Hope For Children's Writers

Almost weekly I receive queries from would-be children's writers asking me to represent their work at my literary agency. These requests continue to come even though the agency submission guidelines clearly say that I’m not interested in representing children's books.
Many writers have no idea about the reasons or what to do about it. They've decided to write children's books because they are reading lots of them to their own children--and believe they could do a better job than what is out there in the marketplace. There are several business realities these would-be authors never consider:
First, children's books are a high risk area for most publishers. Full-color printing for children's books is expensive. I've seen a number of printing statements inside the publishing house which is well over $150,000. Children's writers believe because there are few words on the page, they don't think about the actual business expense involved for a publisher. The publishers who last make careful decisions about what they print--and even then they are surprised. I can recall a specific series of books where one of my former publishers put a lot of money and energy into marketing and producing full-color, graded picture books. These books came out with great fanfare--and have since faded from the marketplace. I did a simple search and found them in the used book market--but not on the publisher site. It means they are mostly out of print and involved a huge loss for the publisher. Almost no author thinks about this risk when they propose their little children's book idea to a publisher or a literary agent.
Second, many children’s advances are modest (read small). Literary agents work on commission or a percentage of the deal (typically 15%). OK, take off your writer’s perspective for a minute and look at your children's submission from the literary agent's view. Understanding the average first-time children's author with a traditional publisher may receive a $500 or $1,000 advance for their book--and that 90% of nonfiction books never earn back that advance or earn additional funds, which would you want to be selling as an agent? Would you rather sell an adult novel or a nonfiction book proposal for a larger advance (even for a first-time author) or a modest children's book writer? Simple economics are one of the reasons that it’s hard for any children's writer to find a literary agent which will represent their work.
Third, book packagers produce many children’s books. I've written a number of posts about packagers. Look for many of these posts in September 2006. Many writers do not want to write for these packagers because they are typically work-made-for-hire yet it’s another reality check about the children's book market. Publishers are turning to book packagers to produce these books. So if you want to write them, then you need to be working with the packagers.
OK, if you are still reading this post, you are probably wondering where is the hope for children's writers. I’m getting there. The first step as a writer is to face the realities of the marketplace so you know what you are facing. Then you will increase your chances for success.
The children's marketplace is alive and well. If you want to write this material, you need to arm yourself with knowledge, insight and good information. Here's a new 2008 resource which is available for you from the Institute of Children’s Literature, the nation's oldest home correspondence course for children. I'm a former instructor in this company and know they produce quality materials.

If you follow this link, you will see the 2008 Book Markets for Children’s Writers

which contains more than 50 completely new markets and 574 updated and verified listings. More than the publisher information, this book contains detailed feature articles to help you craft the right pitch to the right publisher.
Many children's writers have tunnel vision. They only want to write children's books yet they need to build their visibility and reputation in the marketplace over in the magazine market. Also I recommend 2008 Magazine Markets for Children's Writers. This comprehensive book includes more than 65 completely new markets along with 676 updated and verified listings. Beyond the listings, children's writers need to study the feature articles and learn about animal and nature writing, holiday and seasonal needs along with multicultural markets.
Writing for children is a noble and good idea--but you have to be armed with good information or you will simply collect rejections. I wish you well in the learning process and the publishing journey.

Truth Telling at Conferences

Over the years, I've attended many conferences. Each conference has a different personal value in my life and distinction. I've learned to value the little conversations at these conferences and the short bursts of information--either that I am giving to others or they are giving to me. I learn a great deal from the exchanges.

Some elements of a conference are recorded such as most of the workshops. At Mount Hermon, I gave two workshops. Originally I was scheduled for one then at the last minute several members of the faculty couldn't come so I substituted for one of them and taught an additional hour. For my additional hour, I taught Straight Talk From The Editor (or Agent), 18 Keys To A Rejection-Proof Submission. If it sounds familiar to you, much of the content is from my Amazon Short with the same title. I updated many of the examples in it and told some different stories yet the overall outline was the same. I brought some examples of submissions from my "strange but true" file which I keep just for these occasions (naturally not including the name of the writer or any way to identify this person). I had a packed room full of listeners and I thought it was well-received.

While the conference recorded the sessions, the audio people at this conference don't duplicate the talks on the spot and sell them to the participants. Instead, they take orders and mail the product later. I brought my Edirol R-9 digital recorder to the conference and recorded my own sessions. Admittedly it looked a bit strange to have two microphones yet it allowed me to record my own session. Before the end of the day, I had transferred the recorded file to my laptop. Why take that step? Because the Amazon Short contract is an exclusive arrangement for the first six months. I will cross the threshold of this date soon and be positioned to launch another product from my recorded session. It's a much more proactive step than I've taken in the past. Normally I pick up the recording, throw it into a drawer and do nothing with it. I'm learning to use these resources in other formats.

Back to my theme of conversations and truth telling. I asked one popular acquisitions editor at the conference from a large publisher about his work. He told me, "I love to acquire books but it takes such a high threshold to acquire a book. I can rarely find anything here." I followed up asking what sort of threshold he was talking about. In all honesty, he said, "I need a guaranteed sale of at least 60,000 books through the trade channel (bookstores and chain stores)." Yeah, that's a pretty high threshold and it would be rare for someone at the writer's conference to have that sort of idea. Not impossible but rare.

During another conversation, a seasoned author explained her frustration with one of her writing projects. From her experience she knew the book would meet a need, yet she also knew it would be a difficult sell to the traditional publishers. With this author, I encouraged her to try and different course of action. Can she and her co-author tap the Internet market and create a buzz with an Ebook that may or may not become a traditional book product? She felt encouraged about the possibilities and to try it after our conversation.

Several times writers approached me with devotional book projects where they had poured their heart and soul into the proposal and the writing. The writing was built on the anvil of difficult personal experiences. From my view, I told them that it would be challenging to place such a project with a traditional publisher. Why? Because it's rare for a publisher to take this type of book as a single book product. Instead the publishers are turning more to book packagers for these efforts. I encouraged them to look into approaching the packagers or working with the packagers and their idea. These authors were published in magazines but not books. Their book idea had merit but not in the way they were expecting. I hope they will learn from my hard-earned experience in this area. Yet I know each individual has to decide what they will do with the information and how they will apply it to their writing life.

With the millions of ideas and manuscripts in circulation, there are no easy answers for any of us. The key is to keep working on the storytelling and searching for the right place at the right time.