Raise your hand if you’ve submitted your work to agents before your work was submission ready. It’s not an easy thing to admit, but so many of us have done it — including Lynn Baldwin, who tells us all about it in this post. She offers some great advice, and she mentions a couple things we should not do.

Thanks for your honesty, Lynn, and congrats on pairing up with an agent!

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

I’ve been writing all my life and started writing children’s books after decades of working in marketing, communications, and freelance writing positions. The first awful story I ever wrote (and very embarrassingly self-published) was inspired by my toddler son losing his sock…and he’s now 15! So, that gives you some sense of how long I’ve been trying to get published, although I honestly went about it all wrong.

I joined 12 x 12 back in 2014 and promptly started submitting to agents WAY before I was ready. It took me a lot longer than it should have to realize that even though I knew how to write, I didn’t know how to tell stories for children. So, I didn’t focus on learning the craft of writing picture books for quite a few years.

Over the past few years, when I think I really was ready for an agent, I got close a few times but wasn’t able to get my “yes” until recently. I really hope that my story is a lesson in perseverance for others in similar situations.

What kind of research did you do before submitting?

I took advantage of the 12 x 12 Gold opportunities, although that’s not how I connected with my agent. I also read all of the “How I Got My Agent” profiles; perused industry blogs and agent interviews; had an on-and-off subscription to Publisher’s Marketplace to get a better sense of agents’ tastes and followed agents on social media. I also paid close attention to stories of people leaving their agents, especially after short periods of time, to get a better sense of who I didn’t want to query.

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

SO many queries and rejections—well over 100! Over the years, I had about five requests for more work from agents, which helped keep me going.

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

For me, the difficulty was getting agents to even answer my queries. “No news” is definitely not good news for writers!

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

My new agent is Jen Newens of Martin Literary Management!

I was lucky to get an offer of publication from an editor I’d connected with via an SCBWI critique opportunity. Offer in hand, I contacted about 15 agents: five of them had that story; five of them had other work and the rest didn’t have any of my work.

I’d gotten so used to not getting responses from agents that I was shocked when I saw an email from Jen saying that she wanted to set up a call to discuss representation, which we did a few days later.

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

We really connected on our Zoom call, during which she patiently answered my MANY questions – thanks to 12 x 12 for the great list! After speaking to Jen, I spoke to three of her clients, which reinforced my gut instinct that she’d be a good partner. She’s newer to agenting, but has been in publishing her entire career, so she has a great combination of newer agent enthusiasm combined with industry knowledge.  

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 🙂 )

Most definitely! I would have given up a long time ago if not for the critique partners, inspiration, helpful advice, and insights into both the craft and business of writing picture books that I’ve gotten from 12 x 12. I’m actually surprised when I meet kidlit writers who aren’t part of 12 x 12.

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

My writing process hasn’t changed, but it’s really helpful to have someone to help me prioritize my stories and determine which ideas are worth pursuing and which aren’t that marketable.

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

Try to NOT do two things that I did: 1. Query too early. It only adds to your frustration. 2. Compare yourself to others and wonder why “everyone else” is getting published, finding an agent, etc.  We’re all on our own unique paths, and we’ll all reach our goals if we stick with it.

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

Not at all. In fact, social media never even came up when we spoke.

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 to travel and have been lucky to have visited 30+ countries, but there are SO many more I’d love to see! I’d really love to do some longer-term travel and live outside the U.S. for at least a short period time (which is something I did in my 20s, but that was a long time ago!).

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

My debut picture book, MY BACKYARD USED TO BE, will publish with Tilbury House in fall 2025. I’m hoping to have other good news in the future.