i think i might try to get it published...

[Monkeyandanimal]

....but i haven't a clue what the process is!

I have been writing and illustrating a few short stories for my sons and they love them. It's just a bit of fun for them and good for me to be a little creative. I was wondering if i should try to get them published, i mean it's worth a go isn't it?

What is the procedure? What format do you send manucripts in? I have illustrations, should they be included where appropriate within the body of the text, or should they be grouped together at the end for the publishers to decide whether they want them? And do you need to protect your ideas from plagiarism etc?

NB I am well aware of my typos on here; i am a lazy and not very good typist; rest assured i would not allow any typos or grammatical and spelling mistakes in anything i was considering sending to be published. (and my degree is in english lit and i taught english language for several years, so it should be ok).

Get a copy of the writers and artists yearbook and look up agents in there. Decide the genre and check out publishers you want them to approach/ think would be appropriate. Most publishers will only take material from agents, not unsolicited. I'd put the illustrations where they best fit in with the story. An agent will tell you in what form to submit - but they will want you to email them files, not post them!

Have you thought about your target market? Audience? Age and key stage? Genre of book. A lot of authors don't.

Good luck!

Make sure you understand the market before you submit. Children's publishing has a very specific format. What age group are you writing for? If it's pre-school, then picture books are 32 pages, which equates to 12-14 double page spreads. Most are under 500 words these days.

Definitely buy the yearbook - there is one specifically for children's publishing. I'd also recommend Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul. If you join SCBWI you can attend their workshops and they also set up critique groups to help hone your manuscript before sending it out.

ok thanks for that, that's very useful, both of you!

Although it seems a bit sad to curtail creativity by dictating format so rigidly! I have several short individual 'chapters' of about 300 words each, which stand alone as stories, a bit like 'my naughty little sister'. Maybe i should work on each so that they could be individual books rather than chapters. I wonder what resctrictions Shirley Hughes had to stick to!

There are loads of options for self publishing -that may be better for you? But obviously if you're publishing real books, not e-books, then you'll need to stick to page counts that are multiples of four - cos that's how they're bound!

Re your short stories, what about making them all into an anthology?

Yes, i think an anthology format might work! I need to do a bit more research obviously, and tidy up the loose ends, but i might just go for it. it would be really cool to get something published! my Father would be so proud!