Intro to Agenting for Children's Books

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My current internship is with a literary agency whose slush pile is quite large. For those who don't know what a slush pile is, it's basically a lot of manuscripts that don't get past first base. They’re the manuscripts that need to be evaluated before getting passed on to the agent. Lately the agency has been swamped with children’s books queries, and I’ve got to decide whether to pass on or reject these manuscripts. In doing so, I've established some solid ideas about what works and doesn't for children's literature and why. 

Working as an intern in an agency has really opened up my mind to the amazing imaginations of children’s books authors. However, these imaginations are not always used to their potential to bolster a manuscript. When I find something is not right for the agency, most of the time it has to do with logical inconsistencies.
An author can certainly get creative and include details like diamond waterfalls, ivory towers, gold crowns, and jeweled ball gowns in a story. The world these fantastical details create sounds like something a young girl who enjoys sparkles and dressing up would drool over. However, add a talkative, angry volcano, and waltzing penguins interrupting a King’s royal bath, all within a stone-walled maze and you have something highly imaginative, but not exactly coherent. The reader will have some trouble experiencing this place with an author because a picture book is limited to thirty-two pages.  There is not enough space for all of these competing creative ideas to establish a solid structure that will help a reader understand what exactly is happening in a story. Illustrations are a fantastic help in setting up an atmosphere, but sometimes even the most talented illustrator can’t keep up with an overzealous author.

A well-written children’s book can expand a child’s imagination while helping them understand a particular aspect of the world they live in. However, sometimes authors go a bit overboard with their creative thinking. An element of reality is necessary. Whether it’s frolicking with monsters, speaking to trees, or catching meatballs from the sky, children still look for something to relate to and bring into their own lives from a great story. When a manuscript provides that kind of comfort, an agent or editor is sure to pick it up. When the world introduced in that book, however, is unnecessarily confusing and random, it’s increasingly difficult to fit in a truth that a child can apply to his or her own life. Especially in such a short amount of pages! In my experience, the manuscript that seamlessly combines creativity with believability is sure to compel an agent or intern to sweep it up out of the slush pile.

Written by Ariel Rosen