My Cuddlefish Academy coaching clients have asked for help querying literary agents. Here are tips and resources. What would you add? Comment!

Finding an Agent:

Read “How to Find a REAL Literary Agent” querying article HERE on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Association website. Good advice for any genre or age group.

Word of Mouth: Most people find agents through networking, so ask around. Don’t expect a referral, but knowing which agents are recommended and open to submissions is great.

Bluesky: Debbie Ridpath Ohi has a Starter Pack of publishing pros and agents. Direct link: https://bsky.app/starter-pack/debbieohi.com/3kwozp3k7ar2w

Query Tracker: querytracker.net Lots of kidlit creators have good results with this site. The paid version is more specific to your interests and scope.

Association of American Literary Agents: AALitAgents.org Vetted agents with a drop-down menu to search by subject focus category (children’s graphic novel, for example). They also list if they are open to submissions.

For Illustrators: AgentsForIllustrators.com Agent search site specific to illustrators.

161 Literary Agents Seeking Children’s Book Submissions: https://reedsy.com/resources/literary-agents/childrens-book/

The Book/Essential Guide: SCBWI updates and publishes “The Book” every year, which includes agents open to submission. Direct link: https://www.scbwi.org/essential-guide-to-publishing-for-children

Manuscript Wishlist: This is another resource I’ve heard to be reputable, although irregularly updated: https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/

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When Querying, be aware of these things:

Is that agent or editor still there? Be sure to verify that the person you are querying is still there. Publishing can be very transient. Harold Underdown is a good resource for tracking which editors have moved where here: https://www.underdown.org/chchange.htm

Timing is Important. Publishing goes dormant from mid-November through mid-January, so it is a good time to regroup, build a new submission list, and work on new projects.

Pitch Package. To level up your publishing impression, create a Pitch Package. HOOK! PLOT! PITCH! is a great class for developing a children’s book pitch package: https://cuddlefishacademy.teachable.com/p/hook-plot-pitch-break-into-trade-publishing-a-workshop-for-writers-writer-illustrators

Get Coaching, a manuscript or portfolio review for your Kidlit Success here: https://cuddlefishacademy.teachable.com/p/coaching-mentorship1

Query Letter Example: Add a sentence letting the agent know how you found out about them, and then use the three parts of a query: 1)The Hook, 2) The Book, 3) The Cook.

A hook is a premise line (or two) that usually starts with “When a…”

This is a great post on crafting a query for writers with a free worksheet:
https://jerichowriters.com/resource-downloads/query-letter-synopsis-worksheet/

Formatting a manuscript: https://reedsy.com/studio/resources/book-manuscript-format

The main elements are: 

– Word Doc (.doc format) 

– Letter or A4 page size

– 12-pt Times New Roman or a clean, legible font

– 1” margins

– 1.5- to double-spaced lines 

– 0.5” paragraph indents

Contact information in the upper left-hand corner of your document:

Kaz Windness
Mailing Address
Web Address
E-mail Address or Agent name and e-mail

Name your document in this format: LastName_TITLE_date.docx

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What else do you want help with? Comment!

Hope this helps! — Kaz Windness