Although only a handful of unknowns get published every year, some become stupendous successes, and there is no reason you couldn't be one of them. If you have the time and patience, you can find all the information regarding children books publishers yourself, on the web or in the book stores and libraries. There are many publications at your disposal, like "Writer's Market", "Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market", etc. A simple search on the internet will reveal hundreds of children books publishers, their submission requirements and guidelines. It's all a matter of sifting through all the info, and finding the best fit for your specific book.

If, on the other hand, you can't spare the time or you feel overwhelmed by the incredible amount of data, we can do the looking for you. There is no secret that most publishers do not accept unsolicited materials, but some do, so whether you decide to find a literary agent, or go directly to the publishers, we will ensure you receive the practical help you need:

1. Once we establish what age group and category your book belongs to, we will compile a customized, comprehensive list for either literary agents interested to represent your particular genre, or a list with publishers open to accepting unsolicited materials.
2. We will give you all the information regarding agents' or publishers' contact information, guidelines, query, book proposals and manuscript formatting requirements. Any other specifics will be listed, so you will be equipped with the necessary knowledge to focus on your target.

Six good reasons to look for a children's books publisher:

1. If you have written a children's book and had your manuscript edited and evaluated/critiqued professionally–with positive feedback–you are certainly entitled to dream big.
2. Editors need manuscripts. They have to publish a new list every season. They need you.
3. The prestige that comes with having your book published by a known publisher is nothing to sneeze at...
4. Your "out of pocket" expenses will be limited to the charges for professional editing, evaluation/critique, and mailing/shipping your query and manuscript to agents or publishers.
5. All printing, illustration, advertising and marketing charges will be the publisher's investment, not yours.
6. The publisher will pay you to purchase your manuscript. Although the publisher will own the rights to your book, once published you will receive royalties for as long as your book sells.

Some practical advise and insight into what to expect:

Your submission materials will have to be packaged according to the specific instructions of each agent or publisher that will be doing the review.

• You may be asked for a query letter, synopses, or chapter outline and sample chapters from your book. Each piece has its own industry-wide conventions and specific techniques.
  
• Your manuscript must be double-spaced with each page containing approx. 250 words per page. Standard format and standard font (Times New Roman with a 12 size font).
  
• Familiarize yourself with the category or genre of your book so that you know what the editor/agent is going to expect. Make sure your book has in-depth characterization with emotion and sensory detail, and develop a strong voice that will catch the ear of the reader. The plot needs to develop a story arc that reaches fruition.

"Nobody buys unsolicited manuscripts" is what they'll tell you in any literary circle. They're wrong, you can get offers without an agent! But to prove them wrong, you also need to approach publishers in a particular way! Of course, you will need to do the extra work, but we'll direct you to the right reference materials, and help you customize your submissions with each publisher's specifics. Here is a sample of the kind of help you can expect:

Write a query that gets results

A good query will get you read at most houses – even by the eminent publisher at an eminent New York firm who told a first-time author, "For the record, we are generally unable to review unagented material." "However," he went on to say, "I am intrigued enough by your query to ask for your proposal."

Any pieces of paper you send editors–from three-paragraph queries to thirty-page proposals–will persuade them either to move your manuscript one stage closer to publication or to reject it right then, depending on whether they've been led to answer yes or no to the two all-important questions that echo in editors' heads:

• Will this book, if it's skillfully handled, add to my company's prestige and/or profits (and therefore to mine as well)?

• Can this writer handle it skillfully?

Every query has two important tasks to accomplish. First, it must sell your idea to the editor it's addressed to, and, second, it must help that editor sell it to colleagues, who–it's necessary to remember–will be asked and can say No.

The query checklist

The checklist that follows outlines the elements of a good query letter about a nonfiction manuscript; if you adapt them creatively, they'll serve for fiction as well.

• Explain why you believe each editor you're addressing will be interested in the work you're offering (because they've edited material on similar subjects or material displaying similar sensibilities; because they come from areas where your story is set; because you've discovered they share your interest in or indignation about or passion for whatever your topic may be). This portion of the query, which is usually the first sentence, must obviously be different for every editor you approach.

• State your specific idea (as opposed to your general subject). In addition to a catchy title and a subtitle that conveys the substance of your book, a "tag line" that expresses its appeal will be useful here. To create an effective tag line, look to book cover copy for inspiration and then focus firmly on the benefits your work offers readers. More than any other element of the query, the tag line can help interested editors convince marketing colleagues of the project's merits (eventually, it will also help the marketers sell it to wholesalers, retailers, media people and the public)

• Describe the main point your manuscript makes, the ground it covers and its style, with specifics by way of illustration.

• Mention your relevant credentials and connections, professional expertise and achievements, publishing credits, mutual friends, mentors and acquaintances, whatever makes you more of a known quantity and more credible in terms of promotion will be helpful. Even beginners should be able to cite some relevant achievements.

• Say where and how you got (or are getting) your raw material (primary sources? personal experience? exhaustive research?).

• Show how what you have to say is fresh and different from specific books already in print (hit the highlights here–you have information such-and-such an author didn't reveal; you hook your findings to a narrative instead of presenting them in the scholarly format of such-and-such a book).

• Estimate length. A word count that's appropriate to your topic and to the publishing concern you're writing for gives an editor a clue that you do your homework.

• Assuming your book is not ready at the time of the query, provide a tentative delivery date for your manuscript.

• Convey your enthusiasm for the project. Enthusiasm is infectious, which is lucky because it's also essential. "I wouldn't buy a book I was lukewarm about," says a VP and Senior Editor; "More than ever, enthusiasm is a necessary prerequisite for acquisition." If the editor isn't passionate about a book, the sales force isn't likely to get behind it.

In essence, what you're asking when you send a query to a book editor is, Will you look at my book proposal? It then becomes the book proposal's job to give editors the information they need to answer the harder question, Will you buy this book or at least ask to read it?

Editors routinely bid for books on the strength of proposals alone – including (to be sure the point sinks in) proposals from writers who don't have agents.

(Adapted from the fifth edition of How to Get Happily Published by Judith Appelbaum.)

Please read the "self-publishing" section as well, so you can make an informed decision about which publishing option is best fitting your needs and the future of your book. Please go to Client's Service Request Form, to select the services you need. Questions? Please contact us.