Melissa Edwards, Agent at Stonesong Literary

Melissa Edwards joined Stonesong as a literary agent in August 2016. Previously, she was a literary agent at the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, where she managed the foreign rights for a 40-year backlist. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis and Vanderbilt Law School, Melissa began her career as a litigation attorney before transitioning into publishing. She is a tireless advocate for her clients and a constant partner during the publication process and beyond.

She also represents adult commercial fiction. She’s looking for fresh voices in thrillers, general fiction, and women’s fiction with unusual takes on the tropes that we all love. She represents select children’s authors, as well.

She can be found on Twitter @MelissaLaurenE.

Member Reviews of Melissa

Very helpful

Melissa was very helpful. She pointed out which sentences were unclear and how to condense and change the order of some of it. I took her advice and sent out 8 new queries. Two days later I had a partial request from one of them!

Dee Garretson

The advice concerning my query letter from Melissa was probably the best I have received during my writing career.

The advice concerning my query letter from Melissa was probably the best I have received during my writing career. It was personal, and caring, and my query will be much stronger thanks to her help.
I highly recommend other authors to invest in this consultation.

Dave Wickenden

Work with Melissa

LIVE Meetings: Meet face-to-face, from home. Choose Zoom, Google Meet, or phone, and speak for the appointed time about your query, first page, and/or first ten pages (for longer meetings). Does not include written notes, but is a chance to have an honest discussion about your work, and to ask follow-up questions. International meetings welcomed.

WRITTEN Critiques: Get detailed, thoughtful notes on your work. Comes with large-scale edits (character, world, plot, tension, concept, conflict, and similar as needed) in an editorial letter and small-scale, line-by-line notes as needed (for longer critiques, an average of three per page). Work arrives in your inbox within 24 hours of the date on the calendar.

HYBRID is a live meeting at the appointment time, with written notes.