picture books

From ‘Bertha and Bear’ by Christine Sharp, 2017

My 12-part guide to writing and publishing picture books for children

Inspiration has struck, you’ve put in the hours, your story is begging to be published and you’ve decided you’d like to take the traditional publishing route. The next step is to submit your manuscript to a publisher or a literary agent, usually via email. But, before you do, you want to be sure you are sending off your best work. This may be the one and only time your dream publisher casts their expert eye over your story, so you really want it to sing. My advice? Once you believe you’ve perfected your manuscript, engage someone impartial to critique it — not your best friend, who no doubt will be supportive, and certainly not someone without experience in the industry or in your genre, but an objective professional. Contact your local writers’ organisation to find a manuscript assessment service or locate a good editor who can help you polish your work. Then, once you’ve ironed out any problems and your baby is well and truly ready for its chance-of-a-lifetime audition, you can send it off with confidence.

But not too much confidence. A sobering statistic: apparently, around 97% of manuscripts sent to publishers are rejected. That’s a lot, isn’t it? Don’t despair. Many manuscripts have been rejected, sometimes multiple times, before being picked up by the right publisher. You may just have to knock on more doors to find the right home for your book.

In any case, to find a suitable publisher, you need to do some research. Spend some time in your local bookstore (buy a couple of beautiful books while you’re there) and find out who publishes your favourite books. A bookstore is better than a library for this particular task as you can begin to understand the trends and tastes of the current market. Make a list of the publishers who publish the style of work you are hoping to produce, then go online and find the ‘submission guidelines’ page on their website. Check to see if they are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts, and specifically if they are accepting work in your genre. There is no point in sending your manuscript to publishers who are not presently open to receiving it. Some publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts period, in which case it may be necessary for you to secure a literary agent. Again, research literary agents to find a good match and then approach them with respect. A good agent can be an author’s best friend. (Read more about literary agents here.)

Once you’ve targeted a couple of suitable publishers, carefully read their submission guidelines and follow them. Don’t let a good story be relegated to the reject pile because you failed to comply with the guidelines. Write a considered and communicative cover letter and craft it with the same care you gave your manuscript. It represents you, after all. Check it and check again and, once you’re sure, press ‘send’.

Now, we wait … and you may need to be patient, as some publishers can take several months to reply. Some may send you a receipt of acknowledgement and then only contact you again should they have an interest in publishing your story. At least you’ll know if you’ve not heard from them within the specified period that it is time to send your manuscript to the next publisher on your list. Again, check your next publisher’s submission guidelines and follow them to a tee.

The whole submission process can take far longer than you had anticipated and it may be downright depressing. But, buck up, little camper, and take heart. You’re going to need all of the resilience you can muster to keep backing your own work, now and into the future. You may well face rejections, even after you’ve had one or more books published. Or you may, one day, read less than favourable reviews of your work, and you’re going to need to believe in yourself. So, should your manuscript fail to start a bidding war and you find yourself feeling deflated and defeated, you are going to need to pick yourself up and try again. Either revisit your manuscript with fresh eyes to find the problem, or keep sending it out in search of the right publishing deal. In the meantime, you can begin work on the next story, and the next …

From ‘Bertha and Bear’ by Christine Sharp, 2017

On the other hand – and it does happen – a publisher may read your submission, become all sorts of excited and present it with enthusiasm to the publishing committee, who collectively decide you’re the best thing since unsliced sourdough bread and make you an offer. Hooray! Now, I’ll talk a little about contracts, advances and royalties in the next part of My 12-part guide, but, here, let me just say that beyond the thrill of the moment, this is only the beginning. You may have to wait for a surprising amount of time to see your book on the shelves of your beloved bookshop. From the time of submission to the time of release, it can often take a year or two or more. The publishers have a schedule to adhere to and they’ll try to find the best time of year to release your particular book. It may be that the book is perfect to launch just before Mother’s Day, or it might be a great fit for Christmas or spring. And just because the book has been accepted, it does not mean the publisher won’t want to make changes. It will likely need editing and re-editing, and, if it is a picture book, there is the illustration process to consider.

All in all, traditional publishing can be a sometimes frustratingly slow process. However, should you find a great publisher, who happens to believe in your book, they will help you to shape and shepherd it so that it becomes a work of which you are truly proud and one that will have a good chance of surviving, even thriving, in the competitive book market. Good luck.

Chris x

If you found this post helpful, you may like to read other posts in the series: My 12-part guide to writing and publishing picture books for children. I will publish the posts over the coming weeks and announce them on Facebook and Instagram, but if you want to make sure you don’t miss a post, subscribe to my newsletter for free.

My 12-part guide to writing and publishing picture books for children:

Part 1: Know and love your readers
Part 2: Ideas and inspiration
Part 3: Character, theme, rhythm and rhyme, and all of that writing stuff
Part 4: Who’s who in the zoo (writer, illustrator, editor, designer, publisher)
Part 5: Editing and storyboarding
Part 6: Illustration
Part 7: Traditional publishing or self-publishing
Part 8: Submitting your manuscript — the slow business of traditional publishing
Part 9: Contracts, advances and royalties
Part 10: PR — book launch, web presence, book talks and more
Part 11: Who are you and who do you want to be?
Part 12: Resources

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My 12-part guide to writing and publishing picture books for children

From ‘Bea’ by Christine Sharp, 2013.

