Aslanisthebest, I LOVE writing/reading WWII novels/non-fiction! And I certainly love all the research that goes along with writing WWII novels...I'm currently trying to re-write/wrap-up the first novel in my series: "Mark & Karrie"...it's called "Death Because of Amber", and takes place mostly in England and France during the early '40s. I'm get alot of the radar research of that time period, and the French Resistance all wrapped into it. I love the time period, and I've totally fallen in love with my characters, which happens rarely! I based them (very loosely) on the movie couple: Nick and Nora Charles of "The Thin Man" series. And I start each book in the series with a scene similar to ones from various "Thin Man" movies. Makes it so much more fun!

Silvertongue- I love that time period, too! Good luck with your story!
Princess- Welcome to the thread! I read a little of your novel; looks like you're off to a good start!

I always haunt the writers' thread but rarely ever post in it unless it's NaNo or Script Frenzy. XD

I'm really looking forward to NaNo this year...I have two ideas for novels, or novellas that I might do and I'm not sure which I'm going to use. I'll probably do both, since I don't know if I can make either one last a full 50,000 words. *g* They're both going to be hard for me, though, because they're extremely - almost entirely - focused on the main character's thoughts and emotions...no action at all, really. Last year my story was a fantasy where the only way I made it to 50,000 was by adding a battle every other page. XD And I think I might have a problem with not even killing anyone in my books, either... The trilogy I'm currently working on (I'm about halfway through the first book, but progressing quite quickly) is extremely tragic.
1st book: MC's mom dies.
2nd book: MC's dad dies. MC dies.
3rd book: Everyone else dies.
...don't worry, it does have a good ending of sorts. Just not the usual good ending. ^_^

WOW, Mr Anderson, that does sound extremely tragic. But if it has a good ending, that's still a good plot. Battles make the story interesting!

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get started trying to get a kids book published? I've put together a story that might make a good little kids book with illustrations.

All of my experience has come through Writer's Edge, so aside from recommending them, nothing else comes to mind.

I have decided to explore the route through WinePress and see where God takes me. They gave me an estimate total cost of $5,200 for getting the book published (and that for at least 1,500 copies) and that is WAY below what my estimates would be for ACW and VMI. ACW charges $1,800 for just 25 books, and VMI would be approaching $10,000 or more for thier minimun run of 1,500 books. WinePress is way cheaper, and still gives me the full service.

There's just one problem. I don't have $5,000. I barely have $2,000 in my account. So if God is going to keep this door open, I am going to trust him to provide. They are currently looking over my manuscript and we are going to see what my options are from there. We'll see what happens.

I'll be praying, fencerForJesus!
And starkat, I have no clue, but my guess is to send it to a publisher.

You can't just sent it to any publisher. Because of many fan writer's that really don't know what they are doing and the increasing costs of production, publishers are not merely accepting manuscripts anymore unless they have been proven. If you are new to the industry, you have two options, self-publish (little different than vanity publishing) or find a medium. Either way, you are going to spend money. Traditional royalty based publishers usually only take author's with agents, and these days agents only take author's who have been established. So entering the publishing world is going to be very difficult. As for me, I still don't know what's ahead of me. In part due to the economy, Christian fiction is not a hot market, but with children's lit, it might be better. It is a challenge, but it you want it done, go for it.

Fencer, it depends where you are and what publisher you want to send your cover letter and sample chapters to. In the UK, at least, there are several publishers willing to take unsolicited material. I'd also disagree that you have to spend money!

There seem to be lots of routes that you can follow. Starkat, I'd recommend searching the web to find Children's publishers and possibly forums, etc. that might help you understand more about that area of publishing. I've heard of one called the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators but I don't know what it's like. The site might be worth a look, though.

Having an agent seems to be a good way of getting to publishers. One way is to look at all the books which are similar to yours, or for the same age group, or whose authors you really like. Then see who represents that author. You'll get a better idea of who represents who, and then, if you try to pitch your book to that agent, you can talk knowledgeably about their other work.

Self-publishing is something more and more people are doing, but it can cost a lot of money, as Fencer has mentioned! Personally I would look into other routes first. Learn as much as you can from the internet, books, and forums as you can! And try sending your work to a publisher, or to an agent. Sometimes a rejection can help you refine and improve your book even more; that's certainly been the case with me.

Agents can't just take authors who have already been published, as otherwise there isn't really a need for them. Agents are on the lookout for excellent new writers with something to offer! The same goes for publishers. Just make sure you research what you're doing so that you know as much as you can about submitting and publishing.

