Help! I need advice about publishing my children's book which tackles Domestic Abuse. What do I do now?

[dragonrabbit]

I posted in Creative Writing topic but there's no traffic, so I'm posting here too :)

Please help, I am a total newbie to this world of publishing.

I wrote a short story (1356 words), aimed at children (but to be honest I think it would appeal to an older audience too), which explains domestic abuse using animal metaphor. I am also in the process of illustrating it.

I would really love to get my book out there but not sure which avenue to go down.

Last year I was receiving therapy via Women's Trust. I sent the story to my therapist who was very moved by it and thought WT may be interested in using it. She sent it off to her manager, who also liked it, and the story was sent to the CEO of WT back in November. I haven't heard back as yet...should I just wait? Would it be a good idea for me to get my work published through them?

I also tried self publishing on Kindle - I sold 8 in about a month and then I got an email from Amazon saying they "detected activity on your account attempting to manipulate Kindle services" and had terminated my account! I emailed them back as I've no idea why, but heard nothing back. What's that all about then?? Is it worth pursuing this, and self publishing on Kindle again?

I've no idea about getting an agent, or sending it into a publisher - could anyone kindly advise me? Or should I try and self publish? I've heard of a website called Kickstart, where you can raise money to self publish - again wouldn't know where to start.

Another thing - do I need to have a physical book made, with illustrations all done, to send to a publisher, or should I send the manuscript in, typed up on a PDF?

Sorry I know this is long and if you've got to the end of this, I thank you. If you help me out, I am forever grateful.

I am just so mixed up about it all!

Good luck with your endevour, perhaps getting rid of random capitalizations would make it more publishable?

I'd contact Women's Trust again, see what they say. They might be able to publish your book then hand it out to their clients, so they have a ready audience for it.

You can also contact Amazon again and ask why they deleted your account.

There's a lot to think about when publishing or self publishing. You will have to either do research yourself to work out which option is best for you or pay a reputable self publisher to handle everything for you - editing, typesetting, proofreading, cover design, printing, marketing, distribution.

Many publishers don't accept cold submissions - they only accept MSs from agents. To find an appropriate agent, get a copy of the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook and look in there.

Print out your first draft, put it in a drawer for 3 months. Then go back and read it when you’ve got some distance and objectivity. Spend that time reading children’s books so you know the market – word count, etc! Then edit it thoroughly – a good structural edit, then a spellcheck one. Polish, polish, polish.

Then choose some children’s books you love and find out who agented the author – fairly easy to do online, most children’s agents are on Twitter. Looking up their query process and query say 5-6 of them: all will have different requirements, eg paste the first chapter into the body of the email, vs send first 500 words as an attachment. Follow their instructions! Very few will want a hard copy. Most won’t want the full manuscript at first – they don’t have time. They want to see a snippet and if they want the full, they’ll ask you. You’ll also need a synopsis and a great cover letter.

Unless you’re extraordinarily talented I wouldn’t try to illustrate it too; publishers will pair authors up with illustrators and have their own ideas about how best to style and design the book for the intended market.

This shows all the things you have to think about: www.janefriedman.com/key-book-publishing-path/

Read this and then think about how you'd like to proceed.

Publishers will not generally touch a book that has been published before (eg in Kindle). There are very rare exceptions - e.g. some fac- fiction - but this is the general rule.

You might be better contacting Women's Aid or other organisations that deal with DV, if you have no joy with Women's Trust. You could try tweeting them/DMing them on Twitter for a quick reply.

I'm an editor - PM me if you'd like any more help.

Good luck!

@praepondero - when criticising someone's SPaG, it makes you look more authoritative if you avoid spelling mistakes and comma splices... Just sayin'.

@burritofan - for a book of 1300 words, the publisher WILL want to see the whole thing, to check that it works as a story and is suitable for the target audience.

@tenlittlecygnets The publisher, yes. But most will want agent submissions who have spoken to the editor and agreed that they can send in the full MS, not cold submissions from the writer.

Some agents will only want a snippet and a synopsis so they can see at a glance whether to take it any further; some will want the full – that’s why I advised the OP to follow each individual agent’s instructions. My agent deletes anything that doesn’t meet her query guidelines as she doesn’t have the time.

Thank you to everyone who contributed friendly, useful advice.

I first wrote the story about 6 months ago, and have been intermittently re-reading it and updating bits here and there. I am happy with my final result as it is, and I do feel ready to go ahead with publishing. WRT my illustrating - I have been watercolour painting for a while now and have ideas about how the book should be illustrated, I do think I am good enough, but would also be willing to collaborate with an illustrator if advised to do so.

I messaged my contact at WT earlier, and she is going to chase up for me. Seems a few of you think this might be a good route to go down. I just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing as an author, by going down this route. TBH I would love to go via a charity such as WA or WT - that's what the book is all about - I want women and families who have been torn apart by DA to have access to this story so that they can open conversations about it with their children.

Do I need to think about copywrite?

@tenlittlecygnets - thank you I will have a look at that link. Thanks for the offer of help, I will let you know!

@burritofan thanks for the advice. Will do some research into children's books / publishers

So...I should get an agent before I send anything to a publisher? Is that right?

Yes - most publishers don't accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Best advice is to find an agent if you'd like to go down the publishing route. @Burritofan has good advice.

But be aware that agents may only choose two MSs to publish out of thousands they receive.

