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Before you toss that rejection letter into the fire, consider recycling it. But don’t bundle it with the newspaper and set it on the curb.
Lemons beget lemonade. Paper begets paper beads.
They say the more rejections you accumulate, the closer you are to becoming published. So show off all those “not right for our imprint” letters! Cut them up and roll them into jewelry. This tutorial from Paper University will show you how.
Paper Bead Necklace by radrb8vicki
Who knew rejection could be so beautiful?
Turn the pages of a children’s book and you’ll be transported to an amazing new world. But millions of underpriveleged children don’t have access to this simple, joyful escape. According to The Heart of America Foundation, sixty-one percent of children in low-income families don’t own a single book. Let’s start filling up their home libraries and their dreams.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Growing up in rural Tennessee, Dolly had only one book as a child, The Little Engine That Could. Inspire her, it did. Each month her foundation sends one brand new book to every preschool child in a low-income community. Think of a child’s excitement to find a new book in their mailbox every month until they turn five! The program starts with The Little Engine That Could and finishes with Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come. Visit the Imagination Library site for information on how to start this program in your area.
Reach Out and Read
Reach Out and Read (ROR) is a national non-profit organization that promotes early literacy. Working with pediatricians around the US, they distribute new books and educate parents on the benefits of reading aloud to young children.
Books From The Heart
This program finds books that are not being used and donates them to families and school libraries in need. Visit the site to start your own local book drive, adopt a school library, donate your own new and gently used books, or make a monetary donation.
The Little Red Wagon Foundation
Zachary Bonner is an amazing 5th grader who walked nearly 300 miles last fall to bring awareness to the plight of homeless children. He collects donations to help feed homeless families and to provide street kids with backpacks, school supplies, and new books. He plans to walk another 300 miles from Talahassee to Atlanta this October. Check out this inspiring, dedicated young man.
Reading is Fundamental (RIF)
The oldest and largest non-profit literacy organization in the US lets underpriveleged children choose a new book three times a year via the RIF book fair. The cost to provide one child with books and literacy programs for an entire year is just $10.
Do you have a favorite children’s book charity? Please share it by leaving a comment!
[UPDATE 12/10/2012: Also see How to Become a Children’s Book Author and New to Children’s Writing? A To-Do List. ]
A few weeks ago, I blogged about common mistakes new children’s writers make.
What makes me so knowledgeable? Not decades of experience, I admit. I’m new to the market myself (or I was in 2008 when I first wrote this), but I have spent this year immersed in the industry—reading books, attending conferences, participating in a critique group, and writing daily.
Yeah, I remember what it’s like to be brand-spanking new and more bubbly than a Kindergarten teacher on the first day of school. It wasn’t that long ago. I know you’re anxious to get published. I am, too. So let’s get started…
- You’ve got a great idea for a picture book.
Terrific! Congratulations! Take some time to develop that idea. What makes it unique and appealing to children?
- You sit down and write it out.
You are on your way! Keep writing. Like any discipline, you get better with regular practice.
- You give it to your children to read. They love it.
You mean you haven’t edited it yet? Put the story aside and give it some time. You’ll probably think of new ideas and different, clever ways to express your story. And honestly, your children are going to love everything you create. Well, except that experimental limburger and asparagus casserole.
- You give it to your mother. She corrects a grammar mistake but otherwise dubs it “perfect.”
Aww, you gotta love mothers. Unconditional love ’tis a beautiful thing.
- You give it to your neighbor. She thinks it’s wonderful and offers to illustrate it for you.
Unless she’s a professional illustrator, tell her thank you, but a publisher will match your manuscript with an illustrator. Finding an illustrator for your book is your editor’s responsibility, not yours. Your words should sell the story, and it’s possible that any illustrations you send could make a bad impression.
However, if either you or your friend have a professional art background, you should read up on how to submit a picture book dummy.
- You buy a copy of The Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market.
