I have had 14 picture books published and 100+ work-for-hire elementary texts. All my books were well-reviewed and most sold moderately. Despite this, I have been turned down by every single agent I have contacted. My theory is that they don't want to represent a writer who doesn't illustrate because their percentage of the five percent royalty is not worth their time.I can't guess (with this amount of information) why you're being turned down for representation, but I can assure you that it's not because you don't illustrate. Lots and lots of picture book writers who only write are repped by agents. It may be that the books you're writing are consistently niche-market enough that some agents may not feel your advances are large enough to be worth their time, but it may also be that you haven't submitted to enough agents. Submit, submit, submit!
Good luck!
I would want to know who published the 14 picture books.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the same thing, about who published the 14 picture books (or the for-hire books.) That's a lot of books to have out there, and I think any author who had 14 picture books by a reputable publishing company would be considered really successful, and well-known in the publishing world.
ReplyDeleteI want to know too.
ReplyDeleteAuthor, decloak thyself.
:-)