Success Story Interview - Amy Kruzan

An Interview with Amy Kruzan (allthekings1 on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Safae El-Ouahabi of Rogers, Coleridge & White.

08/26/2025

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

Amy Kruzan:
My book is an adult sapphic fantasy, and here is the short pitch I've been using online: Ley-line engineer Merula keeps the energy powering her continent flowing, all for the money to keep her chronically ill sister alive. But when the most dangerous repair of her career means working alongside her old rival, falling for an imprisoned woman, and untangling a magical prison, she might instead have to watch it all burn.

My inspiration came from a few places, but namely that I wanted to write a fantasy with subtle environmental themes and competent/science-minded main characters. I first heard about ley-lines a few years ago and wondered; what if ley-lines are tangible ways to ferry energy rather than a metaphysical idea.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Amy Kruzan:
I started writing really bad fanfiction as a kid but I didn't pick it up seriously until college. I was used to the rigor of my high school schedule and found college boring at first, so I needed something to fill all my extra time. My roommate at the time was a big reader too and she read things super fast, so I could pretty much give her whatever I wanted and have feedback in less than a day, which inspired me to keep going and everything just sort of spiraled from there.

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

Amy Kruzan:
This iteration of the idea for the last ~18 months, but other iterations of the idea the last 5 years off and on.

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

Amy Kruzan:
There was never a time I really thought I would give up on writing completely. I had periods in my life of way less writing and periods of way more, but I always saw it as more of a mental realignment than giving up, so I knew I would come back. But there were definitely times I considered giving up on traditional publishing and turning to self-publishing but I wanted to be traditionally published so badly that I kept letting my stubbornness win!

QT: Is this your first book?

Amy Kruzan:
No, this is probably my 10th book, give or take.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Amy Kruzan:
My minor is in writing, though I wouldn't say it helped me become a better writer any more than lots and lots of practice did. However, it did WONDERS for my ability to handle peer critique and give good critique, which helped me align with critique partners. I also wrote an environmental fantasy novella for my senior thesis, so I had lots of good writing feedback from my adviser at the time.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Amy Kruzan:
Not really. I've found that my writing sounds the same whether I'm feeling inspired or not, the only difference is in how long it takes me to actually write the words. But I don't have set times of the day to write, I just squeeze it in. I actually write more the busier I am. During periods of my life where I had a lot of free time, I never got anything done. But I am lucky to have a good work schedule and not have many responsibilities outside of that. I know that will not always be the case so I want to take advantage of it now.

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

Amy Kruzan:
I did three pretty major full drafts and then two smaller developmental revisions after that.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Amy Kruzan:
Mostly just a critique partner. Her feedback and support was INVALUABLE. Finding a good critique partner was an absolute game-changer for me and she has since become one of my good friends. A few of my IRL friends/family members also read the book, but I don't really count them as beta readers because I wasn't expecting them to know how to give constructive feedback. I also have a friend from college who works at a university press and she is an amazing line editor so she helps me sometimes too!

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

Amy Kruzan:
I hate outlines. I have a general idea of the vibes, main characters, and plot when I start writing a book, but honestly, most of the time I barely know the ending until halfway through. Oftentimes, I will write a sentence or two describing what happens a few chapters ahead of where I am at the time just so I don't forget ideas as I have them, but I don't outline ever, not even on second and third drafts.

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

Amy Kruzan:
I queried this book for three months. I queried a YA Fantasy back in 2018 but only sent 5 queries (somehow managed a partial request haha). I queried a different adult fantasy in 2023 but it didn't have a good enough hook and I kind of knew that going in so I only sent around 10 before switching gears.

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

Amy Kruzan:
I sent 80 queries, got 4 full requests, and 2 offers.

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

Amy Kruzan:
Once I determined that an agent represented my genre, I would do a quick scan of their wishlist. Honestly, as long as they weren't against anything in my book, I would query them. Can't hurt. I almost didn't even query my agent because I thought she was out of my league haha. Shoot your shot. One of the other full requests I got was also from an agent I thought was out of my league.

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

Amy Kruzan:
Nope, I think it's a waste of time. One sentence of personalization is not going to be the thing to change an agent's mind if they don't like your concept/pages. I only did it once and that was because my book perfectly matched a specific sentence on the agent's MSWL, but I'm positive she would have requested it even without that personalization.

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

Amy Kruzan:
Don't be discouraged by the stats of others! It's so common to see people with upwards of 10 or 15 full requests, but you can absolutely get amazing offers with only a few requests, so don't let it get you down (easier said than done, I know). And while we have access to lots of fabulous data, try not to obsess over it. Every agent has a different process and you'll never really know why someone got a response before you, so try to distract yourself with other things.