Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong

UPDATED October 16, 2026 at 18:43 Central Time Zone

IMPORTANT NOTE!!

Cathie is currently looking to add successful indie authors and social media influencers with a strong platform to her client list, and may reach out via social media, email, or website “contact me” pages. In all cases, please double-check the email address from which you’ve received contact or which has been given to you to reach out to Cathie. The ONLY email she will send from or offer for you to contact her will be her official Marsal Lyon email address at Ca****@**********************cy.com. If you are ever unsure and wish to be certain, always feel free to reach out to Cathie directly at this email address.

**CATHIE IS CURRENTLY ACCEPTING QUERIES BY REFERRAL ONLY**

❤︎ ❤︎

WHEN I REOPEN, I PLAN TO ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING GENRES

• Romance (all categories except erotica and science fiction)
• Upmarket Book Club
• Upmarket Women’s Fiction
• Standalone Mysteries
• Domestic & Psychological Suspense
• Thrillers
• Horror
• Nonfiction, with a special interest in:
  • Underrepresented History
  • Indigenous Peoples History
  • Women’s Issues
  • ADHD issues
  • Unique Cookbooks
  • Trauma Healing
  • Parenting

MY STAND ON AI

If you’re not aware, you’re not paying attention. The use of AI, especially in the publishing world, is fraught with polarizing opinions related to whether any form or capacity of AI use is allowable, and if any is allowable, to what extent and in what capacity. With this in mind, I have two things to say:

1. I expect all manuscripts sent to me, whether published or unpublished, to be completely the work of the author. Toward that end, I have adopted the May 11, 2026, position released by Authors’ Guild website, AI Best Practices for Authors, as my own. You can read those guidelines here: AI Best Practices for Authors.  In the simplest terms possible, it states that, as authors, your literal job is to create written content for the enjoyment of readers. Therefore, it is expected that any written content submitted to me for the purpose of consideration for representation or that I might send to publishers for potential publishing must be 100% the work of the author. Hard stop. Beyond that, each person must decide for themselves what level of AI usage, if any, is acceptable and appropriate for other uses. I am neither the AI police, nor another person’s moral compass, so it is us up to each of you to give this conversation serious consideration and form your own guidepost.
2. I will not use an AI detector to try to “catch you” using AI. I not only don’t believe they’re accurate, but I find it ironic that we would use AI to call out AI.  And honestly, I find it career-damaging and blatantly careless to erroneously call out authors for AI use with no more proof than “the author uses a lot of em dashes,” or “the author applies the ‘rule of three’ too many times,” or “the prose is boring and stilted…it just feels like something AI would generate.” So until a more reliable means of correctly and consistently determining if AI has been used, I’m left with little choice but to take you at your word and hope you’ll be honest with me. So please—be honest with me. I will always give you honesty, so please give me honesty in return.

WORKING WITH ME

Before I sign every author, we have a “heart to heart” conversation about the importance of communication. For me, the open lines of communication are the most important aspect of any relationship, and an agent-client relationship must have this key component to be successful. My clients will always be able to count on me for honesty–sometimes painful, but always done with as much kindness as possible–and I absolutely require the same, asking that they never hold back their thoughts or concerns. I must understand fully what their concerns are in order to address them, and a straight-forward, honest approach is always the best way to resolve issues or conflict, if any arise. We are partners in this journey, and partners must communicate effectively to be successful.

STILL WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ME?

In all things, I strive to be authentic—so “what you see is what you get.” To get a better feel for who I am, feel free to follow me and say hello on social media. I’m active on Blue Sky, Threads, Instagram, or TikTok. Additionally, I’m a twice monthly guest on KTTC’s daily lifestyle program, Midwest Access, with Vivien Williams where we discuss all things books and publishing during the show’s Novel Access segment (links below). I also co-write the Agent Antics substack with CMA Agent Vicky Weber. Together (mostly Vicky lately, due to my workload) we cover topics authors want to know about publishing, querying, and working with an agent. You can see clips from Midwest Access and recent podcast I’ve been featured on below:

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME ONLINE

I do regular TikTok Lives where I do my best to answer author questions about the querying process and publishing, as well as hosting published authors with the hope of helping them widen their platforms to reach more readers. These are scheduled on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of every month at 8:30 PM Central Time and sometimes on miscellaneous Tuesdays in between. If you’re a published (or a debut author with an impending release date), feel free to reach out. I’d love to welcome you as my guest for the Live. Otherwise, feel free to join me on any of those Tuesdays to ask questions—I’ll do my best to answer. My TikTok handle is @c_h_armstrong.

