When your submission materials – a query letter, synopsis, manuscript, or book proposal – arrive in an agent's inbox, they land among hundreds of others. At that point, one of two things will happen. Either the agent (or the agent’s assistant) will like the submission and request more materials, or they will reply with a rejection.
Authors who get rejected tend to fall in one of two categories when submitting materials: they try too hard, or not enough. This Writer’s Digest Boot Camp is designed to help you streamline your submission materials to stand out in a good way.
Attendees will learn how to write a dynamite query letter, tackle a one-page synopsis (for fiction) and a book proposal (for nonfiction). The instructing literary agents will also explain the importance of author platform in addition to basic etiquette in dealing with an agent and manuscript basics.
Lastly, all attendees will have an opportunity to interact one-on-one with an agent and submit ten pages of materials (in any combination--query, synopsis, book proposal, first pages of your manuscript) for valuable feedback provided by successful literary agents.
TUESDAY
MAY 20, 2025
Online Tutorial Access
On Tuesday, May 20, you will gain access to a special 60-minute online tutorial presented by literary agents at Kimberley Cameron & Associates. This tutorial will provide nuts & bolts advice on how to help you streamline your submission materials—including the query letter, novel synopsis, nonfiction book proposal, and first pages. You will also be notified by email which agent you'll be working with on the start date, 05/20/2025, by 5 pm PT. While we accept agent requests, we cannot guarantee that you'll be assigned to that agent. All agents have the ability to provide feedback in all genres including non-fiction.
WEDNESDAY
MAY 21, 2025
Agent Chat Discussion Session 1 - 3 p.m. PT
After listening to the presentation, attendees will spend the next two days revising materials as necessary. Writers will have the opportunity to log onto the community discussion boards and ask your assigned agent critiquer questions related to revising your materials. The agents will be available for a chat discussion session from 1-3 p.m. (PT).
This is your golden opportunity to ask your burning questions about craft and improve your writing, as well as industry topics like trends, markets, working with agents, and more. Keep in mind, this is a lively, learning environment that will give you an immense opportunity to learn not only from your faculty but from the other participants' questions, so please pose questions that won't require your agent to stop the discussion to reread your boot camp submission in the middle of the Q&A, but otherwise, consider the faculty your treasure trove of industry secrets at your disposal!
FRIDAY
MAY 23, 2025
Submission package due by 11:59 p.m. PT
By end of day (11:59 p.m., PT) on Friday, May 23, attendees will submit up to 10 pages, 12 pt font Times New Roman pages for review to their assigned agent. The query and synopsis can be singled-spaced, but the manuscript pages need to be double-spaced.
These pages can include any combination of a single-spaced query and synopsis and double-spaced manuscript pages for a total of 10 pages. The average word count of a page of a well-formatted manuscript is 250 words per page so please use that as a guide.
SUNDAY
JUNE 22, 2025
Feedback returned by agents (11:59 p.m. PT)
The agents will spend up to four weeks reviewing all assigned pages, providing relevant feedback, and offering suggestions to help attendees improve upon them. The agents reserve the right to request more materials if they feel a strong connection to the work and want to read more.
Meet the agents
Lisa Abellera
Lisa Abellera joined Kimberley Cameron and Associates in 2013 with a background in management, marketing, and finance. She has studied creative writing, design, and business, earning her BA in Strategic Management from Dominican University of CA and her MFA in Creative Writing from University of San Francisco. In 2015, she was promoted to literary agent, and in 2020, she became a member of the Association of American Literary Agents.
In adult fiction, she represents literary, upmarket/book club, and women’s fiction, historical fiction, mystery, suspense, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, and crossover speculative fiction. With children’s fiction, she represents all fiction genres in Middle Grade and YA
With adult and children’s fiction, Lisa responds to well-crafted prose, strong hooks, high personal stakes, complex and sympathetic characters, a tangible sense of place and lush world-building, non-Western cultural aspects, and emotionally-immersive fiction. Please take a look at her Manuscript Wish List for examples of the types of stories that appeal most to her.
Lisa is committed to uplifting underrepresented voices and infusing more diversity and inclusion in books, so she is actively looking for strong female characters, diverse characters, and stories by BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other authors who identify with marginalized or underrepresented communities.
Lisa is also looking to build her client list with limited nonfiction. With children’s nonfiction, she is primarily looking for Middle Grade prescriptive projects that are entertaining, informative, and inspire life-long-learning and curiosity in kids. With adult nonfiction, Lisa is only seeking prescriptive business books for women or by women.
Lisa does not represent memoir or nonfiction other than what is mentioned above, translations, poetry collections, picture books, early readers, screenplays or other works of drama, nor does she represent self-published or previously published books.
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Elizabeth Kracht
Elizabeth Kracht joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates in the fall of 2010 and is the author of The Author’s Checklist: An Agent’s Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript. She represents both literary and commercial fiction as well as nonfiction, and brings to the agency experience as a former acquisitions editor, freelance publicist, and writer. In addition, she has an MFA in Creative Writing from San Jose State University.
Elizabeth Kracht joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates in the fall of 2010 and is the author Elizabeth’s career in publishing took root in Puerto Rico where she completed her BA in English and worked as a copyeditor and proofreader for an English-language newspaper. When she returned to the mainland, she found her “vein of gold” in book publishing. She thrives on working closely with authors to build their careers, and is currently in graduate school earning her MFA in creative writing at San Jose State University.
Elizabeth Kracht joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates in the fall of 2010 and is the author Elizabeth’s eclectic life experience drives her interests. She appreciates writing that has depth, an introspective voice, and is thematically layered. Having lived in cities such as New York, San Francisco, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, she is compelled by multicultural themes and characters and is drawn toward strong settings.
Elizabeth Kracht joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates in the fall of 2010 and is the author n fiction, she represents literary, commercial, women’s, thrillers, mysteries, historical, and crossover YA. In nonfiction, she is interested in high concept, health, science, environment, prescriptive, investigative, true crime, voice- or adventure-driven memoir, sexuality, spirituality, and animal/pet stories.
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Dorian Maffei
From a young age, Dorian Maffei knew she wanted to work in the world of books. Her ambitions led her to get a degree in Creative Writing, and she later became a bookseller and a bookstore events coordinator before finding her way to Kimberley Cameron & Associates. Starting as an intern, she realized there was nothing more special than falling in love with a manuscript from a potential debut author. From there, she became KC&A’s Office Manager and later was given the opportunity to start signing her own clients as a literary agent. In 2021, she became a member of the Association of American Literary Agents.
Dorian is actively building her list in a variety of genres in both YA and adult. While she appreciates most fiction that blends genre lines, she is especially interested in speculative fiction, literary science fiction, upmarket book club fiction, thrillers, reimagined fairy tales, magical realism, unique voices, contemporary novels with a dash of mystery, horror and suspense, and innovative storytelling that sometimes veers on the weird. She’s a sucker for anything that can be described as both haunting and beautiful, and would love to find something in these genres that has twists and turns, lyrical writing, and keeps her up past her bedtime.
She values work that provokes a deep-rooted connection after the last page and explores the peculiar within the mundane. She is always open to submissions with diverse experiences and characters, and welcomes underrepresented and marginalized voices. She hopes to find work that features these experiences as the norm.
Dorian does not take unsolicited submissions in nonfiction, picture books, and middle grade at this time, nor does she represent poetry, self-published or previously published books, or screenplays.
Check out her Manuscript Wish List to get a better understanding of the types of books she gravitates toward. To view her recent sales, check out her Publisher’s Marketplace page.
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