Different publishers for different countries?

Depends on the publishers. Several of mine publish world wide, a few use subsidiaries in other countries and few are US only. But agents or publishers handle foreign rights and publications for me, I don't do them myself.

The key is going to be the market for your books. Statistically, most books do best in the US market, unless the subject is primarily a non-US one. A book titled "How to start a marijuana grow farm in New Zealand" probably won't have as wide an audience in the US, for example. Or maybe everyone in California would buy it.

It is also, in general, harder to get a US agent or publisher interested in publishing a book already published outside the US, unless it has a specific market or niche. Flipping the other way is easier, though still not always the best thing to do.

Jeff

K. Wilcox said:

What is the difference between publishing with a US publisher vs. a Canadian one?

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Assuming you're talking about trade publishing, the US publisher will get your books into US bookshops and the Canadian one will get your books into Canadian bookshops.

I've been reading up on the advantages and disadvantages of indie, vs. small press vs. big 5, but how much of that information carries over to Canada?
Also what about Europe?

And Australia seems to be more relaxed, indie friendly to picture books and stuff - but does anybody know about there?

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It's self publishing or trade publishing, not indie or *eugh* traditional.

I'm not sure what you've read about these various options, so am not sure how it refers to publishing in Canada.

Most of my Canadian writer-friends have agents in America or the UK, if that's any help.

Do you publish with a different publisher in each country/continent? (just looking English right now, because even that is confusing enough!)
Thanks for any insight or knowledge!

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If you have an agent, they will try to get you as many deals as possible, which includes lots of foreign, subsidiary and translation rights. If you don't have an agent you're going to struggle to make those sales for yourself.

I'm not sure I've been any help at all, but I hope I have.

Honestly, most picture book authors don't usually start with an agent because the advances etc are rather small. The big time ones eventually get them, but picture books are usually the one exception when it comes to pitching directly to publishers.

As to Canadian vs American. I have a long answer for that but before I launch into it, are you Canadian?

K. Wilcox said:

Thanks so much! So with picture books, if you trade published with a Canadian publisher, would it not offer as many benefits over self publishing, as if you trade published with a US publisher?

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Ideally you'd publish with both (and with other publishers, in other markets) in order to reach the widest possible market.

With trade publishing you don't have to pick just one territory to work in.

So I would recommend being published in your home country in general if your work works for your home country's market because there is a lot of promo these days, especially with kidlit and school visits and such. And you want to be available for that and not have to cross borders.

Generally too if you are going to choose between the USA and Canadian markets and you are American, going with the USA market makes way more sense as it is MUCH bigger. Canada has a population that is slightly smaller than California. In the States comes more opportunity for bigger fan base, more money, and bigger success. Fame in Canada does not often translate to fame anywhere else (with the rare exceptions of the Margaret Atwoods). Whereas American fame tends to be international fame too.

That being said there are a couple advantages to publishing specifically picture books in Canada especially if you are Canadian. First of all, the kidlit support system here is amazing. And Canadians love Canadian kidlit. Second since the market is smaller, you have more of a chance of publishing smaller books. I'm not sure what your picture book is about, but picture books are like any books: there are trends, there are what people are looking for, there are issues that are particularly topical. There are "big books". I recently was discussing with my American agent about a "small book" idea for a picture book and said I thought it made more sense for me to submit on my own to some of the smaller Canadian kidlit publishers here and she agreed. That these days pitching a picture book in the States requires "big book" ideas.

So publishing in Canada absolutely has that advantage. That being said the advance will likely be small, the number of copies printed not that much either (a bestseller in Canada is around 5000 copies sold - so . . . I mean . . . that's small).

Another advantage to being Canadian and published in Canada is that Canadian publishers LOVE promoting their Canadian authors. There are also so many promotional opportunities that exist here in Canada for kidlit authors. It's pretty awesome.

