Hi Tinesha, First, I would caution you to not be taken in by such a desire to see youself in print that you wind up spending thousands of dollars. The industry is changing and will continue to change. The "Big Boys" will keep sending out their form letter rejections, agents will continue to say you ... more

Hi Tinesha, First, I would caution you to not be taken in by such a desire to see youself in print that you wind up spending thousands of dollars. The industry is changing and will continue to change. The "Big Boys" will keep sending out their form letter rejections, agents will continue to say you don't fit their genre and it is easy to fall prey to the ?publishers?? who want you to give them money to put you in print and then pay retail price to have each book printed. Another thing to watch out for are the myriad of "Contests" and "Prize Awards" that you can enter for hundreds of dollars. Some are legit, some want to collect your money and then sell you a sheet of gold stickers for another few hundred dollars, even if, like nearly everyone that enters, you get the "Merit" or "Honorable Mention."
As Tim Martin suggested, try to find an agent. They know who wants what and they do know how to open doors. If your material is original, well done and marketable (that part is subjective) an agent should look at it... Don't pay for an agent to review your material. That is a scam too. We are always looking for artists, but to be honest, have not used many of the computer artists because of the canned look. Some publishers are doing what is called, Shared profits with author. You may be asked to not take an advance, but will receive a greater percentage of the sales. With the changes in the industry, everyone is running in different directions. Use this forum to ask if you have any questions. Most of us have fallen for one scam or another at some time and would be happy to let you know if something is too good to be true. RE Hughes

Hey Tinesha - I was published years ago when the kids book industry was less...ferocious. My advice is to have your manuscripts/illustrations as good as you can them and ready to be seen by 'everyone'. Then pitch them (or the best one) to agents that you know - from researching them beforehand - tha... more

Hey Tinesha - I was published years ago when the kids book industry was less...ferocious. My advice is to have your manuscripts/illustrations as good as you can them and ready to be seen by 'everyone'. Then pitch them (or the best one) to agents that you know - from researching them beforehand - that take on artists with similar work to yours. Get their details from sources like '2009 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market'. Join SCBWI and other orgs. and go to their seminars and conferences, etc. And join their critique meetings - very helpful. An agent will push your work toward publishing houses, but these days you need an agent first.
What else... maybe get a web site up to show off your work and send the web address around to appropriate people, put it on f/b, my space, jacketflap, etc.
Good luck!!
Tim