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Open For Submissions

12/7/2021

22 Comments

 
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By Stephanie Bearce

Are you an author trying to get your manuscript published? You've done everything right - revised, rewritten, sent it through critique groups. Everyone agrees, your story is ready to go!

So how do you get your book published?
Should you start the agent search? Look for publishers? Start on a new project?

My advice is all of the above.

Whenever I finish one project, I immediately start on a new one. Career writers know that you can't depend on every manuscript getting published. You need to keep generating new material. Plus, both agents and editors like to know what else you have in your files!

If you are at the point where you have a finished novel, or a couple of full nonfiction proposals for MG/YA, or three to four perfected picture books, then you are ready for the agent search. But the reality is - finding an agent takes a lot of work and TIME. And sometimes, especially when writing nonfiction, your project can be time sensitive. You need to get it in front of an editor as soon as possible. In this case you may want to submit directly to open publishers.

I have an amazing agent and I am grateful to be her client. But before I signed with my agent, I sold 28 books on my own. (and this wasn't a hundred years ago) It is possible to sell your work directly to editors. You may find that getting an offer on your manuscript will even help you find an agent!

Submitting to publishers yourself is definitely something to consider for unagented authors. I have done the research for you and located publishing houses open to submissions. I've even given you the links to their submission guidelines.

Your mission - should you choose to accept it - is to find the publisher that is looking for your type of manuscript. Researching the publisher is just as important as researching for the perfect agent.

I would love to answer questions you may have. Put them in the comment section ans I will do my best to give helpful answers.
I wish you publishing success!

Children’s Book Publishers Open for Submissions
 
Albert Whitman  https://www.albertwhitman.com/submission-guidelines-for-unrepresented-authors/
Allen and Unwin https://www.allenandunwin.com/about-allen-and-unwin/submission-guidelines
Andrews McMeel  https://publishing.andrewsmcmeel.com/submissions/
Annick Press https://www.annickpress.com/Submission-Guidelines
Arbordale  https://www.arbordalepublishing.com/Submissions.htm
August House https://www.augusthouse.com/submissions-guidelines
Beyond Words Press https://beyondword.com/pages/manuscript-submissions
Cider Mill Press https://www.cidermillpress.com/pages/submissions
Charlesbridge https://www.charlesbridge.com/pages/submissions
Chicago Review Press https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/information-for-authors--amp--agents-pages-100.php
Chronicle Books https://www.chroniclebooks.com/pages/submissions
Dover Publications https://www.doverpublications.com/faq/contacting-dover#EDITSUB
Eerdmans https://www.eerdmans.com/Pages/About/Submission-Guidelines.aspx
Entangled Publishing https://entangledpublishing.com/submission-information
Feldheim https://www.feldheim.com/submissions
Flashlight Press http://flashlightpress.com/submission-guidelines/
Fly Away Books  https://www.flyawaybooks.com/submissions
Flying Eye Books https://flyingeyebooks.com/flying-eye/submissions/
Freespirit https://www.freespirit.com/Submission-Guidelines#
Gibbs Smith https://www.gibbs-smith.com/submissions
Hachai https://www.hachai.com/guidlines/
Hogs Back Books http://www.hogsbackbooks.com/HBB/pages/About-us.html
Holiday House https://holidayhouse.com/faqs/
Immedium http://www.immedium.com/contactus/submissions.html
Judaica Press https://www.judaicapress.com/pages/submissions
Just Us Books https://justusbooks.com/pages/resource-center/submission-guidelines.html
Kar-Ben https://www.karben.com/submissions
Kids Can Press https://www.kidscanpress.com/writers
Laurence King https://www.laurenceking.com/getting-published/
Lee and Low https://www.leeandlow.com/writers-illustrators/writing-guidelines
Levine Querido https://www.levinequerido.com/submissions
Lion Hudson https://www.lionhudson.com/authors-and-illustrators/prospective-authors
Magination Press https://maginationpress.apabooks.org/?page_id=15
Mighty Media Press http://www.mightymediapress.com/submissions.html
New Frontier Books https://www.newfrontier.com.au/submission-guidelines
No Brow https://nobrow.net/flying-eye/submissions/?from=fe
Pants on Fire Press https://pantsonfirepress.com/submissions
Page Street Publishing https://www.pagestreetpublishing.com/submission-guidelines
Pelican Publishing https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/ContactUs/MakeMeAnAuthor
Penny Candy Books https://www.pennycandybooks.com/submit
Phaidon https://www.phaidon.com/about-phaidon/submitting-a-book-proposal/
Quarto https://www.quartoknows.com/staticpages/getintouch/submissionguidelines.aspx
Salaam Reads https://salaamreads.com/
Sky Pony Press https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/sky-pony-press/submissions/
Sterling https://dhjhkxawhe8q4.cloudfront.net/sterling-wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/11161557/AuthorGuidelines_new.pdf
Tanglewood Publishing https://www.tanglewoodbooks.com/submissions/
Thames and Hudson https://thamesandhudson.com/page/getting-published
Tilbury House https://www.tilburyhouse.com/submissions
Workman https://www.workman.com/work-with-us/author-submissions#1
 
 
 





22 Comments

Middle Grade Word Count by Peggy Thomas

9/24/2019

1 Comment

 
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Lately the Ninjas have been discussing middle grade nonfiction, specifically word count. How long is the typical book? It depends on what you call typical. Is it trade nonfiction, or a title in an educational series? To start with, the middle grade reader is considered 8 – 12 years old, or in 3-6 grade.

One useful tool that I’ve used in the past to find the word count on a mentor text is the website Accelerated Reader Bookfinder (ARB).  Its primary purpose is to connect readers with books, but ARB can be helpful for writers as well. 

When you go into the site it will ask if you are a parent, teacher, student or librarian. Choose any one, it doesn’t seem to matter. In the advanced search you can look for a specific title, author, grade level, publisher, and limit the search to nonfiction. When a title comes up, click on it to see all the information including ATOS reading level, recommended grade range, number of pages, and word count. Search enough titles and you’ll see that word count varies.  I randomly searched mid-grade NF published by Clarion and found:

            Anita Silvey (2008) I’ll Pass for Your Comrade – 115 pages, 13,379 words.
            Emily Arnold McCully (2014) Ida M. Tarbell – 279 pages 57,116 words.
            Marc Aronson (2011) Trapped – 134 pages, 22,439 words.
(You’ll notice that ARB is not all-encompassing. It does not have every title and lags behind by a couple of years. But it still is a useful tool.)

Then I randomly looked at several educational publishers and the word counts ranged from 2000 to 5000.  My books  for Lucent that I consider mid-grade and average 15,000 to 20,000 words are, on this website, considered YA.  And my 48-page picture books that have 2500-3000 words that I consider mid-grade are listed here for K-3. 
​
So, what is a mid-grade word count? 
My quick answer would be 20,000.
But really…it depends.

1 Comment

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