Hello, I am a newbie on writewords so please be gentle with me!

I would like to approach agents and possibly publishers with a children's educational picture book (fiction). The text is 24 pages long and is targeted at a specific curriculum topic/age range.

I have looked carefully at what is available in the marketplace and am 99% certain there is no pre-existing text on this topic.

I have spent some time reading through many of the old posts on this forum, so I am fully aware that this is a very tough and competitive field to break into....

I am planning to join the Children's forum to develop/discuss work but in the meantime I have the writers' equivalent of itchy feet and just want to get going with the process of submitting work!

Questions

Should I send a single page query letter with no accompanying manuscript?

Should I send the text in the layout I have planned? There is an alternating/cummulative pattern in the text, using facing pages, so layout does have a bearing on the way the text is perceived.

Or should I just write out the text in double spacing, indicating where page breaks/illustrations etc should go?

Thank you for any help and suggestions!

Triscca,

I understand how keen you are but be very careful about sending out your work to anyone before you are confident it’s as good as it can get. Once an agent has rejected your submission they will not consider it again – and they have amazingly long memories.

If the agent specifically asks for just a query letter you can write to them, tell them what you’re planning, and ask them what sort of layout they prefer. If you’re doing your own illustrations ask if they’d like to see them with the text. When you get a reply, make a note of the name and then when you do submit you can send it to the same person – unless they give you an alternative name, of course.

Good luck, and welcome to WW.

Dee

Triscca,

Children's educational/curriculum publishing is different in many ways to fiction publishing. A lot of payment, for example, is by set fee rather than advance/royalties. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, however, and makes sense commercially, i.e. publishers have a very good idea of how many copies they will sell - because the books already have a market in schools and libraries. Therefore, they know how much they can pay the writer/illustrator. Also, many children's fiction books do not make back their advance, or only just, which means there isn't much by way of royalties in any case. I know someone who wrote children's educational books for many years before switching to fiction. She was surprised to find that in many ways she had more freedom in the educational field - because with fiction, editors are prepared to take fewer risks on what is already a risky endeavour for them. Because a lot of educational children's writing is set fee, agents don't tend to be interested in representing you. Therefore, you may well do better going direct to publishers.

Terry

Dee and Terry, thank you for your useful responses.

Mmmm, food for thought..

Triscca,

Are you planning to be your own illustrator? If so then what you submit must lay emphasis on this.

You obviously have done quite a bit of research on this, identifying publishers you would like to work with, so your challenge becomes one of preparing the sort of material they would expect to receive from someone who is breaking into this field.

Terry's advice is always to be respected. I would try to speak to the publishers on the phone. You may even have the opportunity for a personal presentation. This is a specialised field and I would be inclined to take the bull by the horns. Once you are satisfied that your stuff is the best you can produce, contact them, ask them.
Len

Re agents, lot's specify no childrens books.

A few - PFD, Pollinger - are geared up to deal with the major publishers in this area and there are a couple of specialist childrens agents who are flat out dealing with their existing clients. The one advantage of submitting to the specialists is that they could get you in to the right deal if they like the work and they send the rejections back double-quick if they don't, so either way you're not waiting around for ever.

Good luck.