About trying to get an easy reader published . . .

Some publishers will take submissions for easy readers rather than queries.

But . . . follow whatever guidelines a particular publisher has posted.

I have noticed that most publishers will take the full manuscript for picture books or easy readers right away. Usually, they only want query first if it's a chapter book. However, there are some that want query only - period. I'm thinking you could give a nice synopsis in your very best writing, and perhaps a few sample lines of the manuscript. If you could find a way to incorporate them into the query in a creative way, that might be effective.

When I did some research about a year ago, I found that most of the easy readers I have in my first grade classroom are published by various imprints of Simon and Schuster--which is closed to unsolicited submissions.

But most agents aren't interested because there's so little profit for them. Picture books make more money, though not by much.

You may have more luck getting an agent with a PB, then showing them your easy readers. Or maybe you'll find a smaller publisher who will take submissions--I got kind of frustrated and gave up.

Don't give up. I think many publishers are looking for easy readers b/c they are not often submitted. Usually writers submit everything but easy readers. At least that is what I've found through my research. Keep up the submissions and follow the guidelines to a T.

Morningsong, can you recommend some publishers who are open to unsolicited easy readers?

I'm bring this thread back to the front lines because I'm wondering if there are publishers out there who take unsolicited easy readers.

You guys may remember my Case of the Poisoned Plant story I posted in SYW, but as I'm looking at it I think it may be more of an easy reader than a chapter book. I don't think my story is long enough even with my chapter breaks and scene additions (only about 1,700 words). Is this long enough for a chapter book?

I would seriously consider trying to add even more and bring it up to 3000 words. Chapter books are easier to sell.

I'd have to go back to read your story, but I doubt very seriously whether it would work as an easy reader without revisions. Writing 'easy readers' is really, really, really hard.

You have to think about language in a whole different way, because English is so frickin' hard to read. In an easy reader, you need to keep the subject at the beginning of almost every sentence. You can throw in a few "When he finished" or "The next morning," but complex sentences really throw beginning readers for a loop. Three-syllable words are murder. And don't get me started on words like "laughter" and "daughter."

Unless you understand what makes a WORD easy or hard to read, and what makes a SENTENCE easy or hard to read, then you really, really, really don't want to go into that territory.

And...editors know that. Because it is such a specialized skill, few of them take easy reader submissions. So what do they do? They look at picture book authors. They find people who can write really clear, simple, enjoyable PB prose, and they contract with them to write easy readers. People like Ted Arnold, author of the FLY GUY series.

So, if you're seriously committed to easy readers, I recommend shopping them as PBs. Get an agent or an editor that way. Then use the connection to develop an easy reader series.

At 1700 words, you're way beyond PB/easy reader length, probably. Better to go up, at this point.

Call me stupid, but what is an easy read? Like an RL Stein book?

sorry i read the post above mine...so no answer necessary

You're right, it's not an easy reader either then. Isn't there any level between a pb and a chapter book? Is 1,500-1,700 an unsellable book length?

Easy readers/Early readers are usually shelved separately in the bookstore. If you go in the kid's section, you'll find a spinner rack with tall, thin paperbacks. Books like LITTLE BEAR by Else Holmlund Minarik, THREE BY THE SEA by James Marshall. Some of them will be marked by Levels, though each publisher has their own leveling system so you can't really depend on it too much. A Doring Kindsley Level 1 is much harder than most other pubs' Level 3, because DK does non-fiction and that is almost impossible to make easy.

Dreamer76 said:

You're right, it's not an easy reader either then. Isn't there any level between a pb and a chapter book? Is 1,500-1,700 an unsellable book length?

Click to expand...

Probably...

The problem is that publishers need to stick with standard sizes and shapes if they want Barnes and Noble to know where to put their books. PBs are big and thin and colorful and don't sell well unless they face out. That takes a HUGE amount of shelf space!

Early Readers need to fit in that spinning rack thingy. Sometimes you see longer non-fiction books in that rack, but not too many longer books except for the classics. James Marshall's books, like FOX OUTFOXED, and Arnold Lobel's books, like MOUSE TALES, may be longer, but those are established authors who helped to invent the Easy reader genre. So their books sell really well.

The next set of books are the chapter books, which Borders calls Independent Readers. They are the size and shape of thin novels, and shelved together like novels. And they are printed like novels, but with a larger font and some pictures mixed in. So, figure 50-100 words on a page. At 2000 words, you've only got 20-40 pages. That's barely enough to make a spine wide enough to print the title on. Certainly not thick enough to make the title bright and colorful and easy to read and attractive to a little kid browsing the shelf.

There are exceptions, but usually where it verges on graphic novel. Dav Pilkey's RICKY RICOTTA stories are chapter books with only 1-2 sentences per page, and lots of pictures. But there aren't many of those.

So, yes. Your chances are much improved if you can grow your book into the 3000-word range.

I looked back at my MS and I was wrong, it was around 2,600 words so it wasn't too difficult to get it up to 3,000. I fleshed out some character development, made one of the characters into a bit of a "bad guy," and added a stakeout scene at recess. I love it so much more now and it really makes the "investigation" realistic.

Thanks for your advice, judscotkev!