Children’s Writing Web Journal

It seems like every day you can open up a trade journal and read about new children’s book publishers entering the children’s book scene. While most of these publishers are well-funded and have some sort of background in the industry, a few may be bad risks for an author or illustrator. Here are some ways you can check out a publisher before signing a contract.

Full article here: http://cbiclubhouse.com/2010/03/how-to-tell-if-a-new-or-small-press-is-legitimate/

In case you needed another reason to write books for kids, here comes some fascinating news:

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center tracked 81 clinically obese girls, ages 9 to 13, and found that 35 percent of the children managed to reduce their body mass index (BMI) when given a book to read about an overweight girl who helps herself to get healthier.

Read the whole story here: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6719309.html

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

When Steve Jobs and his crew at Apple set out to change the technological landscape, they usually succeed.  That’s why it’s absolutely vital that all writers pay close attention to their new “tablet”, the iPad.

This could be the gizmo that changes everything about the way newspapers, magazines and books — yes, even children’s books — are experienced.

I’ve found some links that will help you understand what this potentially game-changing product is about.  The more you know now, the better positioned you’ll be for the future.

Here you go:

What It Looks Like to Read a Book on the Apple iPad - Video:

http://i.gizmodo.com/5458329/what-it-looks-like-to-read-a-book-on-the-apple-ipad-+-video

Apple’s iPad: What book lovers need to know:

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2010/01/27/all-you-need-to-know-about-apples-ipad/

Apple iPad: Books, Magazines, Movies and Music:

http://i.gizmodo.com/5458263/apple-ipad-books-magazines-movies-and-music

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers?  Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Besides the cute little kid, of course. It’s CBI!

Noelle Sterne’s terrific interview with Laura is featured in the new issue.

Click here for more info.

Last month, we got the bad news that the venerable Kirkus Reviews was being shuttered.  Today, some marvelous news:  it looks like Kirkus is coming back to life with a new owner.

More details here

The Internet is abuzz with rumors about Apple’s impending announcement of a major new product. Most observers expect it to herald the introduction of a new Tablet computing format.

The implications for the publishing world could be significant. Many magazines and newspapers are already looking at the tablet as a possible new medium for reaching readers. Perhaps most fascinating though, for those of us interested in children’s literature, is the potential tablet computing offers for electronic children’s books. Imagine a children’s book fully integrated with audio, video, web access, instant messaging, and connection with other readers in real time.  The tablet may offer exactly that.

While we wait for the details, here’s an excellent rundown of all the rumors about Apple’s upcoming announcement: http://gizmodo.com/5434566/the-exhaustive-guide-to-apple-tablet-rumors

And here’s the New York Times take on tablet-mania: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/2010-the-year-of-the-tablet/

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Sure, it’s aggravating. You work tirelessly on your manuscript, revise, re-write and revise again. You send it off to publishers and get a mailbox full of rejections. Meanwhile, some pop star or ballplayer gets a big money deal to write a children’s book without lifting a finger.

Well, that’s the way the world works. No need to get down about it. Just get to work. Non-celebrities get book deals every day. Here’s how you can do the same.

Step 1: Master the Rules.

If you’re not famous, your manuscript or query letter takes the same route as the rest of the non-celebrities. It gets dropped, as part of a huge pile, on the desk of an overorked, underpaid, editorial assistant (or a freelance reader). Her job is to dig through the pile of dross and find a few nuggets of gold, and then pass them on to an equally overworked and underpaid editor. The editor then reads through the smaller pile, pulls out the submissions that catch her eye, and brings them to an editorial meeting. If the general consensus is “yes, this is a book we want to publish”, you’re on your way to partying it up with Madonna in the special “Children’s Writers’ VIP Lounge” at the Viper Room.

Buried in that timeline is a bit of bad news and a bit of good news. First the bad news: The editorial assistant weeds out up to 95% of the submissions that arrive. In other words, the vast majority of submissions to a publishing house never even make it in front of a person in a position to publish it. Why not? They may, of course, simply be awful submissions, laden with poor grammar, misspellings and hackneyed writing. They may be the obvious work of amateurs, handwritten on lined paper with childish drawings. Or, and this is where there’s some hope, they may simply get turned down because they’re the less obvious work of amateurs.

More subtle things, such as using single spacing rather that double spacing, or a manuscript whose word count is out of whack with the “norm” is sometimes all it takes for an EA to say “Beginner”. Rejection.”

