Ep. 56: Holly Root (Literary Agent) on the Rise of Rom-Coms & Publishing in the Coronavirua Era

<p><strong>In Episode 56, Holly Root (Literary Agent and Owner of <a href="https://www.rootliterary.com/">Root Literary</a>) talks about the rise of the rom-com and publishing in the coronavirus era…plus, the story of selling Jasmine Guillory’s debut novel to publishers.</strong></p> <p><em>This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).</em></p> <h2>Announcement</h2> <ul> <li>Starting in June, the podcast will move to a <strong>bi-weekly airing schedule for the summer</strong> (just like last summer).</li> <li>Every episode this summer will be a full length episode (mini episodes will go on hiatus until the Fall).</li> </ul> <h2>Highlights</h2> <ul> <li>Holly’s journey to becoming a literary agent.</li> <li>What you need to be good at to be a good agent.</li> <li>Holly’s agent “style.”</li> <li>How the current rom-com trend got started and Root Literary’s role in that.</li> <li>The story of selling Jasmine Guillory’s first book to publishers.</li> <li>The move of romance from mass market only to trade paperback…and which types of romance fall in each category.</li> <li>“Patient 0” for the contemporary rom-com trend.</li> <li>The role Book of the Month has played in the rise of the rom-com.</li> <li>How coronavirus is impacting publishing (particularly book acquisition and publication dates).</li> <li>How publishers are deciding which publication dates to push back and which to hold in place during coronavirus.</li> <li>A publishing secret about Edelweiss.</li> <li>Spin-offs being a big thing in romance.</li> <li>The hard part about the “enemies to lovers trope” in romance.</li> <li>The differences between a “romance” and a “rom-com.”</li> </ul> <h2>Holly’s Book Recommendations <a class= "spp-timestamp">[27:49]</a></h2> <p><strong>Two OLD Books She Loves</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://amzn.to/2KATa1M" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener noreferrer">Attachments</a> by Rainbow Rowell | <a href="https://amzn.to/2KATa1M" target="_b