It’s true that CWIM is an amazing resource, but trust me, you’re not ready for it quite yet. And keep in mind that many smaller publishers, some of the most approachable markets for new writers, are not even listed in CWIM. (They may get overwhelmed by the volume of submissions a listing in CWIM creates.)
- You print out a copy of your story, attach your neighbor’s illustrations to each page and mail it out to every publisher in CWIM.
Every publisher? Phew, that’s a lot. They each have their niche. Are you sure that your manuscript fits with their current list of titles? And have you reviewed each publisher’s submission guidelines? Some have very specific procedures. Don’t get rejected for not following directions.
Successful authors not only write well, they match their manuscript with the right publisher. It’s a little like finding your soulmate—you have to click on a variety of different levels. Some publishers like rhyming stories, some do not. Some enjoy quirky tales, others will cringe at a farting character. Do your research first.
Want to learn more about writing for children? I can’t cover it all here. I’m just one woman. With a husband and two kids who want me to fix lunch. So I’ll just turn you onto these great resources and wish you all the best!
If you were told a piece of express mail was just dumped on your doorstep, sent from the “Bound Company,” what would you think?
Bound Company? As in…bound books? As in…publishing? As in…someone is offering me a contract for one of my picture books?! I didn’t submit anything to Bound, but maybe it’s a subsidiary of a publisher I had contacted.
My husband plucked the bright yellow DHL envelope off our porch and asked me if I was expecting something.
“Who’s it addressed to?”
“It just says Lazar.”
My heart did little flips. I always imagined I’d get a phone call offering me a book deal, but an express letter will do just fine, thankyouverymuch.
I ripped it open without even looking at the address label.
“It’s a bunch of checks, and they’re not for us,” I told my husband, confused.
Turns out, he was saying “Bowne Company,” not Bound. And the checks are for his employees.
Move along now. Nothing to see here.
As an aspiring author and mother of two young children, the time spent pursuing my career comes mostly at night, when the kids are asleep. I don’t have a lot of time, so I need to prioritize. Should I revise tonight? Or read? Blog? Research? Submit? I have to decide quickly; I only have thirty-three minutes until midnight. That’s when the baby wakes up. She loves ushering the new day in with a solid wail.
I suppose my choice tonight is to blog. I won’t have time for anything else.
I wonder if blogging is doing me any good. The majority of hits on my blog derive from “tattoo” searches, so who really reads this thing? (Which reminds me to tell you: if you want to pump up your site statistics, definitely slip in a word or two about body ink. Personally, I’ve got an inexplicable thing for Ami James, but I digress.)
Then I tell myself, it doesn’t matter if anyone reads this blog. It’s good writing practice. Even if the writing stinks (and it usually does), at least I’m meeting my daily word count quota.
But for the next few weeks, I’ll have my writing time spoken for. I’ll be busy preparing for the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature One-on-One Mentoring Conference (phew, that’s a mouthful, huh?). I have writing samples to polish and questions to prepare for my mentor, whomever that may be. I have my eye on a particular editor, but I doubt I’ll be lucky enough to get paired with that person.
And I feel panic bubbling up inside of me. I don’t know enough about the authors working in my genre, I don’t know enough about the mentors, I don’t know enough about the marketplace. I don’t know enough about comma splices. I need to know more so I can mix and mingle without sounding like a total noob.
But hey–maybe I should mingle with you.
Are you going to the RUCCL One-on-One Mentoring event in October? If so, drop me a note and let’s chat. I’ve got exactly twelve minutes left before the baby alarm goes off.
You’ve got a great idea for a picture book.
You sit down and write it out.
You give it to your children to read. They love it.
You give it to your mother. She corrects a grammar mistake but otherwise dubs it “perfect.”
You give it to your neighbor. She thinks it’s wonderful and offers to illustrate it for you.
You buy a copy of The Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market.
You print out a copy of your story, attach your neighbor’s illustrations to each page and mail it out to every publisher in CWIM.
Congratulations!
You’ve just made every beginner mistake in the book.
Just because picture books are short—and for kids—doesn’t mean writing one is easy. Like any profession, children’s writing requires time educating yourself on the craft, refining your skills, and researching the market.
