I wrote a children's book, where do I submit it to see if it's publishing material?

Question

It's done. I don't know where to send it though. Everywhere I look it says that they don't accept manuscripts if you don't have an agent. Is it really worth getting an agent if you've only written 1 book so far? I am not interested in self publishing. Please, any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

You have chosen the hardest field of all - children's books. An exec at Random House explained it to me this way. 40% of all children's books today are written by celebs like Madonna, Jamie Lee Curtis etc. Another 40% of the market is existing, successful children's authors - Eric Carle for instance. Another 15 - 20% is reprints of children's classics - like Curious George. That leaves 5% tops for new authors. And the newest trend is for adult authors like Carl Hiaasen and Mary Higgins Clark to move into the children's market - lowering the percentage of new authors. Most of the major publishers aren't reading children's material at present. They have backlogs of books they have already purchased and are working on. As a result, agents aren't reading children's material because there is no money in it if they can't sell it.

Your best bet is to get a copy of Writers Market 2007 and search through the smaller publishers and agents and see who is still reading children's books. There are some out there. However most of them won't pay you an advance and their royalties are lower since they are small companies working on small budgets. But it's a way to start.

You are right about self publishing. It's a financial black hole that should be avoided. Good luck. Pax- C

Answer 2

Yes, it is worth it, even if you have only written one book so far!

Are you planning on writing more in the future?

Find a good agent... some will not charge until after you are published, and that means that they will be doing the best to make sure that happens...

http://www.wlwritersagency.com/ - thats the one that i will be applying to once i finish my novel... It doesn't say anything there about them NOT accepting children's books... But take a look around at a few... That one sounds good because if the book isn't "perfect" then they will help you fix it up, and they only take like %10 of what you get... AFTER you earn it...

So just have a look around... If you get an agent for this book, then you already have a foot in the door for your next one!

Good luck!

Oh, and what is it kinda about? And what is it called? I will keep an eye out!

Answer 3

This is gonna sound stupid. I know it before I write it down, so feel free to ignore this if you feel like it, but I'm gonna say it anyway.

1. Begin by reading it to some children. Take any opportunity you can get to read your story to any group of children who will listen. Go to Barnes and Nobles and volunteer to read on their little stage. Go to an orphanage, or go to reading day at the elementary schools.

2. Find someone to illustrate your story. The simpler the better, and the more pictures, the better.

3. Read the story of the high school student who wrote Eragon and Eldest. Paolini did some amazing things to get published, and if you are willing to do those things, you may get published too! But it starts with publishing yourself. In this day and age of PDF documents and photoshop and page maker, and word processors, it is simply not that hard to get a few hundred books run off. If you really believe in your story, bring it to life. Get the thing copywritten, print off a few hundred books and take them to every craft fair, library, art show, and literary guild in your area. Then, go out of your area. Donate a few to worthy causes. Offer to read excerpts on your local news, morning, or weekend shows. IF enough people are exposed to your story, and it truly is a good story, eventually a publisher is going to have to come running to you, if only to keep you from getting ALL of the profits.

Well, I warned ya, there it is. Worth every cent it cost ya. Let me know if it works out!

Answer 4

Children's books are rather cut back nowadays, but there are still many eager publishers out there for you. I can give you a few tips, which will also help you to understand about publishing. That's in the later part of these tips:

1. Don't self publish. I am serious about this. Self publishing may seem to be good but is rather expensive. They also don't market you book out for you. Marketing, by the way, does not mean advertising. It means distributing and selling to shops, etc. Publishing houses are the best way to get published because they are well known and they market it out for you.

2. Think about your genre and chosen audience. If you're a teen, don't try to write an adult book! That's a rather odd position. It may turn out well, but mostly it doesn't. Make sure you have what genre it is (fantasy, contemporary, etc.) and audience. Is it meant for children? Keep it in mind. Control your audience with your writing.

3. Write whatever suits you best. For example, as a contemporary writer I don't write fantasy or historical fiction. Why? Simple enough, isn't it? Don't make up stuff unless you are "allowed" to make up stuff. Eg; fantasy stories. If you're writing about a country, don't make things up! It confuses the reader and is a bad "habit".

4. Keep writing! Never, ever give up. Ever! You write and write and write, but don't lift your head up for a second. Just type, type, type. Or write, write, write. Don't go back and edit. Because that little pessimistic voice in your head will say that it's disgustingly boring, or phrased badly. Maybe it is, but edit it when you're done! Just keep going!

5. Stuck for ideas? Writer's block, it's called. Take a drink of water. Then sit back down and just write anything related to your topic down on a piece of paer. Anything. For a minute, don't think about it, just write whatever comes into you head. Otherwise, just sit there and type. It'll come to you. Most author have this. I call it the Idea Rush. You'll find if you just type, what happens next just pops ito your head.

6. Finished your story? Edit. Edit. Edit. Finished editing? Edit. Edit. Edit. Finished editing twice? Edit. Edit. Edit. Finished editing thrice? Edit. Edit. Edit... It can't be stressed how important it is to edit. Fifty times, if you have to. Give it to others to read. Different people will find out different mistakes. Never trust yourself to edit your work.

7. Time to publish. Publish it on the internet. Places like kidpub.com allow you to submit pieces once you are a member. Go to stonesoup.com for a list of internet sites. But if you want to publish big time? Publish through a publishing house. As I said before, never publish through a self publisher. They're bad! Now, how to publish through a publishing house, you might ask. Easy. Search them up, first. Research them. Kids books in UK? Perhaps Chicken House (www.doublecluck.com). They accept unsolicited material. This means that you don't have to go through an agent to submit it. Most houses only publish solicited material. Agents usually edit it further, and then help you submit to (a) publisher/s. However, most of them don't accept unsolicited clients! You have to write a letter to them, stating your story plan, etc. But it's like a never ending circle! Normally agents only take past authors or their own clients they know...But not all of them. Get one interested and they'll do it for you. However; search whether the house you want accepts unsolicited material or not. Get an agent if it doesn't, or move to another house to study on. Another one, if you live in Australia, is Allen&Unwin (www.allenandunwin.com). You actually don't have to live in Australia, but it's an Australian firm. International publishers, such as Penguin (www.penguin.com), may or may not accept unsolicited material. Penguin allows unsolicited material for children's books. Normally you would send a sypnosis - a summary - of the story together with the first three chapters or first 5000 words. If you want feedback on your writing, and advice, visit www.mreradicator.blogspot.com. It's a new site, but Eradicator corrects your manuscript and gives you feedback. He is a sort of critic, though, so expect critizism! He doesn't count as an agent, though, even though I would recommend him.

So there you are! Simple if you think about it.

Answer 5

I encourage you. Buy the writer's guide and try. Remember that nobody believed Harry Potter's author and she shut them up. Good luck.