Need advice from published authors

[Avenger314]

Hi all,

This may be a somewhat lengthy post. I've been writing a children's book series on-and-off for the last thirteen years. Last week, I finished the fourth book. Each book is roughly 20 pages or so (double-spaced, size 12 font, no illustrations) but is a continuing story arc. With the completion of book 4, this part of the story is finished and I can start thinking about publication.

If anyone here is a published author, especially of children's books, I could greatly use some advice. Mainly I'd like to know the sequence of events that lie between "Yay, I finished writing it" and "Oh look, they're publishing my book."

I know I need to copyright the books before I send them out but I have no knowledge of that.

Is it acceptable for me to submit my books un-illustrated? Will a publisher pair me up with an illustrator?

I know there's a decision to be made on whether I submit directly to a publisher or attempt to find an agent first. I'm leaning heavily towards getting an agent. I'm not sure of the process of finding one, however. Advice on that score would be appreciated.

I've seen various ads on facebook for "publish your own books," but I've been avoiding them for fear they may be a scam.
So I guess basically my main questions are how to copyright my works and how to get an agent. Anyone who's gotten books published before, I'd greatly appreciate your insight 🙂.

Some notes about the books: Each is between 15-25 pages in manuscript form. They could be described as "Real world meets fantasy world." My inspiration is Patricia Polacco in terms of theme and tone and intended as a coping mechanism for kids who have suffered loss.

The titles:
Beyond the Mirror
What Clouds Are Made Of
Shaking Hands With Heaven
When Dreams Oversleep

If anyone has any advice on how to get published, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[TklDuo-Ann]

I've self-published a couple little things that are available in e-format. But, I never really followed through in promoting them. (I wrote them for myself initially, not really to sell.) So, there's not much I can share on how to do things.

One thing I can say is to be VERY careful about who you publish through. My sister-in-law recently published her book through an online ad. They were a rip-off. She's had to pay them to do simple little things. They now have ownership/control rights over her work and are doing nothing to promote it selling. Not only that. But, they published it with mistakes and inconsistencies in it. (The whole thing really needed to be re-written. But, now her hands are tied by the contract she signed.)

My advice... Take your time. Check around. Find out the reputation and terms BEFORE you sign anything. AFA the copyright, there are some valid sites online where you can do legal work, including copyright. I'd do that first.

 

[ale_jrb]

I'm not published, but I know someone who is, and I've been involved with writing forums for a while. This is my handy info on how the whole thing works, written from loads of research and questioning people with first-hand experience. It's sort of aimed at children, who tend to ask this the most, but it should be helpful regardless.

First, some specifics:
- Your work is automatically copyrighted to you, and you don't need to do anything specific with it before sending it off. However, if you are worried, or just being careful, you can submit it to the US Copyright Office (for a fee) and in so doing, protect it from any nasty agents that you happen to run into. Keep in mind that if you follow the advice below on finding one, it shouldn't be a problem.
- I don't really know about illustrations. Try looking at some childrens' books that are similar to the ones you've written, and see whether the illustrator is usually the same as the writer of not. For reference, publishers don't want book covers etc. so it may be similar to that in that they don't want the illustrations, but it may not be.

The publishing industry can be quite scary to novice writers, but there's actually less too it than you might expect - and there's certainly nothing to be afraid of!

When you've finished writing your book, there are two routes you can take with it: self-publishing or 'full' publishing. I'll discuss both here.

-- SELF/VANITY PUBLISHING

As the more simple route, and the one that most people don't really want, I'll quickly cover self-pulishing first. Self-publishing encompasses a lot more than printing your book off your computer and giving it to people. Essentially, it means that you are responsible for the content and marketing of your book rather than a publishing company. So what's it all about?

Self-publishing is perfect if you are writing a story, and want to see it printed, but don't actually want to be an author (or believe that you do not have the skill). There are two types of self-publishing: print on demand, and full run. Print on demand, as you might expect, involves going to a company with your book. The company will add your story to their systems, and when the book is ordered, they will print one off, bind it and send it off. If you only want one or two copies of your book, this is perfect for you.

