Thanks for the question. Finding an agent is a very individual pursuit. First of all, do you need one? Not every publisher requires submissions through an agent, though there’s no denying that agented material will usually receive more immediate attention from an editor. Finding an agent can t... more

Thanks for the question. Finding an agent is a very individual pursuit. First of all, do you need one? Not every publisher requires submissions through an agent, though there’s no denying that agented material will usually receive more immediate attention from an editor. Finding an agent can take just as long as finding a publisher so the question is where do you want to invest your time? Of course, having an agent will help you in the long term. Agents have a particular focus with regard to the material they are wiling to represent – children’s book agents will be looking for specific types of stories – YA, Middle Grade, Picture Book, etc. And within those story types, they may have individual interests or things they don’t care for such as sci-fi, fairytales and so on. It’s important to find out as much as you can about the agent you are planning to query. Most agency websites include bios for the individual agents that will provide this type of information.