Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Georgina Bollom

Success Story Interview - Georgina Bollom

An Interview with Georgina Bollom (georgie_rose on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Andrea Nichols of D4EO Literary Agency.

05/21/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Georgina Bollom:
It is a young adult portal fantasy entitled The Anatomy of a Fantastical Mind. It's about an aspiring medical student, Rory, who gets trapped in her Dreamworld and must go undercover as a criminal guild's healer to defeat the imposter masquerading in her place as their princess. If she fails, she'll lose her Dreamworld and grip on reality forever. it was inspired by my own desire to sink into a fantastical dreamworld and my fear of growing up. I wrote the first draft during my final year of my Bachelor's degree, when I was faced with the future, and chanelled that fear into this story. It is also loosely inspired by Taylor Swift's song, 'I Hate It Here', which was one of my surprise songs on the Eras Tour!
QT: How long have you been writing?: Georgina Bollom:
I've been writing for around eight years now. I knew I wanted to pursue writing as my career when I was sixteen, but I started writing novel-length stories when I was fourteen.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Georgina Bollom:
Quite regularly, to be honest. I would say that speaking to my fellow querying friends really helped, and building a community to gain support from is so important. Friends going through what you're going through — or friends who might have secured an agent — are the best people to vent to, gain advice from, and gather your strength from to keep going.
QT: Is this your first book?: Georgina Bollom:
No, this isn't! My debut novel A Royal's Game, a young adult dystopian fantasy, was published by an indie press called Ipomoea Publishing. That whole experience of publishing my debut and signing the contract at eighteen truly shaped my understanding of the industry and pushed me to keep writing.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Georgina Bollom:
I am just finishing up my MA in Creative Writing and Publishing at Bournemouth University, but apart from that, no. However, I do credit my Bachelor's degree in Film Production and my A-Levels when it comes to my writing, as I enter writing my books with clear visions of each scene, as I used to be a film student.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Georgina Bollom:
I did! I highly recommend having beta readers. I unfortunately didn't have as many for this book as I did for my debut, but I still managed to have two beta readers — my sister, Samantha, and my close friend, Bee — who gave me valuable feedback to implement into my novel.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Georgina Bollom:
I've learnt, over the years, that outlining does help, and I did outline a lot of this book, despite being a panster at heart. However, I didn't let my outline box me in. There are plenty of ideas in the novel that came to me in the moment. I think a nice balance is a good way to go!
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Georgina Bollom:
I started querying The Anatomy of a Fantastical Mind in September 2025 in batches.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Georgina Bollom:
Around 130 queries. It can seem like a lot, but this was over around an eight-month querying period, and I changed my query letter throughout the process a fair amount, too.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Georgina Bollom:
I clicked specifically for 'Young Adult, Fantasy' to get the most streamlined results. But I also just searched for 'Young Adult' and 'Fantasy' separately, as sometimes it's worth checking the agent's specific website to see what they're looking for. Not everyone specifies on their Genre tab.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Georgina Bollom:
Only if it fit. I'd add it into the opening paragraph, e.g. "I was thrilled to see you are searching for...I hope you'll enjoy The Anatomy of a Fantastical Mind". But I tried not to force it, otherwise it can read a little weird to the agent. I had a good feeling about Andrea, as you'll see in my query letter below, as my book ticked off a lot of her wishlist.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Georgina Bollom:
I would say keep persevering. It can be really tough in the 'query trenches', but you cannot let rejections set you back. The right agent is out there waiting for you, and even if your first book doesn't succeed in getting an agent, and you're second book doesn't, you can always keep writing. There's no time limit on your creativity and stories. It will happen when it's right.

Success Story Interview - Georgina Bollom

Query Letter: