Some children's publishing Q's

[tipo'thepen]

Hello,
I have recently written a short childrens story that is written as a poem with various lines and stanzas making up different pages...

On one of the stickies I read that there are specifications on word counts for different ages this story would probably be for a 4-6 year old range...What limitations/specifications would I need to consider?

Also and please excuse my lack of what may be common knowledge. How do I protect my work (copyright) so that in the off chance that it is accepted I can prove it as my orginal work? Where do I find children's publishing houses that allow novice submissions?

I appreciate any and all assistance as I want to be smart with my work from the beginning. Please advise and I must say after only a day here this site has a lot of information...Thanks

[goatprincess]

Hi there and welcome! Picture books average about 800 words and usually don't go over 1500 words. As for copyright, the law in North America is that anything you write is automatically copyrighted to you the moment you put it on paper. If you're ever asked to prove it was your original creation, your notes and computer files will probably suffice. Keep earlier drafts of your work, keep files of any notes you made to yourself, that sort of thing. (But your publisher won't ask you this. This would only come up in the unlikely event that someone else ever tried to plagiarize your work.)

Any publishing house will allow novice submissions. Some are actively seeking new writers. Others accept agented submissions only, but submitting through an agent doesn't necessarily mean you have to have published before. There are a couple of good places to research publishers who might be interested in the kind of work you do. One is http://www.writersmarket.com/, which charges a (reasonable) subscription fee. There's also a free site with similar features and the name has slipped my mind--I'm sure someone will jump in and supply it.

Good luck with your submissions!

[moondance]

You might find this site useful too: http://www.write4kids.com/
They explain a bit more about picture books.
Welcome!

[wyntermoon]

Welcome Tip! There's some great advice here and we love questions so let 'em rip!