Done and sent!! Now what??

Sorry, it's been awhile since I last wrote on here. But, the good news is that I completed my book!! After working with Rachelle Burke, a Children's author and professional critic,  I revised my book a few times and completed it at the end of June! I highly recommend working with a professional on revisions. It is always a good idea to get feedback from those who are already published and working in the business. They have a unique insight and can be beneficial, especially for those not using an agent. Rachelle's fee was $100 for a line-by-line critique and she gave me plenty of pointers and feedback to work with. She even allowed me to re-submit after I applied her notes and she gave me a little hint that I was going in the right direction. $100 may seem like a lot to some (me included). But, I am hoping it will pay off in the long run.

After I finished the book, I began submitting it to publishers who take unsolicited work. You can find a great list of these publishing houses at the end of this post.  I went to each and every one of these publisher's websites and made sure the list was accurate and up-to-date. I then followed the guidelines listed on the publisher's website to prepare for submission. I started with 8 publishers. Only a couple took submissions by email, the rest wanted a hard copy of the manuscript and a cover letter.

A cover letter is basically where you have to be a car salesman (or woman). You have to sell your product. That can be easier said than done! But, the advice I got was to pretend you are writing content for the back of your book. What is going to suck the reader in and make them want to read it? The cover letter needs to pop, but without going overboard. I think I did pretty good on my first try. I was told not to be surprised if I get no response or if I am lucky enough to have an interested publisher, it could be up to 6 months before I hear one word.  I did receive one rejection letter only about a month after I submitted my manuscripts. That was a huge bummer, but I still have 7 more manuscripts out there in the world....all I can do is hope, at this point, that there is a lone publisher somewhere who needs what I am offering.

Until then...I wait.

Rachelle Burke:  http://rachelleburk-authorvisits.blogspot.com/

List of Publishers taking unsolicited Manuscripts: http://thejohnfox.com/2016/03/children-book-publishers/

1st Draft down! What have I gotten myself into!

So, the spark was lit a couple weeks ago as I was shopping with my best friend. She mentioned wanting to write children's books and just like that I was taken back to being a teenager when I used to submit my stories to the Institute for Children's Literature. I got accepted (I doubt it was that hard since it's pretty gimmicky), but I never actually went through with it. Writing books has always been in the back of my mind as something I want to scratch off my bucket list. So, while shopping with Becky in Pier One and the discussion was once again in my life, I felt that old feeling come back with a vengeance!

This time, I actually did it! I actually sat down and wrote a first draft! It's a done deal. The idea is out there. I have a completed story. The clay in which I now have to mold many times over in order to create something worthy of sending to a publisher. I am so new to all of this and I have been searching online for hours pouring over articles on how to get published. I have a million questions and one by one I am getting them answered. Do I need an illustrator? No. Do I need an agent? No. Is this a complete and total long shot? YES! I am trying to just go into the process as a way to learn it, not succeed from it. If I get published...cherry on the sundae! If I don't...I learned. Either way, I win.

I looked into paying a professional to critique the story for me. And I will go that route eventually. But, I realized that I have such a diverse group of people at my disposal who can help me revise the book that I am going to pick their brains first. Right now, I have  2 teachers (one an English teacher), a friend who was in Journalism school with me and a NY Times bestselling Author looking at it for me!! I think I am doing pretty good for just starting out. Laurie Notaro (the best-selling author) became an acquaintance of mine when I worked for Barnes & Noble (long story) and we have kept in touch through Facebook ever since. She offered to take a peek at it for me. I am so thankful for that! It's not everyday that someone in the business is willing to look at your work for free!

It has helped me believe that this is all happening for a reason. At the right time. I am willing to ride this train until the wheels fall off to see how far my little children's picture book can go.

A Spark in the middle of Pier One...

So, I was having a conversation with my best friend, Becky, while we were shopping at our local Pier One last week. Suddenly, she started telling me about all these ideas she had for a Children's book (or two, or three). They were exciting, brilliant ideas and just like that, an old familiar feeling came over me...the feeling that I needed to get back into writing. I have always loved to write. When I was little I would spend hours at my Grandfathers old typewriter, click-clacking out little stories about whatever my imagination would produce. I was on the high school newspaper, went to college on a writing scholarship, was on the college paper, etc etc etc. But, as I got older and had to start paying bills, I realized that writing was a pretty hard career to make a real living at. So, I went to work at a "real" job and gave up the ghost. It's been years since I wrote anything substantial, but when Becky mentioned the Children's book thing, I felt a renewed spark. I suddenly was overcome with a strong feeling like I needed to get back to my first love. I have been feeling that now is the time and this new venture is calling to me. So, this week, I completed my very first draft, of my very first Children's book. I decided to start this Blog as well because I want to take you along on my journey. I have no idea where this is going to lead, but I hope through this blog I will be able to make some connections, get some insight, ideas and advice from those who are experienced children's book authors, editiors, publishers, etc and I would love feedback on my work. So feel free to read along, follow my blog and become my friend as I dive into the literary world of writing for children!