Bethany Jett
C.Y.L.E. Agency
My Manuscript Wish List®
I represent authors in both the CBA and ABA markets.
Fiction
I’m hooked on stories written in extremely deep POV and I appreciate writing that provides just enough information to the reader while letting their imagination take over…very “Master of Suggestion” Alfred Hitchcock-esque, if you will.
…and I adore an unreliable narrator…or two.
I’m looking for books within these genres:
- Historical, particularly if there is time travel or time slip into the past (but not sci-fi or time travel into the future).
- Christian suspense
- Psychological thrillers and domestic suspense
- Cozy Mysteries
Regarding cozies: please make sure that your cozy mystery is actually a cozy mystery before submitting it. If you’re not sure, please check out this article: “What is a Cozy Mystery?” to ensure you’re hitting the crucial elements that set cozies apart from other mysteries.
Nonfiction
- COOKBOOKS!!!!!
- How-to
- Self-help
- Christian Living
- Lifestyle
- Home & Garden
- Gift
- Bible studies
I am not open to devotionals at this time.
Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult
I am not open to kidlit projects at this time, including board books, picture books, middle grade, and young adult. The only exceptions are for requested materials from conferences or pitch events.
If I’ve offered to have you send me new projects, please wait until I am open to this category before sending…and please don’t put my name in the referral line of Query Manager!
ANTI-MSWL
I’m not interested in:
- Science Fiction, Epic Fantasy
- True crime (despite my obsession for it on the screen)
- Political or spy thrillers
- Military science
- High spice, erotica or sex “on the page.” I’m a better fit for romance within the novel that is closed door, low spice, or fits within Amazon’s Clean & Wholesome category.
- Vulgarity or extreme violence
- Horror
I appreciate trigger warnings in the query for suicide.
Manuscripts filled with the f-bomb are not my cup of tea.
Fun facts about me:
I’m married to my college sweetheart Justin Jett and we have three teen/tween sons. I’m quite outnumbered! I adore my Pomeranian Sadie, who is my spirit-animal. Justin says Sadie is me, trapped in a dog’s body, and he’s right. We’re both a little anxious and a lot introverted.
I love The Office and have an obsession for planners and crime shows.
Why I Do What I Do
My life changed in 2012 when I attended my first writers conference. I walked away with the title of Writer of the Year, two literary agent offers, plus several interested publishers. I signed with an agent that week and my debut book sold three months later.
Life has never been the same.
Since then, I’ve worked within the publishing industry as an author, ghostwriter, proposal creator, editor, and marketing strategist. I have been published traditionally with all my books, both within the inspirational Christian market, as well as in the ABA general market under a pen name.
My passion for marketing came after reading Sally Hogshead’s How the World Sees You. I went back to school and graduated with my master’s degree in communications where I got to focus on both marketing and PR.
One of my businesses within the writing and publishing industry focused on proposal creation and marketing strategy for writers, as well as conducting marketing strategy for authors with a traditional publishing house. My business partner opened her own children’s imprint (she’s a bestselling children’s author in her own right) and I chose to move into the agenting side of the industry.
I’ve won multiple awards for my books, as well as my marketing campaigns, and am excited to champion other writers and help strengthen their journeys and careers.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions are only accepted via Query Manager. I try to keep both this page and my website’s submission guidelines page in sync, but if there is ever a discrepancy, please go by what my website says.
For nonfiction, I ask for a complete proposal that can be uploaded via QM.
The proposal must include:
- One-Sentence Hook
- Back cover copy
- Genre and Word Count
- Completion Date
- Bio
- Marketing Plan
- Comps (5-8 within the last 3 years)
- Detailed Synopsis
- First three chapters
**Please note: Query Manager has fields for audience, synopsis, and comps. You can type “included in proposal” in those sections to be able to bypass them.**
For fiction, Query Manager has fields for these areas:
- Bio
- Synopsis
- 1-paragraph pitch
- Target audience
- Comps
To submit fiction, please submit the first 50 pages.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
#Dis, #ownvoices, BIPOC, Bible studies, Christian, Christian Living, Christian romantic suspense, Cozy Mystery, Crime & Thriller, Domestic Suspense/Thriller, Food, Historical Fiction, Illustrated/Gift, Inspirational/Gift, Lifestyle, Mysteries, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thrillers, Thriller, cook book
I’d like the next…
There are so many excellent books out there, but these are some great titles and authors:
- Brunch with Babs cookbook
- The Home Edit books and workbooks
- Victoria Gilbert cozies
- Psych thrillers: J.T. Ellison, Lisa Jewell, Tarryn Fisher, Jeneva Rose, Andrea Bartz
- Christian suspense: Steven James, Brandilyn Collins
My favorites include…
These are childhood fiction favorites that made me fall in love with books and writing:
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
- Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassedy
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
- The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
- Christy by Catherine Marshall (I read this so many times the paperback cover fell apart.)
- The Mouse on the Motorcycle and all of the “Ramona” books by Beverly Cleary
Nonfiction Faves
- How the World Sees You by Sally Hogshead changed my life, followed by Grit by Angela Duckworth
- All of Gary Vaynerchuk’s books
- You are a Brand! by Catherine Kaputa
- Dancing on the Head a Pen by Robert Benson pulled me out of my one-and-only writer’s block slump.
