Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Kristine Ada Carter

Success Story Interview - Kristine Ada Carter

An Interview with Kristine Ada Carter (KristineCarter on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent A.J. Van Belle of The Booker Albert Literary Agency.

08/05/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Kristine Ada Carter:
CRUSHED is a middle grade novel-in-verse about a young astronomy enthusiast who travels through a wormhole inside her mom's hoarded junk to save her cat, her mom, and maybe her own hearing.

A bunch of memories and imaginings swirled together to inspire this book. My dad worked for years as a contractor for NASA. I used to love going with him for take-your-child-to-work-day. Inevitably, I would come home with mysterious pictures of the cosmos. I often wondered what it would be like to live on another planet light years away.

My mom collected junk mail, books, and boxes of yard sale finds. Never as bad as what I depicted in my novel. Like the main character, I also have a wide array of allergies, including pollen, dust, mold, and fragrances that aggravate my hearing loss.

Since I enjoy sci-fi books and movies about alternate realities, it seemed like a natural question to wonder: Where would a wormhole inside a junk box go? Which led to other questions...Why would someone go into a wormhole, and who would they meet in an alternate world? How would they get back to their home world, and what would they learn from their time “abroad”?
QT: How long have you been writing?: Kristine Ada Carter:
Since high school. Many moons ago.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Kristine Ada Carter:
Not exactly sure. I have been writing in fits and spurts between other writing projects. Maybe five years.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Kristine Ada Carter:
Yeah, numerous times. And I have taken long breaks from writing for living life. But perhaps those times away provided necessary inspiration for when I began tapping away at the keyboard again. In the last few years, my critique groups have kept me on course.
QT: Is this your first book?: Kristine Ada Carter:
No, it is my second speculative middle-grade novel. I also wrote a chapter book and several picture book manuscripts. My hat goes off to my fellow authors who excel at writing for younger readers, but my voice is probably better suited for older main characters.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Kristine Ada Carter:
Minored in theatrical writing in college. Took online classes through the UC San Diego Children’s Book Writing Certificate program. Participated in Inked Voices Workshops with established authors, agents, and editors. Also attended conferences through SCBWI, workshops with Manuscript Academy, and classes through The Writing Center in Washington, DC.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Kristine Ada Carter:
Not really. My husband half-jokes that I spend more time writing than he does with his paid job. He’s not all wrong. If I tried to make a hard-nosed routine, or added up my time, it would probably fizzle the fun out of writing.

Aside from composing and revising at the computer, there are so many other aspects of writing that fill up my days (and nights), including researching, attending seminars, critiquing fellow writers, writing book reviews to support author friends, and reading a wide variety of published novels in (and outside) of my genres to expand my craft.

This may sound weird, but my hikes and long drives into town provide quite a bit of idea and question generation. And my mind collects bits and pieces from conversations with friends and acquaintances. Maybe writing is a lifestyle more than a job for me.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Kristine Ada Carter:
Soooo many revisions. So many layers to develop. So much excess to trim away. Especially in a novel-in-verse. And the process is continuing with my agent.

But I love revising. What a magnificent transformational process that changes me from the inside out, too.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Kristine Ada Carter:
When I started writing novels instead of plays, I thought the process would be a very solitary practice. Perhaps that is true for the initial get-words-on-the-page part of the process. But truth is, revising is all about community input for me. In the end, the connection with the reader is what matters if I actually want people to buy (and finish) my book and then recommend it to their friends.

Blue Mountain School’s middle graders read through the novel with me. Those younger reading experts provided me with gold feedback. Whenever the book’s emotional intensity became too much, they told me to add more cat. What a great philosophy for life in general. The teachers worked the book into poetry writing exercises and science lessons. An exciting collaboration for me!

SCBWI online groups and a local library group critiqued the manuscript through its revisions. I also traded novel-in-verse manuscripts with a talented group of writers on the Inked Voices platform. Author and friend, Risa Nyman, critiqued two versions of the novel. And the Alton family, who have a preteen and teenager, read the book aloud together and gave me outstanding feedback.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Kristine Ada Carter:
I write a scene or two to see if the main character’s voice and situations speak to me. Then, I write a pitch and one-page synopsis, which helps me grasp the plot and character arcs. Before and after each revision, I revise the synopsis.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Kristine Ada Carter:
I queried CRUSHED for about seven months. For my first novel, I queried for a number of years, honing it after personalized rejections. It was kind of my school-of-hard-knocks MFA on how to write a novel.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Kristine Ada Carter:
For this book, I sent out 9 queries. But for my previous book, I sent out 102 queries and no offers.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Kristine Ada Carter:
For CRUSHED, I mainly reached out to agents who gave insightful rejections on their full requests for my previous middle grade manuscript. Before that, I queried editorial agents who supported authors I liked, or who were interested in cross-genre quirky novels. I also looked for agents who were honest but kind online and in workshops and respected by their peers and authors.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Kristine Ada Carter:
Usually, I personalized the first and occasionally second sentence, based on what I read in Manuscript Wishlist, agent and agency websites, and interviews. When possible, I also tried to read published books by their authors. If it made sense to include, I mentioned one of their authors that resonated with me. If the agent gave personalized feedback rejection on a previous full request, I expressed gratitude for that in the final paragraph.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Kristine Ada Carter:
Be professional but also your unique human self in your query letters. And be kind and thoughtful. Most agents don’t get paid until their authors do. They often read queries in their “free” time. When they don’t respond or give personalized rejections, it’s not personal. It’s a survive-the-industry-long-term technique.

SCBWI conferences, Inked Voices, Manuscript Academy, and QueryTracker offer wonderful paid critiques by industry experts to hone query letters, opening pages, and synopses. Likewise, critique groups can help improve your craft on the line and scene level. But it is also important that your novel works together as a whole, so you have more chances of success when agents ask for the full. Beta readers and editors can find holes in your plot, subplots, and character arcs.

Finally, have a life and interests outside of writing so rejections don’t hit you as hard. For me, my photography and hiking in nature bring me more immediate joy and a sense of accomplishment. Don’t attach your self-worth as a person to finding an agent or the publication of your novel. You are so much more than can be contained within the pages of a bound book.

Success Story Interview - Kristine Ada Carter

Query Letter: