're throwing spaghetti to the wall,

David Gwyn: 24:51

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 24:52

And this is something similar that I always talk about with people. I'm like, you're not gonna send. You know, you know, you're not, you're not gonna tell someone at Berkeley who does romance that you really wanna do, you know, sci-fi horror, and you're not gonna do that at orbit.

David Gwyn: 25:08

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 25:08

go to orbit and then say, oh, I wanna do romantic. Like, maybe romantic, but like, oh, I wanna do like contemporary romance. Like, that's not gonna work.

David Gwyn: 25:16

Shelly, I feel like I could talk to you all, all night. I mean, like, this is like your wealth of knowledge and, and I, I love the way you have that kind of multifaceted view of the publishing industry.'cause you've been around for so long. So this has been so much fun. My last question for you is just if, if people are interested in, in learning more about you, where can they go? Where can they look you up?

Shelly Romero: 25:34

Absolutely. I am unfortunately a bit chronically online, so you can find me on social media apps like Blue Sky. I'm still on Twitter and also Threads. I do have a book Instagram. I'm not like trying to use it a little bit more.

David Gwyn: 25:53

Yeah.

Shelly Romero: 25:54

but I do have a website, which is just my name, shelly romero.com. And then also you could see like my bio and everything there in some of the books that I've worked on, but

David Gwyn: 26:02

Nice.

Shelly Romero: 26:02

in terms of like submissions and submitting to me, please go to the. About US pages for as the anti literary. That's where you'll find my manuscript wishlist and my anti manuscript wishlist, which is very important. But also you'll get to see a peak of like some of my favorite movies and some of my favorite books recently that kind of give you a little bit more of like that taste. But I'm usually yelling about publishing industry shenanigans or book. Selling industry shenanigans on social but also probably talking about movies and letter boxing them. So

David Gwyn: 26:40

Very cool. And I'll, if you're listening and, and you wanna get in touch with Shelley, I'll, I'll make sure I link to some of that stuff below so people have quick access. Shelley, like I mentioned this, this was so much fun. I

Shelly Romero: 26:48

yes,

David Gwyn: 26:49

you taking the time to chat.

Shelly Romero: 26:50

of course. Thank you for having me.