
Literary Agent
Marc Poliquin @Marc_Writes
@bookendslit I’ve heard that, these days, slice of life picture books are harder sells than PBs with more traditional narratives. Any truth to that? Would it be advisable to try and sell a more traditionally structured book first if you’re an unpublished writer? #AskBookEndsJr #AskagentI 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

Literary Agent
💀📕DiniTheAuthor📖😈 @DemonalityBook
@RebeccaMinelga Thanx, my worry is my second is actually the next part in a series so I've self published the first, but will they take the second?I don't think you should be querying the second. My advice is to try querying something fresh: bookendsliterary.com/2010/01/29/wri… #askagent

Literary Agent

Literary Agent
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.

Literary Agent
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)

Literary Agent
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.

Literary Agent
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.

Literary Agent
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.

Literary Agent
Kelly Mangan @KellyAMangan
@TracyMarchini @scbwi I’m seeing a lot of agents lately saying they’re *only* looking for PB author/illustrators. I’m also noticing a trend for fewer & fewer words. Is this a general industry trend away from PB authors? Are publishing houses primarily looking for author/illustrators now too?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

Literary Agent
Veronica Goodman @vwgoodman
@BookEndsJessica Thanks for all of these great tips, Jessica! Do you know of any sample query letters or formats that you think are particularly effective?You should definitely check out Query Shark for query advice, samples, and formats. #querytip You can also check out the @bookendslit blog for these things as well. #askagent

Literary Agent
Laura G Williams @WychieWoman
@laurenspieller Should a writer try to be exacting and provide all details about a work, body of, when submitting. Or give away the identity of the murderer to fully explain. What role of letting agent know what we are going for.Don’t give away the ending. Focus on the set up & central conflict and make sure we know what is at stake for the character. #askagent

Literary Agent
Kari Hagen @KariHagenWrites
@LinaLanglee @katenashagent #askagent - Is science fantasy/space fantasy a thing, or would you rather see books about alien planets in an alternate universe classed as plain Science Fiction?I am not a science fiction fan so can't answer this, sorry. #askagent

Literary Agent
karin baine @karinbaine1
@LinaLanglee @katenashagent Will you respond to every submission? #adjacentWe confirm once we've had a chance to have a look, but can't provide individual feedback on all submissions #AskAgent

Literary Agent
Benjamin Padfield @BSJPadfield
@LinaLanglee @katenashagent With a fast-paced crime fiction novel, how would you want to see the balance between the plot / pace / action and the characters’ stories away from the events themselves? #AskAgentThe $64,000 question! You have to maintain the pace and yet develop the characters. I think you have to read through for pace and be very conscious of what you can and can't do while keeping up suspense, conflict and action. #askagent

Literary Agent
Sarah Broadley @sarahpbroadley
#askagent do you use readers or do you read all the submissions that come in? If so, do you read the first few pages or the synopsis first? Thanks!We read it all inhouse! I'd go straight for the sample #Askagent

Literary Agent
Jamie Zakian @demoness333
#askagent twitter.com/LEEandLOW/stat…In the UK we have the Association of Authors' Agents (AAA) agentsassoc.co.uk and in the U.S. there is the AAR aaronline.org #askagent

Literary Agent
Lina Langlee @LinaLanglee
@TheRealNickJury Hi Nick. Reading is subjective so it is great to have lots of agents out there with varying reading tastes. Your agent should be your champion so loving your story is no 1. We work closely with our authors, share sub info, have a great track record and we're jolly nice #AskAgentThe agency is known for being talent spotting, being very commercial and lots of our authors have gone on to become bestsellers. We've got a "recent bestsellers" slideshow on our website front page to show off about that! katenashlit.co.uk #askagent

Literary Agent
Josie Bonham @BonhamJosie
#askagent do you rep cosy crime? Thanks.Absolutely! #AskAgent

Literary Agent

Literary Agent
Justin Davies @flyingscribbler
@LinaLanglee @katenashagent going back to synopsis for a second...would a poorly written one put you off reading a submission, or would you have read it by then already? #askagentI don't worry too much about synopses being reflective of the writing and I'm interested in the actual writing. Keep the synopsis simple and short if you're struggling. Or ask a writing friend to read and review it for you. #askagent