Here is a small, personal selection of resources for writing children’s books and publishing them, including basic ones that can lead you to more, and a few you’re not likely to see elsewhere. For books, including a directory of publisher addresses, see A Kidwriting Bookshelf.
Children’s writers are wise to become familiar not only with the field of writing but also with the professionals who support children’s books: booksellers, educators, librarians. A number of resources here are included for that purpose.
Articles, inside tips, and resource links from children’s book editor Harold Underdown.
www.underdown.org
An author’s home page with extensive resources for children’s writers, including a very active chat room and message boards.
www.verlakay.com
Includes YAWrite, an open online critique group for all children’s writers.
www.internetwritingworkshop.org
An online periodical from Jan Fields about writing for children’s magazines.
www.kidmagwriters.com
An online list of children’s book publisher contact info.
www.cbcbooks.org/about/ourmembers
A site with helpful info and statistics on children’s publishers, including forums for authors and illustrators to discuss experiences.
www.jacketflap.com
The online catalog for the entire University of California library system. A sophisticated search function enables you to find resources in any subject area. If it’s a serious book published within the last century anywhere in the world, it’s likely to be here. Once you have the bibliographic info, you can obtain a book locally through interlibrary loan.
melvyl.cdlib.org
Info on how authors as well as publishers can enhance their books’ listings on Amazon.
www.amazon.com/publishers
A popular resource by Aaron to let you quickly check sales ranks and other indicators of your books’ status on Amazon.
www.salesrankexpress.com
This tool tells you the keywords and key phrases people really use when searching online. Use it to help construct your titles and subtitles—especially for nonfiction. Then your books will show up more often in searches at online booksellers, and supporting Web pages will be listed more often in online search results.
www.wordtracker.com
This section of The Online Books Page points to online resources for running your own copyright search when the status of a book is in question.
digital.library.upenn.edu/books/cce
This is a service of the U.S. Social Security Administration, providing lists of popular American names by gender and decade back to 1900, and also by year and state back to 1990.
www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames
Though in most cases Aaron does not recommend trying to self publish children’s books, his collection of resources for self publishers will help those determined to do it anyway.
www.newselfpublishing.com
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Quick Links!
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Note: Some lists may be Yahoo! groups. To stop Yahoo! from selling or sharing your email address, access your account info there, then edit your “Marketing Preferences.”
The email bulletin of changes and additions to this site. Please subscribe!
groups.yahoo.com/group/kidwriting-update
The largest email discussion list for children’s writers. Among other benefits, membership brings you an excellent FAQ.
groups.yahoo.com/group/childrens-writers
Though I do not generally recommend self publishing children’s books, here’s a list devoted to it.
groups.yahoo.com/group/CBPublishing
General discussion of children’s literature. Subscribers include academics, teachers, public librarians, school librarians, and writers.
www.rci.rutgers.edu/~mjoseph/childlit/about.html
For school librarians. Has tight restrictions on messages seen as promoting a writer’s work.
www.eduref.org/lm_net
For public librarians.
www.pubyac.org
All listings below are U.S. unless noted.
Bi-monthly bulletin, market directories, annual conference, regional branches. Join this!!!!!!!!
8271 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323-782-1010
www.scbwi.org
Annual convention (as part of Book Expo America), publications, mailing lists, some regional affiliates, the national BookSense campaign and Web site.
828 S. Broadway
Tarrytown, NY 10591
800-637-0037
www.bookweb.org
Newsletter, email discussion list, mailing list, some regional affiliates.
62 Wenham St.
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
617-390-7759
www.associationofbooksellersforchildren.com
Annual convention, publications, mailing lists, state affiliates.
50 East Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
800-545-2433
www.ala.org
A division of the American Library Association. Conferences, publications, email discussion lists.
50 East Huron St.
Chicago, IL 606711
800-545-2433 X4389
www.ala.org/aasl
Elementary school teachers, other educators, some librarians. Annual convention, publications, mailing lists, state and local affiliates.
800 Barksdale Rd.
P.O. Box 8139
Newark, DE 19714
800-336-7323
www.reading.org
Secondary-school English teachers, other educators. Annual convention, publications, mailing lists, state affiliates.
1111 Kenyon Rd.
Urbana, IL 61801
800-369-6283
www.ncte.org
Academics studying the field of children’s literature. Conferences, publications, foreign affiliates.
P.O. Box 138
Battle Creek, MI 49016
616-965-8180
www.childlitassn.org
Newsletters, workshops, meetings and other information programs for Canadian authors, parents, teachers, librarians, publishers, and others.
c/o Northern District Library, Lower Level
40 Orchard View Blvd.
Toronto, Ontario M4R 1B9
CANADA
416-515-1559
www.canscaip.org
All listings below are U.S. unless noted.
Official publication of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Bimonthly.
8271 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323-782-1010
www.scbwi.org
Includes ongoing coverage of children’s book publishing and related fields. Also a major review journal. Extremely expensive, but worth it. (If you can’t afford it, though, you can read much of its content on its Web site.) A semiannual children’s book announcement issue—available also individually—includes nearly every children’s book to be published in the next half year, listed by publisher.
800-278-2991
www.publishersweekly.com
Other major review media, to be found at many libraries:Booklist (American Library Association)
School Library Journal
Horn Book
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
visit Aaron Shepard’s Kidwriting Page at
www.aaronshep.com/kidwriter