How To Publish Children's Books

Children's books are all the rage these days....series such as the Harry Potter books, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the Series of Unfortunate Events books have already begun making their way to the silver screen while selling millions of copies around the world.  Other books are in the process of being transitioned into film, and even more are simply becoming national and international hits with readers of all ages.

With the huge success of so many children's books, perhaps you're thinking that you should try writing one of your own.  It's important to keep in mind that just because the books are being written for children, this doesn't make them easy to write.  Of course, you shouldn't let this stop you from trying your hand at being published as a children's book author; here are a few things that you should remember to help you along your way.

1. Before you can get published, you need to have a finished manuscript.  Never submit an inquiry to a publisher telling them about something that you plan to write; if they accept your idea, they're going to want a copy of the manuscript in their hands within a few weeks.

2. As you work on your manuscript, make sure that you treat the children that you're targeting the book at as people instead of talking down to them as though they were "just children."  Write the books at their level, but make sure that you respect their level.
3. Once you've finished your manuscript, you need to find potential publishers for it.  Use an Internet search for children's book publishers, or use a specialized reference such as the Writer's Market guides or website to search for publishers specifically.  You'll be looking for submission guidelines for the different publishers, which will tell you how to submit and what type of manuscripts each publisher is looking for (as well as some information about payment structuring).  Use this information to narrow down the publishers who generally publish the type of book you've written, and get an idea of which publishers you'd really like to work with.
4. When contacting different publishers to see if they might be interested in publishing your book, send an inquiry directly to a specific editor unless you were given other instructions in the submission guidelines.  Include a synopsis and let them know that you have samples available if they want them; never send a whole manuscript unsolicited (unless instructed to do so in the contact information).
5. If you're wanting to have the book illustrated, mention that in your inquiry.  In almost all cases, the publisher that prints your book will find an illustrator for the book, and it is generally considered to be in bad taste for the author to submit illustrations with his initial manuscript.  If you have a specific illustrator in mind or have some pictures ready, however, be sure to mention this to the publisher so that they might consider it.
6. Mail inquiries to several different publishers at the same time (and make sure that you let them know you've submitted other inquiries as well.)  Be sure to include self-addressed stamped envelopes with each, so that they'll have an easy way to reply to you.  It's also important that you make sure that the publishers that you're submitting to accept simultaneous submissions; while most do, there are a few that prefer exclusive submissions.  This information will be found in the submission guidelines for each publisher.  (If you want to submit to one that doesn't accept simultaneous submissions, submit to them individually and wait for them to reply before you submit to other publishers.)
7. Be prepared to wait weeks or possibly even months before hearing back from publishers.
8. If no one buys your manuscript, you can either take the opportunity to make revisions based on any feedback you may have received or you can submit more inquiries to other publishers.  Persistence is the key to making it as an author of any kind of book.