Tracy Marchini

The 1990s are definitely historical fiction, though some might feel that the early 2000s are, too. The grey area that I would avoid is the last ten years. 2008-2018 would be too late to be contemporary and too soon to be historical. #askagent

Unfortunately, agents just don't have time to give individualized feedback. (I receive about 3,000 queries a year, other agents receive more.) The best people to ask if your manuscript is marketable is your critique group, a writing class, or a crit partner, etc. #askagent

I like to see natural page breaks (generally using returns), but I don't need numbers. #askagent #askbookendsjr

Honestly, it's tough unless you already have a significant following/previously pub'ed books/etc. #askagent #askbookendsjr

If you're writing for children, it's always a benefit to mention in your query if you are a teacher, children's librarian, etc. So yes to your background, but I don't know that the news item would really change anything. #askbookendsjr #askagent

Honestly, I'm probably not going to go looking for this, because I'm not considering the artist that was hired - I'm considering the manuscript that you wrote. #askagent #askbookends

These books are not usually written in advance, and with picture books they might be completely unrelated to the 1st. The additional books are negotiated/offered with the initial offer as a way for pub to commit to that author over more than one book. #askagent #askbookendsjr

You should only query one agent at the same agency at a time, even if they're different projects. You can't have two agents, and we're more likely to pass than to fight with our colleagues. #askagent #askbookendjr

Every agent or agency is going to feel differently about this. I think three years and an extensive revision is fine to requery - and any way, the worst that can happen is a pass. (Which happens anyway if you don't requery!) #askagent #askbookendsjr

I think so - I think with chapter books the key is a unique concept and series potential! #askagent #askbookendsjr

For a nonfiction picturebook, just write the first manuscript. It's extremely unlikely that you'd be able to sell a debut pb on proposal, and you wouldn't want to invest time in writing follow ups if the first doesn't sell. #askagent #askbookendsjr

This might be a personal/subjective thing, but it might also mean the character needs more development. If they come on really strong, do we also see their vulnerabilities? Do we understand the motivations for why they do what they do? etc. #askagent #askbookends #askbookendsjr

I think slice of life are (and have been) more difficult for a while now, so as a debut if you do write both character-driven narratives and slice-of-lifes, I probably would start with the character-driven book! #AskAgent #askbookendsjr #picturebooks

Most of the fiction pbs I've sold as an agent are around 450 words, and they're all the standard 32 pages. But, at the same time, you have to tell the story with the words you need. It's just that in picture books, *every* word has to be the *right* word.

I'm not hating on PLP specifically, but if you submitted that as a debut picture book today, it would be rejected. Today's picture book fiction sweet spot is around 300 - 500 words. There's always exceptions, but they are rare. (CHICKEN WANTS A NAP is 165, over 24 pages)

But yes - the trend in publishing has been towards shorter picture books. If you read some of our classics - like Poky Little Puppy - there's so much about that book that wouldn't be published today. It's too long, the arc isn't layered, the puppy doesn't solve their own problem.

Publishers are *not* making a shift towards primarily author-illos. They just want the best picture book projects they can find, be it from an author or an author-illustrator. As an agent, I'm open to authors, illustrators and author-illustrators.

So - agents looking *only* for picture book author/illustrators is just the personal preference of the agent. It's a different process and a different set of contacts to shop an illustrator's portfolio vs. a completed book dummy, and some agents prefer to do one over the other.

I'm going to break this down into a few replies, because I don't think these two questions are that closely related: #askagent #picturebooks #amwriting

How and where should I put together my online portfolio as an author-illustrator? tracymarchini.com/2018/07/14/put…