Disgusted

rhymegirl · Jan 21, 2006

I don't usually post on this board so I don't know if this has been covered recently or not.

One publisher has been holding my young adult novel for some time so I decided to look around for other publishers. I am really disheartened after a trip to the library flipping through Writer's Market. What do you see time after time in the listings for publishers? Agented submissions only or said another way No unsolicited submissions. That is really a bummer to read. It makes me understand why people want to go the self-published route.

How do the rest of you feel about this dilemma?

veinglory · Jan 21, 2006

Don't be put off by 'no unsolicted'--this just means you have to send a query letter first. If they are interested based on the letter they will solicit the manuscript.

DeniseK · Jan 21, 2006

http://www.childrens-publishers.com/

Several here accept unagented submissions. My approach is to send a query first with a synopsis, that way, I don't waste their time or mine. I have one publisher reading my middle reader from this list so far.

stormie · Jan 21, 2006

Or go here: http://www.cbcbooks.org/about/members.html

The above responses are right. Send out a query. Send several. Also, Writer's Market can tend to be old. Go to the publisher's web site for up-to-date info on submissions. Sometimes they unlock the "agented submissions only."

(And welcome to the Children's Writing board, rhymegirl!)

JoeEkaitis · Jan 21, 2006

One more possibility:

Give www.writersmarket.com a try. Listings are constantly updated and you can subscribe by the month or by the year. I found my publisher there. They weren't listed in Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market as of the 2005 edition.

And confirming the above: "No unsolicited submissions" is just another way to say "Queries and/or sample chapters first, please."

PattiTheWicked · Jan 21, 2006

A lot of publishers say "no unagented submissions" but make exceptions for children's books. Pick up a copy of the Children's Writers and Illustrators Market. I can think of fifteen publishers off the top of my head who accept unagented submisisons for kids books.

rhymegirl · Jan 22, 2006

Thank you to everyone who responded. I guess I didn't interpret "no unsolicited submissions" that way, but that's good to know. I was thinking it meant that unless you've somehow met one of the editors at a writing conference or something and they gave you the go-ahead to send your manuscript, don't send it. Or sometimes an established writer who has been published by that publisher recommends another writer and he or she gets the go-ahead to send something in.

Grey Malkin · Jan 24, 2006

I always too, "no unsolicited manuscripts" to mean "don't send us the whole thing", but "agented submissions only" sounds like a real barrier. However, if you have a track record or can think of some other way that you stand out from the crowd and want to target a particular publisher, write to them and tell them why you want your novel published by them above all others. Flattery gets you... well, some places!

cyberwraith · Jan 24, 2006

Yeah, I'm with you rhymegirl, "no unsolicited submissions" says "don't contact us unless you've been asked" to my eyeballs. It's great to hear from everyone else that a la Pirates of the Caribbean, these words are more like guidelines than hard and fast rules.

Anyhoo, what can they say? "No"? "Shove off!"? Like we haven't heard that before! :ROFL:

Though come to think of it, this year's queries haven't said anything at all, but perhaps it is early days . . .

Grey Malkin · Jan 24, 2006

I have a friend who's a publisher and stipulates, quite simply, "No Submissions. None." Once a month, he turns his attention to the slush pile, looks for those that include a stamped addressed envelope and returns the work unread. Everything else goes in the bin. For the amount of bad submissions, he doesn't consider it worth his time to search through the crap in the hope of finding a gem. I should also point out that his firm is very small, so he genuinely doesn't have the time to spare.

Grey

Disgusted

rhymegirl

It's a New Year!

veinglory

volitare nequeo

DeniseK

stormie

storm central

JoeEkaitis

Certified Gray Haired Geek

PattiTheWicked

Unleashing Hell.

rhymegirl

It's a New Year!

Grey Malkin

Moody Member

cyberwraith

Mumbling darkly

Grey Malkin

Moody Member