Successful Queries: Amanda Orozco and “Woven From Clay,” by Jenny Birch

Welcome back to the Successful Queries series. In this installment, find a query letter to agent Amanda Orozco (Transatlantic Agency) for Jenny Birch's debut novel, Woven From Clay (Wednesday Books), which was actually pitched under a different title.

Jenny Birch is a middle school teacher of English, French, and history, and serves as a youth theater director for students in grades 7-12. She lives in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA, with her husband and three children. Jenny holds a BA in French and an MEd in Instruction & Learning and as an adoptee herself, she is a passionate advocate for children, particularly those in the foster care and adoption communities. When she’s not in her classroom or on stage with her students, you can find her either dancing in the kitchen with her family or flexing her overactive imagination.

Dear Ms. Orozco,

It was a pleasure to meet you this past weekend at the Pennwriters Conference! We were all appreciative of your time and the wisdom you shared during your time with us. I was especially excited to meet another Impressionism fan. As a veteran teacher of both English and French, it made me so happy to see a literary professional with a penchant for French art!

As you requested during our Saturday pitch session, I am sending along my YA fantasy manuscript for your consideration.

THE SECRET WORLD OF ALEX MACK meets SERPENT & DOVE in my novel MUD AND BONES, complete at approximately 90,000 words.

Eighteen-year-old TERRA SLATER might not know anything about her birth family or her origins, but that hasn’t stopped her life from unfolding just as she always imagined. Her adoptive parents are respected college professors, and Terra is class president, star volleyball player, and beloved by the nicest guy in town. Now, she’s ready for her senior year, ready to go to college, ready to take on the world and make it a better place. 

Then THORNE WILDER, a magical bounty hunter, moves to town, bringing revelations that upend all of Terra’s plans. As a member of a coven of witches seeking to kill rogue warlock CYRUS QUILL, Thorne reveals that Terra is a golem, one of the mudchildren created by Cyrus to attempt atonement for the horrific crimes of his youth. The only problem is, once Cyrus dies, so do his golems. Desperate to save herself – and the other golems that populate their town – Terra strikes a deal with Thorne and the witches to preserve the life and magic of the warlock. If she can uphold her end of the bargain, the golems will survive. If she can’t, the mudchildren will perish along with Cyrus. MUD AND BONES depicts a high-stakes race against time as Terra probes the constraints of human nature and the true meaning of family.

In addition to my work as a teacher, I am a middle and high school theater director. I have also worked as a freelance writer and editor, and had several stories earn accolades in the NYC Midnight short story and flash fiction competitions. My true passion, though, is young adult fiction. MUD AND BONES in particular was inspired by my experiences as both a foster mother and adoptee. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Jenny Birch

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One of the most challenging things as a writer can be pitching your project to someone in person or virtually in real time. There’s no screen or written word to act as barrier or protective shield from the other person’s reaction and it can be so easy for nerves to take over, especially when you’re pitching to a stranger, and one that you may see as a “Powerful Publishing Person.”

But another way to think of these one-on-one pitch sessions are simply as conversations—you, a fellow book lover and writing craft aficionado, are telling me, a stranger asking for a book rec, about a project you’re passionate about, as if it’s a book you’ve read that you can’t get out of your mind and have to tell everyone you meet that they should read.

I try to bring this vibe to pitch events to help writers who are nervous doing their pitches for the first time, and it’s so helpful to be able to see writers, within the short amount of time these sessions tend to be, grow in confidence when speaking about their project, as well as in their comfortability in speaking with me as just another human being who loves and appreciates art of all types.

In speaking with Jenny for the first time on Zoom and hearing her pitch for WOVEN FROM CLAY (which was then titled MUD AND BONES), her passion for the story came from such a genuine and warm place, so clearly informed and shaped by her life experiences that gave it such a unique slant that I had not encountered before in other projects. Having this face-to-face conversation with a writer is so invaluable as an agent, as we can learn so much more about you and your personality and your project than from an email only, and in the short conversation I had with Jenny, I was able to glean how hardworking and dedicated she was, not just to her craft and to her novel, but to so many other aspects of her life she truly cares about. So while you may not always have the opportunity or ability to have these conversations or pitch sessions with agents, it may be worthwhile to think about how you might infuse some of that feeling into your query letters!

As for the query letter from Jenny: It began with that touch of personalization that really helps set a writer apart in the inbox, that called to such a wonderful moment of connection, and then hit the ground running with two great comp titles that immediately gives the reader an idea of what this project might feel like. Her summary of the story was succinct but gave each of the characters color and depth that made it easy to envision who they were as people already, and the stakes were clear from the outset, setting the bar for intrigue and excitement in just two paragraphs. And her bio at the end showed such range as to her professional background, writing experience and accolades, and her passions and inspirations that round her out not just as a writer but a fellow traveler in life.

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I first met Amanda in 2021 at the annual Pennwriters Conference. It was completely virtual that year, due to the pandemic. (It was also my birthday!) Because it was warm that weekend, two of my dearest Pittsburgh-area writing friends came over and we social-distanced on my back deck, logging into conference seminars from our laptops and sharing what we’d learned between sessions.

I had registered for a pitch session with Amanda Orozco from Transatlantic Agency; I remember feeling so nervous when I stepped inside for our scheduled Zoom time. I was shaking! But Amanda was incredible: professional, generous, and encouraging. We bonded over the artwork Amanda had in her office, and by the end of our conversation, I felt much more relaxed and confident. That evening, after my friends went home, I sent her my query letter and materials.

Even though I had initially been disappointed the 2021 Pennwriters Conference couldn’t be the usual weekend-long immersion in the writing world I look forward to each year, I’m now so glad and endlessly grateful everything worked out exactly the way it did!

*******

Before joining the Transatlantic Agency in the fall of 2020, Amanda Orozco gained a breadth of experience in academic publishing, publicity, subsidiary rights, and agenting. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in Physiological Science and an English minor and worked as a fine art instructor and freelance editor for several years before moving to New York to complete the NYU Masters of Science in Publishing: Digital and Print Media. While at NYU, she worked at the National Book Foundation, Shreve Williams Public Relations, and The Gernert Company; she was also selected to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Beijing International Book Fair. Upon graduating from NYU in 2019, she worked in Subsidiary Rights at Little, Brown, where she helped sell rights for authors such as Michael Connelly, Elin Hilderbrand, and Sarah Knight, until discovering agenting was her true calling. She worked at Park & Fine Literary and Media before moving back to Los Angeles, where she is working with authors such as Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, Vickie Vertiz, Dr. Anthony Christian Ocampo, Nick Medina, Tania De Rozario, Kay Chronister, Roya Marsh, and Vanessa Friedman.

Amanda is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA); her aim is to elevate and amplify marginalized voices always.

You can find a list of Amanda’s recent deals as announced in Publishers Marketplace here.