How to Find a Children's Book Publisher

Writing books for children can be great fun and entertainment. Finding a "right fit" publisher, however, may be another story!

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tenacity
• A ream of nice paper
• Current Writer's Market
• Computer access

1. Start by writing a kid's book. Make it thrilling and fast paced and short (32 pages) for those short attention spans.

2. Test drive your creation on unsuspecting children; You'll be surprised by how honest they are. (Take heed of their feedback.)

3. Get a most current copy of Writer's Market. Things change so frequently that much of the information is obsolete before the ink dries.

4. Write a concise query letter that clearly defines your masterpiece in a few short sentences. Make it attractive. This is your hook, and as all good fishers know, the hook and timing are everything. Hook quick!
   A good query letter has three parts:
   1) Introduction: Why THIS publisher is the right fit.
   2) Meat of the story book. What sets this children's book apart from the millions of others?
   3) Author Bio: Who are you? What gives you the right to write?
   
   Don't try to be too cute or overly friendly. Do NOT include candy or other bribes.
   Do include a SASE ~Self Addressed Stamped Envelope.
   (I'm worried, I just sent off a bunch of queries with SASEs and the post office just announced a rate change! There is a good reason here for purchasing some of those "forever" stamps!)

5. Writer's Market has great detail on agents and publishers, so be sure to read the fine print about queries to each individual publisher or agent. Some accept emailed queries. some, adamantly do not. Some prefer a one page query letter. Others prefer double spaced prose. GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT!
   Address the query letter to a specific human if you want a human to read it. Folks like it when you know their name, so know their name.

6. Now that you have spell checked and read and re-read, and had all your friends and relatives read your query, place it along with your SASE into an envelope and affix the correct amount of postage.
   Mail it, and forget it.

7. Patience.
   More patience ... yep, and more....
   DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, DO NOT CALL TO SEE IF THEY RECEIVED YOUR QUERY LETTER.
   PERIOD.
   Calling will necessitate a delay as your query is stuffed beneath the pile of other queries, or worse, finds its way to the round file.
   Get a hobby. Write another book, or send out other queries but DO NOT CALL TO CHECK ON THE STATUS OF YOUR QUERY.
   I promise, you'll hear something ... eventually.

8. In addition to, or in lieu of Writer's Market, there is also the world wide web of publishers awaiting your search. A word to the wise here:
   Be careful, and be certain to check references reputable services.

Tips & Warnings

• Thoroughly research publishers to ensure the right fit.
• Be concise; keep your query to one page if possible.
• Be professional, but not stuffy.
• Provide exactly what the publishing guidelines state.
• Never give up.
• There are a lot of charlatans and fraudulent scam artists wanting to get their hands on your hard earned money. Investigate any business or individual prior to ever spending one cent. We suggest you don't pay reading fees; there is no need. If you choose to pay for a service however, just be sure to do your homework. The biggest reason we use Writer's Market is for the security of knowing the publishers and agents are reputable, and the guidelines are clear. We love surprises, just not in business!