Children’s Writing Web Journal

Whether you write picture books or young adult, the key information you need to locate and target a children’s book publisher for your manuscript is a click away. Here’s where to find it…..

1. The “At Presstime” section of each issue of Children’s Book Insider. If a publisher shows up in our newsletter, it means they’re taking unsolicited submissions. (Or, at least they were when we contacted them. Things do keep changing…..)

2. The Children’s Book Council members page. Gives age range, genre information and titles published for CBC member companies. http://www.cbcbooks.org/about/ourmembers.aspx

3. Bookmarket.com’s Publisher Listing Page. John Kremer’s superb site offers a detailed list of children’s publishers, with contact info, genres published, web links and more. http://www.bookmarket.com. From the homepage, scroll down to “Book Publishers for Authors” to see all the lists available.

4. Jacketflap.com All writers should check out this wonderful free resource. One notable feature: a massive database of children’s publishers with very detailed information. http://www.jacketflap.com

One important note: There’s no guarantee that any particular web listing is fully up to date or 100% accurate. Our advice: Once you’ve identified a publisher that interests you, visit its website to get the latest guidelines. Don’t simply depend on the information included in the listing. Consider these free lists as your starting point.

Happy hunting!

Entering writing contests is a great way to get your foot in the publishing door.  To help you get started, here are some useful links:

http://www.bauuinstitute.com/Marketing/BookAwardsList.html

http://www.freelancewriting.com/writing-contests.php

http://www.pw.org/grants?apage=*

Ten Tips for Contest Entries By Jan Fields

For writing tips and more information about writing for children, visit The CBI Clubhouse - Home of the Fightin’ Bookworms!

(Note: the following is excerpted from our acclaimed eBook Improving the Odds, Insider Secrets that Can Help You Get Published! by CBI Publisher Laura Backes.  To read another excerpt and get more information about this eBook, visit http://write4kids.com/odds.html)

Here’s a fascinating question I received a while back. It brings up an interesting dilemma faced by writers who receive personal (as opposed to form) rejection letters.

Although getting a rejection letter is no fun –even if it’s directly from an editor who clearly enjoyed your work — you’ve actually established something quite important: a relationship with a real live editor.

Here’s how I advised one writer about taking advantage of this great opportunity:

Hi Laura,

I seem to have clawed my way to the near the top of the slush pile; I am now receiving signed, personalized rejection letters rather than photocopied forms. Several of the letters have included favorable comments, but so far I have received no suggestions for revisions of the manuscripts, or requests that I do so. My question is, if I revise the manuscript substantially, can I send it back to the same editors again? Or does ‘no’ mean ‘no, no, never, never’?

In publishing (unlike the rest of the world) being rejected “personally” is much better than being rejected anonymously. It’s frustrating, though, if the editor doesn’t tell you why your manuscript was rejected (that’s up to you and your writers group to figure out). If the editor doesn’t specifically say she wants to see the manuscript again, then “no” means “no”. However, she may say she’d like to see other manuscripts from you. If that’s the case, be sure to send her something else, and remind her in your cover letter that she requested another story. Even if she didn’t mention seeing more work, I’d still send her another manuscript (provided it’s the kind of thing that publisher is looking for) and in your cover letter thank her for taking the time to respond personally to your previous submission, and say “Here’s something else I thought you might like.” Forming a relationship with an editor now can often lead to a sale later.

For writing tips and more information about writing for children, visit The CBI Clubhouse - Home of the Fightin’ Bookworms!

We get lots of e-mails from writers with questions, and we do our best to answer as many as possible.  Here’s a sampling of some common questions, along with responses from Children’s Book Insider Editor Laura Backes….

Q: What are the qualities that make a memorable picture book?

A: Many things make a picture book memorable. Well-defined characters with which young children can identity, and who have a problem or goal that young children can understand and find important. A well-paced plot that inspires the child to turn the page and see what happens next. Lyrical, rhythmic text that sounds appealing when read out loud. Engaging illustrations that contain details not found in the text, and also add another layer to the story. And finally, an original, imaginative story that the child, parent and editor haven’t seen before!

If you think about your favorite books from your own childhood, they are probably stories that made you feel something: wonder, joy, excitement, surprise, or even sadness. Those stories that speak directly to a child’s emotions are always the most memorable.

Q: I am considering submitting to a publisher who requests a cover letter, full manuscript and information on my personal/professional background. Would this personal/professional info. be included in a cover letter or in a resume? Also, I don’t have recent professional experience as I am currently a homemaker. Do I state this or only include my previous professional experience (which does not relate to writing though does relate to children)?

The personal/professional information would be presented in a short paragraph in your cover letter. Any professional experience that relates to writing or children can be included. If you were formerly a teacher, for example, that’s relevant. If you’ve been published but it was for the adult market, I believe you can still include that information in your cover letter. However, if you’re unpublished but a member of a writing organization such as the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, this information would be of interest to an editor. If you’re without experience, don’t worry about it. Simply skip this paragraph.

For much more information about writing children’s books, visit the Home of the Fightin’ Bookworms - http://cbiclubhouse.com

HarperCollins UK’s Fiday Project is offering authors of certain electronic-only books “profit share” contracts “in which profits from each book are split equally between publisher and author”.    Keep an eye on this — it could foretell a future in which, shorn of printing and distrbution costs, publishers will be compelled to offer far better contracts to compete with entrepreneurial ePublishers.

Here’s the link to the story:  http://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=977&Itemid=97

Also, here’s an interesting piece about the potential for digital children’s books:  http://www.columbian.com/article/20090105/LIVING/701059994

Live from Denver, it’s the announcement of this year’s Newbery and Caldecott recipients.

The action begins at 7:45 AM Mountain Time on Monday morning.  Here’s where to take it all in:

http://ala.unikron.com/

UPDATE:  If that feed is full, you can get the results instantly by following this Twitter page:

http://twitter.com/ALAyma

Our pal Harold Underdown has written a thought-provoking piece on the state of children’s publishing as we begin 2009. 

Harold sees some pain ahead — but it’s not all bad news.

Click here to read this interesting piece for yourself.

Via the NY Times, Simon & Schuster has appointed Jon Anderson, currently president of Running Press Book Publishers, as the new publisher of their children’s division.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/simon-schuster-appoint-new-head-for-childrens-division/

Sorry for the limited posts — my time is being taken up entirely by a top-secret ultra-cool project that I’ll be telling you about after the new year.  It’s gonna be really amazing.  But good lord, I need sleep. 

Anyway, before I head back to the salt mines, here’s a link to a superb post by the always superb Nathan Bransford.  it’s about the fine (and sometimes non-existent) line between young adult and adult when it comes to novels.

Really good stuff:

http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2008/12/holiday-cheer-dude-looks-like-ya.html

Farrar, Straus & Giroux is the publisher that has given us Madeleine L’Engle, William Steig, Louis Sachar and Polly Horvath.  And Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.  And Pablo Neruda.  And Isaac Bashevis Singer.   And…. well, you get the idea.

So it would be a tragedy if FSG was a casualty in the Macmillan restructuring announced yesterday.  Fortunately, it appears that FSG will make it through the storm, though not entirely unscathed.

On the heels of job losses and a restructuring of the children’s division, FSG publisher Jonathan Galassi penned a relatively hopeful memo to FSG staff yesterday that says, in part:

Our approach to publishing and what we choose to publish are not going to change…This new structure will make us more agile, more capable of being creative in doing what we do best in an environment that is constantly changing and ever more competitive.

The full memo, along with a thorough analysis that includes what’s in store for FSG’s Young Readers division can be found here:  http://www.observer.com/mobile/article/80428