To send my finished book to a publisher. Do I just send the pages?

Question

I have written a children's book, illistrations too. Awaiting a copyright. Should I send the cover and pages as I have made them to a publisher? Or is there a certain order that I should send it?

Answer 1

That would be your second biggest mistake. Your first was purchasing a copyright. You should never never never do that. It shows publishers and agents you distrust them and they get very nasty about it sometime. It is an almost guaranteed slush pile move. You own the rights to your work automatically the minute you write it. The best protection is to just NOT spread it around on the internet. If and when you sell the book, your publisher will obtain a copyright as a part of a standard book contract. Purchasing a copyright tells publishers and agents you are not professional. Only amateurs do that.

And you have been given some bum information regarding the so called "poor man's copyright" where you mail a copy to yourself. A copyright is only as good as the high priced attorney you pay to defend it. A "poor man's copyright" does not stand up in court without major additional evidence to support it. No lawyer would take the case to defend one. There are literally dozens of ways to beat it. The latest is backdating your computer, stealing a story online and burning a disk with a date of a few years ago. Just like that, someone lost a story. And I hate to tell you, but it is possible for someone to plagiarize your work and you not even know it until it hits the book stores. And tell me what you do if someone in Malaysia plagiarizes you? Where do you hold the trial - here or Malaysia? Just don't share your work online or pass around copies and your claim to the material will hold up.

I sure do wish people would skim through other questions before they ask. They would see all this information is archived to help them.

No, you do not send the manuscript to the publisher. You follow their submission guidelines to the letter. Usually that means sending a query letter with a synopsis. If they express interest, they will ask for a full or partial manuscript and a book proposal. You have to learn how to write a proposal. There are books that will help. It is a very important document. It is your #1 selling tool. Make sure it is a good one.

That being said, as a person with experience in children's books - let me tell you the real deal about kids' books.

The odds are heavily stacked against you. You have chosen the most difficult thing in the publishing business - getting a children's book published.

Let me describe for you the current nature of the children's book market. I just finished ghostwriting two children's books for a very major sports figure - already sold to a very major NY publisher. The first is with artist now and due out in Spring. I am currently working on another one with others to follow. This information was given to me by a Senior Editor at the publisher I write for (one of the top 5 Publishers in the world) ...

40% of children's books published today are by celebs like Madonna, Jamie Lee Curtis etc.

40% are written by existing, established children's authors like Eric Carle.

15-20% are reprints of children's classics like Curious George.

That leaves at best 5% for new authors.

And that percentage is being cut into by adult authors like Carl Hiaasen and Mary Higgins Clark entering the children's market recently.

As a result, most A list publishers aren't even reading children's books right now, which means agents arent either. Agents only read what they can sell.

There is very little room to break into the children's market. Only books that are extremely exceptional and have huge appeal stand a chance. Forget any holiday related books - the selling season is too short to make money.

And most publishers have huge backlogs of children's books they have purchased and are not published yet. It takes about a year for a children's book to make it out - often MUCH MUCH More. It usually takes an artist about a month a page to illustrate. So most publishers have their production schedules for children's books filled out for the next few years.

Take a walk through any major childrens' book department and you will confirm what I am telling you. Getting a childrens' book done is almost impossible - and getting an advance for it is virtually out of the question anymore. Unless you fall into one of those categories above. I am fortunate to have the backing of a very major sports star to get me in the door with kids books. I write adult novels, but believe me I have tried with kids books before and failed for exactly the reasons I list here.

Ghostwriting has gotten me in through the back door, and now I will be able to sell some of the children's books that have my name on them. For now, someone else's name is on the cover. Someone whose name sells books - big time. Don't ask me how you can get a ghostwriting deal for a major sports star ... I really backed into this. It was a gift from Heaven really and it is a blast working with this person too!!! My mantle is now covered with sports memorabilia worth a fortune!! Presents. (I am watching out for OJ to invade my house and steal it LOL)

That is the nature of the beast. You might get a copy of Writers Market and search for some small publishers who are reading childrens' books, but searching through the agents section, you will see that almost NO agents are reading childrens' books. Try for some small publishers that read without going through an agent. Expect a lot of rejection. Develop a really thick skin and learn to advocate for yourself.

Always remember that before you send anything to anyone, check them out. Preditors and Editors, Absolute Write Water Cooler's Bewares and Background Checks, Writers Weekly.com and Writers Wall are all great sources and totally free - although if they help you, it is nice to contribute a donation. Someone has to pay for running the sites. If you do not see information on the publisher or agent in question, write to Dave K at Preditors and Editors, Victoria Strauss or James Macdonald at Absolute Write or Angela Hoy at Writers Weekly. They are happy to pass along any info they have to help you.

As for self publishing it - it will get you nowhere. Self published books dont make it to bookstores. Childrens' books are impulse buys. What is out on the tables for kids to see is what sells. Kids don't shop at websites for things like books. They have to hold them in their hand and nag Mom to buy it. The only way to achieve that is through a good traditional publisher. I recently read an article in the paper about a woman who self published a childrens' book. She refinanced her house for over 60 thousand dollars and invested it in self publishing. She has recouped less than 10% of her money and is in danger of having her house foreclosed on.

I have starred a lot of great Q and A regarding writing on my profile. You can access it and print out the pages. Start a notebook you can refer to. There s a lot of good information here and I add more as I see good ones. I am doing it to help others. Feel free to use it. Add me as a fan and get the regular updates. Keep writing. Remember you have to need to grow a hide as thick as a herd of elephants. There will be rejection letters and plenty of them. Most authors save theirs. I recently came across my very first. I may have it bronzed.

Just keep writing. Be exceptional!!

Good luck. Pax - C

Answer 2

Before you send anyone your work, you need to query literary agents and publishers.

Start with agents who specialize in children's books. There are books available in your library and bookstore that will tell you which agents are accepting queries, what types of books they represent, and what materials they want from you. Follow each agent's instructions exactly.

If your book is good enough and something that an agent thinks they can sell to a publisher, then they'll offer to represent you, and take your book to the editors at various publishing houses who they think might be interested in a book like yours.

Most publishers these days don't accept unsolicited submissions. Your best bet is to go through an agent. It's a long, frustrating process, most likely ending with nothing, but you'll have a better chance of success than if you send your book to publishers directly without any idea of what they're looking for, which editor to direct it to, and what materials to send.

Do your research before you send anyone anything!

[added] You don't need to worry about copyright at this stage. The minute your wrote your book, it was copyrighted. No publisher is going to steal your work. If they buy it, they will register the copyright and take care of all that kind of stuff.

Mailing something to yourself is a waste of postage. This supposed "poor writer's copyright" has no legal authority and proves nothing except that you were in possession of some pages on a certain date.

Answer 3

send finished book publisher send pages

Answer 4

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Answer 5

Jesus, no. Publishers never look at unsolicited manuscripts, since that opens them up to litigation. Send a query letter and a synopsis of the plot, and MAYBE a few sample pages. And get it copyrighted first. Copyrighting is easy; put it into an envelope and mail it to yourself.

You...misspelled illustrations. If it wasn't a children's book, this would not bode well for you.

Answer 6

Send a proposal/query to agents and publishers (after researching them). Go to your local bookstore and pick up the most recent Writer's Market for the children's and illustrator's market.

Answer 7

Send a query letter, then th publisher will tell you if she wants to see any pages.

Answer 8

I sent, one through Email, the other through the mail , you can get a author's discount, when you send it through the post office, just ask them about it. Ask your publisher they would have told you what they want.

Answer 9

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