It’s an honor to bring you Sara Fajardo’s How I Got My Agent post today. We’re excited to see Sara’s voice coming to the children’s publishing industry. We love how published authors were willing to give back and thus created an opportunity for Sara and her work. 

Congratulations, Sara! We can’t wait to see your dreams come true!

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

I was very intent on developing my craft before I even thought of querying an agent. My approach was to play and enjoy the act of writing and creating for as long as I needed until I felt that my stories were at a level where they would be ready to go out into the world. It took me about three years to feel my stories adequately expressed my world view. This was helped in large part by three women whom I deeply admire: my PBChat mentor Hannah Holt whose gentle approach to editing taught me to trust my writing instincts, Hannah Barnaby who was my instructor in the Writing Barn’s Write Submit Support program and provided much needed guidance and encouraging feedback on my work, and Monica Brown, a fellow Peruvian-American, a writer I deeply admire who has championed inclusion and the nuance of identity long before Own Voices was a buzz word in the industry. Monica was kind enough to provide feedback on one of my stories and not only encouraged me to submit to Full Circle Literary she helped make the introductions. To have one of your heroes believe in you can cause a fundamental shift in how you view yourself as a writer. I consider these three women my literary fairy Godmothers and I don’t think words could ever express the deep well of gratitude I feel for their support.

What kind of research did you do before submitting?

I’m a photojournalist, so research and asking questions is in my DNA. I exhaustively researched agents to see who I thought might be the right fit. I was never of the school of ‘I’m going to send out 100 queries this year and see who bites’. I can understand the sentiment and the drive, but it is not a process that would work for me. I need to feel as though I have a modicum of control, and that meant reading agent interviews, watching webinars, signing up for Publisher’s Marketplace, and analyzing client lists and titles sold. The writer-agent relationship is one based on trust, but it is also a business one. Anyone with whom I work needs to align with my fundamental mission to champion diverse voices and provide broader representation and nuance of culture and belonging for children. I was systematically selective in narrowing my list down to about five agents who I would want to represent my work. I, of course, kept my eye out for others, but I was in no hurry to get representation. For me, publication for the sake of being published is not an end goal. I want to establish meaningful relationships and work collaboratively to bring unique stories into the world. If that meant being rejected by people I admired, I was willing to use what I learned before submitting again in the hope that I’d grow enough as a writer for things to click in the next round of submissions.

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

I was in the very fortunate position of being part of Justin Colón’s freshman class of PBChat mentors. Really getting to know Justin, being around his can-do attitude, enthusiasm and endless cheerleading was like getting a bonus. His confidence in our work made me feel like it was time to begin querying. And then he surprised us all  by developing a robust showcase of agents and editors who read our pitches and the first 50 words of our manuscripts. As a result, I received six agent requests and an R&R from an editor. This greatly accelerated my querying process. I might still be refining my manuscripts if it weren’t for Justin. At the time of the showcase I also received two referrals to agents who were closed to queries.

In total I queried eight agents. I received two form rejections (which didn’t surprise me, these weren’t agents who had been on my wish list, and I doubt we would have been the right fit), four really lovely and encouraging champagne rejections (from agents on my wish list) with requests to see future work, and two offers of representation. Ironically, my two offers of representation were from newer agents who I wasn’t initially familiar with, but after doing my homework and speaking with them, both felt like a wonderful match.

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

No, Justin made sure that every agent in the showcase represented picture books. I had the luxury of not having to cold query.

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

Nicole Geiger of Full Circle Literary is my agent. It was really love at first write. I was referred to her by another agent at FCL who was considering my work but felt that she wasn’t going to have the bandwidth to give me the attention I needed. Nicole and I joked from the very first e-mail that it felt like we were on a blind date. After all my preparation and research, I ended up with an agent who was new to me as she had only recently joined the agency. But we just hit it off, and when I got the call it felt as though I was speaking to an old friend. I think I knew from the very first e-mail that she was the one for me. I was delighted to write to her and offer her the “final rose”.

