What Kind Of Dummy Should I Be Taken For?
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Art by Johanna KimWhy is my book getting rejected? Why can’t I get work? And what makes a great joke? Jake Parker, Lee White, and Will Terry share their perspectives on all this and more in this episode.
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@Jake-Parker Amazing episode, as always:)
I’d have one comment on the book dummy, as I still have in fresh memory how I myself was stuck in the query tranches… and I can’t stress enough how important research is!
As everything, submitting your picture book dummy to potential agents or/and editors has its own rules and breaking them means you are probably new and you don’t take this job seriously enough to do the work and learn how this stuff is supposed to be done. Agents don’t like to see the whole book finished. They very much prefer seeing a proper book dummy, it tels them you are a professional and you know this business. (And even if you already have an established relation ship with your agent, it looks to me like they very much prefer to be involved sooner rather than later, the last MS I’ve sent to my agent were not really a full picture book dummy, just very rough sketches on every spread and my agent was pleased to see this before I move forward to make something more tight.)
The query it self should be done in a proper way - there’s plenty of resources online and the Sub It group on Facebook is much helpful too.
Lastly - do not get discouraged after few rejections. For some it may take even 100 queries before they land their perfect agent/editor. It only takes one yes! So do not be disappointed if you get some NOs along the way.
Good luck to everyone who’s looking for the perfect home for their picture book baby.
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