Q&A With Kelly Bergh

I’m honored and excited to be doing this Q&A with literary agent Kelly Bergh! Without the agents, publicists, editors, book marketers etc, we wouldn’t have so many amazing stories from our favorite authors! 

Q: Welcome to Book Notions! I’m happy to have you here! What made you want to be a literary agent & how long have you been an agent for?

A: I have been an agent for a little over two years, and prior to joining Lucinda Literary, I was an editor. It’s a common career path in publishing, going from editing to agenting. I was working with academic publishers and knew I wanted to make the move to trade publishing, so agenting felt like a natural way to do that. I’ve spent my whole career working with books (my first job was at my local library!) and have liked seeing all different parts of the publishing industry.

Q: I love knowing about everyone’s journey as to how they became an agent, publicist etc. Did you go to college, or did you apply for an internship to become an agent? 

A: I went to school for publishing! My bachelor’s degree is in English, and my master’s degree is in publishing. While I was in grad school, my professors gave me a lot of freelance editing opportunities, and I’m so grateful for them. Your network is everything in publishing!

Q: What is your favorite and least favorite part about being a literary agent? What wisdom have you learned that would help future literary agents?

A: I absolutely love my job. My favorite part of being an agent is getting to work with enormously talented individuals every day. It is so fun seeing the amount of creativity that goes into turning an idea into a book. There are so many people involved in each project, and I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the best editors, designers, and authors out there!

I’m not sure I have a least favorite part about my job, but I would warn future literary agents that working on commission can be hard sometimes. It’s common for agents to do freelance editing or teach on the side. 

Q: I love asking this next question! Can you give a list of authors who you represent as their agent? 

A: Josie Balka is my client whose name is in the news a lot right now! Her debut poetry collection, I Hope You Remember, just came out May 13 and hit #7 on the New York Times bestsellers list! 

I also represent:

Joey Kidney

Katie Benn

Heidi Becker

Lauren LaRusso

Dr. Chris Moore

Dr. Lisa Koche

Kristen Witte

Alyssa Morin

Erica Freeman

Katie Wood

…plus, some other writers whose book deals we have yet to announce!

Q: If you were ever to become an author, what would your book be about? Would you also become your own agent, or hire someone else to be your agent?

A: This is such a great question! I honestly don’t think I would ever write a book…maybe some short stories? I have a lot of ideas, but I’m not sure I have the stamina to write a whole novel! I would absolutely get an agent if I ever were to publish one, though. Agents are the best advocates for writers, and I would want a teammate/sounding board as I navigated the publishing process.