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

From the beginning Full Circle Literary was my dream agency. After all, they are the agency that helped bring Lola Levine and Marisol McDonald into the world, two Latinx characters that are a celebration of the intersections of culture and identity in a way that deepens how we view one another. But I’d crossed them off my list, because I knew they already represented two Peruvian writers/illustrators and thought they might not have room for a third. Isn’t that such a sad thought? When representation of your culture is so small in the literary canon you automatically assume that three’s a crowd? That there isn’t space for your stories because the slice of the pie is so small? Or to even think that just because we’re all Peruvian people would just assume, we all come from the same world view? Fortunately, Full Circle has a much larger vision than much of the publishing industry. I really wanted an editorial agent as well, someone who could confidently call any books we published “our stories”, and Nicole has years of experience as an acquiring editor and still works for the Yosemite Conservancy publishing a few titles a year. But what really hooked me was that in our interview she started to ask me about translation into Spanish. The importance of finding the right translator for my stories so that the Spanish would be Peruvian Spanish. This is not something non-Spanish speakers usually understand. Spanish varies widely across the Americas and to have her asking that type of question made me realize how deeply she thinks about her work, and how committed she is to accurate and respectful representation. I was sold.

If 12 x 12 helped you in any way during your agent search/development of craft, can you tell us how?

Living in Peru means I do not have the same access to conferences and events as people in the US. I’ve come to rely on 12 x 12 to keep me informed of industry news, mentor text, comp titles, and simply as a go-to resource for getting answers to my questions. I’d say that the 12 x 12 webinars alone are worth the cost of admission. Tara Luebbe’s webinar on comp titles was an eye-opener. I’ve always struggled to find books and keep abreast of the latest titles, but all of her tips, insights on the market, and feedback opened up a world of possibilities. She really got me thinking about who I am as a writer, and what the stories are that only I can tell. That experience caused me to cut several ideas from my ‘to-be written’ pile because I realized that other writers could easily tell those stories. I began to ask myself questions and dig within to discover the stories that are unique to my mixed-heritage and Andean ancestry. I’m amazed at how a one-hour webinar could have such a profound impact on my way of thinking. But it really was a turning point.

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

Signing with Nicole felt like an affirmation that I was on the right track. Her enthusiasm for my stories has prompted me to take more risks as a writer. Since signing with her I’ve been playing with poetry (something I haven’t done since I was a teenager) and I’m becoming even more fearless in my revision process. I want to make sure I bring Nicole only my very best work.

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

Allow yourself grace, space, and time in your agent search. When you falter in the query process allow yourself the grace to lovingly tend to your wounds but then get back up and keep going with the knowledge that you are doing everything you can in your path to becoming the best writer you can be. Give yourself the space to grow and make mistakes. Let yourself be vulnerable and trust in the revision process. Be confident that you will grow as a writer and learn from each mistake. And remember that there is no expiration date for publication. You don’t have to hop on every opportunity. Take time to develop your craft and meditate on what you want to accomplish as a writer. Find trusted critique partners and surround yourself with people who help nurture both you and your work. Have faith that you will eventually arrive at your destination through hard work, deep reflection, and perseverance.

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

Absolutely. Twitter and Facebook have helped to connect me to the publishing industry. Living south of the equator means that social media, podcasts and blogs, are really the only way I can keep a foot in the publishing world. Groups like Kidlit Latinx give me a sense of belonging, while PBChat provides a robust community of people championing one another’s work. Through both I’ve “met” and established friendships with people across the globe. All of this combined helped me to begin querying and eventually sign with Nicole.

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 want to work with Peruvian youth to tell their stories. Few Peruvian children see themselves reflected in the pages of a book and I want to guide them in to seeing the beauty of their own stories and to feel the full force of their powerful voices.

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

I’m working on something very dear to me, so dear I’m still not ready to talk about it yet. But like all of my work, my Andean roots shine bright.