As an agent, I receive many queries every week, and it’s been my goal to respond to every query sent to me, even if I can only offer a short note detailing why I’m passing.

For the most part, I can only take on so many books, so I often need to pass on queries that look enticing, but don’t quite fit my “dream list” of what I, as an agent, want to present to the world.

I’m also a huge proponent of Diversity in Lit and #OwnVoices works, and I do analyze queries looking for interesting, unique, and personal works that bring light to worlds we may not have seen before. It’s an amazing thing that Diversity and #OwnVoices is in the spotlight right now, but there are some drawbacks--namely the idea of Diversity as a “trend.”

A lot of the queries I receive have the word “Diverse” in the query, but that doesn’t always make the query or the book stand out. As with everything in writing, we want to “show,” instead of “tell.” This is a critical point, because a reader should be able to see how the work is diverse. It shouldn’t need to be shouted.

So how does one do this? Don’t be afraid that your query won’t be seen as “Diverse” without stating it. In order to outline this, we have to look at what diversity means, anyway.

In children’s literature, the status quo for decades has featured cis, straight, white protagonists in western-based worlds. The call for diversity is not just to feature non-western worlds or non-white characters, but to shape the books our children read to resemble what they look like, the way they live.

It is also a call to reshape our stories. If you whittle the plot of a book down to its bare bones, many follow the same structure: underdog character finds new information/help and saves the world/their world. This includes popular literary tropes like The Chosen One, the Bad Boy Love Interest (Who is secretly a marshmallow inside), the Love Triangle, etc. The list goes on.

The market of children’s fiction relies heavily on new, unique concepts. If your book doesn’t feel fresh or unique, you have the opportunity to work to make it so. Work on your query so the diversity is woven in to the story. It shouldn’t be a separate quality.

On the same note, I see a lot of discussion and sometimes misuse of #OwnVoices.

I’m going to break it down as simply as I can: #OwnVoices is when an author of a marginalized identity writes from their own experiences. This is not just about race, but about sexuality, gender identity, disability, and religion. The purpose of this movement is not to add another gate along the way to being published, but to amplify the voices of those who may not be as visible as others.

I’ve seen many queries from non-marginalized authors that say, “I am pro diversity so I’ve made my characters black to lift up marginalized people.” This is not the point. 

The point is simply to uplift new voices, marginalized voices, original voices, and to foster a literary environment that is inclusive and diverse.

So when you’re about to send that query, take an extra look to make sure your voice is being shown, and that the qualities within the manuscript are inherent in the query. If diversity is part of what you’re querying, let it shine through the voice and description, and always remember the goal of shaping our literary worlds to be inclusive and representative of our real world,  and all the wonderful, weird, and incredible pieces of it.

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Lindsay Leggett

A Community Based Radio Station