CHAPTER 10

Finding the Right Publisher

To give your manuscript a decent shot at success, you need to find out which publishers are interested in your type of book. Without the proper research, you may find that your manuscript is being rejected just because you sent it to the wrong publishing houses. Compiling a list of appropriate publishers takes some legwork, but it is well worth it in the end. This chapter will help you begin your search for the right publisher for your book.

Narrowing the List

Your goal is to find a publisher that will welcome your book to its list. This might be a small house or a large one; it might be one that publishes books for many different audiences or it might be one dedicated to the singular pursuit of publishing books for children. The most important thing is that the company publishes books like yours.

The best way to begin your search for the ideal publisher for your manuscript is by answering a few questions. The answers to the following questions will help you to narrow down the list of possibilities (which at this point is all publishing companies!):

• Is your book fiction or nonfiction?

• What age group is your book written for? (Is it a picture book, chapter book, etc.)

• To which market(s) will your book be sold (trade, mass-market, etc.)?

• Under what subject would your book be categorized?

• Could your book be used in classrooms — is it educational?

You should have already researched books similar to yours. Take a look at where these books are sold and where they are shelved. This should give you a further understanding of what categories your book fits into.

Creating a List of Possibilities

Once you have categorized your book, start seeking out potential publishers for it. A quick Google search of the titles from your “similar titles” list should lead to each book's publishing information. For additional help, visit a bookstore or library and jot down the names of publishing companies from the inside front covers of books in the section where you picture yours sitting. And don't forget word of mouth — talk to the people in your writers' group, or from your writing program, and see if they have any suggestions. At this point, you are almost ready to begin building your list.

Creating a list of possibilities doesn't mean that you should send your manuscript to every single one. Mergers and acquisitions are always taking place. The publishing company you may have come across during your search at a library may no longer be in existence. Or maybe the publishing company still exists but no longer publishes your type of book. You will need to conduct further research to narrow down the list of possibilities.

Organizing the Possibilities

The first step is to create a master list of publishing houses that publish children's books. Not all of these companies will be exclusively focused on children's books. For example, you will probably want to include some of the major literary houses, such as HarperCollins or Simon & Schuster, which have children's divisions, but which also publish books in other areas. The more organized you are, the easier it will be to put together a manuscript submission or query letter. You may want to create a database or spread-sheet to hold all the necessary information you will need for the potential publishers. If you aren't sure how to set up a database or spreadsheet, simple tutorials can be found online. Of course, a good old-fashioned notebook works, too!

Most publishing companies have extensive websites detailing recently published, and soon-to-be published titles. These pages can be an invaluable source of information for you, as they will show what the myriad children's book publishing companies are currently interested in.

As you conduct further research, you may find that you eliminate several of the possible publishing companies. This is a good thing: you are developing a sense of where your book fits into the market. Think of this process as cutting down on the number of rejection letters you will receive.

Gathering Information

Once you have a list of possibilities, you need to begin gathering as much information about them as you can. For each publisher on your list, you want to find out if it is an imprint, a major publishing company, or a small publishing company. You want to know: What markets does it target? Does the company specialize in children's books, or does it have only a children's division? How many titles does it publish a year? Also jot down notes or clip articles from trade publications that pertain to these companies.

What is an imprint?
A single publisher may publish under several different names, with each name representing a different category of books. For example, Random House publishes under the name of Bantam Books, which represents its paperback line of adult fiction and nonfiction. Bantam Books is an imprint.

You will want to pull together addresses, phone numbers, and contact names for each of these companies. The publishing company's website should contain all the necessary information, from the person to contact to titles on their current list, backlist titles, and submission guidelines. However, personnel in publishing companies changes frequently, so it is a good idea to call ahead and verify that that person still works there and has the same title.

The following sections highlight places you can look to help you get started in your research. Of course, these aren't the only resources out there. Take your time and gather as much information as you can.

Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market

The Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market is a handy reference guide to have on hand when researching publishing companies. The book is updated annually and provides listings of both book and magazine publishers specific to children's literature and a description of what they publish. The book provides contact names, e-mail addresses, websites, submission guidelines, and pay rates.

This book also includes other valuable information, such as guidelines for writing query letters and cover letters, mission statements from publishers, and articles on high-interest subjects such as contract negotiation and networking. You can find information on contests, awards, conferences, workshops, and organizations, as well as get advice from professionals in the industry.

Literary Market Place

The Literary Market Place (often referred to as the LMP) is an annual directory of American and Canadian publishers. Here you will be able to find almost anything you are searching for within the publishing industry. You will want to concentrate on its lists of publishing companies. The listings include name, address, telephone number, a description of what types of books the company publishes (young adult, general trade, textbooks, etc.), categories of books published (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.), and contact names.

