I wrote a very cute children's picutre book, how do I get a legitimate company to publish it.?

Question

It is about 19 pages long, I do not have it illustrated but have description of what the picture should be. It has a lesson in it very easily understood and point made with humor suited to preschool-kindergarden ages

Answer 1

Hey!

Do this!

* Yet another picture book contest - Cheerios and Simon & Schuster have jumped on the "get amateurs to submit a picture book manuscript online" promotion bandwagon. As with the Johnson & Johnson/HarperCollins contest... the competition is not open to "a professional writer, such as a novelist or newspaper writer who creates books or articles for pay." The prize is different, with less involvement from S&S. Grand Prize ($5000) and two First Prize ($1000) winners will be featured on the Cheerios website. The Grand Prize story will also "be offered to Simon & Schuster for possible future publication," but no paper publication is promised.
http://www.spoonfulsofstoriescontest.com/
Complete rules
http://www.spoonfulsofstoriescontest.com/contest_rules/

Answer 2

I second that, the Writers Market 2007 is on the shelves at the bookstores as well as in the reference section of your library. The book has a whole section on who the main and secondary publishers are for children's books, as well as listing what they're looking for and what age group they prefer to publish for.

You'll also find contact names and addresses as well as (I think) the pay rate.

Most writers DON'T do their own illustrations, the publisher gets the artist after they contract for the book from you.

The one thing you might have a slight problem with is your length--kids books run 24 or 36 pages to make best use of the template the pages are cut out on from the sheets of paper at the printer, tossing extra paper is not usually done, so the publishers look for stories that fall into those categories. You CAN pad it out with asking for a two page spread of a picture, but you may have to reorganize your total pages. Check the stores for children's books and take a look at the page count in them. It's a publisher/printer preference for the length, the writers usually have to work with it.

Answer 3

You start by querying literary agents. This is done with a one page letter describing yourself and your book. Sometimes the agent will request you include the first few pages or chapters, but that is an individual preference.

There are several websites out there that will help you find an agent, my favorite is QueryTracker.net at http://www.querytracker.net/ . It is free and has a list of literary agents and also tools to help you keep track of who you already queried and who you haven't, plus more.

They do a good job of keeping the crooks off their lists, but it is still a good idea to double check at http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.html.

There are a lot of crooks out there. Never pay anyone to read or publish your book. A real agent will never ask for money except as a percentage of your royalties.

Keep in mind that finding an agent and getting published is not an easy process. Some people have to query hundreds of agents before they find one who will accept them (sadly, some never get accepted), but be persistent and keep trying.

You should also visit http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums one of the largest forums for writers. They can be very helpful.

Good luck.

Answer 4

You'd need to send query letters to Literary agents and publishing houses. Try small publishing houses that would take on clients on a freelance basis if you don't have representation. That's your best bet. Good luck!

Answer 5

get a copy of "writer's market"...I believe they make one specifially for children's books, although you can just get the big one - they come out every year so get the newest it will list all the publishers, info on them including contact info and submission guidelines...
good luck