Interview with Agent Tamar Rydzinski

This week I'm interviewing agents! The idea is to introduce you to a few that might fit well with your work in progress. I'll admit to hand picking some of my favorite agents, but they represent a wide variety of genres. Feel free to ask any questions you might have for this agent in the comments.

First up is... 

Tamar Rydzinski

From Laura Dail Literary Agency

What was your first favorite book ever and why?

My first favorite book ever was probably The Secret Garden. I had this beautiful, illustrated version and I loved to stare at the pictures. Plus, I grew up in Manhattan so the idea of a secret garden was both alien and exciting to me.

Classic! I remembered loving The Secret Garden so much that I read it as a bed time story to my girls when they were little. 

What is your current favorite book and why?

I honestly don't have a current favorite book. I stopped being able to have a favorite book a long time ago because I appreciate so many aspects in a book (the characters, the dialogue, the plot, etc.) that it's just too hard for me to choose. But some books I love (LDLA authors not included, of course): Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork, Melusine by Sarah Monette, The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge.

If you could only eat one dessert for the rest of your life what would it be?

Rice Krispies Treats

If you were not a literary agent, what would you be?
Medical research fascinates me. I get so excited when researchers have major breakthroughs! So maybe something to do with that. Though patience is not my strongest virtue, so I'm not sure how well I would do at it.

Maybe you need a good medical thriller to show up in your inbox?

What kind of book are you hoping to find in the next few months?

I would love to find good science fiction, either children's or adult. But I would be very happy to find pretty much any manuscript I can't put down.

Please tell us a bit about your agent style, how you prefer to be queried and why you love your agency.

I am a hands-on, editorial agent. I generally go through a few rounds of edits with my clients before submission. And I never give up!

I prefer to be queried via queries@ldlainc.com. 

(I suggest you make sure to spell her name right. Having grown up with a difficult last name {thank goodness for marriage!} I know how much she will appreciate that.)

And I love my agency because WE HAVE AMAZING AUTHORS! I also like that it's a small agency so that we can give our clients a lot of attention.

Feel free to tell us anything else you'd like us to know about you.

If given a choice between shoes and bare feet, bare feet always win. In fact, I often walk around the office barefoot.

Me too!

And here's a bit more from the Laura Dail agent page.

Tamar Rydzinski worked at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates prior to joining the Laura Dail Literary Agency. She graduated from Yeshiva University in 2003 with a major in literature and a minor in business. 

Tamar is not interested in prescriptive or practical non-fiction, humor, coffee table books or children’s books (meaning anything younger than middle grade). She is interested in everything else that is well-written and has great characters, including graphic novels. A fantastic query letter is essential – “you need to make me want to read your book, and be excited to read it,” she says, “with those first couple of paragraphs.”

Follow her on twitter @trydzinski