Agent Friday: Bree Ogden

 Bree Ogden is a newly minted literary agent with Martin Literary Management. Her background in journalism, philosophy, music, photojournalism, expository writing, and graphic design have all prepared her for her current role as an agent (though it all sounds exhausting!).

Ogden mainly looks for children's writers, but gravitates toward graphic novels and zombies in particular. She's energetic and passionate about the genres she loves. The meet Bree Ogden page on the agency site contains several of her interviews.

Here's a sampling of her blog posts to help you get to know her better.

The biggest question most writers have has to do with the dreaded query letter. Ogden doesn't leave you hanging. She regularly posts Naughty Query Tips to help writers know what not to do. And she shares query advice and even a query critique for those of us that are more visual.

 As a writer herself, Ogden sympathizes with our plight. We may be nervous now, but did you ever imagine that a writer's anxiety could actually increase afterThis Writing Thing . . . It's Hard Work. securing an agent. Ogden posts about it in

Who better than a zombie fan to help writers navigate the ever-growing world of paranormal literature? Ogden lays out the definitions in Supernatural vs. Paranormal, Vampire vs. Zombie. You might be interested to read why she concludes that Twilight is not paranormal.

Ogden believes that success comes from taking risks. She's put together a list of 10 Rules for Risky Writing, and each rule comes with an example of an author who has stepped out in that area.

Best of all, I really like Ogden's credo. It's a quote from author Jonathan Maberry, and I couldn't agree more:

"Here’s the bottom line: writers should always help other writers. Every chance they get. It’s part altruism (’cause writers are the good guys), part fun (it’s more of a kick when there are a lot more kids in the playground), and part industry savvy (if more writers are successful, then more good books will be published and more people will buy books)." --New York Times Bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, author of several books including Patient Zero and Rot & Ruin

What's your credo?