So here’s the good news: simply by picking up the specific, but not wildly arcane, rules of children’s publishing, you can leapfrog over the madding crowd. When an EA or reader reads a manuscript that comes from someone who clearly knows how it’s done, they’re far more likely to give it a fair reading, and far less squeamish about passing it on to the boss.

So how do you learn the rules? Visit http://cbiclubhouse.com and have a look at the resources available there.

Step 2: Write to the Publisher’s Needs.

The problem with most aspiring children’s book writers is that they have a specific idea from which they won’t budge. To be honest, it’s usually a pretty dumb idea and, even if it’s halfway decent, chances are it’s been done many times already. Look, I know your dream is to write that book about the talking dish sponge and his sinkside pals, but put the dream on hold for a bit. The absolute best way to get published is to figure out what publishers want - and give it to them.

Here’s an example: Schools desperately need fiction and nonfiction books that integrate into curricula. Publishers, thus, are desperate to provide said books, as schools are big and dependable customers who are likely to buy directly from the publisher, giving even a better profit margin.

And you’re response to this is..? Hopefully, it’s “Hey, I’m gonna write some books that tie in with school curricula!”

This is just one example - publishers have all sorts of often unglamorous niches they need filled. How to find out? Send for their guidelines and catalog. Often, they’re quite explicit about their needs, other times you need to read between the lines of the catalog to figure it out. But the answer is usually there.

And, seriously, let’s see Brad Pitt try to write an exciting thriller about the passage of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

Step 3: Learn to Write a Great Query Letter.

Your query letter (used if you’re sending a few sample chapters of a longer manuscript) or cover letter (used to accompany and introduce a complete manuscript) is your chance to really earn the sale. Almost always, it’s a wasted opportunity filled with irrelevance (I’m the mother of four and I’ve always dreamed of writing a children’s book!), pleading (It would mean so much to me to see this book in print!) and ludicrous assertions (Everyone tells me I’m the next J.K. Rowling!).

A good query letter is basically this: a powerful sales letter meant to convince a publisher that it is in its best interests to publish your book. Essentially, you need to tell them that your manuscript fits their needs and will sell to their current market and will expand into new markets. Tell them, specifically, how you will be able to deliver readers (e.g. I have a weekly blog read by more than 20,000 parents and my website attracts 60,000 visitors a month) and how there is a defined need for your book and how you will reach the target customers (e.g. There are over a half million foster children in America. These children, their foster parents and foster siblings need books like mine to help make sense of their situations. I will promote my book directly to them through organizations, conferences, newsletters and websites.)

To succeed in publishing, you must strip away the romantic nonsense you’ve been brought up with and see things as they are. Children’s books aren’t published by magical elves. They’re published by business people (albeit, business people who, thankfully, often genuinely love the books they publish). Display to an editor that your book will be an artistic and financial success and you’re taking a big step in the right direction. For much more on writing a great query letter, go to http://www.write4kids.com/query.html To learn about a collection of actual query letters from children’s authors that you can use for models, go to http://www.write4kids.com/a2e.html.

Step 4: Write to an Underserved Existing Market.

Sometimes the concept of writing to a publisher’s needs can be turned on its head. Perhaps there’s a sizeable, wonderful market that no one is serving and you can convince a publisher that its just the one to serve it. It could be anything - children of interracial marriage, girls who like jazz, boys who play piano, American kids who dig the game of cricket - if there are enough of them out there and are too few books for them to read, you may very well be introducing a publisher to a potentially lucrative market.

Do your research. Talk to trade associations, government experts, owners of websites that serve specific markets or anyone else who can give you some supporting backup on the size of your target group. Search Books in Print for already existing titles that target the group. Speak with librarians and booksellers to get their viewpoint on needs. And include it all in a great query letter.

Step 5: Listen to the Pros.

There’s no need to go it alone. Take the time (and spend a few bucks) to listen to others who have made the journey. Writing conferences, workshops (visit http://wemakewriters.com for an excellent one), books and newsletters (such as Children’s Book Insider — write4kids.com/aboutcbi.html) can dramatically increase your chances of getting published by helping you avoid typical mistakes and pitfalls. An eBook such as I Wish Someone Had Told Me That: 64 Successful Children’s Authors Give You the Advice They Wish Someone Had Given Them (http://write4kids.com/wishbook.html) is a great example of this sort of instruction. Pay heed to the voices of experience!

