HOW TO GET YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED
An honest look at what to do (and what not to do) © Andrea Shavick

* Note: this article (over 4K words) is mostly about writing children's fiction and picture books but also includes hints and tips about adult fiction, non-fiction & self-publishing. Alternatively skip all this and go straight to the Amazon links to great writing books here

General Intro

It isn't easy to get published - it took Jacqueline Wilson over 20 years before she finally had a book accepted, Roald Dahl and JK Rowling all had their work rejected by absolutely everyone, and Enid Blyton even had to marry a publisher to get her books accepted! I'm not going to suggest you do that. Not yet anyway!

So here are some general tips to help you:

Number one - if you're serious about getting published, either in book form or in magazines and newspapers you will need the most recent copy of The  Writer's and Artist's Yearbook.  It contains a comprehensive list of publishers and agents (UK and overseas) together with names, addresses and details of what types of books they are looking for.  It's not expensive, I use it and so does every other author on the planet - and no I am not on commission!

Here's a link so you can buy it from Amazon now:

You'll need the latest copy (copies in libraries are always out of date). 

If you're sure you only want to write for children either buy Writer's and Artist as detailed above, or try The Children's Writers and Artist. Here's a link to Amazon for this book:

If you're in the USA then the Children's Writers and Illustrators Market is also good).

Now for manuscript submission advice - mostly for picture book stuff but a lot is relevant to all types of manuscript. First of all..........

1. Make sure you are sending your ms (manuscript) to a publisher who is interested in your type of book. Don’t send picture book fiction to a publisher who only publishes non-fiction. If in doubt, ring and ask for their catalogue. Publishers are usually happy to post you out a catalogue free of charge. This advice may seem obvious but I can assure you every non-fiction publisher receives mountains of picture books stories every week - and they all go in the bin. If you were them, you'd do the same.

2. When you send you ms out, present it professionally. The books mentioned above give advice on this, and there are lots of websites to help you too. Do a search on the internet for "writer’s resources" or "writers" or "submitting manuscripts" etc to get loads of advice.

3. Put your name, address and telephone number on every single sheet of your ms.

5. Spell the editor’s name and title correctly. If in doubt, ring and ask the receptionist to spell it out for you. If you get it wrong your ms will land in the bin.

6. Enclose a SAE (an envelope with return postage) If you don’t they will not reply. This is VERY important.

7. Put the correct postage on the letter containing your ms.  If it doesn't have enough stamps, the publisher will  NOT go and collect it from the Post Office! Why should they? If you are in the UK, check the postage carefully as there are new rules on letter size and new pricing structures to go with them.

8. Children's picture book stories -  send the whole text. Don't send half the story. Don't send three sentences. Don't say it's great, here's my telephone number! Send the whole thing.  

9. Manuscripts must be printed. Do NOT send handwritten texts. Print your manuscript double spaced with large margins.  Use Arial or Times New Roman 12. If there is more than one sheet it's ok to staple them together neatly (although the cover letter should be separate). 

10. Think of your manuscript as a CV. If there are spelling mistakes, if it’s untidy or hand-written, if it lacks any sort of ID - they’ll just stick it in the bin. I would. Authors are professional writers. Make your ms look professional. 

11. If you are writing picture books DON'T send any pictures unless you are a professional illustrator (and even then only send photocopies). Say you’ll be happy to work with one of their illustrators and leave it at that. If the publishing house likes your text they will choose the illustrator. Even if you're famous you hardly ever get a choice. All you can do is pray they pick somebody you like. Speaking of illustrators, if the publisher picks a famous one (lucky you) they might want the lion's share of the royalties (totally unfair but that's life). Just warning you.

12. Remember, once you sign a contract with a publisher, you have in effect, sold it to them. It's theirs. Therefore they can do what they want, and that includes changing the words and all the names of your characters. If that revelation made you gasp with horror - self publish! The only writers who can throw their weight around are those who make their publishers a lot of money, and there aren't too many of them.

12. (yes I do know I've got the numbers wrong). Remember that picture books are usually 32 pages long and the text is based around twelve double page spreads. That means you turn the page 12 times. Get some picture books from the library to see the format. This doesn't mean, however, that you should send a 32 page dummy book. Your manuscript should be a few pages of double spaced text, or less. Commissioning editors do have lives you know. One once told me she only considered 1 page manuscripts. Anything longer went in the bin. 

13. Now I bet you're thinking, hey that's only a few hundred words. You are correct. Remember that little kids need easy, simple language. Aim for one or two sentences per page (of the finished book, not the manuscript) not more. I've had loads of good stories rejected because they were too long! Writing a good picture book story in a few words is HARD. Up to 400 words should be your limit really. If you can write a great story in 150 words you'll find yourself in demand. 

