I don’t have a clue. But I’m in the middle of writing a children’s for 12-17 year olds. I think it has a important message in it and would really like to get it published.
First off, "children’s" book will make anyone in the publishing industry think of books for grade-school kids… 1st – 6th graders. Call your book "Young Adult" because that’s the term for the age group you’re going for.
Once you’re finished writing the book and it’s publication-ready, there are a few options you have. You can self-publish or you can find a publisher.
Self-Publishing is out of your pocket – you have a contract with a book-production company who will make your books for you, but you are responsible for selling the books, getting them into bookstores, making the website, creating your own marketing plan, etc. It’s very expensive and is a lot of work. It’s like starting your own business, and in order to be successful as a self-published author, you have to put in a lot of time and energy and money.
Or, you could go the route of traditional publishing. This is difficult because you have to capture the attention of a publisher, who gets a dozen stories just like yours every single week, and has to pick which ones that are most likely to make the publishing company money. Publishing companies have piles called "slush piles" which are parts of manuscripts sent to them by writers. This is different than the manuscripts they get from agents, who are representing writers. Manuscripts sent to publishers by agents are assessed more quickly and seriously because a manuscript that an agent has decided is good enough to try and sell is likely of higher quality than the manuscripts in the slush piles.
Now, Publishing companies WANT to make money. If your story is good and they think people will buy it, it doesn’t matter if it’s in the slush pile or if you’ve got an agent. An agent makes the process more efficient and easier and is more likely to get your manuscript into the hands of better publishers than you can do on your own.
To find an agent, you’d go to a place like http://www.agentquery.com and find an agent who represents your kind of book (fiction, Young Adult, literary, etc). You write a query letter to agents in order to capture their attention (( http://www.agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx )). You don’t send your manuscript to them until they’ve read your query letter and request you to send your manuscript.
The job of an agent is to sell your book. They won’t get paid until your book is sold. No legitimate agent will ask you for money before the book is sold. When your book is sold, they take a percentage of the sale.
It’s typical to send a LOT of query letters at once. Rejection is a huge part of the business. Nearly every famous writer has had issues with rejection, but that’s something you have to be ready for, mentally, in order to succeed.
If you’re not going to look for an agent, and want to go directly to publishers, your library should have a copy of Writers Market 2010 which is a book FILLED with publishers for books, magazines, websites, etc… find a publisher that publishes your kind of book, and follow their submission requirements.
Those are the basics!
Best of luck and happy writing!
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