Full run self-publishing is similar to 'normal' publishing except YOU pay for the book to be printed, rather than being paid for it. Why would you do this? If you then sell the printed booked to other people at a profit, you are making money off it. You will expect a print run of a few hundred copies to cost between £100-£500 (or $200-$1000 ish) which you resell - either to bookstores or the general public.

Self publishing is a perfectly reasonable route to take, but DO keep in mind that it won't make you an author - you are unlikely to gain much respect, and you won't see your book in stores worldwide.

For more info on self-publishing, have a read of http://www.publish-yourself.com/

-- 'NORMAL/FULL' PUBLISHING

When most people ask about publishing, this is what they are actually talking about. I left this for second because it's a little more involved than self-publishing (and you need to be able to write!)

If you want to be able to go to a bookstore and buy your book off the shelf, you will need to take this route, and enter the book industry. If you make it, that's it: you're officially an author. But, like the acting industry, lots of people don't, so watch out. To help you along, I'll outline the basic steps:

1. Write a book.
--- As obvious as it sounds, you need to have a completed story before you can become an author. Some people don't seem to realise this, so I've put it here in case.

2. Edit, edit and edit (lots) more!
--- When you've finished a book, you need to prepare it for entry to the world of publishing. This really means it has to be as good as you can make it. Go through the entire thing with a fine-toothed comb. Fix the spelling and grammar, ensure your plot flows and your characters are interesting. Make sure you don't contradict yourself, and that you've used roughly the same style of writing throughout. Rewrite any bits that are unclear, messy or annoying. When you've done that, do it again. Then again, and maybe once more. Then again. Get the picture?

3. Prepare the manuscript.
--- When you send a book off for publication, it needs to fit the expected format. You need to use font size 12, in either Times New Roman or Courier. You need to have at least a 1-inch margin around the page, and double space the lines. Don't use any fancy fonts, don't try and put a cover with it. In the header, have the title in capitals in one corner - along with the page number, and your name in the other. On the title page, just put the title and your name - don't number this page.

4. Find some (lots of) agents.
--- While some small publishers do accept unsolicited manuscripts, most won't. For this reason, you need to get a literary agent who works with the genre you've written in. An agent will negotiate with publishers and your editor on your behalf (see later), work with films rights and handle contracts etc. They take 10-20% commission - DO NOT PAY AN AGENT UP-FRONT! You need to make a list of between 20 and 30 agents who meet these requirements. You can find agent listings at http://www.writersmarket.com (or in the book by the same people) and at http://www.agentquery.com - read through loads, and come up with some.

5. Prepare your query letter.
--- You do not send your manuscript to agents - you ask them if you can. If they ask for it, you send it off. The query letter is a letter with three parts - a hook, where you grab their attention; a mini-synopsis where you summarise what happens and a mini-bio where you say who you are. The query letter will be less than a page, and could be sent by email or snail mail depending on the agent (look at their website!). It will be addressed directly to the agent you are contacting - don't say 'To whom it may concern...'! The hook should be only 1 or 2 sentences long - and also say the genre and length of the book, and the mini-synopsis a paragraph (or two, if you absolutely have to). The bio should be a few sentences - if you have won a literary competition, say so. Otherwise, don't say much here at all.

6. Send your letter to the agents.
--- Do not send the letter to all the agents at once, but to maybe 4 or 5. Wait for a reply - a positive reply will usually take a few weeks, a negative one a month or two. If you haven't heard after two months, it's a rejection. Send off your letter to some more. If you get 20 rejections, you need to change your letter. If you get asked for a sample chapter or some content, you're in. If someone says yes, don't wait for another offer - if one comes, politely decline (if you turn down the first offer, you risk getting a bad name - everyone talks to everyone here).

7. Send off the sample.
--- Following their instructions carefully, send off the manuscript to the agent. This is make or break - if they like it, you're on your way to being published. If not, you could try again - or try improving the book. Don't resubmit to the same agent if they reject it.

8. Welcome to the industry!
--- Your agent will help your prepare the book, then work on selling it to a publisher. When successful, you will be matched with an editor who will help you prepare the book for sale. The marketing department will give it a cover, and may advertise it (or they may not). If you get to this stage, you're sort of past the realm where we can help you - congratulations on making it all the way!

Hope that helps.