Agent question...

I hope this is the right place to ask, if it's not please feel free to move it! ^_^

I was just curious. I have an agent now handling another book of mine. while I'm waiting for him to find a willing publisher, I re-opened some manuscripts for picture books I was writing prior to the book now awaiting publishing.

I finished one and emailed my agent. (He's out of the office today, but I should hear from him tomorrow, he's very good about getting back to me.)

The one thing I didn't think of asking (because I wasn't sure I was going to reopen the manuscripts...) was if he even worked with picture books.

What happens, say an agent takes you on based on a book you wrote... but he or she doesn't do children's books?

Do you have to find another agent... or if the book is worthy, will the agent take it on even if it's not the norm for them, simply because you're already a client?

he just emailed me back and said... Nope - just too competitive and the price point is pretty low so they really are not that profitable.

he didn't offer any other suggestions.

So what would be the right way to handle this? Do I keep him as my agent for the current book he's trying to get published, and find someone to represent my picture book? Or Do I scrap the picturebook manuscripts?

I could try it that way. I got my current agent because I know most publishers don't like to be contacted directly unless you're an established writer, unless through an agent...

He's doing a good job, There's been some interest, people are just worried about my genre of story in this economy... but he is very confident it will get published soon.

I was just hoping to get my photobook manuscripts out there too, but since my agent doesn't handle photobooks, I'm kind of at a loss on what to do, or where to go. (the book he is trying to have published is my first actual book, so I'm a novice.) (It's not a children's book.)

But I did do a focus group with 4-8 year olds, and they all really liked the story, I think it would make an even better photobook.