Yes, get an agent first. Even if you want to team up with a charity an agent can help protect you and think about your long-term career. Some publishers do have open submissions or competitions where you can submit, but an agent is useful for the contract process.

Copyright: in the UK you don’t need to do anything, you wrote it, therefore you own copyright. Again an agent can help you here so you don’t sign away lifetime copyright to a charity or anything.

For illustrations, look for an agent who represents writers and illustrations. Generally most guidelines say to submit the words on one document and 2-3 illustration examples on PDF, rather than illustrating the whole thing.

Take a look at copyright.co.uk/how-can-i-protect-my-book.html re copyright but don't worry. Nobody goes around stealing other authors' manuscripts.

Children's books are very definitely segmented: you have non-readers, picture books, chapter books, 6 - 8s, 8 - 12s, and young adult (YA). So you need to work out what age you're trying to appeal to, understand word counts, chapter structure, subject matter etc. It's fairly technical, for want of a better word.

Once you've done all that, you then need to look at the agents who work on those fields and pitch to them, who pitch to publishers. It's a fairly long drawn-out process.

It would probably be easier/quicker for you to work with a charity to get the story out there so I'd focus on that. However, that means it couldn't be 'properly' published as most publishers don't want to publish things that already exist for free in the world. So there's lots to think about.

Really helpful, thank you very much. Appreciated.

@LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett thank you for your explanation. Yes, that's what I was getting at when I asked whether it would be the right route to go down with the charity - would I lose all my rights to that story, would I ever be able to publish it. Thank you for answering that. Yes, a lot to think about in that respect.

WRT having my story published on Kindle for a month or so and making 8 sales (its been taken down now) - would that have any effect on whether a publisher would be interested or not?

Its really difficult for me to pinpoint the target audience. I would say a child of 6 would enjoy it and understand it on some level, but I also think the story would appeal to adults too. The only way I can try to describe it is when an adult watches a cartoon film with their kids...the kids love the childish elements of it but the adults pick up on the "adult" issues and have a different level of understanding IYSWIM?

WRT having my story published on Kindle for a month or so and making 8 sales (its been taken down now) - would that have any effect on whether a publisher would be interested or not?

I answered this above!!

Its really difficult for me to pinpoint the target audience.
This is a common problem with new authors. You should have a clear idea of your audience in your head when you write your book, then you can ensure you're writing at the right level for your readers.

I would say a child of 6 would enjoy it and understand it on some level, but I also think the story would appeal to adults too. The only way I can try to describe it is when an adult watches a cartoon film with their kids...the kids love the childish elements of it but the adults pick up on the "adult" issues and have a different level of understanding IYSWIM?
It's impossible for a book to appeal to all ages of person. I'd suggest you get some kids of varying ages to read it and get their feedback, then go from there. You can't appeal to everyone. Think about a bookshop. Where would it fit on the shelf? With which other books? Are there any published books athat are similar?

This site has info about word counts for all the categories of kids' books: kidlit.com/manuscript-length/

thank you Ten

I know you mentioned upthread about publishers not wanting to take on work that has been on Kindle - but it was such an insignificant amount of time / sales, and I've now been "terminated" from their site - I wondered if it would matter.

Think about a bookshop. Where would it fit on the shelf? With which other books? Are there any published books athat are similar? - god its pathetic really, I have no idea.

Thanks for that link...again, so helpful.

@tenlittlecygnets I have PM'd you

If you are going to approach publishers yourself, please be aware of vanity publishers. They will ask you to pay them extortionate amounts to publish your book, and you will never see it again. Make sure you read the reviews in depth!

Good luck!

Having read a bit about it I guess my story would quantify as a Nonfiction Picture Book, aimed at children between 8 and 12.

Thanks @bearlyactive I was just reading about vanity publishers. There are so many things to think about, my brain hurts.

Why not just donate it to a charity and let them publish it as a pamphlet?

My DD would not read a picture book on a theme like this (she is 10). She might read a graphic novel, or a cartoon illustrated book like Diary of a Wimpy Kid. She would read a novel, like Jaqueline Wilson's "Cookie" which treats the subject of domestic abuse and is aimed at age 9+. She has also got some PHSE books about "growing up" issues, these are longer magazine-style books with cartoons, stories, quizzes, etc. Her 10 year old Male cousin would not read any books about subjects like this.

I'm not 100% sure if you have really nailed a publishable thing here...

@SillyOldMummy thanks for your thoughts...a bit difficult to read that final line, feeling a bit deflated, but I guess I will need a thick skin if I'm going to try and get into this industry!

A few adult friends who have read it say it reads like a fable...not sure if that makes a difference in my target audience.

I think there are two different themes here: your story and how you feel about it and its use as a therapeutic tool; and what will sell.

PP's are absolutely right to highlight the things you need to do to make it sellable through the traditional route. It has to be commercial, fit neatly into a reading-age slot, have a clear theme, be attractive to children, not be similar to something else an agent is repping or a publisher is publishing, etc. I agree in that sense you've a lot of work to do - a fable and a non-fiction picture book aren't the same thing and an unpublished author doesn't get to genre-bust, I'm afraid.

If you want to offer it as something therapeutic though, that's a different thing - then you can be more creative in your approach and the ways you market it.

I also don't think pp is 100% correct that publishers won't publish things that have been self-published. A few writers have been picked up that way because they've grown their own market - I know of a few and I know one personally. They won't publish anything another publisher has been involved with though.

Thank you Lonny.