What do picture book publishers want?
The million dollar question. Here are some tips. 

1. Picture books are usually sold worldwide. So stick to multicultural, or should I say culturally neutral topics.

2. Therefore do not bother writing about things which only feature in your particular part of the world ie Devon cream teas. Australians will not be interested in Devon Cream teas (probably). Another example is the lovely red UK letterbox. Since letterboxes look different in different countries (and many countries don't even have them) an illustrator will not be able to produce a multicultural letterbox. So your story will be binned. And don't think an editor will say, can you rewrite the story without the letterbox? They won't bother.

3. In other words, your story has to appeal to everyone, everywhere. Actually I think it might be easier for me to tell you what publishers do NOT want: 

What do picture book publisher hate?
1. This section mostly concerns being PC. I'm afraid if you're writing picture books, you have to be very careful with your subject matter. Whatever they say to the contrary, publishers are utterly obsessed about making sure their books don't offend, for example, I recently had a book title changed in case the word 'banana' upset people. In fact, they were adamant the word 'banana' would upset lots of people. Perhaps it would have done. I don't like bananas much myself. 

Anyway, with that in mind, if you want your picture book published, steer clear of witches, religion, anti-religion, anything connected with your particular locality, any words which have ever been used in a derogatory manner, any racism, ageism, gender bias or sexism....or bananas. (and when they tell you they want something 'edgy and different' they still mean please play it safe).

2. Speaking of sexism - avoid it like the plague. This includes any mention (or pictures) of girls/women/mummy bunny rabbits etc undertaking any stereotypical 'woman's work' like washing or cooking. Why? Well it's not PC, and anyway women don't do stuff like that anymore (did I mention that the entire publishing industry lives in cloud cuckoo land?). 

3. And don't write about happy, 2-parent middle-class families living in nice houses as apparently they don't exist any longer either (and you might upset all those who don't fit neatly into that category). Nice houses with gardens are another no no. 

4. On the sensible side, other things to avoid are dangerous situations which a child could copy - so never show your main character jumping out of her window and being able to fly! (sorry Peter Pan, you've been rejected). Other 'danger' items include fireworks, balloons, candles on birthday cakes (banned in some countries), guns, weapons, kids playing near roads, rivers etc. 

5. Even writing a book with real children as your characters is frowned upon because kids from different parts of the world... yes you guessed it, look different. The illustrator can't draw a European-looking child because the publisher will have difficulty selling the book to China, and vice versa. This leads me nicely onto the subject to cuddly animals.......... 

Why do you think there are so many picture books about teddies and pigs and elephants and tigers? It's because wherever you go in the world, a pig is a pig is a pig. Having said that, the word pig is also used sometimes to offend. So scrub pigs. 

6. Speaking of naughty words, don't use the word gun, or bum (unless you're writing children's poetry because then you can say it as many times as you like). Best to buy a slang dictionary to check out words and topics to check for double meanings.  If you want to be rude, write poems for kids, not stories.

7. Don't write anything scary (not unless your age group is over 10). Don't be preachy, or teachy. Don't talk down. 

8. Don't cover an 'issue' because it will look like an educational, or 'parent's book' and never make it onto the front shelves of the library or bookshop. By 'issue' I mean 'Jenni goes to the dentist', 'Billy was a bully' etc. Medical stuff, bullying, illness, worries, new baby, starting school etc. Anyway lots of that stuff is written in-house. 

9. Don't use rhyme. Rhyme does not translate. So however brilliant your story, the publisher will not be able to sell it. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule, but only if you're already a big name. 

10. Don't try to be funny or make jokes in your text. Apparently British humour does not translate to the rest of the world (nobody else understands sarcasm or irony either). They don't like wacky either which is very unfortunate in my case as nearly all my picture books are on the wacky side.

So what on earth can you write about?
As every publisher will tell you - a great picture book has an 'edge', is exciting, different, has a twist ending that makes you go ahhhh, is so visual that illustrations to the text can be 'visualised' by a junior editor (who is too young to have had any children of her own and doesn't know anyone's else's either) on first reading, is easy to illustrate, is simple for the audience* to understand (no flashbacks or other wrinkles in time) and last but by no means least, a happy ending. 

Sorry if I seem a tad cynical, but I AM TRYING TO HELP YOU.  Remember I am talking about picture books for 2-5 year olds. Good luck.

*Speaking of audience - I don't just mean the kiddy. I mean their parent or grandparent who will be reading it to them. And don't forget the first time they actually read it will be in a bookshop since they are the customer, not the child. Well how many 2 year olds do you know who go out and choose their own books?

What about baby books? Or board books? Or plastic, 'read in the bath' books?
Don’t bother. Baby books are produced in-house and not commissioned from outside authors. You're only chance here is if you're an illustrator (but since I'm not, best to get Writers and Illustrators for advice on portfolios and selling your services).

