Back in the Query Trenches: Author Lisa Frenkel Riddiough on Losing an Agent and Starting Over

Episode Summary

In this episode of Writers With Wrinkles, hosts Beth McMullen and Lisa Schmid welcome back returning guest Lisa Frenkel Riddiough to discuss her brand-new picture book, Furious Turtle (Disney Hyperion), book two in the Forest School of Big Feelings series. The conversation quickly moves into the heart of the episode: Lisa's experience losing her longtime literary agent to retirement and having to re-enter the query trenches after years of being represented.

Lisa walks through how her second querying experience differed from her first — a small, curated list built mostly on personal referrals, a calmer and more strategic mindset, and the ability to separate emotional attachment from business decision-making. She also shares the exact query letter that landed her new agent, breaking down why it worked so well, including her formula for picture book pitches (title + word count + comps, story gist, and the twist/ending).

The episode wraps with candid advice for writers who've lost an agent — take stock of the career you've already built — and Lisa's biggest publishing lesson: it's okay to make mistakes.

Key Topics Discussed

• New release: Furious Turtle, a rhyming picture book about managing big emotions, releasing the day after this episode airs
• Book launch event at Old Haunts Bookstore in Granite Bay, CA
• Losing an agent to retirement and starting the query process over
• Building a small, referral-based query list instead of mass-querying
• Using leverage (an editor offer) without abandoning the goal of finding an agent who loves the full body of work
• Reading her actual query letter aloud, line by line
• Picture book pitch formula: title, word count, comps → story gist → the twist/ending
• Keeping old manuscripts organized — shelved drafts can resurface as the right opportunity later
• Pitching picture books vs. middle grade novels
• Reframing job loss (agent loss) as not career loss — taking stock of everything already built
• Embracing mistakes as part of the growth process in publishing

Notable Quotes

• On what a great query needs: the title should convey nearly the entire premise of a picture book.
• On business vs. heart: writers need to separate emotional attachment from evaluating what's genuinely a good match professionally.
• On losing an agent: the fact that someone once represented you is proof a career already exists — that career doesn't disappear with the agent.
• On mistakes: mistakes are simply how writers learn, and grace matters more than perfection.

Guest Info

Lisa Frenkel Riddiough writes board books, picture books, and middle grade novels using wordplay, humor, rhyme, and whimsy. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. More at lisariddiough.com.

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