Laura Backes is the publisher of Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers. For more information about how to write children’s books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children’s Book Insider’s home on the web at http://write4kids.com and the CBI Clubhouse at http://cbiclubhouse.com

You’re developing your craft, learning how to write a strong novel or intriguing non-fiction book. That’s good. But as much as you enjoy the writing itself, you’d really like to get paid for it. So what can you expect once you score that first book contract or magazine article?

* How Writers Get Paid

Authors are paid in one of two ways: in a percentage of the price of each book sold (known as a royalty), or with a onetime lump sum (flat fee). Here’s how each one works:

The royalty is specified in your contract and varies by publisher, but a common royalty rate is 10% for hardcover sales and 6%-8% for paperback. Traditionally, publishers paid the royalty on the actual retail price, but more publishers are moving to paying royalties on the net price, or the amount they actually receive from bookstores (stores purchase books from publishers at a 30%-50% discount). Though getting paid on retail versus net price is generally not negotiable, you can sometimes get a slightly higher royalty if you ask.

Most publishers pay the author an advance against future royalties. The author receives half the advance on signing of the contract, and half when the final manuscript is delivered. If you’re getting a 10% royalty on the retail price of a $10 book, and your advance is $3000, then once your book is published it needs to sell 3000 copies before you’ll start receiving additional royalty checks. If the book never “earns back” the advance (selling less than 3000 copies), it’s the publisher’s loss. Of course, the publisher is hoping that your book will earn much more.

The size of the advance is typically determined by estimating how much royalty the author would get on the book’s first printing. For a first-time author, the advance may be lower (because the author doesn’t have a track record and so the publisher isn’t be guaranteed a certain number of sales). Authors with an established following may command a larger advance because they have a built-in audience.

New authors always want to know the numbers: Exactly how much of an advance can they expect for a picture book or a middle grade novel? Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer. A small publisher may not have the resources to lay out more than a few hundred dollars up front, but might be willing to give a higher royalty. A first-time author is always a risk for any publisher, and so the advance paid will be lower than for a second or third book. But remember that the advance is really just a payment on future royalties; if your book sells well, you’ll get the money in the long run.

You also need to understand that for a picture book, the advance and royalty are split between the author and illustrator. So if you write the text but don’t create the pictures, you’ll get one-half the royalty (5%) and one-half the advance. For books that feature only a few black-and-white illustrations, the author gets most if not all of the royalty, and the illustrator is paid separately.

A flat fee means you’ll be paid one lump sum for your book, and you won’t earn any royalties. If you’re one of several authors writing a book for an established series, if you’re creating content for a book packager who does mass market series titles produced under one pseudonym, or if you’re hired to write a movie tie-in novel or work with licensed characters, you’ll likely be paid in a flat fee. The copyright may be in your name or that of the publisher’s. While it’s always nice to get royalties, flat fees may provide you with more money in one lump sum, and many authors take these kinds of jobs when they’re establishing a name for themselves. Magazines always pay in flat fees.

* If My Books Sells for $16, Why Do I Only Get $1.60?

Believe it or not, the children’s book publisher doesn’t make $14.40 profit on a $16 book. A small portion of the publisher’s overhead is paid by each book sold. A large group of people will work on your book: the editor, copyeditor, proof-reader, managing editor, art director, production manager, marketing department, sales staff and subsidiary rights (not to mention all their assistants), and everyone gets a salary. Your book needs to be printed (most likely overseas, especially if it’s a picture book) and shipped to stores. Publicity efforts can include sending out review copies (which come out of the publisher’s pocket), printing up posters or bookmarks, buying ads in review journals, creating and online presence and sending the sales staff to book conventions. Your book has to justify all these expenses, and still offer something left over for the publisher.

Laura Backes publishes Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Book Writers. Want to learn how to write children’s books? Come hang with the Fightin’ Bookworms at http://cbiclubhouse.com Whether is writing picture books, chapter books, young adult novels, finding children’s book publishers — or anything else — you’ll find all the answers at the CBI Clubhouse!

Authors know the power of giving out freebies to promote their books. Bookmarks, stickers and the like are a great way to spread the word. The problem is getting the stuff in the hands of enough children, teachers and parents to make a difference. 

Here’s the solution: “freebie” websites. These sites list offers of free goodies for a variety of audiences, and are excellent places for authors to be listed. 

Here are some links to get you started: 

Freebies for Teachers
Freebies for Parents
Freebies for Kids 

You can either offer your freebies by mail (request that folks include a self-addressed stamped envelope to defray your costs) or, if it’s a bookmark or other paper item, perhaps you can offer it online in PDF format. That way, you can also get more traffic to your website! 

Interested in writing stories and sending them to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!