Why is it so difficult to get a picture book published?
Picture book fiction (for 3-6 year olds) is the most difficult market to sell into. Everyone wants to do picture book work, because it looks easy. IT'S NOT. Why do you think I write adult non-fiction? Believe me, 108,000 words on poker (Playing Poker to Win, my luckily bestselling book on poker) was actually a whole lot easier and quicker than a 150 picture book – maybe because that would have required pure inspiration/genius (and then a miracle to have a commissioning editor with any authority agree to buy it). 

I've had a story rejected. Why? (rejections also covered further down the page)
A million reasons. Usually it's because your story is not commercial enough ie they don't think they can make enough money selling it. That's perfectly reasonable. Publishers are not charities, they're businesses, and to stay viable they need to make a profit. To be fair to them, it costs a fortune to buy, illustrate, print, promote & distribute a picture book.

The reason may because of something on my 'what do publishers hate' list above. 

It may be because the publisher hasn't got any money to take on your book because they've just spent their entire picture book budget buying a story written by Madonna, or some other celebrity. 

Maybe the entire editorial team love it, but the accountant doesn't. 

Maybe it's too similar to something else they have in the pipeline, or something else already on their list.

Maybe they just don't do books on.......death, ducks, dingbats.....whatever. Maybe they don't like books with humanised animals. This is where research can save you a lot of trouble up front.

Maybe the illustrator they have in mind just doesn’t fancy your story, or is too busy this year, or says he/she will do it, but wants too much money.  

Why don't they tell you about the real reason when they reject your work?
Because they haven't got time to write personal letters to all the picture book story authors who write in. Because they are too nice (unlike agents who will freely and gleefully tell you your work is rubbish and holds 'absolutely no interest for them whatsoever'). Because for some perverse reason, picture book editors seem to enjoy telling you, 'We LOVED your book, the characters are so SWEET and so BELIEVABLE, it made us all CRY with laughter, we've never seen anything so BRILLIANT and so utterly ORIGINAL......we all rolled around onthe floor in hysterics.....but hey, sorry it's not quite suitable for our list.'

P.S. don't email me accusing me of cynicism. I've had more than one rejection exactly like that.

I've had a rejection - but it was a personal letter from the editor
Ah this is a good sign. Ring up and ask what she/he is looking for. Send more stuff to your named editor. Keep sending it. Of course that means you have to have lots of work to send, but then I already told you nobody will publish a one-book-writer.

The publisher says they are taking my manuscript to Bologna - why?
Another very good sign. Bologna is the annual children's books fair in Europe. There are others around the world too. Basically your publisher is saying, we love your work but we have to sell it to overseas publishers before we can commit to buying it. Again, it all comes down to the numbers. Sometimes a story will not sell at a bookfair. If the publisher likes it they may try again next time (one of mine took 3 shows to sell). Or they may just reject it. 

I've had 15 rejections for my brilliant story. Now what?
OK, either keep sending it out, bin it, change it and then send it out again with a different title (that can work). If all else fails, you can always self publish. 

How do I go about self publishing my picture book?
Find an illustrator. Find a designer. (Get a bank loan!) Alternatively do it yourself. To typeset professionally you'll need Quark or similar programme. MS Publisher and Word are ok for leaflets and booklets, but not really for a professional looking 'real' book. Learn all about book binding and papers and laminating. Find yourself a professional printer who has experience of printing the same type of book you want. Buy a bar code and an ISBN number, remember your verso page and copyright notices. Allow at least 6 months for the steep learning curve and for re-growing your hair which you've pulled out several times. Finally, once you have 1000 copies of your masterpiece sitting in your hallway, don't forget to send copies to the British Library etc and to sell your book into shops and libraries, and Amazon. That's when you'll discover the 'turning the story into an actual  book' was the easy bit! Oh and there's no money in it.

Having said all that, I've done it very successfully with Grandma was Eaten by a Shark!
Loads of well-known authors self-publish. If Shakespeare and Dickens could do it, why not? Whatever you do - don't pay a vanity publisher anything. A vanity publisher is the kind of shark who advertises for authors, tells you they love your story but then asks for a 'contribution' or for you to pay some or all of the costs. That is not self-publishing. That's being conned.

So what can I get published then, if not picture book stories?
You could try and write longer fiction – stories for older children and teenagers can be easier to sell, and you don't need to worry so much about language or topic. Or you could consider non-fiction. Are you an expert in any particular field? Is it something people want to know about? Are you a teacher with any particular educational interest? (in which case you can try asking the educational publishers what's on their wish list).

NON FICTION (FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN) - HOW TO GET IT PUBLISHED

Non fiction requires a completely different approach. You do not need to have written your book, in fact it's better if you haven't.

