On Querying Literary Agents
AKA repeated, self inflicted, psychic damage
Hi! I’m Kayla Stark, an illustrator working primarily in the children’s publishing world. You’re reading “Odd Thoughts”, my blog/newsletter where I talk mostly about illustration, process, publishing, and anything else that’s tangentially related in my life. Join in! Everyone’s welcome!
*Bookmark this, it’s a longy.*
Have you heard? I have a new agent. :) Wahoo! Yay! (hi Lara!) Not even a month after signing and we’ll (*fingers crossed I get all the bits ready*) be pitching my picture book at the end of October.
This is going to unfold to you as one of those stories where you begin at the end and flash back to previous moments—piecing it all together. Who are all the characters and how? why? did they arrive here?!
I was feeling lost…unhappy even…I did what I always do when I’m feeling lost…make a bunch of lists and then further organize those into larger lists, tables, and pages. I will organize my way out of any situation…dammit. I’m a virgo—ask any mystical friend and they’ll tell you that means I’m great at organizing. 💅
Here is one of the first lists I made.
“What I DO want from an agent / what I DON’T want from an agent”
*screeech* Sidenote: Have you heard of Notion? I love it, and I use it for all of my organization, not just work stuff, but life stuff too. (grocery lists, dinners I liked and will want to make again, all kinds of things that you most likely don’t care about) Notion, didn’t pay for this, I just like it. But, I will take ad money Notion if you’re reading this…venmo’s cool!
“But wait, aren’t you already with an illustration agency?”
“Why leave the agency you’re with?”
“Why put yourself through this?”
“Are you being unrealistic?”
Yes, I was already with an agency, but I felt stagnant and burnt out. I wanted more.
I wanted to level up in my career, which means pitching some of my OWN ideas. (scary). Was I afraid to leave, to leap into the unknown? 100%, but I knew, without a doubt, it was the right decision. In late January, armed with new information, lists on lists on lists, and the support of my PB Pals :)…I sent my termination notice.
Time to “Learn yer terms”!
Literary Agent vs Illustration AgentI’m going to describe the differences in my own words and experiences, so just bear with this if it doesn’t exactly match a google “black text” definition.
Literary agents take a smaller percentage (typically 15%) and tend to be more editorial with manuscripts/dummies/etc.) Their aim is to help you pitch your own work to editors, but if you’re lucky, you might find one that also helps with outreach and promoting you to publishers looking to pair illustrators with manuscripts. They work with authors and author/illustrators.
Illustration agents, take a higher percentage (usually between 25%-35%), even if they have a literary arm within the agency. They (depending on who you’re with) may be helpful with editing manuscripts/dummies/etc. for pitching, but it’s not expected. In my experience, illustration agents usually have larger client lists and are primarily focused on finding illustration jobs for you. They work with illustrators and author/illustrators.
For about 2 months, I prepped.
This is what that looked like. After officially leaving my previous agency in late January 2023, I:
felt great about my decision
had a tiny panic, “What have I done?”
snapped out of it, LET’S GOOO!
began gathering info and researching literary agents (Publishers Marketplace is great for this, and Publishers Weekly), and reading submission guidelines1
joined a Discord group of illustrators who were querying at the same time (hi guys!)
finished writing/editing my picture book manuscript
made character sheets and did some art exploration (this + the manuscript became my initial PDF pitch packet) I zhuzhed it with a nice cover and call to action at the end. (I’d show you this but I’m keeping it close right now ahead of going on submission—I will share more when I can!)
updated my website (this took FOREVER, I stalled as long as possible, don’t ever let me wait that long again)
wrote custom query emails (you want to customize them to each agent you’re querying)
Oh, and some agents prefer you to use a site called QueryManager for sending queries. You’ll know if an agent prefers this querying method when you read their submission guidelines. You have to sign up for it, there is a free and paid version; (I somehow resisted the paid version and all of its dreamy data, and queue status promises) you fill out everything via the online form and attach any extra files. You can’t send any updated files after submitting, so choose wisely.
