In Pursuit of Publication

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled program to bring you this tidbit about my life as a writer. Yes, I write this blog, but I’ve also joined the hordes of humans who flood through the virtual gates of literary agents, picture book manuscripts waving wildly in the air. Heaven help me. 

Why picture books

I’ve always loved picture books. I mean, always. I learned to read pretty early, and before that I memorized the books that my parents read to me. They would try to test me by switching a word here or there, and I’d be quick to correct them. (Ironically, my son does the same thing to me now when I try to summarize or skip sections of his books.) The stories of Frog and Toad, Amelia Bedelia, The Berenstain Bears, the Sweet Pickles series, and so many more are indelibly etched in my memory even today. 

Picture books shape our early memories in a way that little else does. When I open my old books to read them to my kids now – even if I haven’t seen the book in over 35 years – the pictures and even the words come right back to me. You know what I’m talking about. It’s like meeting up with an old friend you haven’t seen in decades, but instead of putting on 30 pounds and growing a scraggly beard, they’ve remained completely as you remember them. I’d love to be part of forging childhood memories like these. 

What I’ve Learned

I’ve been reading forever and writing nearly forever, but attempting to break into the world of publication is new for me. As I tend to do, I dove head-first into research, work, and involvement. There is still so much for me to learn, but I thought I’d make a little list of tips (in no particular order) that I’ve gleaned so far. If you’re not interested in publication, these can still be enlightening as you see what’s on the back end of picture books these days.

• Some subjects and styles are in vogue, and others are nearly blacklisted. If you write poetry or anything over 600 words, don’t hold your breath for publication. Also, the market is much more favorable to anything or anyone that was previously marginalized. 
• No one wants poetry. And that’s a crying shame. Poetry has served humanity well for millennia, but the powers that be have decreed that rhyming picture books are out. I love writing poetry, so this is especially unfortunate for me.
• You have eight seconds to hook an agent with your query letter. Agents are inundated with emails from writers. Word on the street is that if your letter doesn’t stand out within eight seconds, you’re almost certain to get a form rejection. They won’t even look at your manuscript. 
• There are lots of resources available. The market is more competitive, but sources of help are more abundant too. Online groups and in-person meetings offer a plethora of answers to all of your questions. 
• Rejection is a huge part of the process. You’re probably going to get countless rejections before you find an agent or publisher who wants to join forces with you. And that’s ok.
• Feedback is essential. You get blind to your own work after a while, and you need outside eyes to see where you can improve. Join a critique group or three. It’s a great source of motivation, accountability, feedback, and encouragement.
• Credentials, accolades, and memberships matter. When you start to submit your work, even just in online contests, the people who do best tend to have stuff to brag about—winners of previous contests, participants in loads of groups, runners-up in several challenges. Enter everything, and be sure to list your awards in your queries. 
• The more resources you can avail yourself of, the better. Join writer’s groups, attend conferences, watch webinars, listen to podcasts, read articles and books, and talk to other people in the craft. There’s too much to learn via any one source.
• Social media is an evil, but it’s a necessary one. Honestly, I don’t enjoy most aspects of social media, but it would be hard to make enough connections to other writers, agents, and editors without a Twitter account. For now, it’s still the place for writers to be.
• You probably won’t make money in this line of work. Between splitting fees with agents and illustrators, being in charge of marketing your own books, and the dauting cost (about $17!) of a hardcover picture book, you’re not looking at a lucrative day job until you’re pretty far down the publishing road. 
• You’ll be your own marketing team. Publishers are more likely to consider you if you have a plan for selling loads of books: thousands of online followers waiting to purchase, multiple school visits set up, experience in marketing, an author website and mailing list in place… The more influence, the merrier.
• Not every idea deserves to be a published book. This idea was quite freeing for me. I’ve got lots of ideas and several polished manuscripts, but that doesn’t mean all of them should be published. I can keep the rocks and display the gems. 
• Every failed manuscript is still progress. Even if some manuscripts never turn into published books, that’s still all right. Brainstorming, writing, and editing are always good practice.

What’s Next

All that information looks dauting when you read it consecutively, and I won’t lie—it’s daunting for me to think about too. I had pictured writing books as a pretty simple process: write something good, have an agent get it published for me, and let the books sell themselves while I work on my next idea. But success in this industry is all-consuming. Sheesh, even failure is all-consuming! So I’m doing what I can (not much) in the time I have (virtually none) and hoping it will add up to something worthwhile one of these days. 

For now, I’ve joined some writing groups, gathered some critique partners, started to write a bit more often, joined Twitter, entered contests, and attended presentations and conferences. I plan to keep writing as many manuscripts as possible; continue pursuing training, critique, and contests; and waiting for the right agent to fall from the sky. If you have any other tips, feel free to leave them below or reach out to me. I’m all ears! Otherwise, next time you see a picture book, say a prayer for me as I continue on this crazy journey. Thank you, friends!