Success Story Interview - Jie Cohen

An Interview with Jie Cohen (JieCohen on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Quressa Robinson of Folio Literary Management.

06/22/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Jie Cohen:
I got the idea for this story after my second year of teaching, and when there started to be legislation about teacher responsibility to out their students to parents. I was horrified. I also saw a lot of rhetoric about “liberal” teachers and public schools pushing trans identity on children. It really bothered me. I was living in Turkmenistan at the time, which is closed off from the broader internet and very cloistered. Feeling closed in, blamed, and angry lead to this book.

Oh! I also wanted to explore a trans narrative that was different from others I’d seen. My protagonist is a trans girl but the book has a significant portion of her pre-realization, as an angry, self hating boy. We aren’t always nice people when we are hurting. I was in conversation with Nevada by Imogen Binnie here :)

QT: How long have you been writing?

Jie Cohen:
I’ve always had an interest in writing, but I’ve been seriously writing since 2018, and began to publish my work in the literary magazine world in 2020. This is the first long form fiction project that I’ve written, though. I am primarily a poet.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

Jie Cohen:
I began writing this book in late 2024.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

Jie Cohen:
I felt like giving up on this particular manuscript several times, but I never felt like giving up on the goal of pursuing traditional publishing and getting agent representation. I am extremely ambitious and stubborn, nearly to a fault, so I was able to always keep my goal in focus. That said, I am very numb to rejections at this point because I have been submitting work to litmags for years now, and there is just as much rejection in that side of the literary world. I was not as fragile as some who are newer to the game, so I shook off a lot of disappointment.

QT: Is this your first book?

Jie Cohen:
Yes!

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Jie Cohen:
I do. I did my undergrad degree in English with a thesis focus in Creative Writing. I also have taken many retreats and fellowships including Kenyon, LAMBDA, Tin House, etc and try to attend craft workshops whenever possible.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Jie Cohen:
Not at all. My ADHD means that I write in a hyperfocused frenzy and then I avoid it at all costs depending on how I’m doing at that moment.

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

Jie Cohen:
I rewrote 55% of the book once. Otherwise, just simple line edits.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Jie Cohen:
I did!

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

Jie Cohen:
Completely from the hip, the entire time.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

Jie Cohen:
I sent my first ever query in April of 2025 for this book.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

Jie Cohen:
In total, about 85ish.

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

Jie Cohen:
I wanted agents who were open to trans voices and had some experience behind them.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

Jie Cohen:
Very rarely! If so, it was a reference to other clients or something similar.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

Jie Cohen:
You will be rejected. A lot. That’s the nature of this industry. Not just during this process but the entire career. Sit with that and think about if it is worth it to you.

Query Letter:

SOMEONE ELSE'S SKIN is a 78,000-word adult LGBTQ+ mystery novel that explores indoctrination and assimilation vs. true identity. It will appeal to readers who enjoyed the queer found-family dynamics of Gretchen Felker-Martin's Cuckoo and John Fram's small town mystery in The Bright Lands. Someone Else's Skin is inspired by my own experiences as a mixed race, trans teacher from Maine.

Nico Martin never liked his English teacher, Ms. Zhang, so when she died by suicide, he didn't miss her. To him, she and her wife Jane were outsiders trying to infect his insular, conservative town with "unnatural" ideas. He was content to stay a hateful incel, to ignore the voice in his head that questioned who he really was because his town told him how to feel.

Everything changes when Nico gets into a fist fight with Daphne Murphy, the only openly queer kid in town. Forced into detention at Green Needle high together, they uncover a box of Ms. Zhang's journals hidden beneath the classroom floorboards. They unravel a terrifying reality—her death was not a suicide, she was murdered. She found out too much.

Daphne and Nico take matters into their own hands to investigate what Ms. Zhang's journals point to: Sacrifice of students who didn't "fit in," queer, disabled, non-white—kids who have been disappearing for twenty years. The town calls them runaways, accidents. But Nico and Daphne begin to realize the authority figures in Green Needle, specifically Daphne's aunt Claudia, are to blame.

When Nico is the next target for sacrifice, he is forced to finally confront what he has been running from: that the intolerance he learned was a mask, and underneath it is someone else entirely—a girl named Alice. And he cannot run from her forever.