Basically, you'll need to write and tell the publisher why your book will be brilliant, who is going to buy it, how many people might buy it, why a market exists for it, what other books yours will be up against and what's wrong with them, why your one will be better,  the price, the style and format of the book etc. All this needs some thought and hard work up front but hey - this is what authors do. 

Publishers expect you to do all the work, and they expect to be sold to. YOU HAVE TO SELL THEM YOUR BOOK.  You have to make them believe your book will make them millions. If you can't do that, nobody else will.

TIP Look at other titles your target publisher produces and model your proposal on their house style. Make it easy for them to say yes.

Then use two or three pages to detail what is going into your book - chapter by chapter. Head it something like "A brief synopsis of ….."  For most non-fiction topics you can produce a draft contents list. 

If you've never written before they might want to see some examples, or a chapter or two. Fair enough.

Remember that you'll be more likely to succeed if you either try to fit your book into an existing series (written by different authors), or come up with a scintillating idea for a series of your own. One-off books which don't really fit anywhere are unlikely to interest a publisher, unless you happen to be extremely famous. But for the rest of us, you need originality, good writing skills, and lots and lots of determination.

P.S. If you get your book accepted, be prepared for the publisher to ask you to put lots of stuff in you didn't want to write about! And whatever you do, deliver the ms on time, at the agreed length or you'll never be commissioned again. Having said that, my new poker book, Playing Poker to Win, was contracted as a 45,000 word book and ended up over 100,000 - luckily Dan and I seem to have got away with it!

What about freelance writing?
If you want to write as a freelancer, then the best way to have newspapers and magazines ringing  you up and offering you work is to write a non- fiction book or two (I know that's not a very helpful comment - but it's true). If you haven't then The Writers and Artist Handbook has a long list of UK newspapers and magazines who accept freelancer's work, with details of what they want and how to submit work. 

GENERAL TIPS

Agents - do you need one? 
If you are writing adult fiction then yes, you do. Most publishers of adult fiction will bin work that arrives unsolicited. The books I mentioned above include lists of agents.

If you are a children's writer or a non-fiction writer you will not necessarily need an agent. Well you can try, but personally I think it's better to put your energy into finding a publisher. I now have an agent who is lovely, but I've sold practically all my books directly to publishers and will probably continue to do so.

Rejections (covered in the picture book stuff above too)
Don’t worry about rejections - even great writers get hundreds. Think of each one as being one step nearer your goal. If you get very upset every time you receive a rejection, your skin's not thick enough. Read my comments about Dahl and JK Rowling at the top of the page again. No one ever got their ms accepted first time. Except me (but that's another story).

Also - just because your book is rejected doesn't mean it's no good. It might simply be wrong for that publisher. They might have something similar already. They might not have space on the list. They may not be able to think of a suitable illustrator. They might not think your book is commercial enough. Recently a Nobel Prize winning author sent work out to agents and publishers under an assumed name and had all his work rejected. None of the publishers or agents recognised brilliant writing when they saw it. Maybe they didn't bother to read it. Maybe they were too busy worrying about their sick goldfish. Who knows.

Some rejections are very impersonal, others gush about how wonderful the story was, or how it made the entire editorial team fall off their chairs laughing.....but it's just not quite right for their list. Ho hum. I hate rejections like that. Some rejections will be more constructive and will come directly from a named editor - this gives you a lovely  opportunity to ring them up and ask about what they are looking for, 

All rejections from publishers will be polite - editorial staff are usually very pleasant and don't like hurting people's feelings. On the other hand, rejections from agents will be downright rude. Don't worry - it's not personal. 

Once you've sent off your manuscript, wait a few weeks and then speak to editors about what’s happening to your script. Ring them up. Be friendly. Remember they get hundreds, even thousands of manuscripts every week.

How many publishers should you send your ms to at the same time?
If you're gonna wait for a fiction publisher to reply before you send your story out to the next one on your list, you'll be 90 before you get anything accepted. In the very unlikely even that 2 different publishers make you an offer for your manuscript you can always do the following - get an agent and/or buy a bottle of champagne.

FINALLY

Whatever you do keep writing – produce lots of work. If you get a publisher or agent interested in your stuff, the first thing they’ll say is, "What else have you got." If you’re a one-book-writer they will not be interested. Above all, do the following:

1. Send the manuscript. IT IS NO GOOD TO YOU IN THE FILING CABINET. 

2. Never send original illustrations, or your only copy of a manuscript.

3. Keep a note of what you sent where, and when. Take it from me, things can get messy if you don't. 

4. Don't write because you think authors make loads of money. IT'S NOT TRUE. Only write because you really want to and you love writing.

I hope this helps, good luck

Andrea

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