This hub intends to help those that have an ambition to, or are at least curious about, how to not only write a children's book but also how to publish a children's book. Before we go on, I need you to think about your reasons for wanting to publish a children's book. If you want to write a children's book because you think it will be easy, or if you just want practice before pursuing adult books, then you may as well stop here and click the big 'x' at the top right hand corner of the screen. Writing a book for children is not easy and is in fact a lot more difficult than writing an everyday book, mainly because of the limited vocabulary and tight word count to which you are limited. Writing just 500 words, but telling a strong story in that 500 words, whilst at the same time ensuring that all 500 of those words is suitable for a specific small age range is one mighty task. Sure, we could all knock something up.... but only the very best story lines will get selected for publication. I am not an expert in Children's literature, and I have never attempted to get one published, and the reason is a simple one; Maurice Sendak is a famous award winning children's author who claims that he completely re-writes almost all of his picture books at least 300 times before it is worthy of publication: 500 x 300 = 150,000 words. That is enough words for a PHD Thesis, a novel or a film script. That's a lot of effort for a return which is often modest (modest is probably an understatement), what you really need in order to become successful as a children's author is a pure passion for your work and for your audience; ideally you have a thought or an idea that you want to share with children and which you think those children will want to hear. If I haven't put you off then please read on!

1. First you need to decide exactly what it is that you want to write about and what age group you intend to be the readers. Like I mentioned above, in order to write successfully for children you will already have a brilliant 'idea', if you haven't got any ideas and struggle to find inspiration then your career as a children's author has finished before it has begun. Also remember that if your topic is boring you, then it will most definitely bore a child! The most likely books to be picked up by publishers are:-

• 6-8 - These books should be 'easy-readers' and intended for kids that are just learning to read on their own and without adult supervision.
• 7-10 - Child sized novels, these should be broken up into distinct chapters for easy reading.
  
• 8+ - Slightly scary stories (very very mild and simple horror/thriller), nothing that will mentally disturb the child audience!
• All ages - Non Fiction books are generally well demanded for children of all ages.

2.Think about submitting short stories around your topic to children's magazines or short story compilations. This will help you to build up a portfolio to submit like a CV and will more than likely result in an editor at least giving the book a quick flick through. The feedback you gain can be very valuable. Read as much as you can, from a wide variety of children's books. Try and keep the books that you choose as current as you can so that you have an idea of the industries current demands and the standard required. This will also help to put your mind into the context of a child when writing and give you the best indicator of what works and what doesn't work with regards to vocabulary.

3. Make sure that your content is very original, originality will get you published. Writing a book about a a friendly ghost will not - anything that has been done before will never be done better. Avoid stereotypes, political incorrectness, cliches and anything far too unrealistic. Make your plot as imaginative as you can and use charismatic and unique characters. Try not to put any emphasis on educating the reader, they will learn by simply reading, children already know that it is wrong to steal, that they should look before they cross the road and not to share lollipops - this will only patronise them and make them feel as if they are at school. Your story is likely to have a message, but don't make this message blatantly apparent.

4.We all know that many of us writers have a slight bohemian outlook on life and shun anything to do with capitalism or the corporate world. Throw that attitude in the bin for your books, there is a market for certain books and by finding that market or a good niche will increase your chances of being successful - or at least to find a publisher. Many publishers will have strong ideas about what they want, and these will always relate to a market in which they can make money. Writing a children's book about the 2010 World Cup is not going to appeal to the team of accountants that want the book to generate sales for the next 10 years and not for 6 months.

5.This is a time consuming but yet imperative step in the production of children's books. You must, if you want to be successful, educate yourself in the way that your target age think. You basically need to spend time researching and reading up on child psychology to learn how the minds of children work at different ages. The mind of a 5 year old will differ significantly from that of a 7 year old, just like the mind of a 9 year old will differ significantly from that of a 7 year old; I think you get the point.... but apply the same to 11 year olds in relation to 9 year olds. You need to learn to think like the children you are writing for. The shrewdest thing to do would be to pick an age range and stick with that age range for a long period of time; before perhaps changing your age range to suit your ageing fan base (if you get one).

