I don't know why I waited until now to get it published, but it's time. And if it doesn't pan out, I'm looking into publishing it myself. It's difficult because it's a Christmas picture book, but publishers view it as a children's book. A lot of publishers shy away from children's books because they are full color books vs black and white books which means they are costly to print and there's not a lot of profit. I heard back from one publisher who told me that my book "is clever and touching and therefore has potential." Then they went on to tell me why my book couldn't be considered by their firm because it's a picture book. I'm not saying that they would've if they could consider my book, but it's both wonderful and devastating news. My book is good enough to be published, but it will be hard to find someone to take the risk of publishing an unknown author who has a picture book.
This is my friend Liesl, she has a writing blog that is simply amazing. If you are a writer and hoping to one day publish, you really need to stop by her blog Writer Ropes and Hopes. She's been writing for a while now and just recently announced that she has a book accepted for publishing. It won't be out for another year or so, but I am very excited to read it. But in the meantime, I have her blog. She's very talented and gives potential writers amazing tips.
But there are so many children's publishers that do publish children's books. You just need to research publishers or even research agents and find one that will help you sell your book. I'm sure Liesl knows all about this. After all, she has an agent who helped her sell her children's book.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to know more about children's publishing, I bet your local library has a current edition of CHILDREN'S WRITER'S & ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET. Reading the articles and seeing the listings for agents and publishing houses will give you a better idea of what the market is like.
Good luck!
Oh, I will definitely keep submitting to publishers and agents. I think that traditional publishing is the best way to go. The Children's market is tough to crack, but I want to exhaust all my resources before I would self publish.
ReplyDeleteSelf-publishing is more of a last ditch effort to get my book into my children's hands. I want them to be able to grow up reading them and later with their own children. I would love for it to be available to everyone, but someone in the publishing world needs to take a risk on an unknown author in an expensive and dwindling market. People are buying fewer and fewer books and publishers are keeping it close to the chest.