So in general, I would stick with aiming to get an agent locally and then hope that your agent is able to sell in multiple markets (which happens a lot). Your Canadian friend . . . depending on how "big" the book is, there is an advantage to them staying local. But if they think they can have a big trendy book, then I would also recommend an American agent who then sells back to Canada later (preferably a separate sale, not a distribution sale where the Americans agree to publish the book and also will send it up to Canada - generally it's better to be published not distributed in your home country where you will promote because publishers tend to be more interested in promoting books they publish more than distribute. That being said, I've been quite lucky in that I've had some excellent support from publishers distributing me, so it's not all or nothing.)

As for your concerns about reviews: yes, if you are solely being published by a Canadian publisher you will only be reviewed by Canadian review publications. It makes no sense to otherwise as your book won't be available for purchase in the States (yes online they can them, but that doesn't count it seems to reviewers. The point is, it won't be on the shelves in any American bookstores). Remember, Canada is a completely separate country from the USA. Getting published only here means you are only published here. It doesn't somehow trickle down to the States.

That's my long answer.

Here's my brutal answer:

You're overthinking this. Get an American agent. You live in the States, America is a huge market, American agents are some of the most sought after in the world. They will sell your work to foreign markets.

BUT.

If your picture book isn't a "big book" you might have difficulty landing an agent at all with this one. Picture books are notoriously hard to get agents for. So if that is the case don't get upset or defeated. Picture books are also some of the only books an author can sell to big publishers on their own, without an agent.



And there you go! My answer . Hope it was helpful!

Toothpaste talks sense.

K. Wilcox said:

So If I publish with an Us publisher, they won't be selling my books to Canadian book store, etc.? Or if I publish with a Canadian publisher, they won't be selling my books to US books stores?

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It depends on what rights they license from you.

Also, just off the top of my head, I'm thinking that a Canadian publisher won't be able to submit books for review to the ALA (or can they?)
I am in the US, but my friend (who is also very interested in this information) is Canadian. So I would really really love to hear your big long Answer! thank you SO much for your time! and knowledge!

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I don't know about the ALA. But I bet you could find out if you did a bit of Googling. As could your friend, who really should join AW to ask their own questions.

We only have really one major trade, Quill and Quire. We also have CM Magazine and the Canadian Children's Book Centre magazine. Of course we also have national newspapers, but just like in the States, room for book reviews in such papers are getting smaller and smaller, and thus room specifically for kidlit book reviews almost non-existent.

I'll be honest. I don't know much about what kind of support kidlit gets in the States, beyond publisher support etc. But the Canadian Children's Book Centre in Canada is AMAZING. It does an annual Book Tour where authors can apply and if chosen are sent to a province/territory not their own for a fully paid for book tour (in fact not only is it paid for, the authors get paid for all their visits). They also host a major award show, and at that show every year choose one picture book to give to every single grade one student in the country. We also have something called Word on the Street, that happens across country. It's this big two day book festival for books for all ages and genres: http://thewordonthestreet.ca/

Similar to in the States there are kidlit writing organizations: CANSCAIP and SCBWI. We also have the annual OLA conference (similar to ALA, but per province, not the entire country). We no longer have the Canadian version of BEA though which is a pity because that was fun. We also have, like in the States, kidlit awards voted on by readers per province/territory. If one gets nominated for one of these awards one gets sent to a ton of schools for visits etc. Of course there are also local book fairs and festivals hosted by communities as well.

So basically the general advantage to being published and promoted in one's own country is that you can actually travel to attend these events. Remember, it is very rare that a publisher pays your way (unless you are a big deal). So any such promo comes out of pocket, and therefore it's nice to be able to travel shorter distances and not have to go internationally.



Now to the real heart of the matter:

If you both have small niche books, I think you are both better off sending your work to smaller publishers in your respective countries. I don't think you'll be able to get an agent, to be honest, with a small book, and there is nothing wrong with that! I have so many PB creator friends who have never had an agent.

Where is your friend located in Canada? I can send you info to pass on to her if she's in Toronto or Ontario. I don't know much about local organiziations in other provinces alas. And I know nothing about the States.