In 2018, I closed to queries from July 1st through about August 15th, and then again from November 15th through the end of the year. My query stats for 2018 look like this:
In 2018, I received 2,609 queries, requested 109, and took on 9 clients. (Compared to 2,715 queries received in 2017, which is kind of surprising since I closed for about 12 weeks in 2018 and I didn’t close at all in 2017.) That said, you can see that I have about 20 queries outstanding from 2018, and I have about 40 of those 109 requests still under consideration.
On to the genre breakdown! In fiction:
Between fiction and non-fiction, about half of all my queries are picture books, with the rest spread out between middle grade and young adult. I received 33 illustration queries in 2018, and I’d love to see that number increase in 2019! I’d also love to see more graphic novel submissions for children and teens, and definitely more non-fiction:
Because the categories are self-reported, it seems that a lot of fiction pbs end up in the non-fiction category. I would say that I don’t actually see 300 non-fiction pb queries a year, and it might be closer to 175 – 200. I’d love to see more non-fiction picture book queries in 2019 that aren’t biographies and instead use a fun and innovative concept to explore our world, history, science, etc.!
For other things I’m looking for in 2019, I shared this Twitter thread:
I've reopened to queries and represent fiction, non-fiction and illustration for children and teens! (Sorry, I don't represent works for adults, but a lot of my lovely @bookendslit colleagues do!)
You can query me at https://t.co/WLbdTqEmTm #mswl #amquerying
— Tracy WANTS A NAP Marchini (@TracyMarchini) January 1, 2019
I'd still love a super witty and clever beach read/romcom in YA. #mswl
— Tracy WANTS A NAP Marchini (@TracyMarchini) January 1, 2019
Likewise, I always have room for more own voices work for children and teens from poc, lgbt+, queer, neurodiverse, disabled and other marginalized authors and illustrators. #mswl
— Tracy WANTS A NAP Marchini (@TracyMarchini) January 1, 2019
I'd be interested to see a YA nonfiction guide to money that acknowledges the gig economy, high cost of secondary education, lack of pensions, etc. How can today's teens/late millennials prepare for a much different financial reality than previous generations? #mswl
— Tracy WANTS A NAP Marchini (@TracyMarchini) January 1, 2019
I'd also love to see more high concept picture book manuscripts – give me clever, witty and/or hysterical but with a heart. #mswl
— Tracy WANTS A NAP Marchini (@TracyMarchini) January 1, 2019
A lot of my previous #mswl's still stand too – baseball, the ERA, Hitchcock for a younger set, Madame Curie, etc.
— Tracy WANTS A NAP Marchini (@TracyMarchini) January 1, 2019
Looking forward to seeing some exciting new stuff from picture books through young adult in my query box this year! https://t.co/WLbdTqEmTm
— Tracy WANTS A NAP Marchini (@TracyMarchini) January 1, 2019
I hope this helps – and if you’re querying in 2019, I wish you lots of success!
For a personalized, autographed copy, you can pre-order from The Silver Unicorn!
"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite independent bookstore!
