Getting It Out There

You've written you book. And re-written it a number of times. You've sent it through critique groups, re-edited and sent it back to the critique group and repeated the process till you and your group decide you've written your story in the best possible way..
No it's time to submit it. What do you do? Look for an Agent to do it for you?
Send directly to publishers? Both of the above.
Rules have changed. In the age of eBook and self-publishing, very few publishers claim the right to exclusively sit on your manuscript while they take six or seven months to decide if they wish to see more of your work.

The Right Agent.

Method one: You can put together a list of recent books that you admire or that you think are similar to your work. Then, find out who represents those authors.. Many authors list their agents on the acknowledgments page in the front or back of their books. If you can’t find the agents this way, contact the publishing companies of the books on your list and ask their publicity departments who agented the books you are interested in.

 Method two: Go to AgentQuery.com, The internet's largest free database of literary agents. There you will find all kinds of wonderful tools to help you come up with a list of agents to query. Put in the keyword "Juvenile" and it will bring up another list.  I choose this method.

Method three: Go to Manuscript Wish List. This is the twitter link/site. Search the tags for your type of book.

Here's a link to the FAQ sheet for Manuscript Wish List.com

Bypass the Agent. Go to the Publisher

Submit directly to a publisher. SCBWI publishes The Book with a list of publishers. Author's Publishing is a free magazine which tells who is accepting manuscripts. I know there are other methods. I use these.

However you choose to do it, get it done. I know how hard it is to submit. I sent one out yesterday. Good luck to all of us.

 

 

 

 

Who Are You Writing For?

by Susan Berger

As a child, I loved to read, but I rarely wanted to read award winning books. They were books grownups thought I should enjoy.   They didn’t feel like they were written for me. 

Now I am a grownup and a writer and I still love to read kids’ books.  Sometimes I don’t know whether it’s the grown up in me that likes the book or my inner self which never did grow up.
For example: In January I checked out a book from The Kailua library – that’s right, I was in Hawaii -  called The Cheshire Cheese Cat, A Dickens of a Tale   It was on the 2011 Cybil’s finalist list for midgrade Fantasy/ sciencefiction.

I loved it.  But I couldn’t figure out whether it was my grownup self who love it or my kid self.  I checked the front of the book. (Kailua library still stamps due dates on the inside cover.) I was the second person to have read the book.  My grownup self loved that book.  So did the Cybil judges.  It was a winner.

 Then I picked up two picture books highly recommended by the Librarian: 

ThirteenWords, by Lemony Snicket

Oh migosh, you have to read this book!

Ten Birds by Michelle Young 

Really clever.

I loved them both, but I wasn’t sure whether kids would love them as much as I did.  I took them out and read them to five year old Livy and eight year Ka’ula.  Neither girl asked to have them read a second time.  I asked if they thought they were funny.  They each said, "Yes."  Neither of them looked amused. Both immediately reached for another book.

Then there was Lane Smith’s It’s a Book.

I thought it was hilarious, but I couldn’t get any of the kids I read to interested in it.  They nodded and said, "Next."

On the other hand, when I read them Rhyming Dust Bunnies  They wanted to read it again....and again.

The question which surfaced in my mind, was who are the authors writing for?  Who am I writing for?  I am sure we are all trying to keep our audience in mind, but are we managing it? 

I think the minds of the children I know and the minds of those voting on the prestigious awards don’t seem to have a lot in common.

Here is the list of the Newbery Award Winners 2012-1922
I don’t see Judy Blume on there. I see one Beverly Cleary. I see Gary Pausen’s Hatchet. That was one of my son’s favorites. How many of these books did you read as a child?

Here is the list of Caldecott Winners from 1938 -2012
I own a few of these. How many of these have stood the test of time in your house? I notice Dr Seuss and Margaret Wise Brown are not listed, nor do I see Mo Willems.

Then I looked through the books nominated for the 2012 Nene Awards

I don't think many of these titles are on any prestigious award list.  But kids are reading these books.
Here are  the NY times best seller lists from March 25, 2012:

Chapter Books

Picture Books

Here is this year’s Cybil finalist list .   I've read a few of these:

Just Grace and the Double Surprise.

 Clementine and theFamily Meeting

Clementine and Just Grace are very popular with the 6-8 set and deservedly so. My inner kid and my grownup self loved these.

The Friendship Doll

I think the grown up in me liked this one. I don’t think it will be a favorite with kids.  It seemed "teachy."

Warp Speed

Warp Speed satisfied my inner geek and I will reread this. 

