i have written and illustrated a children's book (ages 4-8) and need help on how to go about setting it up to present to an agent or publisher. Can you help me??
Pat Rohner
508-641-8681
I live north of Boston, Ma
i have written and illustrated a children's book (ages 4-8) and need help on how to go about setting it up to present to an agent or publisher. Can you help me??
Pat Rohner
508-641-8681
I live north of Boston, Ma
[mY OLD FRIEND, the wrong key pressed... I backtrack, editing faulty punctuation on the way]
This is almost impossible to do yourself, because you love your book, don't you? Make sure that they understand that you DON'T want gentle pattings on the back and "Quite nice, Dear"s. You want them to be CRUEL, RUTHLESS in searching out the slightest anomaly and wonky tone.
Then - if you're lucky enough to have access to 4-8-year-olds - read it to your intended audience and get THEIR feedback. If they yawn or wander off, you can either go back to selling beans or you can go back to your writing desk. If they really like it, you can present it to an agent. Most publishers aren't going to look at a first-time writer's offering that hasn't come with an agent's recommendation. So you need to check out the agents' web-sites [useful list at https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/listings HOWEVER, a tip from personal experience: If you get the on-line version and type in "children" "agent" in the search function, you're going to get a list that includes several entries such as "Agents for the already-famous. We do NOT except manuscripts for children's books." You might prefer to order this: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/store/9781472912480/children-s-writers-and-artists-yearbook-2015/ It isn't available as a separate on-line version, but it's not going to include any of the type mentioned above.]
p.s. La Gr@not@ will be applying for inclusion in both works within the next few days.
p.p.s. Last night I arrived at my (3-year-old) grand-daughter's house. She doesn't - as far as I can tell - have ANY really boring books. She has a LOT of really good books. This just to let you know that there's some FIERCE competition out there... So make sure that your book is GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!
Susan and I seem both to have missed the point of your question. You didn't ask: "How do I approach an agent?" You asked "How do I prepare my book for presentation to an agent?" Barring the wacky suggestion in my last comment, what you need to do is polish your book, both illustrations and text, until it's as good as you can possibly get it. Then hand it to all of your friends who possess a bit of patience and/or enthusiasm in your desire to be a writer, ask them to read it to each other and tell you where it doesn't sound just right. This is almost impossible to do yourself, because you love your book, don't you. Make sure that you DON'T
You could always go crazy and visit http://la-granota.com/crazy.htm
If you're sure that your book will have mass appeal and get snapped up in no time by a publisher that will give you a huge advance on royalties, this is NOT the route to take. And pay attention to the conditions under 2). They are NOT interested in "the Enid Blighton of the 21st century."
Just a shot in the dark...