I attended an online webinar from called picture book summit. They provided four reasons picture books get rejected. I will list the notes below. Any inaccuracies are the fault of the note taker.
4. Not following submission guidelines Emma Walton Hamilton
– Two agencies get over 700 submissions a week. Interns need to separate the wheat from the chad. Scan for obvious mistakes in the qu4ery or cover letter. missing name or following guidelines. Making these mistakes are rejected.
– Guidelines vary significantly between agencies. Some just want query. Others want the manuscript attached. Pdf. some will wants to be pasted into the body of the email. Some want the first pages or the whole manuscript.
– Go to the website to see standards but just before sending go back to get specifics. Just before you hit send.
– Looking for the word submission on the website.
– Research which the agent is looking for and determine which agent is the best fit for your specific manuscript.
– Critical to proofread your query. Share it with someone to see what they catch.
– Make sure the editor’s name is spelled correctly, grammar correct, no typos.
– If show mistakes in the query, then it’s most likely the author is not careful in the manuscript
– Dunham literary Inc.:
– Chose one agent.
– Represent fiction, narrative nonfiction and children’s books
– No short stories, chapbooks or novellas.
– Accept query by email, not phone or fax.
– We request all projects that may be right for us.
– query@durhamlit.com
– Please paste query letter and first 5 pages in the body of email no attachments.
– Usually takes 4 weeks to respond.
– Alyssa Eisner Henkin
– Read aloud, (means verse) and picture book biographies.
– Submit by email. Full manuscripts pasted below the query
– Serendipity:
– Fill out the online form and attach the manuscript.
– Bradford:
– The subject line in the header of the email.
– Can query one agent then wait until they respond before sending to another of the same agency?
If you have additional recommendations, feel free to add them in the comment section of this blog.