Finally here are the Cybil Winners for 2011 

I plan to read a few more on the Cybil list. I may or may not dip into the NY Times list. The NY Times and I rarely like the same things.

So my questions to you are:
As a parent, how do you choose your children’s books?

As a writer, who are you writing for?  When we labor over our wondrous first paragraph, whom are we trying to impress?  The editor? The agent?  Our target audience??

Tell me what do you think?
Disclaimer: I used Amazon links because I can find the pictures and titles in the same place which makes it easier to do the linking.  All of these books are available at your Independent book stores  or at your local library.

Interview with Publisher Lynda Burch - Guardian Angel Publishing

by Susan Berger

With the development of the iPad, I believe eBooks are going to be more popular than ever. I’d like to introduce you to Lynda Burch who is the owner of Guardian Angel Publishing - a small press which is now listed with SCBWI. Guardian Angel is an eBook publisher which also does POD.

Why did you start Guardian Angel?

Lynda: I saw a need for children's eBooks. When I started writing musical eBooks to be played on the computer, I got wonderful feedback from big publishers and agents but they didn't know what to do with them. So I started Guardian Angel as an eBook publisher and opened to submissions, but within about a year we expanded our lines of books and we started going to print with our books, too.

What are the biggest hurdles you have had to overcome?

Lynda: Our first printer although quite large had huge fulfillment issues taking up to 3 months to fill an order and the quality of the books continually grew worse. So I jumped ship and went with Lightning Source who is a remarkable innovator in the publishing industry and gave our books broader visibility around the globe.

Another big hurdle was people thinking publishers using POD (Print On Demand) printer as a business model meant they were providing services as a self-publisher- which couldn't be farther from the truth.

But that is a whole topic by itself. We are now finally recognized as a small press publisher by SCBW&I and others, as we have been all along. We haven't changed- just their conception of us has changed. And guess what? Much, much larger companies than GAP are beginning to see the benefits of Print on Demand technology.

How do you choose which illustrator to put with an author?

Lynda: Sometimes I envision the art when I first read the story and think which style would suit it and will steer a book to an artist. But usually, I allow the author to choose a style then 2 or 3 artists. And depending on work load I send the story to one of the artists to find out if the artist "sees" the story. If they do and the artist accepts then a match is made and artist agreements are sent out.

What steps do you take once an eBook is published?

Lynda: Actually all books are created in multiple e-formats, 7 or more, and they are loaded to the various sales sites. We add new formats all the time as new eBook formats are demanded- for instance, for Kindle (chapbooks), & iPod and iPad markets. When new formats are required we stop and ready them for loading to sites.

What steps do you take once a POD is published?

Lynda: After processing them through three programs, the 2 print book files (interior and cover) with the metadata are sent to our printer, the proof comes back to me to approve and then the book is released to the various distribution networks. Once the book is off to the printer the sales & info pages are built for the website.

What is the authors’ responsibility in sales and promotion for eBooks?

Lynda: Authors don't generally get too involved in selling eBooks except the eBooks on CD. And in reality when you promote a book it doesn't matter whether it’s in print or an eBook download or on CD or DVD, it is an inter-related promotion.

Which are your best markets? TOSS? Fictionwise? Amazon? etc.

Lynda: TOSS and the Homeschool market has been a good place to sell our books. They are savvy and good eBook buyers too. Our children's fiction and nonfiction books are almost always on the bestseller's list on Fictionwise. EBook markets are growing rapidly. Amazon just announced (July 2010) that they sold more eBooks than print books this year- a sign of the times. I said that was coming for over 5 years.

Our print book distribution network sells at too many places to list and grows larger each year: Amazon, B&N, Border, Books a Million, in Canada, Europe and even show up for sale in

 India. (Most English speaking countries- that's the beauty of the internet- it’s so global.) We've sold books to little islands off the coast of Africa or in the Caribbean, Australia and more. Kind of neat to see where our books find a home.

Where do you get the energy to put in these twelve hour days?

Lynda: Well, believe it or not I am not a very high energy person. And I am definitely not a morning person. I am a slow starter with my day and gather speed as the day and evening progress and usually shut down the computers at 12:30 or so every night and then read for a couple of hours. But I am very good at organizational capabilities in my head. My brain never stops and luckily my fingers and hands follow. When I swim laps I am usually planning my day's activities if I haven't already done so in my sleep.

Where is GAP headed? (I am thinking of the iPad but I bet there are more things out there?)

Lynda: Yes, the iPad is the next step, although ALL of our eBook PDF's can already be read on the iPad right now! The EPUB program just makes them a little snappier with page turns which kids love.

