There have been a number of specific questions relating to my post about finding a literary agent, so I thought I'd do a bit of a round-up here.Rachel Limon asks how to get across to an agent what age-range she is writing for. It's important to know who you are aiming your book at. When writing for children, the two key questions are:
- What age child would have the book read to them? (This only applies to younger age groups.)
- What age child would read the book themselves?
State clearly in your covering letter what age/s your book is aimed at.
In terms of finding a specific children's agent, can I refer you to the excellent Children's Writers' & Artists' Yearbook - the new edition is just out. If you are aiming your work at children, it really is worth getting this specific reference guide, as so many agents simply don't take on writing or illustrations for children.
gbarnes182 asks if an 850-word story is worth sending in to an agent. That sounds a good length for a picture book, and as the author envisages it with brightly coloured illustrations - they could explain this in their covering letter, or even get together with an illustrator - perhaps finding one on this site - to give the publisher an idea of what they are aiming for.
mark sanders asks if his US agent will sell his book to UK publishers. This will be covered in his contract with them. An agent will either have a direct link to submitting work in the UK, or will ask his US publisher to take on the task of selling those rights.
Good luck with writing for children!
Best wishes,
Cressida
(editorial consultant)
Ashley on September 28, 2009
Thanks for the advice, it can seem quite daunting trying to get published. I have had so many people wanting to find an easy way, without having to do the hard yards.
Beverley Speight Martin on October 26, 2009
I am just in the process of finding a publisher/agent for my two completed manuscipts on childrens fiction. I have contacted around fifteen agents/publishers and had no response yet. I have also gone down the self publisher road but decided I need professional childrens agent/ publisher who has international connection with book stores and good media strategy especially for my first adventure book. I feel that I have a good adventure series waiting to be read but people need to know its out there and publishers and agents are my connections! searching for the right agent/publisher will probably be long process but I am willing to keep on going.