I'm writing my 1st serious children's book. Can you recommend an excellent book publisher(s)?

Question

I am well under way with my first children's book before submitting it to a publisher. I'm am looking for a tried and proven publisher with excellence in getting along with it's author's in finacial negotiations, illustrations, packaging and distributions and public relations. Can you recommend one for me for my consideration?

Answer 1

Getting from manuscript to novel isn't easy, especially if you're looking for a traditional publishing company with excellent credentials, but is certainly possible.

One thing that I want to mention right away is that it is highly unlikely that a first-time author with manage to get into a large publishing company such as Scholastic or Random House. These publishers almost always work with previously publishing, bestselling authors, so unless you can find an agent that works directly with one of those companies (and even then, you'll need lots of luck), your best bet would be to start small and work your way up from there.

Before I start listing possibilities, I'd like to give you a quick warning when you're searching for publishers. First of all, you've got to watch out for sharks in the water. Many publishers out there are actually self-publishers in disguise. 'Self-publish' means a company that will charge you money to get your book onto the market and into stores—or so they say. They feed you fancy lies topped off with whipped cream, icing, and sprinkled nonsense. No self-publish company will ever get your book into any major bookstores such as Barnes and Noble, simply because major retailers don't deal with self-publishers. The big bookstores know that self-publishers publish anything and everyone—trash and fantastic works alike. They won't risk taking a bad book into their stores when Scholastic is putting out bestsellers by the dozen. So watch out for them. They'll take your money and sell you your own book without making you a big-ticket item. So skip the self-publishers.

The guys you really want to work with are traditional publishers. These guys only take the best of the best and publish your book for free (often, they even pay the author in advance for the manuscript). As I mentioned before, traditional publishers, especially the big guys, are hard to get to, but don't give up until you get in. To get through to these guys, you will have to have a literary agent represent you because most traditional publishers don't accept unsolicited manuscripts.

A quick note: You'll need to have a query letter ready before mailing anyone. If you need help writing a query letter, check out this site. It's really helpful!

http://www.poewar.com/how-to-write-a-que...

Also, another note: More important than anything else is a well edited manuscript. Agents and publishers won't even consider your work if they start reading through it and right away find errors. I highly recommend proofreading your own work several times or finding an editor to get the job done before you submit your manuscript for consideration.

Here are some good sites that I personally recommend for finding agents.

http://www.writers.net/agents.html...

http://www.author-network.com/agents.htm...

http://www.books.bc.ca/literaryagents.ph...

http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/agents.ht...

http://www.wga.org/agency/agencylist.asp...

Also, when searching for an agent, always check to make sure that they represent books in the genre you've written. Always follow their submission guidelines exactly and only use the format they ask for. And remember, before you send your manuscript, make certain it is free from errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar (I know I already mentioned this, but proper editing is of the utmost importance because if an agents sees too many errors he or she will not even consider your work).

Again, even with all this advice, I warn that it is almost virtually impossible for a first-time author to get to an excellent book publishers. Because these guys pay for everything, they almost as a rule want bestselling authors that they know for a fact will be worth the trouble. In my opinion, the best route for a fresh starter would certainly be to sell your first novel to a small publisher and work your way up. That's probably the most effective way to really get anywhere.

Regardless of the path you choose, good luck in getting published. Who knows . . . you just might get lucky!

Answer 2

You need a literary agent, not a publisher, unless you've published an impressive body of work already. Also, you wouldn't submit work to the publisher per say versus submitting to a specific editor within a publishing house. But that doesn't matter, because you're looking for a literary agent right now, not an editor. If you're unpublished, an editor will throw your work out without even looking at it.

Anywho, check out The Writer's Market (there's a website as well as a series of books in every bookstore) and their guide to finding a literary agent. It's essentially the primary "yellow book" for writers. Also, I suggest you pick up "How to Find a Literary Agent" from Amazon or a library.

It's difficult for one individual to recommend to another who to talk to or what publisher is "excellect", etc. This is because agents/editors have very specific tastes and needs to be tailored to. If you write a children's book there are many, many categories of children's books just as there are many, many categories of Science-Fiction (alternate history, space opera, space fantasy, time travel, realistic/probable, sci-fi horror, cyber-punk, etc.)

Other than that, good luck, enjoy the journey, and believe in yourself!

Answer 3

This may not be what you want to hear, but this is the way it is with children's books. It is a totally different market.

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 2 on that list) ...

40% of children's books published today are by celebs like Madonna, Jamie Lee Curtis etc. Celebs can get anything they want published. Their names sell.

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 childrens' market recently.

To that, add the fact that most of the large publishing companies are backlogged with children's books they have under contract but havent gotten out yet.

As a result, most A list publishers aren't even reading childrens' 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. 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.

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.

There is one shot you have. As you are searching through that book department, look for something that isn't there. Some kind of a topic nobody has written about. It would be something that teaches a lesson to kids in a fictional way, but that hasn't been done before. Believe me - there are topics. I fond one recently. I did a teleconference with the publisher I work with and he was thrilled. He wants te book yesterday. No such book exists. If you can find a topic nobody has covered before and write an exceptional book. you have a shot. Jamie Lee Curtis has been very successful with that.

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 with someplace like Lulu - it will get you nowhere. Self published books dont make it to bookstores. It is a financial black hole to self publish. I recently read about a woman who refinanced her house and spent over 70 thousand dollars publishing and promoting her children's book. She has recouped less than 10% of her money and is in danger of losing her home.

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. Self publishing will do nothing for you but take money.

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.
Just keep writing. Be exceptional!!

Good luck. Pax -