If you couldn’t tell by her adorable picture, Christina Dendy is a bright light in the 12 x 12 universe! We’re so excited she’s found a partner in her writing journey and that she didn’t let rejection and disappointment hold her back. 

Thanks for sharing your story, Christina! Our eyes are crossed for you too! 😉

How long had you been writing before seeking an agent, and what made you decide it was time to look for one?

Well, I’ve been writing most of my life. I had been working concertedly on picture books for about five years, and querying agents for about three years.

What kind of research did you do before submitting?

I did website searches, paid attention to agents listed in deals and referenced by authors and illustrators, and followed people on Twitter. I felt like I could get a better sense of who an agent is not only by what they have on their website but also by who they represent and what they share on social media.

The dreaded questions: How many queries?  How many rejections?

Ack! A lot? I could check my spreadsheet tally, but it might take a while. I did query more than a dozen agents with different manuscripts. I received several requests for more manuscripts but I never seemed to find someone who wanted the whole package. Also, several agents were quite gracious and helpful but expressed they just didn’t have the bandwidth.

Was it difficult to find an agent who wanted to represent an author focusing on picture books?

Hmm. I’m not sure if the picture book agenting market is more difficult relative to other genres and formats. It felt like a long, difficult journey, but I’m not sure it was more difficult than it needed to be. Every rejection pushed me to work harder and make a manuscript that much better. It’s a competitive field to break into, and above all, if you’re going to break into it, you must keep trying. That means working on the same manuscripts over and over as well as writing new ones. Agents are businesspeople who have to pay the bills just like we do. They respond to things they love, which is subjective and therefore so variable, but they need to feel confident they can sell it, too, and that depends on many factors, including (as noted above) their own availability and the balance of the other clients and works they already represent.

Who is your new agent? Tell us about getting the news.

Dan Cramer of Page Turner Literary Agency. There wasn’t a magic phone call. It really happened over the course of our video conference, which came after a few rounds of emails. The email inviting the call was super exciting and the video call itself just went really well. Ending the call with an offer was nice in “an exuberating I might have screamed after ending the call” way though, I won’t lie.

How did you know your agent was “the one”?

When he told me he loved that I used people first language in the manuscript on the table. I knew then that we were on the same page. Our subsequent video call, which was easy, friendly, and conversational, in which he asked lots of good questions and didn’t shy away from mine, sealed it.

If 12 x 12 helped you in any way during your agent search/development of craft, can you tell us how? (P.S. It is TOTALLY okay if the answer is no. I am not trying to “lead” you 🙂 )

Yes. I think many picture book writers start out in the same way I did. You have these stories that feel like great stories for kids that you want to share and can envision illustrated and so you start working on it but you don’t really know the market or the craft. Picture book writing is a special brand of story-writing (like all genres and formats), and just having a solid well-written story doesn’t quite cut it. You really need to dig into what makes a picture book a picture book and that means studying the form and connecting with others a) who are doing the same and b) who have already published picture books. 12 x 12 was essential to that journey because it connected me with both types of folks AND helped me build a critique group and several critique partnerships that have been invaluable. I don’t think I’m alone in saying I’ve gained some lifelong writing buddies from the process and I wouldn’t have one book published and one in process without them. The forum was especially helpful early on in razing the manuscripts, calling attention to big things that needed addressing, and the resources 12 x 12 provided in the form of reading and workshops were also great.

Has your writing process changed at all since signing with an agent?

I spend less time on my querying spreadsheet, which is soooooooooooooooo wonderful. Mostly, it means I have more time (when I have time) to actually work on writing and revising. This has been a busy year and so I haven’t been able to do as much as I would have liked, but not having to devote what time I do have to querying is huge. I don’t send my agent raw material. I still go through the same processes I did before, and send Dan something when I feel like I’ve done everything I can based on other feedback. If he agrees it’s ready, we swap some edits and work together on the letter, and then it goes. If not, he sends me some insightful thoughts about why, and I tuck them and the manuscript away to work on another day.

What advice would you give to picture book writers looking for agents today?

Do your research, and that means checking their websites as well as their social media (as most are on Twitter) and reading interviews or articles they’ve written. Find out who they represent. Get a feel for whether you would work well together and whether this agent would represent your body of work and where you want to take it. Make sure there are no red flags like a recent Twitter post I saw shared from an agency that told writers they shouldn’t be pestering them with questions. Your agent is there to answer questions, and really, getting an agent is a two-way interview. You both need to make sure you’re a match. Make sure you’re not ignoring directives in their guidelines or wishlists. If they say they don’t represent something, they’re not going to abruptly change their mind because your something is just that fabulous. More likely, they’ll get annoyed.

Also, feel disappointed when you get a rejection (and another and another) because it is disappointing but don’t let it become an overwhelming block of discouragement. Celebrate near misses while feeling disappointed because that means you’re getting closer. Above all, keep at it. Take a break if you need to, but then rally the troops and get back to it. You have to believe in your work first.

Do you think your platform (blog, social media) helped you find your agent?

I think Twitter did, actually, in the sense that the Twitter-verse vastly expanded my awareness of people and opportunities and my engagement with the picture book world.

Tell us something that is on your “bucket list”—something you’ve dreamed of doing all your life but have yet to accomplish.

I still want to travel back to Europe and explore ancient and medieval things. Also, we made a road trip west to the Redwoods this summer and stopped at points in between but we did not get to visit Armillaria ostoyae, the world’s largest organism, which is a fungus whose body lies mostly beneath Malheur National Forest in Oregon. I really want to go back and meet Armillaria ostoyae as well as explore more of the Redwoods. Many other natural spaces make that bucket list, too, and I’d like to visit Sleepy Hollow around Halloween. I could go on ..

What’s up next/what are you working on now?

Fingers, toes, and eyes are crossed on some manuscripts on submission right now. I have other picture books in various stages of development as well as pages of ideas waiting to be put to paper. However, mostly, I’m hoping to shift gears soon and finish revising my middle grade novel and rewriting a picture book as a chapter book with some series potential.

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