Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Leo Lakely

Success Story Interview - Leo Lakely

An Interview with Leo Lakely (LeoLakely on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Chelsea Hensley of Mad Woman Literary Agency.

06/26/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Leo Lakely:
A PENGUINS' GUIDE TO HUMANS is a 433-word picture book for ages 4-8. When an explorer's journal is taken over by three highly unqualified penguins, they document their investigation into the strangest creature they've ever seen... a human.

I’m not sure exactly what inspired the story. The characters had been bouncing around in my head for a while, mostly arguing with each other over ridiculous things.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Leo Lakely:
On and off for six years, however I started taking it seriously two and a half years ago.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Leo Lakely:
I write and illustrate children’s picture books, so the process is fairly quick. I developed this one for around a month before it was ready to query. My full submission package had an additional 3 picture books, so it was roughly 4 months in total.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Leo Lakely:
I didn’t want to give up on writing, but there were certainly times I considered parking this project and querying a different one instead.

Once I sent my queries, instead of waiting for a response, I feasted on a few cookies and jumped straight back into developing new projects. That way, if every query was rejected, I was ready to start the process again with a new book.
QT: Is this your first book?: Leo Lakely:
I’ve written a bunch of picture books prior to this, but this is the first one I successfully queried.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Leo Lakely:
No
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Leo Lakely:
I like to write in sprints. I set aside a few days and lock myself away in the studio. I’m usually stocked up with coffee and pastries and scribble ideas until a story appears from the chaos. As I write and illustrate picture books, I work in batches, usually two or three books at a time, jumping from one story to the other. It’s about as ADHD as it gets, but it works for me.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Leo Lakely:
At the manuscript stage, I did one major rewrite, one ruthless edit and a bunch of line edits. As I illustrate as well, there’s a second part of my writing process: creating a picture book dummy, where I sketch out the full book. During that stage, I edit the manuscript again, as I illustrate the spreads.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Leo Lakely:
Not officially, although I did share the story with friends.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Leo Lakely:
I typed a chaotic, rambling pile of notes with ideas and beat points the story needed to hit.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Leo Lakely:
I started querying this book a little over 2 months ago. I briefly queried another book at the start of the year, although I shelved that project shortly after.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Leo Lakely:
Around 70.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Leo Lakely:
Genre match and agency reputation.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Leo Lakely:
No
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Leo Lakely:
Oh my, I have too much to say for this, but I’ll try to keep it succinct!

Everyone’s journey is different, try not to compare yourself to others.
Focus on writing your next book instead of refreshing your query stats.
Eat cookies, croissants and every pastry you can find. I don’t know how that helps, but it worked for me.

Success Story Interview - Leo Lakely

Query Letter: