Alayne’s Top Writing, Submitting and Promoting Tips
Art by Kyle Howard
As the end of 2023 and Kid Lit Creatives (formally known as Sub Six) draw near, Manju Gulati Howard invited me to write a guest post on her blog, but she is having problems writing to her blog right now. Therefore, I will share the post on my blog.
Before I share my tips, I want to thank Manju for all the years she has given to the Kid Lit Creatives group. Many years ago, Manju took over a group I started way back in 2013 called Sub Six. She changed the name to Kid Lit Creatives and grew this great group that offers support and encouragement to kid lit writers as they travel the paths of their submission journey. Manju and her lovely co-admin Gabrielle Copeland Schoeffield have donated their time and love for kid lit and creatives by maintaining submission tally sheets, recruiting prize doners, offering encouragement to creatives, and keeping up with the Facebook page. Not to mention the blog posts from Manju! All I can say to you both is thank you, thank you, thank you. I am grateful for all that you do and all you have done. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the longtime Kid Lit Creative members and the many, many, many prize donors who contributed to the group.
For Kidlit Creatives Members, you have a chance to win my Art of Arc Picture Book Writing Course along with access to all my webinars. To WIN this special prize, follow the directions at the end of this post.
Now for my tips. . . .
- Don’t be in a hurry.
- Learn, learn, learn all that you can.
- Get lots of critiques. Give lots of critiques.
- For most of us, it takes a village to create a publishable story. Being in a critique group is a huge part of that village.
- Read, read, read and read some more. But don’t just read, study how the book is written and what you love about it.
- Of course, there are courses, craft books, professional critiques and so on.
The consequences of being in a hurry is that you don’t know what you don’t know until you know it. This means that you will put work out there that two years later, you may regret putting out there. You may very well look back and say, “How in the world did I think this story was ready for submission?” We all love our work, right from the start, but knowing when it is truly good takes lots of experience, learning and a village.
- Read submission guidelines carefully and follow them carefully. When I was acquisition editor for Blue Whale Press, I was shocked at how many submissions made it evident that the writer had not read the submission guidelines carefully, and in some cases, it was cause for immediate rejection.
- Just before you submit, double check that the agent or editor is open to submissions.
- Unless guidelines give permission to send more than one manuscript, always send only one manuscript. And wait several months before submitting another.
- Do research to learn what an agent is looking for. Read publishers’ books and look at their catalogs to see what kind of books they publish.
- Don’t send attachments unless guidelines give you permission to do so. Many publishers want the manuscript pasted in the email with no attachments.
- For picture books–always make a dummy of your manuscript, so you are certain that you don’t have too little or too much for a typical 32-page picture book. And that it flows well and has great page-turners.
In my opinion, promoting is one of the hardest parts of being an author.
- Try to find a way to promote to parents, teachers, and other adults who buy children’s books. And for middle grade and YA, try to find ways to promote to the readers. I say this because we tend to promote to other writers and illustrators, and there is nothing wrong with that, but that is truly a limited audience when it comes to book sales.
- One of the most effective promotions I have seen for myself and with Blue Whale authors is to get an interview or announcement in local papers, magazines, and other publications. You will get a boost in sales, but it is short lived. So, you will have to keep on keeping on.
- Even if your platform appeals mostly to writers, don’t stop promoting. In my opinion, your job is to promote your book forever or until it is no longer in print. My observation has been that people have a big burst of promotion activity when the book first comes out and then never promote again. Those who continue to promote periodically usually have better sales than those who walk away from their books after the initial excitement.
- Illustrators need to promote, too! Another of my observations is that a smaller percentage of illustrators promote their books than authors. This isn’t a criticism of illustrators and I am not speaking about “all” illustrators. I just want to get illustrators who don’t promote to think about how much their books and authors need them. Working together with the author is a great way to promote.
ABOUT ALAYNE
Alayne Kay Christian is the former acquisitions editor for Blue Whale Press, an imprint of Clear Fork Publishing. She’s an award-winning children’s book author and the creator and teacher of a picture book writing course Art of Arc. Her published works include the Sienna, the Cowgirl Fairy chapter book series, plus picture books . . .
- Butterfly Kisses for Grandma and Grandpa
- An Old Man and His Penguin: How Dindim Made João Pereira de Souza an Honorary Penguin
- The Weed That Woke Christmas: The Mostly True Tale of the Toledo Christmas Weed.
Born in the Rockies, raised in Chicago, and now a true-blue Texan, Alayne’s writing shares her creative spirit and the kinship to nature and humanity that reside within her heart. To learn more about Alayne visit click here.
Prize offer: I am offering my Art of Arc Picture Book Writing Course along with access to all my webinars . For your chance to win, leave a comment on our Kidlit Creatives page (must be a member) and share this post on your social media. Deadline to enter is Tuesday, December 19.
Alayne Kay Christian 