I am currently open to queries. I try to remain open to queries for people who have less access to referrals and publishing connections. Please respect the boundaries around that so I can maintain my work/life balance, and remain open to everyone.
Please review my guidelines and wishlist, and if you’d like to query me after doing so, please visit Query Manager to submit your query.
Guidelines and FAQ
By submitting a query to me, you are agreeing to address me as Claire or Mx. Draper, and that your fictional works will NOT contain the following as an on page scene or it will be considered an automatic pass:
- Suicide ideation
- Eating disorders
- On page sexual assault
- Gratuitous or unnecessary violence
- Mass shootings
- Identity-based books by authors writing not from their own identity
*Note: If you are unsure if these apply to you, use your best judgement, and understand that these guidelines help me work more effectively and effeciently and find work that I’d like on my list, while maintaining boundaries for what I can and am able to comfortably read and would like to represent. This does not make your book any more or less worthy of publication.
Please do not send an exclusive query. Queries are meant to be shared with multiple agencies, however only send one query to one agent at my agency at a time. I only accept queries through Query Manager, so only submit there, or your submission will not be reviewed.
It is my goal to respond to every query. If you don’t receive a response within six weeks, please feel free to follow up on your query or to query another agent at my agency.
If I am is interested in your work, I will respond with instructions for sending the rest of your material. If I do request material from you, I ask that you check back with me before accepting representation elsewhere to give me time to review. My response time for full manuscripts is currently 3 months.
If you previously submitted to me while at my previous agency, your queries came with me and you do not need to resubmit.
I am grateful for all queries and submissions, and thank you for considering me in your querying process.
Wishlist
For all the books I work with, I prefer to work with Black, Indigenous, creators of color and/or queer creators, and strongly encourage those creators to send me their work. Regardless of genre, age, or subject, I like lighthearted, romantic, emotional, hopeful, adventurous reads. I am largely genre-agnostic, but I do prefer books with a fast pace, high stakes, and strong emotional development for the main character(s).
For graphic novels, I like a diverse cast of characters, in nearly any genre or location. I love art that challenges traditional styles and is easily recognizable as belonging to a particular artist. I like stories for all ages, fiction and nonfiction, but especially love when a book has strong themes of love and/or friendship, and is extra queer.
For illustrator portfolios, I like to see a decent sampling of your work, including anything from character design, to fan art, to sequentials (any paneled work, webcomic, zine, etc., will suffice). Please let me know whether you are exclusively an illustrator or author/illustrator.
For YA contemporary, I love fiction where the main character has average, everyday challenges and we see how they overcome them. I love books that are lighthearted and emotionally poignant. I am especially interested in queer, disabled, and BIPOC protagonists, especially when the books are not issue-driven.
For YA genre, I love fast pacing and high stakes. I am generally not preferential to any specific genre (fantasy, horror, sci-fi, etc.) as long as the rules of the genre are respected and understood, especially when an author goes to bend or break those rules for a reason. Much like with contemporary, I am especially interested in queer, disabled, and BIPOC protagonists, especially when the books are not issue-driven. But above all, give me a good, page-turning adventure.
For adult romance novels, I want books with fierce protagonists that have distinct personalities, lots of laughs, and a fast paced plot. I love nearly any sub-genre or niche of romance novels, but require that the story is body-positive and maintains clear lines of consent.
I do not want to read overly dated ideals of partnership, relationships, femininity, and masculinity. I do not want books where the characters participate in sexual acts without consent and/or while heavily intoxicated.
I do love lots of different kinds of romance novels, lots of different tropes, characters, constraints, and set ups. For me, consent is key and a non-negotiable, even if how that consent is communicated varies from character to character. But please, sweep me off my feet! I’ve been reading romance novels since I was a teenager, so as long as you respect the rules of HEA and give me some good trope-filled romance, I am in. To reiterate, I love a wide range of sub-genres in this space, so send it all.
For memoir, I love books with humor and interesting perspectives, and enjoy a big personality or narration to go with the contents of the memoir. I am especially interested in queer authors writing about their queerness and the intersections of their identity with joy and love and hope. I do not want conservative or conservative-leaning memoir. I do not want dark, gritty memoir.
For adult nonfiction, I love creators with a fun and interesting platform, who are the experts in their field, and have something interesting and crucial to say. Subjects for this may include but are not limited to: neurodivergence, environementalism, plants, animals, crafting, DIY, cleaning, homemaking, cooking, art, feminism, queer theory, parenting, and media criticism.
In Summary
- Overall impressions: genre agnostic; love it to be queer; love and joy and hope triumph
- Graphic Novels: for all ages, but primarily upper middle grade through adult
- YA: all genres are great, but really love it when there’s warmth and hope and joy
- Adult Romance: funny is key, clear consent a must, HEA a requirement!
- Nonfiction: fun and interesting platform helps, preferably an expert in their field, and have something interesting and crucial to say. Subjects may include but are not limited to: neurodivergence, environementalism, plants, animals, crafting, DIY, cleaning, homemaking, cooking, art, feminism, queer theory, parenting, and media criticism
- Diverse representation always a plus, including but not limited to: race, ethnicity, disability, queerness, fat, etc.
What I Love
- characters so stupid in love but don’t realize it
- I am a simp for simps aka characters with big time infatuation
- ensemble cast
- unusual settings
- genre blending, but not bending (my own quicker wording of genres that mesh together but the writing still understand the rules and parameters of the original genre)
- romance as a significant B plot if it is not the A plot
- enemies to lovers
- only one bed
- grumpy/sunshine
- will kill for the main character
- love interest seems morally gray but is actually a marshmallow with heart of gold underneath the hardshell exterior
- fantastic jokes (“I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can.”)
Quotes that inspire my taste
“Rebellions are built on hope.”
“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.”
“What does it feel like to be in love?… It feels easy, it’s just like breathing, he understands my idiosyncrasies, finds them charming even, we expose each other to new things, new ideas, we laugh a lot, we just pass the time so well. I would call those things love.”
Claire Draper 