How I landed my Agent and a seven picture book deal!

Yes, you read that right… seven picture book deal. Writing that out, I can scarcely believe it myself. Please read on to find out how this deal and landing an Agent came about. 

I’ve been writing and submitting my picture books for a long time. You might remember my epiphany post in 2010 if you are a longtime blog reader. Wow, have I grown as a writer since then!!

So, where do I begin? 

As I shared in my epiphany post, I discovered my passion for publishing my picture books when I was in the 4th grade. I had the opportunity to write, illustrate, and bind my first picture book. I was so fascinated with the bookbinding machine. I was in awe of every picture book I read. I wanted to escape inside their pages. Of course, growing up, my writing path meandered and stalled many times, but that dream stuck with me. 

In 2010, I decided it was time to pursue my goal. I joined SCBWI and attended the summer conference two years in a row. After several writing courses and seminars, I felt ready to query in 2011 (which was way too early!) I also joined 12×12 in 2012. I kept the momentum moving forward until the birth of my daughter in 2014 and then decided to take a motherhood break. 

At first, I felt devastated. I watched the fast-moving kidlit community train soar ahead without me. I struggled with postpartum depression, insomnia, and thoughts like, “I’ll never gain my creative groove back.” Eventually, though, I became an excellent example of fellow children’s author and podcaster of Coaching for Creatives, Kirstine Call’s Episode 32: The Hard is the Good. Yes, Motherhood was hard. I had trouble finding myself again, but then I had a breakthrough. I observed my two young daughters in their everyday activities, discovered the Notes app on my phone, and my creativity blossomed while my idea file grew. I began to feel more connected to my Filipino heritage, eager to learn more about Filipino history, and ready to write my own stories. Finally, the stories poured out again. I took more classes and attended webinars through Storyteller Academy, Julie Hedlund’s 12×12, and SCBWI. I also resumed critique group participation (shoutouts to my original SCBWI group, GEMS, and Sub Sisters – I’m so grateful for you!)

Specifically, two educational opportunities that stand out for me that helped propel me forward were:

1) Courses with Children’s Book Academy with Mira Reisberg included Picture Book Slipper Camp and The Craft and Business of Illustrating Picture Books. The level of one-on-one attention in these courses is simply phenomenal. You can interact with other kidlit creators, instructors, and Industry professionals. As a text-only picture book author, taking an illustration course has been fantastic for me to think more visually as I write my picture books.

2) I sought out a mentor. There came a point when I began receiving lots of “almost yeses” that would ultimately still lead to no’s, and I longed to figure out why. I wanted to learn from someone who’d been there before me. I applied for Rosie J. Pova‘s three-month picture book mentorship and was accepted! I still remember how my heart fluttered when I received that acceptance email. Rosie’s mentorship program allowed me to polish up my submission package – from pitches, query letters, and manuscripts for three picture books. Further, Rosie helped me understand the inner workings of the publishing industry and how to present my submission package to Agents and Publishers. Check out these two resources if you are ready to level up your work! 

I also began to have more success with pitch parties in 2021. Until then, I had participated in at least five pitch parties without ever receiving a like. In February 2021, some of my 12×12 pals planned to participate in PBPitch, so I joined them figuring – what have I got to lose? So I threw up four pitches, and to my heart’s delight, one of them received a heart from the inspirational Kaitlin Leann Sanchez, which also led to a full request. While that ultimately didn’t lead to an offer, Kaitlin was positive, and encouraging. I’d developed a pitch party itch and wanted to participate in more events. 

I studied successful pitches, watched trends (for those who love statistics as much as I do, I recommend following Robert Mosley and his amazing #pitchstats), and rewrote and rewrote my pitches. Then, I participated in every pitch event possible! My heart trends continued to rise! 4 in the next event, 10 in another. I felt so blessed. I even felt inspired to create a pitch pie resource for kidlit creators. Free to all email subscribers. Check it out: here.

I continued this querying pattern, and in May 2022, I participated in APIPit. One of my pitches received an editor-like. I submitted my manuscript but wrote it off almost immediately after hearing that the Editor switched publishing houses. I didn’t think anyone would be looking at that submission anymore, so I’d mentally moved on. 

In October 2022, I participated in PBPitch, and that time around, an Agent liked one of my pitches for a different story, so I submitted that manuscript as well. Not long after, I heard from the new Acquisitions Editor who had replaced the one who initially liked my APIpit pitch. She loved my manuscript and planned to take it to Acquisitions in December 2022.

This is where things get wild. December 18th rolls around. I’m picking up my daughters from their last day of school before winter break, and I receive an email. The Acquisitions committee loved my manuscript, but instead of being interested in a standalone picture book; they wanted to find out if I could send them a proposal for a potential series. If I chose to accept it, my goal was to send them one additional full manuscript and three summaries in a proposal package by the end of January 2023. Did I mention my kids would be home with me for three weeks? 

Of course, I said yes to this. How could I not? My publication dreams suddenly seemed within reach! Thankfully, I had a substantial storystorm list and dozens of picture book drafts to pull from for inspiration. I had an incredible time building out my characters and their world. Everything came together in time to send the proposal back. As someone who always strives to go above and beyond, I sent them two full manuscripts and four summaries in case they didn’t like some of them. Then, I waited. Would the Acquisitions committee like it, too?

In the meantime, I informed all the Agents who had my work about the potential offer and received several additional requests for more work. 

In February 2023, I heard back from the Acquisitions committee. They loved my proposal and all seven proposed titles. What? Am I dreaming? Around that time, I also received several offers of representation and considered who I felt would be the best match for me. I’d never realized I would be in a position to choose, and it felt awful to send emails and decline offers. (I now understand how it must feel for Agents and Editors who do this multiple times daily.)

Ultimately, I decided to accept an offer, and I’m excited to share that my Agent is Vicky Weber with The Purcell Agency! Vicky is amazing! Vicky is an enthusiastic Agent, successful children’s book author, educator, and co-manager of the online platform AtHomeAuthor. I’m so thrilled to have Vicky championing my work!

After a few months of negotiations with my Agent and Editor, in June 2023, we reached a deal …

I can’t wait to introduce you to my cartwheel-loving main character, Faye Abalos, as she cultivates connections with her multicultural family! This series has my whole heart, and I am so excited to share it with the world.

So there you have it! My journey thus far from a budding writer to an agented author with a seven-picture book deal. I hope my story inspires you to believe in yourself and your writing journey to persevere and pursue your kidlit publication dreams! It may take time, but they are achievable!

For additional resources and inspiration from fellow kidlit creators, I invite you to check out my #GrowYourWriting Challenge.

Shine On!