The innovative BeThereBedtimeStories.com is another avenue for our eBooks to sell in. They are soft launching in July 2010- a great way for families to stay connected from a distance by reading and recording themselves reading books by video online to read to kids.

So I guess I'm not sure where we are going except up. Keeping up is the name of the game in this ever-changing marketplace for books. I'm on my toes to grab onto the next wave of new technology for Guardian Angel to embrace.

If you had it to do over again, would you have started GAP.

Lynda: Yes. Yes. Yes. I love what I do. I love the accomplishment of the finished product. My authors and artists and books from around the world have made me proud. They are winning awards and getting noticed.

But best of all our books are making a difference one child at a time. What could be better than that?

Thank you Lynda for your time.

Guardian Angel Submission Guidelines

http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/submissions.htm

Please note: Submissions will be closed between October 1st 2010 and April 1st 2011

The Slush Pile

by Lupe Fernandez

After listening to editors and agents speak, I salute the great work they perform in their quest for that great manuscript. When they mention The Slush Pile, I wonder what that repository of hope, that monument of potential looks like?

Famous Rejection Letter in History by Kris Kahrs

For those writers among us who are inspired by the rejection letters of the big dogs, here is one of Herman Melville’s from his British publisher, just after the publication of Moby Dick in New York, but before its subsequently botched release.

May 18, 1851

Mr. Herman Melville
104 E. 26th St.
New York, New York
U.S.A.

My Dear Sir,

We have read with great interest your intriguing effort of Moby Dick, or The Whale, and while it fortified us greatly, despite the somewhat vision-impairing length of the manuscript, we were wondering if changing certain of the story’s elements might not buoy its purchases at the shop, as it were?

First, we must ask, does it have to be a whale?

While this is a rather delightful, if somewhat esoteric, plot device, we recommend an antagonist with a more popular visage among the younger readers. For instance, could not the Captain be struggling with a depravity towards young, perhaps voluptuous, maidens? We are sure that your most genial friend and fine author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, would be instructive in this matter? Mr. Hawthorne has much experience introducing a delicate bosom heaving with burning secrets into popular literature.

I’m afraid that while we can appreciate the heartiness with which Captain Ahab pursues his passion for fishing, we would find it estimably helpful on your behalf to leave out his personal belief system. Let us not identify one faith over another, in such sense, that were it to prove an offense to our readers, this would most certainly thin shillings from our purse. If this development affects your character’s motivation disagreeably, then would it not suffice to make him a Lutheran? Everyone knows that Lutherans always have a “bee in their bonnet” anyway and there are not quite so many of them in London.

Bentley & Son appeals to your more libertine nature and requests that (for heaven’s sake, we are trying to sell books here) you discard the employment of ‘thou” and “thee” as it will put the reader too much in mind of the Vicar’s sermon on Sunday, and thus, ruin a good Saturday night read as being just “too much of a good thing”.

All in all we were quite delighted with your previous efforts, Typee and Omoo. They were just the thing, what with the cannibalism and native non-state of dress and all. We remain hopeful for more of the same.

Yours in commercial endeavors,

Peter J. Bentley
Editor
Bentley & Son Publishing House
New Burlington St.
London, England

Magazine Submissions

by Susan Berger

Anybody have an article, a story, a poem, a Puzzle or Rebus suitable for a children’s magazine? Here is a list of places where they might be accepted. Be sure and grab a copy of the magazine to check their style, before submitting.

Highlights Magazine

• Pays $150 per article or story.
• 500 words younger reader
• 800 words older reader

Cricket Magazine Age 9-14

• Stories: 200 to 2,000 words (2 to 8 pages)
• Articles: 200 to 1,500 words (2 to 6 pages)
• Poems: not longer than 50 lines (1 page, 2 pages maximum)
• An exact word count should be noted on each manuscript submitted. For poetry, indicate number of lines instead. Word count includes every word, but does not include the title of the manuscript or the author's name.
• Stories and articles: up to 25¢ per word
• Poems: up to $3.00 per line
• Payment upon publication

 Spider Magazine Age 6- 9

• Stories: 300 to 1,000 words
• Poems: not longer than 20 lines
• Articles: 300 to 800 words
• Puzzles/Activities/Games: 1 to 4 pages
• An exact word count should be noted on each manuscript submitted. Word count includes every word, but does not include the title of the manuscript or the author's name.

Rates for Spider Magazine:

• Stories and articles: up to 25¢ per word (1,000 words maximum)
• Poems: up to $3.00 per line
• Payment upon publication

Ladybug Ages 2-6

• Fiction: read-aloud stories, picture stories, original retellings of folk and fairy tales, multicultural stories. Length: up to 800 words.
• Rebuses: focus on concrete nouns. Length: up to 200 words.
• Nonfiction: concepts, vocabulary, simple explanations of things in a young child's world. Length: up to 400 words. (Be prepared to send backup materials and photo references—where applicable—upon request.)
• Poetry: rhythmic, rhyming; serious, humorous, active, from a child's perspective. Length: up to 20 lines.
• Other: imaginative activities, games, crafts, songs, and finger games. See back issues for types, formats, and length.
• An exact word count should be noted on each manuscript submitted. Word count includes every word, but does not include the title of the manuscript or the author's name.

Rates for Ladybug:

• Stories and articles: 25¢ per word; $25 minimum
• Poems: $3.00 per line; $25 minimum
• Payment upon publication

Skipping Stones (multi cultural no pay)

Cobblestone Publishing Group Magazines

• APPLESEEDS - general history and cultures (for ages 6-9)
• CALLIOPE - world history (for ages 9-14)
• COBBLESTONE - American history (for ages 9-14)
• DIG - archeology (for ages 9-14)
• FACES - world cultures and geography (for ages 9-14)
• ODYSSEY - science (for ages 9-14)
• Appleseed ages 8 and up
• Assume 150 words per page; payment approximately $50 per page

US Kids Magazines
Their magazines are:

• Turtle age 3-5
• Humpty Dumpty age 5-7
• Jack and Jill age 8-12

US KIDS RATES AND PAYMENT POLICIES

• Turtle: up to 35¢ a word fiction — up to 350 words nonfiction — up to 200 words
• Humpty Dumpty: up to 35¢ a word fiction/nonfiction, up to 450 words
• Jack and Jill: up to 25¢ a word fiction/nonfiction, up to 700 words
• Poetry: $25 to $50
• Photos: $15.00 minimum
• Puzzles and games: $25 minimum

 

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS MAGAZINE

(they sent me this by email. You cannot find guidelines these on their website)

Submission Guidelines

 Thank you for your interest in contributing to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS, a monthly general-interest nonfiction magazine for 6 to 14-year-olds. NG KIDS' tagline is:

Dare to Explore. It's our mission to find fresh ways to entertain children while educating and exciting them about their world.

Submission Guidelines

 What types of stories does NG KIDS publish?

NG KIDS stories cover a broad range of topics, including science, geography, history, and cultures from around the world. For our departments, we are looking for animal anecdotes and stories about endangered animals.

What kinds of proposals is NG Kids looking for?

Although our staff generates most of our story ideas, we'd be delighted to hear from you about stories that have kid appeal. 

Here are things to consider before pitching to NG Kids:

Entertainment story ideas must offer some behind-the-scenes perspective that is unusual and informational.

Geography, archaeology, paleontology, and history story suggestions must answer the question, "What is fun about that?"

Science and technology story ideas must answer the question, "How does this directly affect a kid's life?"

Natural history story ideas must be tightly focused and exciting. For example: Don't pitch a general story about cheetahs. Do pitch a story on how a cheetah's physical attributes make it the ultimate hunting machine.

For "Amazing Animals," we're looking for animals that have stories to tell about unusual abilities, animal heroes, friendships, or silly situations.

How should one propose an idea?

A carefully considered proposal should be based on a well-researched premise or hook. Do your homework and check the online NG KIDS index to be sure that your idea has not already been covered within the last three years. A good query is short and to the point (about 250 words). It should include a headline that suggests what the story is, a deck that amplifies the headline, a strong lead, and a paragraph that clearly sets out the premise and approach of the piece. The query should represent the style in which the piece will be written. We look for a writing style that's informed but speaks the reader's language and has a sense of humor. Tell us which area of the magazine your story fits into. Please include clips and a resume. 

Once you have the perfect idea, here's who to pitch to on the NG KIDS staff at:

1145 17th St. NW, Washington DC 20036

Science, technology, environment, natural history, and wildlife: Science Editor, Catherine Hughes.

Human interest, "Amazing Animals," and entertainment: Special Projects Editor Rachel Buchholz.

Cultural stories, “Wildlife Watch,” "Fun Stuff," geography, archaeology, paleontology, history: Senior Editor Robin Terry.
If you're not sure about which editor to pitch, send your query to Jill Yaworski and she'll forward it to the appropriate editor.

Any photographic queries should go to photo director Jay Sumner, jsumner@ngs.org.

Please note that we cannot accept phone queries and we cannot acknowledge or return submissions. All submissions become property of the National Geographic Society, and rights therefore are transferred to the Society. 

Happy Writing