For about 4 months, I queried. Boy oh boy, did I query.
…13 agents in total.
This was the most punishing part…waiting and waiting and waiting. I installed a tracker plugin in my email to see when messages where opened. It’s not perfect, and I’m not sure if it helped or hurt me, but I looked at it every day. multiple times. even on weekends. 🫠
June 6, 2023: I send a query letter + my picture book pitch packet to 3 agents.
I receive two rejections rather quickly; one was a form email rejection (womp womp), but the other came with a recommendation to colleagues (woo! I can use that!)
I receive interest from an agent! They like my illustrations and want to see more of my story!
The agent: “Do you have a dummy2 you can share?”
Me: “It’s almost ready, I’ll send it posthaste.” (read: I, in fact, did not have anything more that what I sent, and am about to bust my ass making a dummy in record time.🙃)Holy shit, I made a dummy. (I think it took me around 3 weeks in between working on other stuff and just generally living my life).
I send the dummy.
wait wait wait wait
Amidst all this waiting I have sent more queries and received more rejections. I’d say a good 1/3 to 1/2 of them come with recommendations to colleagues or an “I’m not feeling this story, but I like your work. Please submit in the future if you have more ideas.”
I start feeling sad. “Am I a bad illustrator?”
Then I start feeling mad. “I’m great at this, what’s wrong with them?” (there’s a lot of flip flopping between numbers 8 and 9 in this process)
The agent that requested the dummy ultimately decided to pass, BUT kept the door open for future submissions.
For better or worse, I now have a full dummy I can send with my queries! Yay?
I continue to query and continue to wait.
After months of nothing but a mix of silence and kind rejections, but rejections all the same. I thought the thought any person in my situation would think—“Pfft, I can just do this on my own.”
I emailed 3 editors asking if they would like to see some of my story ideas, and THEY ALL RESPONDED…positively…within a day or two!
Who even needs an agent?! I’ll submit my totally magnificent, one-of-a-kind, million dollar story idea on my OWN!
Well…actually on second thought…there are weird business politics and maneuvers that happen in the publishing world, and a “correct” order of operations when going on submission. Plus, I kept hearing about how weird the market is right now…I got spooked.
I didn’t want to act on impulse and mess up my chances of working with an editor I really liked. And it would be nice to have someone on my side to plan/strategize with, to vent with, to collaborate with, to help with outreach, and to ultimately help guide my career.
back to the querying mines…
Flashback ⚡️⏳
Remember my Discord querying group? Of course you do. You’re smart and pay attention. We’ve been going through this emotional punishment together—sharing all the rejection emails/feedback we get, offering advice/tips, venting to one another, and generally being a supportive little pillow fort.
Well…2 of them had just signed with an agent at ABLA. Woohoo!! WELL DESERVED! They were singing her praises and honestly after seeing a few of the emails from her, I could totally see why! Timely, check. Thorough, check. Experienced, check. How had I missed this dream agent in my initial research? Should I query her next? No way she would sign THREE new author/illustrators within just a few months, that feels unheard of.
(how many times have I said “query”? It’s starting to lose all meaning and become just a sound.)
The beginning of August
Feeling a bit defeated I went online and vented to the querying group. They are great! 10/10 Highly recommend. One of my querying pals (who is also a regular pal outside of querying 😊) offered to introduce me to her agent—if I was interested.
I was.
I was also getting tired of all the rigamarole. And to get a little ahead of the game with a personal introduction would be fab.
I received a reply rather quickly! And it was positive! But I’ve been here before…you can’t trick me. My hopes are the opposite of up, they’re down. You’ll need a LifeAlert™️ to get these hopes up.
The unspoken etiquette and gambling of querying 🙄
The process of querying feels like you are simultaneously in a high stakes poker game and attending a Victorian ball. Your dance card is full and you best not be seen chatting or dancing with someone else. All the while thinking “is it better if I play my story close to my chest and query with illustrations only, or will sharing my story increase my odds?
