My first three books are complete w/pics? am I doomed?

hurricanehanni

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Hi,
I am new to this site and love it. My wife and I have written a series of educational books that could go on forever. Very colorful and interactive for the children and parents. I used to be a publisher of a small magazine and my graphics person from that magazine is a partner with us on the book series. We have already written the first three books, including all graphics and covers. We have special characters that appear in each and every series. We also have started a web site to support the books with interactive activities and learnings exercises. We also have another book series that we will spin off of the first.

My question is that if the books and the characters are really marketable and "the next best thing," how do we sell it and/or market it. Based on what I've read, we are out of luck because we did the full package. Can anyone offer some advice?
Thanks,
Ryan
 

stormie

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Hi Ryan,
I posted a response here.

(This is what I said):
Here's a thought: Why not query about the first book (don't mention the illustrations or that it's a series) and see where it gets you. If you get an educational publisher interested, and they like what they read, then maybe you could mention about the illustrations and possible series, etc.

The only other route I can see for you is self-publishing, but that costs money.
 

MsJudy

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Since they're educational, you'd be querying as non-fiction, I presume. For that, the rules are a little different. If you can demonstrate in your proposal that you are uniquely qualified to create the books--you have some expertise, some "platform"--then you can try querying this as you have it and see what sort of response you get. I mean, all they can do is say no, and then you can explore other options. In general, picture books are sold as text only, and the publisher finds the illustrator, but there are exceptions. You just need to convince the editor that your way is the best!