Agent Panel: Marcia Wernick

Marcia Wernick has brought some of our favorite creators into the publishing world, like Mo Willems and Peggy Rathmann. Her new agency, Wernick & Pratt, just celebrated its six-month anniversary. She promises their website will be updated soon.

Thoughts on digital publishing?

The digital world offers a lot of opportunities, but it's not a replacement for publishers. It's changing the way
Opportunities for game apps, things linked to picture books, but I don't think it Most of our job is to be your advocate and business advisor, this is part of what we have to do, guide you through whether digital publishing will be good for your career.

In your opinion, is there a genre or age-group category that's drying up right now? Or one that's thriving?

Marcia: I think there's always a market for a well-crafted, strong original voice. It took her two and a half years to sell DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS, but it did sell, eventually.

One market more challenged than the others is the non-fiction market. It's taken a hit. It's traditionally been geared to the school and library markets, both of which have endured big budget cuts.

You have a client, you've sold four books with the client. They deliver their next book and you don't love it, what do you do? 

Sometimes, to support my opinion that it's not working, I'll share the manuscript with Linda Pratt to get her opinion and share that with the author, too. On occasion I'll share it with the editor who is publishing that author, too.

When you go out with a manuscript from a debut author, what makes you sure you can sell it?

This industry is driven passion, so I need to be passionate about the manuscript. I am the Mama Bear, I make sure my client is taken care of and their work is out there. I feel an incredible entitlement on behalf of my client. It's their right to get their work out there—it's our right. 

How do you find illustrators?

Most of my clients have come through referrals. Some digital submissions, sometimes meeting them at conferences. One of the things that's very different about looking at artwork vs. illustration is an illustration portfolio needs to show characters. And character development and emotion moving or changing through an illustrator's portfolio.

What happens if you can't sell something?


It's important that while I'm trying to sell a project the author continues to move forward by working on new projects. We're looking long term, I'm not just interested in selling one project.

If you were given a magic wand to change one thing in publishing, what would that thing be?

On the business side, I like escalating royalties across the board.

Marcia Wernick's Workshop: Ain't Nobody's Business but my Own: Creating Your Own Career Path

Marcia speaking to the room of PAL Session attendees

Marcia Wernick is the agent that introduced Mo Willems to the publishing world. Previously at the Sheldon Fogelman Agency, together with Linda Pratt she launched Wernick & Pratt Agency in January 2011.

Marcia starts her workshop speaking about career paths, and how there's no magic - it takes years of struggle and commitment to become an overnight success (she recalls that it took her two and a half years for her to sell "Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus.")

For your path, you need to find your strengths, hone your skills and keep creating...

She's advising us how to be strategic in choosing what you are going to work on next, and sharing about how placing a second book is different than placing a third book - when the third book is being submitted, there's already a track record on how your debut novel sold, and that's considered as part of the acquisitions process.

She goes into depth on how you need to treat this writing/illustrating career as a business, and how you need to rally your business team:

An agent

Your writers group

your editorial relationship

a publicist?

And if a publicist isn't possible, what creative things can you do marketing-wise to entice readers to come to you?

Social media (PB authors don't need to be on facebook)

Book trailers

School visits

Conferences - which ones (besides SCBWI) to attend!

She spoke about ways to diversify your portfolio - from writing to other age categories to licensing.

One of the great points she shared:

We need to have a business plan, and to review it at regular intervals for what we've achieved and which goals need to be re-set. She urges us to set realistic goals that are under our control (you can't set winning the Newbery Award or getting starred reviews as a goal, since you don't control those) but you CAN set a goal of delivering a new draft of a manuscript in the next six months, or contacting your local newspaper, or getting 300 new facebook friends in the next month... She also suggests keeping these lists of checked-off goals as an "inventory of achievements."

And Marcia urges us to not get caught up in comparing ourselves to others (there will always be someone doing better in terms of NY Times bestseller lists, awards, and other authors/illustrators doing worse...) We should keep in mind there are lots of other measures of success, and suggests a few:

solid, consistent publication of your books

support of your indie bookstore

making state library book lists

subsidiary rights sales

positive reviews

fan letters

And Marcia concluded the session with a fun and super-informative Q&A, fielding questions on when to leave your day job, how to approach publishing in more than one age category, pseudonyms, and many more!