The latter is something I thought about a lot. Was I hurting or helping my chances including a picture book dummy? In my opinion, (and experience) the agent would base their final decision on it. Would it be better to just let my illustrations from past books speak for me and omit the dummy?…
I continued to send my dummy. That story feels very “me” and if an agent connected with it, that’s a BIG checkmark on us working well together.
Lightning round list of “etiquette” (unfortunately we, the query-ers, don’t have a lot of power here)
Don’t query multiple people at the same agency at the same time. (if you get a rejection from one agent it’s typically okay to move on to another within the same agency)3
Don’t nudge too much, you’ll seem desperate and they’ll be annoyed (most agents will note an expected timeline for getting back to you in their submission guidelines)
Use offers/updates as leverage. (ex. If you get an offer to work on a book, let the agent know. This shows you are capable of getting work and you’re bringing it right to their doorstep)
Ask past clients to write a referral, especially if they are in the publishing world and enjoyed working with you.
If an agent offers you representation, notify any agents with whom you have outstanding queries. You want to give them a chance to counteroffer. Ask them to get back to you within a specific timeframe. You may end up with multiple offers, or the other agents may decide to step aside (they hate rejection too).
Again, it’s like gambling. 😅
It’s definitely not a perfect system…it’s just the one that’s there.
An offer you can’t refuse
We’re nearing the end, or better to say the beginning…as I started all of this at the joyful end. Make sense? Great.
Various life things came up, and it took some coordinating, but I did eventually have a zoom call with Lara towards the end of September. (Yes, you guessed it smartypants. The agent from the “Flashback” and the one my pal introduced me to are one and the same—Lara!)
We chatted for almost 2 hours! And during the call she offered representation! YES! Sweet freedom from this wretched cycle of querying! I took a week to think it over and to notify agents with outstanding queries.
I think I knew during our call that I would accept the offer. There are a million reasons why, I mean we spoke for 2 HOURS, I can’t possibly recount them all here! Most importantly I felt comfortable, appreciated, AND she made me feel smart and creative! 🥹 (plus she already had feedback and a plan for going on sub with my story!)
Offer accepted. Querying done. Literary representation attained.
All that’s left to do now is have a continuous flow of brilliant, bestselling, book ideas…and make more dummies.🥲
Let’s GOOOO!
Two bits of advice for the road
Before you start querying, try to find or form a querying group and check in often. Having other people you can reach out to, lean on, give support to, etc. during this process is CRUCIAL. There will be many times you feel like shit. There will be many times they feel like shit. And you will be instrumental in motivating one another. The lows aren’t so low with others and the highs are a helluva lot higher.
Finding/Researching Agents to Query:
keep a watch on the “new deal announcements”/“rights reports” from Publishers Weekly. You can check the site or sign up for the weekly emails (specifically the Children’s Bookshelf weekly newsletter if that’s where your interests lie.) Agency/Agent names, if applicable, are listed at the end of each deal announcement.
look at at agency websites and Publishers Marketplace for info on specific agents, their clients, submission guidelines, wishlists, etc.
check your favorite authors’/illustrators’ websites; they’ll usually list their agent if they have one.
This is, in no way, a comprehensive guide to querying. In fact, it may barely be comprehendible 😅. Though I do hope it offers some bastion of hope, encouragement, and dare I say even “tips” for when you’re in the throws of this mad undertaking.
If you read this far, wow! I’ll end with a simple “thank you!” and a fun bit of data.
💛
“Query” count!
How many times did I say it in this post? 31 times.
Bit disappointing, honestly—I thought there’d be more.
Each agent/agency will have submission guidelines. Follow them. That’s one way they filter out people. Find them by poking around on the agency/agent’s website or on a specific agent's Publishers Marketplace page (if they have one). Basically, google them.
dummy = a mockup of your picture book story with rough sketches and text placement.
again, check the submission guidelines to make sure!
Great job with this Kayla! Lots of amazing information!
This is top notch and super helpful. Will share far and wide 👍💪