Please welcome children’s book author/illustrator Berrie Torgan-Randall to Frog on a Blog! You may be familiar with the first book in her Bella & Blue early reader graphic novel series, Bella & Blue: Bella Meets Blue, which came out a few years ago by The Little Press. And, if you’re a fan, you’ll be thrilled to know that the second book in the series is due out in 2027. (Plus, you can win a copy of Bella & Blue: Bella Meets Blue by leaving a comment on this post!)

But today we’re celebrating Berrie’s debut picture book Just Ducky: A Friendship Takes Flight, which officially publishes on October 1, 2025, by Cardinal Rule Press. Berrie stopped by to talk a bit about the ups and downs of her publication journey as an unagented author/illustrator. If you’re a children’s book creative currently in query mode, this post is for you! Let’s hear from Berrie!

Flying Solo as an Unaccompanied Author/Illustrator

by Berrie Torgan-Randall

I have a big sister who is two years older than I am, and, since I wasn’t much of a talker, she declared that she would be my spokesperson for a good part of my childhood. To give you another glimpse into my childhood and personality, in elementary school, I preferred to stand in the shadows (a hard thing to do as a tall kid). The school subject where I did shine, however, was in the art room. I loved everything about art class—the burlap and glue collages, the linoleum prints, and the smell of the tempera paint. In pursuit of this passion, I went to art school where I took all sorts of fine arts classes.

After graduating from art school, I ended up working in a couple jobs that weren’t very creatively gratifying. I reconsidered my career options and remembered the joy of my time spent in the library. My mother is a librarian, and my sisters and I spent many hours exploring the children’s section of our local library. My mother moved a lot after my parents divorced. Fortunately, as a librarian, she was able to find a job wherever she moved to. Seeking job stability, I went to grad school to become an elementary school librarian. Being a librarian is my bread and butter, a profession that I love. However, my true passion is illustrating and writing children’s books. After my youngest child went to middle school, I had the opportunity to work on making my passion a reality.

In order to learn about the craft of writing and illustrating books for children, I joined and volunteered for SCBWI and attended numerous conferences, which started my long journey to publication. Along the way, I learned about the “three Ps” (Passion, Perseverance, and Patience).

I already had the passion part down with daily drawing and had heard from others that I would be more marketable if I was also an author. I wrote stories about my childhood, as well as memories based on my children’s trials and tribulations and the silly antics I remembered about students when I worked as a librarian.

Every time I attended a conference, I asked to meet with an agent. For the most part, the agents that I met were helpful, offering constructive criticisms about my portfolio and dummy books. In the years spent pursuing my dream, only one agent expressed interest in seeing more of my work. When I reached out to her after the conference, I heard crickets chirping (in other words silence on her end). Every time one of my author or illustrator friends found an agent, I had to tamp down my inner green-eyed monster and politely say congrats. I had heard that finding the right agent is a combination of timing and luck. I realized my early lack of success didn’t mean that I would never be picked up by an agent or that I should stop picking four leaf clovers; it just meant that I needed to keep trying. I had to remember the other two P’s: perseverance and patience.

I have had success flying solo without an agent with hard work and determination (passion). Every week, I make myself participate in a self-imposed ritual of “Marketing Monday” where I spend at least one morning researching agents, editors, and publishers and send submissions of my dummy books and portfolio samples. While researching publishers a few years ago, I came across a publisher who promotes creatives from New Jersey. The majority of my childhood was spent in a small New Jersey town across the river from Philadelphia. I thought I would give it a shot and write a query letter with a link to my portfolio. A couple months later, an email came, a phone call, and then a contract!

Another success story happened after I submitted the manuscript for my book Just Ducky during Cardinal Rule Press’s yearly open submission window. While meeting with a dear friend who helps me with my writing and editing, I got an email from Adam Blackman at CRP who let me know that my submission had been chosen out of over 1000 entries! As an extra bonus, I am CRP’s first ever author/illustrator. These small but mighty presses opened up doors for me, and I proudly became a published author.

My first-born daughter, who recently moved away from her nest of friends in Brooklyn to Sweden to attend grad school, wrote a weekly blog and included a quotation that says, “Do It Scared. Do It Weird. Do It Alone.” I relate to this quotation because it describes my journey to becoming a published author/illustrator. When I go into an interview with an agent, I go with hope (mixed with fear) in my heart that this agent will be the one who will offer me a contract. When this opportunity doesn’t happen I cry, get angry, and sulkingly remember it takes patience, perseverance, timing, and luck to find the right agent.

I have learned through experience that it’s best to go into a review with the right attitude. I choose to listen carefully, take everything in, absorb the suggestions as well as the criticisms, and then begin the process of making changes–it’s a marathon not a sprint. As the quotation literally suggests, it’s okay to be scared. I choose not to be intimidated by others (even the professionals I meet, the illustrators with stunning portfolios, and the authors who win prizes).

It’s also okay to be weird. Creative people are often considered weird. They don’t fit into a mold, and doing it weird is a sign of originality.

Finally, doing it alone isn’t the same as failing. Just keep speaking up for yourself, listening to what others have to say about your work, absorbing the feedback, and expressing what you want to express. There are no guarantees, but if you are following your passion, you are doing what you are meant to do–writing and/or illustrating books for children.

“Do It Scared. Do It Weird. Do It Alone.” Love this quote! Thanks, Berrie, for sharing your publication journey. I think we’ve all learned that with passion, perseverance, and patience, we can find success as children’s book authors and illustrators!

Learn more about Berrie and her books by visiting:

Website: http://www.berrietr.com/

Instagram: blue.berrie 

Bluesky: @berrietr.bsky.social

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Giveaway!

Berrie Torgan-Randall is generously offering a copy of her book Bella & Blue: Bella Meets Blue to one lucky winner. Just leave a comment on this post by October 7th. I’ll choose a winner at random and connect them with Berrie. This giveaway is open to US residents only. Good luck!