Taylor Martindale Kean is a literary agent with Full Circle Literary in San Diego, CA. She and I went to undergrad together at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and after graduation she moved back out to the Golden State to pursue a career in the book business. We discuss her job as an agent, what it’s like dealing with writers as clients, some of the ins and outs of her profession, a philosophical conversation on good writing vs. commercially popular writing, and, of course, "Gossip Girl" -- before it was a TV show.

Aisha Saeed, Taylor's client, is a young-adult fiction writer whose latest book, "Amal Unbound," just hit the New York Times's bestseller list for children's fiction.