Today we get to celebrate Leslie Piotrowski and her path to getting an agent! With in-person conferences starting back up, Leslie’s story is a great example of how making face-to-face connections can land you in the perfect spot. Congrats, Leslie!

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

I have been drafting picture books for about two years. After the first year, I submitted a story to a number of publishing houses and received numerous rejections. I decided at that point to not spend any more time in the submission process in order to completely focus on fine-tuning my writing. That’s when I joined 12 x 12 as well as several writers’ critique groups.  (I should note that I was not new to fiction writing.  When I was younger I wrote short stories and poetry and had a poem published in an anthology.) When I began to receive encouraging feedback from my critique group partners that one of my manuscripts was polished and ready, I started to query agents.

What kind of research did you do before submitting?

I primarily used the Manuscript Wish List. I picked agents from that list and then researched them. I listened to their podcasts and interviews. I reviewed their websites and followed them on Twitter. I tried to find out everything I could about them. I sent out about 15 queries to begin with. I wanted to see how those first 15 performed before sending out more. I also joined a number of online agent pitching events.

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

What I realize now is that the story I was querying was not the right story. I think it showed potential but it wasn’t enough to capture the heart of an agent. I received a number of rejections. It was the story I wrote after that story that landed me an agent. I didn’t find my agent through querying. I connected with my agent at an SCBWI critique group meeting. She was there to get feedback on her YA novel. She listened to me read a page from my latest picture book draft and asked if we could be critique partners. After that, I read chapters of her YA while she read about four of my picture book drafts.

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

No. In my research I found plenty of agents interested in representing picture book authors.

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

Tina Schwartz with the Purcell Agency is my agent. She initially provided me with lots of great feedback on the picture book drafts I sent her. She pointed out some structural problems but also noted what she really liked. She suggested that we get together for coffee and it was then that she offered to represent me. I was overjoyed. I took the contract home and couldn’t wait to sign it and send it back.

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

She suggested a few major edits to the story that is now on submission. Those edits truly made the story come to life in a way that I couldn’t have envisioned on my own.

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 🙂 )

12 x 12 absolutely helped me. I initially knew very little about the world of PB writing and publishing. 12 x 12 helped plug me in. I not only regularly posted my stories for critiques but I followed the Facebook group and listened to the monthly interviews with agents, etc. I think 12 x 12 is a fantastic resource that helped ground me in the picture book world.

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

Yes. I am now thinking more strategically. As a mixed race (black/white) writer, I have been grappling with what stories are truly the best for me to tell. I’m beginning to get a better sense of the stories that are right for me to write.

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

I would say to not limit oneself to only sending out queries when searching for an agent. In person events provide great opportunities to connect with agents. My agent was not open to picture books at the time I met her. In person workshops or conferences provide opportunities to talk with and get to know agents in between sessions.

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

No, but I have been building my Twitter presence to better establish myself in the PB world.

Tell us something that is on your “bucket list.” Something you’ve dreamed of doing all your life but have yet to accomplish (besides publishing a book, which is inevitable at this point 🙂 )

I love travel and have traveled to more than 25 countries thus far. I have never been to Africa. I would love to visit Egypt and see the pyramids when it is safe to go there.

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

I just drafted a new picture book that follows my father’s journey by train from Alabama to Chicago in the 1930s, back when Jim Crow laws pushed hundreds of thousands of black people out of the South to new futures in the North.

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