Getting Your Children's Book Published

I keep telling myself I’m going to write a blog post and then I keep forgetting to.  Or I just tell myself that I don’t want to and that the conversation is over (sometimes I’m a bit of a jerk).  And…I kinda want to save my good blog post ideas.  For money.

See, a billion years ago I submitted an article to Babble.com, because I heard they’d pay you for articles.  And they liked it.  And they published it.  And then I learned the truth: they pay you for articles after you’ve established that your posts will be popular by writing several posts for free.  So I submitted another article, they liked it again, and I’m kinda working on becoming a freelance blogger maybe.

On top of that, the fact that they actually liked my work gave me the confidence boost I needed to submit the book I’ve been working on to a publisher, so I spent a lot of time editing, formatting, and writing my query letter.  Now that’s done though, so I can pick up where I left off with being good about blogging often.  Ha.  Haha…

In other words, I now have approximately 700 ideas for books that I’m researching, because writing is apparently one of the few things that makes me feel good about myself.

While writing this though, I decided what this post would be about: Getting Your Children’s Book Published.  I realize all too well that I am not an expert on this, but I really can’t think of anything else to write right now.

First, go to the library and borrow a ton of children’s books to read to your child.  Do this for many months.  Eventually realize that ¾ of the children’s books out there are really lame and you could probably do better.  So I guess the first step is [probably unwarranted] self-confidence.

You’ll need an idea.  Something that’s not too preachy, something that could have entertaining pictures to go along with it, something clever, whatever.  It’s your book.  Once you’ve got an idea, start writing.

And write and edit and write and edit and write and edit.  Make your friends read your book so much that they literally run away when they see you approaching.  If you have any friends that majored in English, make them cookies and cakes and a copy of your book to look over and edit.  Read your book to actual children.  Do they like it?  Maybe you’ve got something there, Ace.

As a side note, most publishers like to choose the illustrator.  Unless you’re really awesome at illustrating, it’s usually recommended that you just stick to the words.  If you DO illustrate your book you’re usually expected to make what’s called a “dummy;” essentially a home-made version of your book.  Make sure you don’t include your original drawings in the dummy (photocopies are fine).

Once you’ve edited so much that even you’re sick of your book but it’s all shiny and grammatically correct, it’s time to choose a publisher.  There are several resources out there, but the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) guide

 comes highly recommended – it lists tons of publishers, what kind of manuscripts they’re looking for, if they take new writers, if they take writers without agents, and more. 

Got your publisher?  Good.  Check their submission guidelines.  Most publishers look for a manuscript and a query letter (think a cover letter for your book), but it definitely varies.  Also, some publishers will want you to physically send in your book, some will want you to send it electronically.  If you don’t follow their rules, they won’t give your book a second glance. 

Now it’s time for formatting.  While it can vary publisher-to-publisher, there are some pretty common rules for both query letters and manuscripts.

Query Letters

• Keep it all on one page (single-spaced is fine)
• No fancy fonts
• 12 pt Arial or Times New Roman are often suggested
• Include your complete contact information at the top
• If possible, find the editor’s name to include in your greeting
• You’re trying to sell your book, your writing skill, and yourself, so edit this over and over again – it’s the first impression they’re going to get
• 1^st paragraph: usually an intro to your book (genre, word count, title)
• 2^nd paragraph: a summary of your book – the main character, their goals/desires, etc. (this is the most important part of the query – make it fun, show why your book is awesome, explain why it is unique)
• 3^rd paragraph: any specific background you have that makes you the perfect writer for this book, any publishing cred you have, any awards you have won, et cetera
• 4^th paragraph: why you chose this publisher (but don’t be too brown-nose-y)
• Of course you don’t have to follow this exact outline, but you should include most of this information in some form

Little Sister, I highly recommend you read this (and the one below) since I wrote them for you.
Everyone else: if you like poop, you're in luck.

Manuscript

• No fancy fonts/fancy capitalization
• 12 pt Arial or Times New Roman are often suggested
• Include your complete contact information and the word count at the top
• Do not write one line per page, and turn off your widow/orphan control (the thing that moves entire paragraphs to stay together on page breaks)
• Double space
• Center your title and write it in all capitals
• Create a header that starts on the second page that includes your last name, the title, and the page number
• No footers
• Avoid putting in illustration tips (i.e. “And here the illustrator should draw a magical rainbow unicorn shoving its horn through the Carebear”) – if your writing is good enough the illustrator should be able to picture what to draw

Your manuscript should look something like this.  Hopefully with less scatological references.

Once your book is all shiny and perfectly formatted and awesome, send it in!  Then sit back and chew your fingernails in anxiety for the next several months until they get back to you.  So much fun…