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Tip on becoming a published children's book author
By Kendal Rautzhan, Columnist
Monday, October 22, 2007 | No comments posted.
Getting your children’s story published is no easy task, but it’s not impossible. Many of the “new” children’s book authors have been previously published in children’s magazines. While you will find stiff competition in the children’s magazine industry, it may be easier to get your first couple of stories published there. Approaching book publishers will be easier if you have physical evidence of being published (called tear sheets or clips).
Remember that most writers start small and work their way up through the ranks. Don’t be discouraged by rejection letters. ALL writers have been rejected more times than you might believe. Just because you get a rejection letter doesn’t mean your work isn’t any good. It may simply mean that what you’ve written doesn’t fit with what that particular publisher is looking for. It makes sense, however, to set limits and be realistic.
New children’s authors pop up all the time. Maybe the next one will be you!
Books to Borrow
The following book is available at many public libraries.
“Martha Calling” written and illustrated by Susan Meddaugh, Houghton Mifflin Co., 32 pages
Read aloud: age 4 - 5 and older.
Read yourself: age 8 and older.
“Martha was always a talented dog. But when she ate alphabet soup, something truly surprising happened. The letters went up to her brain instead of down to her stomach, and Martha spoke.”
From that moment on, life took on a different twist. Martha spoke to her family members and talked on the telephone constantly. In fact, one day Martha was the first caller to respond with the correct answer to a radio station contest. She won the Grand Prize — a free weekend for four at the Cozy Come-On-Inn. Everyone was thrilled until the official notice came in the mail, clearly stating: No Dogs Allowed.
A highly entertaining, comical story with a satisfying solution to Martha’s dilemma, this is one book that children will clamor to read many, many times over.
Books to Buy
The following books are available at your favorite bookstores.
“Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story” by Mary Downing Hahn, Clarion, 2007, 187 pages, $16 hardcover
Read aloud: age 11 and older.
Read yourself: age 11 and older.
Thirteen-year-old Ali is spending the summer in Maine with her mother’s sister, Aunt Dulcie, at the house where D1ulcie and her mom spent their summers. Ali is babysitting for her young cousin, Emma, and things are wonderful until Emma and Ali meet Sissy — a nasty girl that has great influence on Emma.
Sissy’s interference with Emma has become a real problem, and Sissy keeps talking about a girl named Theresa that mysteriously drowned years ago in the lake next to the summer house. Sissy says she wants something to be done about it, but what does mean? Who is Sissy, and what can Ali possibly do? All too soon, however, Ali realizes she must do something, for Emma’s life and her own are at stake.
Spine-tingling and haunting, this fast-paced ghost story is a guaranteed page-turner!
“The Lemonade Club” written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco, Philomel, 2007, 42 pages, $16.99 hardcover
Read aloud: age 7 and older.
Read yourself: age 8 and older.
Best friends Traci and Marilyn love their fifth-grade teacher, Miss Wichelman. Every day before class was over, Miss Wichelman would tell her students that when life hands you a lemon or two, make lemonade! Little did the students and Miss Wichelman know that soon they would be called on to do just that.
An extraordinary book based on true events, this heart-wrenching story is ultimately a celebration of life.
Remember that most writers start small and work their way up through the ranks. Don’t be discouraged by rejection letters. ALL writers have been rejected more times than you might believe. Just because you get a rejection letter doesn’t mean your work isn’t any good. It may simply mean that what you’ve written doesn’t fit with what that particular publisher is looking for. It makes sense, however, to set limits and be realistic.
New children’s authors pop up all the time. Maybe the next one will be you!
Books to Borrow
The following book is available at many public libraries.
“Martha Calling” written and illustrated by Susan Meddaugh, Houghton Mifflin Co., 32 pages
Read aloud: age 4 - 5 and older.
Read yourself: age 8 and older.
“Martha was always a talented dog. But when she ate alphabet soup, something truly surprising happened. The letters went up to her brain instead of down to her stomach, and Martha spoke.”
From that moment on, life took on a different twist. Martha spoke to her family members and talked on the telephone constantly. In fact, one day Martha was the first caller to respond with the correct answer to a radio station contest. She won the Grand Prize — a free weekend for four at the Cozy Come-On-Inn. Everyone was thrilled until the official notice came in the mail, clearly stating: No Dogs Allowed.
A highly entertaining, comical story with a satisfying solution to Martha’s dilemma, this is one book that children will clamor to read many, many times over.
Books to Buy
The following books are available at your favorite bookstores.
“Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story” by Mary Downing Hahn, Clarion, 2007, 187 pages, $16 hardcover
Read aloud: age 11 and older.
Read yourself: age 11 and older.
Thirteen-year-old Ali is spending the summer in Maine with her mother’s sister, Aunt Dulcie, at the house where D1ulcie and her mom spent their summers. Ali is babysitting for her young cousin, Emma, and things are wonderful until Emma and Ali meet Sissy — a nasty girl that has great influence on Emma.
Sissy’s interference with Emma has become a real problem, and Sissy keeps talking about a girl named Theresa that mysteriously drowned years ago in the lake next to the summer house. Sissy says she wants something to be done about it, but what does mean? Who is Sissy, and what can Ali possibly do? All too soon, however, Ali realizes she must do something, for Emma’s life and her own are at stake.
Spine-tingling and haunting, this fast-paced ghost story is a guaranteed page-turner!
“The Lemonade Club” written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco, Philomel, 2007, 42 pages, $16.99 hardcover
Read aloud: age 7 and older.
Read yourself: age 8 and older.
Best friends Traci and Marilyn love their fifth-grade teacher, Miss Wichelman. Every day before class was over, Miss Wichelman would tell her students that when life hands you a lemon or two, make lemonade! Little did the students and Miss Wichelman know that soon they would be called on to do just that.
An extraordinary book based on true events, this heart-wrenching story is ultimately a celebration of life.
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