The Literary Market Place is quite expensive and you may not want to spring for the cost just yet. Fortunately, most libraries carry a copy in their reference departments — just be prepared to do a lot of copying. If you are interested in the information found in this gigantic book, you may also consider visiting www.literarymarketplace.com. Here you will be able to access limited information, including information on small presses and names and addresses of some publishing companies.

If you can afford it, you may subscribe to LiteraryMarketPlace.com and have access to the entire database, which includes everything in the print version. The database is easy to search and will help you to narrow down exactly what you are looking for, saving you a lot of time in the long run.

The Literary Market Place also offers descriptions and contact information for editorial services companies, literary agents, wholesalers, sales representatives, and translators. You will find listings for associations, courses, events, and awards as well.

The Children's Book Council

The Children's Book Council is a nonprofit trade organization whose members include U.S. trade children's book publishers. While you can't become a member, you do have access to its list of members. The list includes the publishing company's name, address, phone number, type and format of the books it publishes, and general submission guidelines. You will also be provided with contact names, though you will need to double check them. You can get this list in either hard copy or by visiting the Children's Book Council's website. If you view the list from the Internet, you will also see links to the publishers' websites.

Keep in mind that although this list provides a great deal of information, it is not complete. It lists only those companies that are members of the Children's Book Council. You will want to continue your research through other sources.

For more information about the Children's Book Council, visit its website at www.cbcbooks.org; write to The Children's Book Council, 12 West 37th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10018; or call 212-966-1990.

Asking Around

While publications are great for gathering facts, sometimes you want more than just the facts. This is where social networking comes in. Talk to anyone and everyone you know who may be able to help you in your search for the perfect publisher. This includes anyone who is directly involved in children's publishing (such as an editor or sales representative), book buyers for bookstores, children's librarians, other writers, or literary agents. Remember that any information you gather, no matter how trivial it may seem, may be put to use later on.

Inside Scoop

Do you know anyone who currently works in the book publishing industry? Contact her and bring along your list of potential publishers. See if she can offer any inside information. Maybe you don't personally know anyone in the industry, but maybe you know someone who knows someone with answers. Here's where online social media can help you. Put the word out on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn that you are preparing to send your manuscript to publishers. By simply making your presence and your project known, you can begin to create a public relations (PR) platform (something all writers need these days), and broaden your scope of industry connections.

Whether or not you are able to directly link to anyone in the children's book publishing industry, you can certainly use social media to gain an insider's perspective. Once you have the names of a few editors at the publishing companies on your list, you can begin following those people on Twitter. This will give you a clearer sense of where their attentions lie, and may even help you decide how to frame your query.

You may discover that a certain publishing company is looking to produce a new series, though this news has not been made public. If your manuscript has series potential, you may want to include that in your cover letter, giving you a bit of an edge over other writers. Following industry insiders through social media outlets could lead you to find out about an emerging publishing company likely to embrace your type of book, or an already established company looking to expand its children's department.

You may discover that your manuscript will not fit in with a particular publisher's list as you thought it would. Or maybe a publisher is working on a manuscript that is very similar to yours and probably would not include two such similar titles on its list. Knowing where your book won't fit is as important as knowing where it will — and who knows? Maybe your next book will be perfect for your original choice. The important thing is that now you have the knowledge to make educated decisions about where to send your manuscript.

Guidelines from the Publishers

Once you have a list of publishers, check each one's website for writer's guidelines. Each will have its own list. The first thing you need to know is whether or not the company is currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts. Unsolicited manuscripts are those that are not specifically requested by an editor or publisher. Your manuscript will most likely be unsolicited material.

If the guidelines state that the company does not accept unsolicited manuscripts, don't try to send it in anyway. Doing so tells an editor that you either haven't bothered to check out the guidelines or, even worse, have read the guidelines but decided to ignore them. Even if you are certain your manuscript would be a good match for the company's line of books, you can't force yourself on an editor. It is likely that your manuscript will not even be looked at, so don't waste the time, energy, and expense.

If the company does accept unsolicited manuscripts, you need to present your work in a professional manner. Following the guidelines on the website to a T shows the editor you have done your homework and have respect for the company's protocol. If you are confident that your manuscript is right for a particular publisher, take the time to format your submission according to the company's exact specifications. This will give you a leg up on the writers who send in their manuscripts without regard for the publisher's requirements, and will help gain your project the attention you seek from an editor.

Subsidy Publishers

As you are researching publishing companies, you may come across advertisements from companies promising to publish your book. Finally! Someone understands the hardships writers face in trying to reach the shelves and has taken steps to make it easy, right? Don't be fooled by these advertisements. There is no easy way to get your book published, distributed to the proper markets, and into the hands of children. If becoming successful within children's publishing was so easy, everyone would be full-time children's writers.

