askSuzannenow.com CWCC questions about childrens writing write for kids
If you have a question about writing for children, visit AskSuzanneNow.com to submit your question and I will answer it here. At that site, you’ll also find an audio file of a free teleseminar that answers many questions about writing for children. So be sure to listen to it - you might find that your question has already been asked by someone else and the answer is on the audio file.
Here’s a new question that was recently submitted by Russell:
Russell says, I have been writing short storybooks for children and several people have been telling me to publish them, but how? Please tell me the steps to take in publishing and perfecting a children’s book.
Here’s my answer to Russell:
First, good for you, Russell, for getting some writing done. You should know, though, that the road to publication of picture books (storybooks) is often difficult. That’s because picture books cost so much to produce and the market for this kind of work is very competitive. The fact that your friends like your stories and say they should be published is encouraging. Yet, are any of these friends published picture book authors? If not, then they probably don’t know the slightest thing about the BUSINESS of writing picture storybooks for kids.
Also, have you taken any courses in writing for children? If not, make sure you know what editors look for in work for young readers.
Read my article here that will tell you some of the top mistakes new children’s writers make - so you won’t make these same mistakes yourself.
Next, join a critique group made up of OTHER children’s writers. Also, be sure the group includes at least one or two PUBLISHED children’s writers - someone who knows the tricks of the trade as far as children’s writing and publishing are concerned.
Finally, once you have a submittable manuscript, study the markets to find out which publishers would be the most likely to purchase your manuscripts. There are several market guides for children’s writing available in bookstores. These market guides contain helpful information about publishers. But you’ll also want to obtain at least a few publishers’ catalogs, so you can see the kinds of books each of these publishers publishes.
As far as agents go - you don’t HAVE to have an agent. But you do need to learn to write a great query letter since some publishers prefer queries to complete manuscripts, even for picture books.
Read as many new picture books as you can, to see what the overall picture book markets are buying these days. Also network with other children’s authors. If you’re really serious about publishing, attend at least one children’s writers’ conference every year, and join The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
To learn more about HOW to write for children, take a course through the Institute of Children’s Literature, and/or become a member of the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club at the National Writing for Children Center.
Above all, don’t give up if you don’t find a publisher for your work right away.
Keep writing.
Keep learning all you can about children’s publishing.
It usually takes time to learn to write for children well enough that your manuscripts are marketable to publishers.
But keep writing and learning and eventually you’ll see your name (and your work) in print!
Both published and aspiring children’s book writers everywhere look forward to this guide every year.