Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Emily Lynn Paulson

Success Story Interview - Emily Lynn Paulson

An Interview with Emily Lynn Paulson (elpwriter on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Daniel Mandel of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

06/26/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
BORN CONTENT is an upmarket domestic suspense novel about a famous family vlogger/momfluencer who goes missing, leaving her four daughters at the center of a murder investigation. The hook is: She raised her four daughters on camera. Now one is missing, and the other three are suspects in her murder.

When I first read Shari Franke’s book, House of My Mother, I thought, “Huh, what if the kids had gotten revenge?” From there, the book was inspired by the growing conversation around family vloggers, child exploitation, tradwife/influencer culture, and what happens when children who were raised as content become old enough to tell their own stories. I’m fascinated by public performance, especially motherhood as performance, and by the gap between the family people think they know online and the family that exists behind closed doors.

At its heart, though, the book is about sisters, survival, and the cost of being watched.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
I’ve been writing in some form for most of my life, but I started taking it seriously as a career once I got sober and wrote my first memoir.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
I began writing it in January 2025. At the time, I was also working on edits for my previous book, The Revenge Party, as well as another hopefully forthcoming novel, so I was doing several things at once. I finalized BORN CONTENT during my book tour for The Revenge Party in May 2026.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
One hundred percent. I had been unagented through multiple books and had received hundreds of rejections over the years. I knew what it felt like to send out work I believed in and hear no, or nothing at all.

What kept me going was the sense that this book had a pulse. I knew the premise was timely, but more than that, I cared deeply about the sisters at the center of it. I wasn’t writing toward approval as much as writing toward the book I most wanted to read. And as I was querying, it became very important to keep working on other projects, so I wasn’t stuck chasing validation from QueryTracker.
QT: Is this your first book?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
No. This is my fourth book, but my first time finding an agent this way. I sent more than 100 queries for The Revenge Party and got a few bites, but nothing serious, and ended up publishing with a hybrid publisher, which was a great experience. That being said, querying that book helped me realize what my query was missing and shape the query for BORN CONTENT.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
I used to work as a chemist and did a lot of research writing. I was also told throughout the years that I was a good writer, and I’ve always kept journals and written strongly worded emails. In 2024, I signed up for a course with The Novelry, which helped me make the switch from nonfiction to fiction.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
Not really. I love writing, so I do it whenever I can. I write in pockets of time and very quickly when I have momentum. I’m also deadline-motivated, so once I know what needs to be done, I can move fast.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
I honestly don’t even know because I revise as I write, which I know “they” tell you not to do! I’m constantly tweaking, cutting, moving things around, and solving problems as I go.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
Yes! I have my go-to beta readers who are my target audience and are honest in the best ways.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
I am a plotter to a fault. I outline the most unnecessary details because I need to know my characters inside and out before I start writing. I know their birthdates, enneagrams, zodiac signs, and entire life stories, whether any of that goes into the book or not.

I keep a spreadsheet of the different POVs so I can see where the timelines meet up and how relationships evolve. I usually have a general plotline, what happens first, what happens in the middle, and how it ends, but for me, the characters are the way I figure out the story. Inevitably, half of it goes out the window by the final draft, but it’s something I have to do before I get started.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
For this book, the querying process moved shockingly fast. I had multiple full requests within a couple of weeks, and once I received one offer and sent out a notification, more full requests and calls came in quickly. I withdrew the manuscript from most after a week because I was so overwhelmed! In all, I ended up with eleven offers, and the one I accepted was the first I received. It felt right from the get-go.

But that was not my experience with previous books. I had queried before and received many (ALL!) rejections. This was my first time experiencing anything like this.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
I sent around thirty-five queries for BORN CONTENT, plus a few direct agent introductions.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
I looked for agents who represented upmarket suspense, domestic suspense, book club fiction, and commercial fiction with a strong hook and emotional depth. I also paid attention to taste: agents who seemed drawn to complicated women, family dynamics, social commentary, and propulsive storytelling.

I wanted someone who understood the broader career I’m trying to build.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
Yes, but lightly. The core query stayed the same because the premise was the premise, and I wanted the hook to do the heavy lifting. But I personalized when I had a genuine reason: a book they represented, something from their wishlist, an interview, a stated interest in suspense/book club fiction, or a thematic overlap.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
Keep getting better, keep writing the next thing, and pay attention to what you can learn from every round. For me, the books that didn’t get me an agent still taught me how to write the book that did.
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?: Emily Lynn Paulson:
Yes.

Success Story Interview - Emily Lynn Paulson

Query Letter: