Now that some of us are back at our desks, we find ourselves getting the stares (after our morning coffee wears off) and daydreaming about future careers. Writing a children’s book always sounded like a good idea, so we asked author Adrienne Kress (Canada’s answer to “What to read after Harry Potter”) for advice.
How does one get a children's book published after writing it?
There is no one true path towards publication, but there is the most common one, and that is getting an agent who then sells your work to a publisher.
An agent is a wonderful person to have on your side. They only earn money if they sell your book (earning a percentage of your payment from the publisher, usually around 15%). But an agent doesn't just sell your manuscript (MS) to publishers. They also negotiate the contract and deal with other rights (including foreign rights sales, and film/television rights sales). They act as an intermediary if there is conflict between the author and her editor. And an agent is also there to help shape an author's career, offering advice on everything from industry trends to specific edits on a specific MS. A good agent is worth their 15% and then some.
As for me, this is the basic story: Once I finished writing my novel, I researched agents who represented children’s books, specifically Middle Grade. The first thing you submit is what is known as a “query letter.” A query letter is a bit like what you read on the back cover of a book – you are trying to make your story sound as exciting as possible for an agent to want to then ask to see some chapters.
Once I sent out my packages to agents, I heard back from one agency, who requested to see the full MS. After two month of waiting to see what she thought of the entire thing, I finally heard back. She asked me if I could cut around 10,000 words from the work, as well as make the chapters shorter (which I promptly did in two weeks). The agent then called and asked if we could meet, offering me representation along with sharing a few more editorial suggestions (which I took).
Then the MS was ready for her to submit to publishers. I got several rejections, and then, a month later, the good news arrived! Scholastic had made an offer. After meeting with them, we decided to accept and my agent set about working out the contract details. But that wasn’t the end of it.
My agent continued to sell foreign rights to countries all around the world including Romania and Greece, and then finally to the USA.
Again, not every author’s story is the same, nor does publication happen quite so quickly for most authors. I know authors who have gone a decade before finding an agent, let alone getting a publication deal. There is a great deal of rejection involved in this business – and frustration. And there are certainly easier ways to make money than writing (very very few authors make a living off writing alone; most have to supplement their income with second jobs – the JK Rowlings and Dan Browns of the world are the very rare exceptions to the rule). Make sure that, first and foremost, you love writing and that will hold you in good stead through the rough patches. It is totally worth all the grief and effort when you finally do get published, but you have got to really want it.
Adrienne Kress is the author of Timothy and the Dragon’s Gate and Alex and the Ironic Gentleman. A University of Toronto graduate, she also studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Kress has directed and produced her one act play, A Weekend in the Country (which was written under the mentorship of Governor General award winner Djanet Sears) for sold-out audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Toronto SummerWorks Theatre Festival. Learn more about Adrienne at www.adriennekress.com