6. This is the bit where you really have to pull your finger out of your backside and start slapping words into the keyboard, spending hours and hours of your time dedicating yourself to your storyline. Remember that you have hardly any words into which to squeeze a story that will entertain the hardest people on the planet to entertain - children. If you book is for young children, probably under 6 or 7, you will need to incorporate a lot of pictures in your book. DO NOT GET A FRIEND TO DO ILLUSTRATION. If you happen to be a good artist then by all means draw them yourself before sending your manuscript to a publisher, if you cannot draw then simply indicate and describe your pictures to the editor. If you take up the time of an illustrator and the editor says "great story, but I want to get our illustrator on this I don't like the artwork" then you are going to fall out with your partner; and possibly even be landed with a lawsuit if you don't sign some sort of contract soon. If you can draw then you can negotiate a slightly better royalty deal with publishers, if you can't draw then simply don't.

7.At this stage you have a completed manuscript that you feel is ready for publication. Do not seek publishers at the moment, instead seek the opinions and feedback of existing professionals. Do not get offended if they criticise aspects or suggest changes, these people went through exactly the same. If a successful published writer of children's books is telling you something then you listen to what they say; you will earn the respect of new writers in due course. This professional may be a freelance editor, a tutor at a college writing class, a group of people at a reputable writers group or you could seek one out at a professional conference on children's books; these do happen.

Like all types of books, there are two ways of publishing your Children's book. These are a) Self Publish or b) Find A Publisher. My personal opinion is that self publication is much higher risk, less likely to make you money unless you are willing to treat promotion and distribution like a full time job, and it simply leaves you open to exploitation by people who make you think that your book is better than it is in return for your hard cash. That is of course just my personal opinion, but I will not be talking about self publication in this hub; this is the option that should be considered if you have a great deal of justified belief in your product but cannot get a publishing deal. I will tell you how to go about getting a publishing deal, if you do want to pursue self publication then here are Google Results For 'Self Publication'.

Do not appoint an agent, it is not necessary in the slightest for a start up children's author to have an agent and the good ones wont touch you until you have published a couple of successful books; Remember that anybody can become an 'agent' and they might not necessarily be capable, they could even be after a quick dishonest buck. If you are approached by an agent playing the 'big time Charlie' then make sure you check out his own track record and success rates. An agent will simply try and find you a publisher and then take 15%+ of your earnings for the privilege, now considering that most authors when starting out live not too far above the poverty line - this is steep. There is no reason why you cannot put the hours into finding a publisher yourself, if you cannot find one then your book probably isn't good enough. Only ever appoint an agent if you have exhausted all attempts to get your book out there, and even then ensure that you give no money whatsoever up front.

The answer is simple to publication is simple, you need to complete your manuscript and approach publishers with a copy. More often than not your book will be rejected; this will simply happen. Sometimes they don't bother to read them, sometimes they just don't like it and sometimes they have just accepted too many books for print already. Be warned that the process can be demoralising, depressing even, there is no point in pretending that everything is easy because it is not. An author needs to learn how to deal with rejection as only those that fight on in the face of adversity will achieve a breakthrough in what is one of the most competitive markets around. Never give up, you will find a publisher. Each publisher has specific guidelines for submission, some may required a printed manuscript, others might ask you to send them a CD-Rom, some might ask you to email them the first 500 words. Make sure that you follow their exact guidelines, otherwise you will be wasting your time and their time. DO NOT HEAD OFF LOOKING FOR PUBLISHERS AT THIS POINT, PLEASE READ THE VERY IMPORTANT NEXT SECTION!

I would recommend that you avoid typing random search terms into google looking for prospective publishers and instead do it in a much more professional manner. Here are my steps for finding Children's Book Publishers.