CONFERENCES

Find me at a conference! For a comprehensive list of the conferences I’ll be attending in 2026 & 2027, use this link: charmstrongbooks.com/conferences. You can also use this link if you want to invite me to your upcoming conference.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to querymanager.com/querycathie

HOW TO QUERY ME

Queries may be sent to me through www.querymanager.com/querycathie when I am open. Under no circumstances will I accept queries by email, US mail, or social media DMs.

While I respond to all queries sent through the link above, I do not and will not respond to queries sent by email or social media. Furthermore, if I continue to receive queries via email and social media, authors attempting to send through those platforms will be permanently blocked from sending me future queries.

MY RESPONSE TIME

While I frequently run behind, I respond to every query and requests for pages, and I strive to adhere to the following response times. If you should submit a query to me and haven’t received a response after 90 days, please don’t hesitate to reach out with a nudge. For 50-Page and Full Manuscript requests, please reach out anytime after 30 days following the projected response date.

• 30 days on an Initial Query
• 90 days from date received for 50-Page Requests
• 90 days from date received for Full Manuscript Request

TIPS FOR YOUR QUERY

All good queries should include the Title, Genre, Word Count and a 2-4 paragraph BRIEF Synopsis of your manuscript, 2-3 Comp Titles, and a short Author Bio.

For your brief synopsis, think of it like the back cover of your book. It should include the following 5 elements:

1. Who is your main character?
2. What does your main character want?
3. What or who is standing in your main character’s way of getting what they want?
4. What must your main character overcome to get what they want?
5. What are the consequences of reaching for that goal? What might they gain or lose. **NOTE: this is called the stakes of your story. Without the stakes, your query is incomplete**

For your Comp Titles, you’re looking for books released within the last 2-3 years, and preferably by a traditionally published author. You want titles that are the same genre as your own and similar in tone, voice, tropes, or elements. Think: “If you liked ____ then try _____.” With your comp titles, you’ll want to include the title, author, publisher, and year published. For example: LIGHTS OUT by Navessa Allen (Slowburn, August 2024) or NEVER LIE by Frieda McFadden (Poisoned Pen Press, December 2023) or PLAYING FLIRTY by Shameez Patel (Forever, January 2025).

Do you see how I’ve listed the title in all caps, followed by the author, then the publisher and publish date in parenthesis?

TO PAY OR NOT TO PAY FOR A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR…THAT IS THE QUESTION

There is no need to have your manuscript professionally edited before querying; however, you do want it to be as polished as you can make it prior to sending. If it’s helpful to you, here’s my editing document for querying authors. It might be helpful as a last editing pass before you begin querying. Additionally, please keep in mind that your word count is important. While it’s unlikely you’ll receive a pass for going a few thousand words over the genre standard, once you start hitting ten-thousand words over, it’s often a quick pass for an agent. For help cutting your word count without cutting scenes or other important content, give Save Your Darlings a try.

If you feel strongly that you need extra help beyond the above tools, the creator of QueryTracker has developed an online community where authors can share Query Letters, Opening Pages, and a Synopsis for feedback from other writers. This platform, qtCritique, is free and works on a point-based system where the more you help others, the more you can ask for help. For a quick overview of how qtCritique works, take a look at this short video from the creators which I think you might find helpful. And finally, if you feel you need an industry professional’s opinion, there’s a section available where you can purchase a variety of critique types from active professionals. For more information on the rates and how that process works, use this link.

If qtCritique isn’t the right model for you and you need something more substantial, I try to keep an updated list of professional editors I feel comfortable recommending. You can find that list here.

WHAT MAKES ME PASS ON OPENING PAGES?

• An incomplete query. I must know what the story is about or I have no incentive to read. (See the 5 elements above).
• A query that drones on for multiple paragraphs and doesn’t get to the point. Your entire query should be no more than about 400 words, and that includes your salutation and bio.
• A manuscript that is far too long or far too short for the genre—so make sure you know what the genre norms are for what you’re writing.
• Bad or “loose” writing. I’m looking for a manuscript that needs minimal editorial help. While I can help with edits and often do, editing is time-intensive and it takes time away from my other clients. So before submitting, make sure it’s in the best condition you can make it and consdier using critique partners who aren’t afraid to give you honest feedback.

Above and beyond everything else, have fun and good luck! Remember that a pass from an agent or editor does not mean your work is bad or that you’ll never find an agent. It simply means that what you’ve written is not a good fit for that person. Most querying authors receive upwards of a hundred passes before finding an agent. So take each no with your chin high and know you’re in good company!

Guidelines & Details