Stay tuned for tips on what to do with that idea. In the meantime, keep writing!
I bumped into an on-again, off-again writer friend today, which was a surprise, since she seemed to be hovering somewhere above the clouds.
“My novel is going really well,” she said. “I’m going to finish it up soon and send it out!”
Yes, she was planning to submit her first draft.
First, I applauded her enthusiasm. “That’s great!” Then I cautioned her. “But you should really have it critiqued first.”
“No, do you really think so? I don’t think it needs it.”
I explained that most writers don’t have enough distance from their work to see problems in their own manuscripts. The fabulous ideas in our heads are not always executed clearly on paper. Because the story is unclouded in our minds, we don’t realize when the paper takes giant leaps (or even small side-steps), losing the reader.
She belonged to my critique organization but quit last year due to her off-again writing status. I encouraged her to return if she was serious about this novel.
“Maybe I’ll just pay someone to critique it.”
A professional critique can indeed be helpful, but a good one can be pricey, so your manuscript should be in a near-submission-ready state. Because you don’t want to have to pay for two (or more) expensive reviews.
“The thing is, I don’t want a lot of people to read it. It’s very personal.”
“But you want to have it published?” I joked and she offered a pseudonym.
“Well, it’s a really great story,” she said. “I’m certain it will get published.”
“I’m sure it is. Everyone thinks their own work is wonderful. Or else we wouldn’t be writing.”
When I suggested some writing books I thought might be helpful, she asked me what a few of the terms meant. That’s when her feet returned to solid ground.
I had to explain that I didn’t want to squash her excitement, I just wanted to prevent her hopes from being squashed. If she sends out a manuscript too soon, before it’s truly ready, she’ll use up her chances with publishers and agents. If they reject something once, they are not going to want to see it again (unless a revision is expressly requested).
It’s terrific to be enthusiastic about your work. Love creating. Love writing. But be realistic, too. The clouds are a fine place hang out once you’ve signed that publishing contract. But keep your feet on the ground until then, pen to paper, writing and revising. And revising some more.
When a character stops talking to me, I have no choice but to ask another to come forward. Like a radio station that goes static across state lines, I must dial the tuner until I find another song worth listening to. And it’s gotta be catchy.
I could force myself to work on a project I’m not feeling, or jump on the current groove. I choose to go where inspiration takes me.
I understand that successful, published authors must learn to multitask. There may be times in the future when several projects will be coming to deadline and I’ll have to channel a myriad of characters. However, being still unpublished, I can follow my fickle desires.
So one middle grade novel that received interest from professionals gets shelved…and a new one begins.
In the meantime, my picture books have been submitted. All three are out looking for homes. Write home soon, won’t you, boys?
For my submissions, I researched publishers to target those with books similar to mine (but not in direct competition) already on their list. Amazon’s “advanced search” function is helpful here, enabling you to search by publisher and age range. If you find a book similar to yours, you may be able to read it on Lookybook immediately instead of running to the library.
If I haven’t blogged recently, you can’t blame a girl who has been writing and submitting her work. Now I must dive into research mode for my current middle grade novel, which includes historic elements that I last studied in grammar school. I need to start getting smarter than a 5th grader!
I have recently learned ’tis a wonderful thing to have an agent request your manuscript, yet the moment becomes bittersweet when you don’t have a completed work to send.
I know a very important rule for writers: don’t attend a pitch session if your manuscript isn’t finished. It’s a waste of time for editors and agents who are attending to find and sign new talent. And it’s just as moot a move for you. No one will take a chance on an unproven fiction writer, no matter how compelling your first page, first chapter or first half of the book is.
The good news is that I did not attend a pitch session. I attended a critique fully expecting to be critiqued. What I got were the words every writer dreams of: “You have to send me your manuscript.” Alas, I cannot send an incomplete work. It’s excellent incentive to keep moving forward with my novel, but disheartening to know that I have every opportunity to louse up a perfectly good half-finished story.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 