Went to the Writer’s Coffeehouse at Mysterious Galaxy again yesterday. This time it was hosted by author Henry Herz, so we got to dig into the details of writing and submitting children’s books. I might try to polish up and submit that picture book draft I have, after all ;)
Many thanks to Mysterious Galaxy for hosting, and to Henry for running the show!
My notes:
Possible to have agent and still indy publish; Indy Quillen does it, because her agent sent book to publishers first, she indy pubbed only after publishers all passed on it
Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators: has local chapter, can join and get critiques
San Diego Writer’s Ink: has critique groups
Can take classes at local colleges to meet other writers and get feedback
Indy: recommends using real name (or pen name) for twitter handle, makes it easier to find you
Posting comments on blogs of authors you like in your genre can help drive traffic to your own website
Picture books: birth to 6-7, then easy readers, then chapter books, then middle grade
400-500 words, perfect for 6-7 yr old protagonist
Don’t do art notes! Leave that for the illustrator, they’ll come up with better art than you can
Leave out all your normal descriptive text
Run your manuscript through an online tool to check the vocab level, needs to be appropriate for your age group
Usually don’t send artwork with the book, publisher picks them
Educational tie-in great for selling picture books to editors, something for teachers to hook into
La Jolla Writer’s Conference: small, but pulls big names; November
Southern California Writer’s Conference: September in Irvine, good for people that haven’t been to a conference before, low key, Indy got her agent there
Tuesday, Sep 12th: look for #mswl on twitter (manuscript wish list)
Recommended reading: Donald Maas' Writing the Breakout Novel; Invisible Ink
