Panning for Gold with Barbara Jean Hicks – Agent Marcia Wernick

from the collected notes of Barbara Jean Hicks

To agent or not to agent? Sometimes it feels like harder work finding an agent than finding a publisher, so my temptation has been to submit without an agent. In the current market, however, with fewer and fewer publishers accepting submissions over the transom, an agent seems more and more necessary to publishing success.

When I first heard agent Marcia Wernick speak at an SCBWI conference in Seattle in 2004, she was associated with the Sheldon Fogelman Agency in New York City. In January 2011, she founded the Wernick and Pratt Agency with long-time colleague Linda Pratt.

She has 20+ years in the children’s book industry with experience in rights and licensing as well as agenting. Such children’s book luminaries as Peggy Rathmann, Nikki Grimes, Elizabeth Cody Kimmel and Mo Willems are among her clients.

Nuggets from Marcia Wernick:

•    An agent’s job is to make the best possible match between an author/illustrator and an editor and publishing house.

 •    Good agents know the quirks and preferences of editors and what houses print well and sell well.
•    Good agents know their clients: what kind of books their authors and artists want to write or illustrate, how long they take to complete a project, what their writing voice or artistic style is like, their publishing history.
•    In order to find and nurture the synergistic “magical match” between an author and/or illustrator and a house and editor, good agents nag, push and prod, follow up, and keep momentum going.
•    Good agents know what is happening in the market and act as counselors to their clients.
•    An agent’s dream find is an author or illustrator with a fresh, original approach; a project that fits the parameters of the market; story, vocabulary and artwork appropriate to the age level; and a story that begs to be read over and over again.
•    Good agents work doggedly to promote their clients and build their clients’ careers, but even the very best agent cannot work miracles. The miracles happen when the writer or artist creates something wonderful out of nothing but an idea.

Wernick says on the Wernick and Pratt website that while they are dedicated to their established list of clients, they are always looking to find new talent to nurture. Of particular interest are works by author/illustrators, humorous chapter books and middle grade/YA novels. Find the agency’s submission policies and guidelines here.