1. Buy the book which is effectively the bible of the Children's writers world, it is called 'The Children's Writers and Illustrators Market'which lists all significant Children's Book Publishers, it tells you what types of books they publish and what specific subjects they are looking for. This book is absolutely essential for people with serious ambitions to publish a children's book, and at less than $20 it is the best investment you could make into your future living.
2. As a secondary source of publishers, you can contact the 'Children's Book Council' and ask them for a list of their members, you can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their website here.
3. Visit a bookstore which stocks a wide range of children's books, taking with you a piece of paper and a writing implement. Find books which are in some way similar to yours in genre and style or even just age range; on the inside cover will be a publishers address. Note these down; do not send these unsolicited manuscripts, make sure you refer to the 'bible' in point 1 - so that you meet their submission requirements.
4. If you find publishers that do not make their submission requirements clear in 'the bible' then send them a SAE requesting their writer's guidelines. This will be a standard document that will explain how they accept submissions, whether they accept unsolicitored manuscripts and sometimes specific requirements for the manuscript. NEVER send a manuscript without first seeking their guidelines, this will only make a publisher angry and they will never read a single sentence of your work if you do this.
5. The final step in this process is to hand select a few publishers that you believe your book suits, include a brief cover letter (and I mean brief, they don't want to know your life history until they decide that your book is good) and post with a self addressed and stamped envelope.
   
6. Sit back and wait. And I mean wait, don't rush them, never ever chase them up. Wait 2 months, if no success (e.g. you sent to 3 and 1 rejected, 2 did not reply) then send another to another 3. Repeat this process every 2 months until you strike it lucky.

In The Meantime........ Whilst you have now done all of the hard work, forget about the book and write another one. All you are doing now is sending manuscripts to editors every couple of months, so there is plenty of time for writing.

Remember..... There are hundreds of wannabe authors, chances are that you are better than most of them. A few rejections can be expected no matter how good you are, publishing companies are businesses with existing authors and even the biggest can only take a few new authors on each year for each genre. Once you have your foot in the door, this could take 2 months or it could take 24 months, you should be in for the long term. If it does take a long time, then make sure that you have some more material ready. A successful author wants to be following up a book with a new book each 6 - 12 months, there is not excuse for you not having a follow up ready for the publisher a few months after they publish your debut. A writer becomes a professional writer after 10 - 15 books, not 1 book.

And Most of all.....Best of luck, if you want it you will get it. Stay positive at all times, and if this hub has helped you out in a big way then a credit for 'Ryan Kett' and a free copy of the book will be received by me with gratitude!

If you do have to find an agent then play them at their own game; tell them that you already have an agent sniffing around who is offering to get a deal at 13%, your agent will soon offer to find you one for 12% and you have saved yourself a fair bit of money (this is where you have to apply your business sense). It is absolutely essential that you appoint an agent with a good reputation, the good news is that I can tell you how to find one if you are from America. The two best ways that I know to find the best of the bunch are:-

Guide To Literary Agents: This is a publication by Writer's Digest and lists agents that are perceived as reputable. This really is the key industry text for authors seeking agents, and remember that if you would prefer an agent to do the knitty gritty then this book is absolutely essential.

Association of Author's Representatives:- You can write to this credible organisation enclosing a SAE with $0.55 of postage, plus $7.00 for administrative costs, and they will send you an up to date list of accredited agents, a guide to seeking one and a copy of their code of ethics. You can write to these at:- Association of Author's Representatives, 10 Astor Place, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10003

A good agent will critique your work, identify suitable publishers, submit your manuscripts to editors and negotiate your contract. Although I am very critical of agents, they may be suited for those without the time or willingness to do this themselves. I still believe that many can cut out the middle man and make more money. A few (and I mean just a few) publishers do not accept manuscripts unless they come from agents, in this case you may wish to approach these through an agent once other avenues have been exhausted.