These two topics — editing and storyboarding — are not necessarily closely related, but they are both, nonetheless, crucial elements of writing and publishing picture books for children. Why I thought I’d tackle them in the one post, I can’t remember now, but seeing as I had already outlined my 12-part guide before I’d written the posts, I am sticking to my guns. So, here’s part 5 of my 12-part guide. I hope you find this information useful on your journey towards becoming a published children’s book author.

EDITING

Never underestimate the importance of editing. Any good writer will tell you that they’ve spent a great deal of time polishing and perfecting their manuscript. In the case of children’s picture books, editing is imperative: there are so few words in a picture book, each word and every sentence counts.

Edit and craft your work. Do not settle for good enough. Do not settle at all. A memorable story needs to have perfect rhythm and the words need to be exactly right. Remember to read your story aloud as you are writing it. How does it sound? Consider your rhythm and your choice of words. Could you choose another word make the sentence more interesting? Check your spelling, your grammar and your punctuation. Wrestle with your writing and buff it until it shines.

Remember, too, editing does not only occur once you’ve secured a publishing contract. Make sure you edit your manuscript before you submit it to a literary agent or publisher. I’ve spoken with a few aspiring authors who assume, should they be accepted for publication, that their idea is enough — it is the editor’s job to whip their story into shape. Of course, while it is true an editor will help you refine your manuscript, it is your responsibility as the writer to make your story the best it can possibly be before you submit it. How insulting to send a publisher a half-baked story containing errors, and what a waste of an opportunity. Edit your work and give yourself your best chance of being published.

On that note, writers are not always the best editors of their own work. Indeed, while some writers love to write and can tell a cracking story, their writing may be far from grammatically correct. Not all writers are editors and that is okay. Also, even if a writer has a firm grasp of the written language and of editing, they are often too close to their work to clearly see the problems. Consider contracting a professional editor to edit your work before submitting to publishers or agents. While I cannot promise you your story will be accepted for publication, you will definitely better your chances.

If you are truly determined to become a published author, and if you want readers to love your stories and your writing, always, always edit your work.

STORYBOARDING

A storyboard is a tool used by authors, illustrators and designers to map out a book (or a magazine, film, animation, play etc.). It is usually done after the manuscript has been edited, at the start of the illustration or design process. A storyboard is used to organise the text across the number of available pages of the book, to iron out any problems. Illustrations are usually sketched on the ‘pages’ of the storyboard, so the author, illustrator, editor and designer can each see the author’s concept of the book. Storyboarding helps the author to nut out any issues, and detect any dead spots or sequence dilemmas.

I highly recommend children’s book authors take the time to create a storyboard, even if another person is illustrating the story. By dividing your manuscript across the pages, you’ll begin to understand the flow and pace of your book, and you’ll see more clearly just how your story is going to look in a book format. It can be a little daunting, and plotting your story takes time, but it is an exercise well worth doing.

Also, you do not have to wait until you have secured a publishing contract to mock up a storyboard. In fact, once you’ve written your story and edited it — remember the importance of editing — it can be a great idea to create a storyboard. As already explained, a storyboard will reveal to you any problems that need to be tackled, and you can attend to these before you send your story to publishers.

The standard picture book for children is 32 pages. The storyboard, however, is made up of 40 numbered pages. How can this be? Let me explain. Here’s a mockup of a storyboard, below.

Page number 1 is actually facedown, stuck to the inside front cover of your book. It is the reverse of the first endpaper page.
Pages 2 and 3 are the endpapers at the beginning of the book. When doing your storyboard, particularly if you are also illustrating your book, you may like to consider if you’d like your endpapers to feature a plain colour, a pattern or an illustration.
Page 4 is usually reserved for the imprint page. Information listed on the imprint page may include the publisher’s name and contact details; the author’s name and birth date; the name of the illustrator and designer; copyright information; and the ISBN and catalogue-in-publication details. In children’s picture books, because pages are so few, the imprint page may also house a short author biography, an author photo and even a dedication. The imprint page is sometimes better placed at the end of the book on page 37, depending upon the space required for certain illustrations and the flow of the book. The best place for the imprint page can be determined through the storyboarding process.
Page 5 is usually the title page, which may feature the title of the book, the authors’ name, the publisher’s logo and an introductory illustration.
Pages 6–37 are reserved for the story. The text and illustrations are plotted across these 32 pages or 16 spreads. The storyboarding process can help you decide where you want to place single-page or half-page illustrations, where you intend to have double-page spreads, and where you’d like to see text and no illustrations.
Pages 38 and 39 are the endpapers at the end of the book. These usually mirror the endpapers at the beginning of the book.
Page 40 is the reverse side of page 39, and it is stuck facedown on the inside back cover of the book.

Feel welcome to download my free Children’s Picture Book Storyboard template so you have one at hand. When you’re creating your storyboard, you’ll need to use a much larger sheet of paper or several sheets of A4 paper, as the spreads and pages represented in your storyboard need to be large enough for you to draw and write on them. If you are creating your storyboard using computer software, you can make it whatever size you like, but do keep in mind you or your publisher may need to print it out.

That’s all for now. My next post will look at illustrating children’s picture books. Exciting things to come!

Chris x

My 12-part guide to writing and publishing picture books for children:

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My 12-part guide to writing and publishing picture books for children

My 12-part guide to writing and publishing picture books for children:

My 12-part guide to writing and publishing picture books for children

My 12-part guide to writing and publishing picture books for children:

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