This morning, one of my Cuddlefish Academy coaching clients asked for help querying literary agents. Here are the tips I provided. What would you add? Comment!

TIPS ON QUERYING LITERARY AGENTS

Read this “How to Find a REAL Literary Agent” querying article HERE on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Association website.

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.

AgentsForIllustrators.com Agent search site specific to illustrators.

The Book: 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/

Note! 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

Note Note: 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: 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

Coaching 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.

This is a great post on crafting a query for writers with a free worksheet:

Query Letter And Synopsis Worksheet

Hope this helps! — Kaz Windness