Here is update info for Aaron’s guide for children’s writers, The Business of Writing for Children. For updated resource listings, see instead A Kidwriting Bookshelf and Other Kidwriting Resources. For full-size versions of sample materials in the book, see Kidwriter Samples.
To use this page, first see which book version you have. You’ll find the version number at the bottom of the book’s copyright page—the page just after the title page. Then read through the following sections, down to and including the section for that version number. (The page locations given may not be exact for an earlier version.)
“Writing Your Story: Story Structure,” pages 18–19—Add:
Choose a time—past or present tense—and keep it consistent. In past tense, the story’s events are narrated as having already happened—“She did that.” In present tense, the story’s events are described as happening now—“He does this.” Most stories by far are in past tense, and that’s always a safe choice.
“Writing Your Story: Setting,” page 20—Add:
For a picture book, describe the setting only sparingly and let the illustrator provide the details.
“Writerspeak #1: Book Categories,” page 21—Add:
Novelty book. A book in an unconventional format, such as a board book, a cloth book, or a pop-up book. Mostly for the youngest listeners. Generally short, sometimes “plotless,” and often published in a series.
“Submitting Your Manuscript: Submission Format,” pages 24—I wrote: “An author flyer or one-sheet resumé can replace much of this.” Replace with, “Much of this can be replaced by an author flyer, or by a one-page resumé of writing credits and/or relevant professional experience.” (In other words, don’t use your generic job-search resumé!)
“Submitting Your Manuscript: Submission Format,” pages 23–26—Add:
Don’t concern yourself with individual publishers’ guidelines on manuscript format. Standard formatting is always acceptable.
“Submitting Your Manuscript: Submission Strategies,” page 26—For the paragraph on researching the markets, replace with:
Research the book markets by reading current children’s books, studying market guides, and either writing to publishers for their catalogs or browsing the book listings at the publishers’ Web sites. Research the magazine markets by reading current issues, studying market guides, and either requesting writer guidelines by mail or finding them at the magazines’ Web sites.
“Writerspeak #2: Book Publishers,” page 33—The paragraph on educational publishers should be replaced by:
Institutional publisher. Publishes nonfiction and/or reference, often in series, for sale to school and/or public libraries. May offer royalties with minimal or no advance, or a flat fee. Large trade publishers may have an institutional division, and vice versa. Institutional publishers are often confused with educational publishers, which they sometimes overlap (see below).
Educational publisher. Publishes textbooks, reading programs, and other teaching materials for sale through specialized channels. May also publish library nonfiction and/or reference, doubling as an institutional publisher. May offer royalties with minimal or no advance, or a flat fee. Large trade publishers may have an educational division, and vice versa.
“Writerspeak #2: Book Publishers,” pages 32–33—Add:
Print-on-demand publisher. A modern form of subsidy publisher, using print-on-demand (POD) technology to produce books only as ordered. May publish ebook editions as well. Generally, books from POD publishers are sold through major trade wholesalers and are easily available through online booksellers. They are seldom stocked by bookstores, though, because they are usually non-returnable. The current technology rules out many children’s books, as it limits text pages to black-and-white and often can’t handle books under 100 pages—but this may change. Writers’ experiences with these publishers have been extremely mixed, so research a publisher carefully before committing. Also be aware that, as with any subsidy publisher, POD publishers only make the book available, leaving marketing to the writer. Finally, consider whether your time might be better spent in working to improve your writing.
“Negotiating Your Contract: Your First Contract,” pages 35–37—Add:
Copyright. Make sure the contract stipulates that the book will be copyrighted in your name. (This is not a likely issue with major publishers.)
Pass-through clause. Normally, your share of subsidiary rights payments received by the publisher is sent only in your royalty check for that period. This can mean a delay in payment of nine months or more. If you can get the publisher to add a pass-through clause, large sums will instead be sent as the publisher receives them, once the advance is earned out.
Warranties and indemnities. Actually, these are clauses not to be highly concerned about but that are likely at first to frighten you. They’re the ones that place much of the burden on you in the event of a lawsuit against the book. Though onerous, they are imposed by the publisher’s lawyers, and the editor usually can’t change them for you. Still, you shouldn’t worry too much, because in children’s book publishing, these clauses are almost never called upon.
“Building Your Career: Upon Publication,” pages 46–47—Add:
Monitor your book listings at major online booksellers, submitting corrections and enhancements as needed.
“Building Your Career: Long Term,” pages 47–49—Add:
“Keep an eye on market trends, but don’t be tied to them. Realize they’re a moving target, and that many are cyclical. In general, knowledge of trends is better used to market existing work than to choose new projects, because anything you begin in response to one is likely to reach publishers too late. Better than following a trend is to start a new one.”
“Researching the Folktale,” page 68—For additional info on copyright searches, see the revised article on this site.
“WriterSpeak #1: Book Categories,” page 21—To clarify, the given manuscript lengths are based on manuscript pages of about 250 words.
“Submitting Your Manuscript: Submission Format,” pages 23–24—To clarify, the info at the top of the first manuscript page is placed just under the top margin. The info at the top of all other manuscript pages is placed above the top margin, about a half inch from the page edge. The possible “notice of previous publication” refers to publication of that story only.
“Submitting Your Manuscript: Submission Format,” page 25—Computer files today might also be sent on CD. An example of a filename following DOS conventions would be “story.doc”. The instructions for creating a PC disk on a Mac will of course not apply to newer Macs without floppy disk drives.
“WriterSpeak #3: Booksellers,” page 45—“Warehouse outlets” should instead be “mass merchandisers” and “warehouse clubs”—two distinct though related categories. (Also, “Walmart” should be “Wal-Mart.”)
“Designing Your Web Site,” pages 95–100—Please see the revised article posted on this site. (Because this kind of article dates rapidly, it will be omitted from future versions of the book.)