The world of
childrens book publishing firms is quite an exciting one. For authors of childrens book, they far and away represent the number one prospective source for publication. It goes without saying that ones chances of publication improve dramatically when one seeks out a publisher whose needs match the product that one is trying to sell. Therefore, those who attempt to publish childrens story books with mainstream publishers might find themselves fighting a needlessly difficult battle. Instead of tilting at windmills like this, many have turned down the less trodden path of pursuing deals with specialty childrens book publishing services, with the end result being that theyre able to get their works in print faster, with a greater degree of attention given to their individual works as well as their contract.
For those who intend to submit their works to a childrens book publishing house, there are quite a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost is that not all childrens literature is made the same way. There are lavishly illustrated picture books for young children that hardly contain any text at all. There are books for slightly older children with more complex stories, and young adult novels that begin to incorporate meaningful, and sometimes dark, social themes about the situations that they will deal with as an individual growing up in todays society. Then again, there are those works which are equally appealing to both an adult and a childrens audience such as the recent Lemony Snicket books, or Roald Dahls famous classics. Whatever the case, each childrens book publisher in the market tends to focus on at least one type of childrens book to the exclusion of the others, and for this reason it pays to do research. If one submits their work to the most appropriate candidate, it seems obvious that their chances for publication will increase accordingly.
For those others who are still asking, Where can I find someone to
print my childrens book?, theres another point that they might well be overlooking: submission guidelines. The reality of the publishing industry is that it receives millions of submissions each and every year. Therefore, a manuscript not only has to be of astonishing quality in order to stand out it also has to follow submission guidelines. Imagine that you were an editor and your guidelines stated that you accepted only typewritten, double-spaced submissions, printed on one side of the paper. Now, imagine that you receive two manuscripts. The first follows all of your specifications to the tee. The other, however, is handwritten in crayon on both sides of the paper, with the words jumbled so closely together that it gives you a headache to read them.
Which of these two are you more likely to throw on the top of the slush pile without even bothering to read it?
As weve said, the world of childrens book publishing is very competitive and intense. However, there are certain fundamental techniques that can be employed to improve ones chances of publication, and many of them are just plain common sense. Authors ignore them at their own risk.
