Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Elena Solodow

Success Story Interview - Elena Solodow

An Interview with Elena Solodow (writinginfragments on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Ashley Lopez of Massie McQuilkin & Altman Literary Agents.

11/20/2025

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Elena Solodow:
THE DRESSER is based on my wife's work on Broadway in New York City. She is one of the essential behind-the-scenes crew members that gets actors in and out of their costumes during shows. I've had a birds-eye view of Broadway productions, going to opening night parties and getting access to all the backstage antics of the cast and crew. I was fascinated with the hierarchies of full-time dressing, and saw first-hand the special relationship that exists between what are known as "star dressers" and the lead actors of a show. Star dressers are responsible for taking complete care of an actor, which can include opening their fan mail, greeting their guests, and cleaning/stocking their dressing rooms. As I say in the book, star dressing is like being a personal assistant, therapist, and maid all in one. The inspiration for this book came when I thought, what if a star dresser and a Broadway star got into a very intense relationship, all of which is upended when the dresser realizes the actress she's in love with is also a serial killer?
QT: How long have you been writing?: Elena Solodow:
Like most writers, I started young and kept going from there. I wrote my first book-length book about thirty years ago (!!), and THE DRESSER is my seventh novel.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Elena Solodow:
This book came together faster than any other novel I've written. I had my initial idea in December of 2024, and literally a year later I am getting the book ready to submit to editors.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Elena Solodow:
Writing is just plain tough, so the answer is yes. I've given up and restarted several times within the same day! It's important to build trust in yourself over time, and sometimes you have to accept something not working for the time being until you come up with alternative solutions. I'm still shocked by how random threads in a first draft that don't seem to fit become key parts of subplots that develop in later drafts. The instinct is always there, planting seeds, we just have to believe that things will come together over time.
QT: Is this your first book?: Elena Solodow:
This is the fourth novel I've queried, and the seventh book I've written.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Elena Solodow:
I go to a weekly writer's group, and I've attended a couple creative writing courses in community college settings, but I don't have any formal degree in writing.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Elena Solodow:
Since my wife works nights, that tends to be my writing time for at least an hour a day, and usually 3-4 hours on the weekends.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Elena Solodow:
The first draft took about five months to complete, hurried along by a lay-off at my job that gave me plenty of time to get my word count up. The rest went very quickly. I did a second draft, submitted to a group of beta readers, then refined a third draft that was shared with a few additional people before the book felt ready to query in August.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Elena Solodow:
I did! They are invaluable. I had a lot of Broadway dressers read it to ensure the industry background was thorough and accurate. I also had a couple writer friends read it for feedback on plot, characterization, and all the other good stuff that goes into a book.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Elena Solodow:
I am a big outliner and trying to get better at it. The core of this book's plot is based on the recommendations in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. I've read a couple plotting books, but this one makes structure super clear. I made sure I had the bones of the plot together before I started writing. Things were shifted and refined in later drafts, but the key for me before I start writing anything is making sure that the main character has a specific need, and that there is a very clear conflict (and set of conflicts) that they face throughout the book. Another very important element is knowing where your character starts and where they're going to end up. What changes will we see in them? If you know the answer to this question, then the plot will grow from there. Every character needs to go through some kind of change, whether for better or worse.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Elena Solodow:
I sent my first queries out in the last week of August, and I signed with my agent in the first week of November. I've queried other books in the past, which I did for about a year before I moved on to other projects.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Elena Solodow:
I sent 100 queries out in total, and I had around a 20% request rate by the end. My request rate was very much accelerated by additional full requests once I notified agents of my first offer.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Elena Solodow:
I'm very big on research, so when I was determining my query list I pulled the names of every agent listed in QT (regardless of genre) and for those 1,400 I reviewed their Publishers Marketplace sales and their Manuscript Wishlist page (and/or wherever they listed their wishlist). I marked agents who seemed like a great fit for the book based on their sales and/or their wishlists. I also read a lot in the genre, so any books I read that seemed similar to mine, I would mark that in my spreadsheet as well. This gave me a very specific list of around 120 out of the 1,400. It took a bit of time to do the research, but when I started querying I knew that everyone on my list could be a good fit.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Elena Solodow:
I did when I could, but not always. Before I queried anyone I would recheck their sales record and wishlists to verify if anything specific could be mentioned in the query letter.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Elena Solodow:
You'll land an agent at a time when it's right for you. As long as you enjoy writing, you can't go wrong. The book you're working on now that's the best you can do will seem very different even a year later, so if you don't succeed at first, keep going, and keep challenging yourself to write new stuff! A very key element of the querying process is knowing the market. Agents want to see that you know how to pitch your book, and comps are very important. Understand the genre you're writing in, and read a lot in that genre. Publishers Marketplace has some great keyword search features to help you find books similar to yours. You can use these to help shape your own query letter.

Try writing a query letter before you've even written the book. It doesn't need to be a *good* query letter, but check that you can actually explain the plot, and that there are clear stakes present. Overly complicated plots are a hard sell and usually mean that the bones of a story aren't quite right. As much as writing is all about creativity and passion, agenting and publishing is a business, and understanding what your book has to offer in the marketplace is a very important part of landing an agent. Before you start any new book, ask yourself what's unique about it. This might be the setting, the plot itself, the character's perspective, you name it! It sounds cliche, but understanding why you specifically are writing the book can help enormously in shaping how a book truly is one of a kind.

Success Story Interview - Elena Solodow

Query Letter: