… Here are a few suggestions about getting your work published.
1. Take some time to polish your finished work before sending it anywhere.
There are lots of places to learn the craft of writing solid fiction and non-fiction. Community colleges are great, so are workshops and writers organizations. I belong to the SCBWI– the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. They have chapters all over the country and are wonderfully helpful in providing information and support. If you happen to live in Oregon, Willamette Writers and Oregon Writers Colony are also great resources. If you are just starting out I think Ursula LeGuin’s Steering the Craft is one of the most lyrical and useful books ever written about the nitty gritty of writing well.
2. You don’t need to be an insider.
You don’t need a “platform”, a blog, a facebook page, or a following on twitter. You don’t need an advanced degree (although breadth of reading and a solid undergraduate education is very helpful.) You don’t need to self publish first or write poetry or short stories before tackling longer stories. You don’t need a website (until after the book comes out). You don’t need to hire a publicist or a book doctor. You just have to write something AMAZING! I think it’s more important to work on the story and save the marketing for after you have something for people to buy. I didn’t know a soul in the publishing industry when I started. I learned the craft of writing and made connections for myself over many years.
3. You do need to follow an agent’s or publisher’s guidelines.
It’s not rocket science, but you do need to know how to format a manuscript, write a query, make a synopsis, and a few other basic writing tasks. There are many resources to help you learn this. One of the most complete is the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market which comes out annually and is most likely in your library. None of these things takes a lot of time but it is well worth your while to learn how to present your work in a professional manner.
4. Pay attention to your field.
Get to know what is currently being published in the field you like to write. Ask your local bookseller and librarian for recommendations. Read lots. Many authors give great interviews on blogs. If an author you like is coming to town, go see her and for heaven sake buy the book! You want that book store to still be in business when it’s your turn!
5. Will I read your story and critique it or recommend you to my agent or send it to my publisher?
Here’s how that works. If you have taken a class or workshop from me, you are very welcome to say so in a query letter to an agent or editor. Often as part of a workshop or writers’ conference I will offer critiques outside of the class I’m teaching. Please check my calendar for the places I’m teaching. I usually do several adult classes a year.
If you have written something that I think is particularly strong in a class or in pages I’ve critiqued, I will ask your permission to recommend your work to my agent. I’m very happy to give a boost to work I find exemplary. However, my recommendation is no guarantee that my agent will like your work.
I don’t make recommendations to my publisher simply because they do not accept unagented manuscripts; my recommendation would not alter that policy.
In case you are wondering, my agent is Stephen Fraser of the Jennifer Di Chiara Literary agency. Their website has guidelines and a sampling of people they represent and the books those folks have written.
My editor for Daddy’s Home is Peggy Schaefer. She works almost entirely on picture books at the Candy Cane Press which is an imprint of Ideals.
My editor for Heart of a Shepherd and Second Fiddle is Jim Thomas. He is an editorial director at Random House Children’s Books. He supervises the middle grade and young adult titles they produce.
6. If you love to write, don’t give up!
It’s not an easy profession, but it’s very rewarding if you are willing to work at it wholeheartedly.