Thanks guys. I don't really have any intentions of self publishing. After I posted here, I also sent out an e-mail to the American Christian Fiction Writers (I'm a member) and got several suggestions from there.

There have got to be literary agents around where I live. Maybe I can track one down and ask questions in person, but this weekend, I'm going to try and follow up everyone's leads.

Here's a list one of my friends compiled of publishers (mostly for US and Canada, I think, though, but I'm not sure...) who are interested in new authors and who don't need you to have an agent. Just throwing them out there for those of you who (like me) who don't want to get self published but can't get an agent. ^_^

Penguin Group

DAW Books

Penguin Science Fiction and Fantasy

Absey & Company, Inc.

Atlas Variety Publishing

Baen Books

Bancroft Press

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Charlesbridge Publishers

DNA Press

Dragonon Press

ENC Press

Henry Holt and Company

Whitaker House

Frederic C. Beil, Publisher

Tolling Bell Books

Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Soho Press

Koenisha Publications

Arthur A. Levine Books

Giraffe Publications

Baycrest Books

Tor and Forge Books> Tom Doherty Associates, LLC> Holtzbrinck Publishers

Willowgate Press

WindRiver Publishing

I stand corrected, AJ. I did know there were publishers out there that still accepted unsolicited manuscripts, but they are becoming fewer and fewer.

WinePress is still reviewing my manuscript. I got an e-mail last night saying they needed more time, which is a better sign than offering me a contract right away. I already saw that happen with PublishAmerica. I got a contract less than two days after submission of a 280 page novel (162,000 words) and that was an immediate red-flag that they never read it. I heard, specifically from Writer's Beware, that they had tested PublishAmerica by sending in a manuscript that was the most horribly written piece of trash that was only 30 pages long, repeated over and over again to novel length. PublishAmerica accepted it. This is a true vanity publisher to stay away from.

Mr. Anderson, that's a neat collection of publishers. I'm going to continue down this road with WinePress for the time being and keep praying that God will keep the door open or shut it. It's possible that the role WinePress will have is just to get my novel truly ready for publication and I actually end up with someone else. If that falls through, I might check out a few of these publishers and see what they are about. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.

Mr. Anderson, thank you so much! I really appreciate the list! My day of research on Saturday is growing longer and longer! (I have more than one topic to research right now).

Just wanted to check back in with this thread on the new site and see how everyone was doing!

It sounds like things are really moving forward for you, Fencer! I hope it all ends on a shelf at Barnes&Noble!

I've been trying to get myself on a regular writing schedule. I think I might actually do NaNoWriMo this year, just to give myself the motivation to finish this story I'm on so I can start something new! I have so many new ideas bouncing around in my head, I don't know which one to develop first. Some are closer to being ready to write than others. I've also been trying to expand my "comfort zone" of writing, trying new techniques, new POVs, and concentrating more on taking time with my dialogue. I tend to push my characters to get to the point of a conversation, but people don't always stay on topic!

I'm also looking to write a play this year that I will produce for my senior thesis project at college. I'm not sure what it will be about yet!

The basic rule thumb for who will accept unsolicited manuscripts is the smaller they are, the more likely they'll take them. It is rare to find a larger publisher who'll accept anything that doesn't have an agent.

And as for agents, I've got a resource to throw out in here. I got it off a writing group I'm on and it's supposed to be really good and, most importantly, free. It's a database of agents containing current information about them (like they'll update a listing when an agent moves) and they have resources on publishing as well. That's where I'm gonna go first for an agent once I get a novel ready.

http://www.agentquery.com/default.aspx

Especially look at this page, cause it lists around 30 small presses which all accept unsolicited manuscripts. http://www.agentquery.com/publishing_ip.aspx Kat, you may want to look at Barefoot books on that list cause it specializes in high quality children's book (picture books, anthologies, etc). There are plenty others on the list though that specialize in children's fiction. This list is nice cause it lists their specialty along with a description of their "mission statement" for books they want to publish. Do check it out guys!

Thanks for that list Mr. Anderson! I think I could add another one to that list, but it may be under the penguin company umbrella and technically included on your list already. Just looked, it's not under penguin, it's under macmillan. Farrar, Strous and Giroux is the name http://us.macmillan.com/FSG.aspx. I know they publish children's book cause my creative writing teacher here at college had her children's book (preteen level?) published through them and I'm pretty sure she did not have an agent for it.

Hope that helps!
~Anna