Even if your manuscript has been declined by all the potential publishers on your list, it may just be that your manuscript isn't quite ready for publication. If an editor doesn't feel as though she can sell your book, how are you going to?

Have you ever heard the expression “too good to be true”? These advertisements are just that. Normally, the companies behind the ads are subsidy publishers, AKA vanity presses. Subsidy publishers can indeed publish your book, but the catch is that you pay for it. You pay a fee (sometimes an exorbitant sum) and the subsidy publisher will turn your manuscript into a set number of books and deliver them to your doorstep. If you are confident that your manuscript is top-quality children's literature but you can't get it published, you may find subsidy publishing tempting. You might reach a point where you are unable to find a publisher that is a good match for your book, or where your manuscript has been rejected by all potential publishers on your list, and you are searching for new ways to make a splash with your book. Here comes a company offering to publish the book, no questions asked.

Unfortunately, subsidy publishers won't get you very far in the publishing world. They do publish your book, but the rest is up to you. Most likely you will have to market your book. You will have to raise awareness of yourself and of your book. You will have to take time to convince booksellers that your book is worth stocking on their shelves. You will essentially have to become a publisher.

If you find yourself at a dead end and leaning toward subsidy publishing, put your manuscript through another revision process or two. Do further research into publishing companies. Try to find another angle from which to pitch your manuscript. Or consider hiring a professional editor to help you take your book to the next level, and then try sending it out again. Remember: writing is an endurance game.

Self-Publishing

Some people resist the temptation of subsidy publishers, and instead turn to the idea of self-publishing. You know that your book is worth publishing, so why not do it yourself? This way you don't have to bother researching publishing companies, abiding by writer's guidelines, convincing editors of your manuscript's worth, and facing rejection. Plus you get to design your own cover, illustrate the book however you please, charge whatever you want, and reap all the profits. The only problem is that you have to work very hard and know precisely what you're doing to make a profit.

A publishing company does a lot more than just accept and reject manuscripts and send them off to the printer. You will have to learn the business in full if you wish to be successful with self-publishing. If you thought locating publishing companies was a lot of work, you may not want to dive headfirst into one-person publishing. One of the largest considerations for anyone thinking about self-publishing is the cost. You need to have the capital to get started. You can't make money without spending money in self-publishing.

Caution! Wide Workload

Self-publishing requires that you take on the roles of several people. You will have to be the writer, the editor, the publisher, the art director, the designer, the sales rep, the publicist, and the accountant. Your book will need to go through the same process as those in traditional publishing. If you try to take shortcuts, they will show up in the quality of the book. Therefore you may need to hire a copyeditor, proofreader, illustrator, and printer.

While the idea of planning and executing a book by yourself from start to finish may sound like a fun challenge, there are a vast number of decisions to be made, many of which require professional skill. Will the book be hardcover or paperback? What will be the trim size? What will be the price? Will you have color or black-and-white illustrations? Who will do the illustrations? How will you market your book? How many books will you initially print? What type of paper will you use? You must also decide on printing and binding companies.

You will have to design not only front and back covers but also the interior. If you include illustrations, you will have to learn about art reproduction. You will have to assign an ISBN. If you want the public to purchase your book, you will have to find a way to get it into stores. Distributors, who place books for publishing companies, will be wary of working with a previously unpublished author, so you may have to do this part yourself as well.

What is an ISBN?
ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. This is a number on the copyright page and the back cover of a book, usually close to the bar code. This number gives a book its identity and assists order fulfillment and inventory.

Self-publishing requires huge commitment, and involves huge financial risk. Research all the particulars of self-publishing before making any decisions, and before investing any money.

When Self-Publishing Works

Under the right circumstances, self-publishing can be successful. If you have a deep knowledge of the publishing business (including online marketing) or a significant following of potential customers for your book, self-publishing can be a good option. Let's say you are a doctor with your own popular radio program and a website dedicated to the subject of your book. You have the audience and expertise needed to market your book, and you have access to thousands of listeners every week. If you hire the right people to design and produce your book, self-publishing could be the most lucrative way to go — after all, you would be earning all of the profits from book sales, and you could easily promote the project through your clients and listeners.

Even those without a built-in media base have the power to create a platform and make self-publishing work for them — but it takes serious time, knowledge, and money.

While it is recommended that you first try to get published through traditional publishing houses, if you are determined to self-publish your work then there are several reference guides available to you, such as The Self-Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter. You may also considering hiring a consultant to give you advice and show you the ropes so you don't feel as though you are completely on your own.