Hi all...
I am in the process of writing my first childrens story book. I have plot, story line, theme, characters, chapters, market research done, target age range executed, I have even written chapters one and two. I am now wondering what I do next, whilst wanting to complete the book, how do I get publishers to take on my book, How do I get an agent? Any advise would be very helpful
You'd submit your work as the agent specifies in a letter or on their website: in plain font, with margins and line spacing, and chapter headings centred on the page. You would send it as loose pages. First of all, you'll contact them by letter or email - don't send the whole thing without asking first.
I am sure that somewhere on this site there will be guidelines - have a look under Advice at the top of the page.
Now, stop worrying about that part, and write!
Hi Nicholas, one thing you can do to help get known, is to enter writing competitions. Of course entering doesn't mean you will win, but it will help you with getting to know what publishers want. You will have to keep to exactly what they ask of you, and just doing that that will help with your discipline. Of course should you be lucky enough to win... well that is a plus for your C.V. Every little helps. good luck with the hard work to come, just don't give up, there is loads to learn.
Regards Paul.
It depends a lot on how you want to be published. If it's the 'traditional' model - i.e. through a big publisher - you'd probably need to get a literary agent first. Most accept e-mail submissions nowadays, so you'll need to type up the book and have it available to send. Different agents want different things - the first three chapters, for example, or the first few pages - before they can decide if they'll take you as a client. To find out more about getting agents, explore this site - the 'advice' tab at the top of this page has a lot of the answers you'll need.