299 Mia Dakin | Literary Agent on Building a List, AI in Publishing & Querying Advice

Literary agent Mia Dakin joins us this week to chat about her start in publishing and building her list of authors from scratch at Greene & Heaton. Mia tells us about finding her first author through Instagram, the specific fiction genres she is looking for, and the influx of AI submissions to the agency. Whether you are an aspiring writer trying to perfect your cover letter or just curious about the literary agenting process, this episode is packed with behind-the-scenes insights.

In This Episode, We Cover:

* How Mia transitioned from a publishing master's at UCL to a full-time agenting role at Greene & Heaton.

* What she is actively looking for in submissions, including multi-generational sagas, clever retellings, and locked-room mysteries.

* The agency's strict stance on AI-generated submissions, why AI flattens creative work, and how publisher contracts are explicitly adapting to prohibit AI use.

* Actionable advice for querying writers, including how to effectively use comparative titles by explaining their relevance, and why you should always have beta readers proofread your cover letter and synopsis.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction & Getting into Publishing

06:22 - Building an Author List & Finding Writers on Instagram

11:40 - Genres, Retellings, and Manuscript Wishlists

24:43 - The Cabin Book Choice: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

30:00 - AI in Submissions and Publishing Contracts