Timeline for Sending a children's book manuscript to an agent or publisher with illustrations
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
6 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 23, 2023 at 19:03 | comment | added | Gary R. | This goes against what every agent I’ve ever met has told me, and as @Standback said, against written advice as well. An in-person meeting arranged by a third party (or at a conference) is great. Email and snail mail are the standards. But never cold calls. | |
| Aug 1, 2011 at 14:57 | comment | added | Ralph Gallagher | @John Smithers Agents employ slush readers that go through all submissions and weed out the trash and the ones that don't fit with that agent's area. Most agents are too busy to speak with every curious author on the phone. Email gives them a chance to reply when they have a chance, not when they're in the middle of working with someone who's paying them to work for them. I have not seen a since US agent that encouraged calling. | |
| Jul 31, 2011 at 18:18 | comment | added | Standback | Interesting. What I'm seeing from a lot of blogging agents is a) it's the querying author's responsibility to decide whether an ms is entirely inappropriate and b) they have no difficulty sifting the entirely-inappropriate queries from their inbox. The ones I linked to describe needing to consider them by phone as far more of a hassle than by email. But... YMMV, I guess? | |
| Jul 31, 2011 at 15:53 | comment | added | John Smithers | @Standback: Call agents, of course not for asking the status, but for the first contact. Many agents prefer this method (at least here in Germany). They can dismiss easily manuscripts they would never look at anyway and you can clear question like the OP has. Better than having hundreds of manuscripts in the mail which are of a field they do not cover. | |
| Jul 31, 2011 at 6:36 | comment | added | Standback | Do not call agents. See my answer for detail and links. | |
| Jul 30, 2011 at 12:33 | history | answered | John Smithers | CC BY-SA 3.0 |