February 2002

Can I Submit My Manuscript Without An Agent?

Since I know you write for children, have you ever tried the publishers who say "no un-agented works read" and if so, any tips on how to get through? I had a children's agent for about 15 months but I broke it off because I wasn't getting good feedback, or any of the editor letters she was supposed to forward. When she said she was "holding them" for my payment of some copying/mailing fees (of which I was unaware), I decided we weren't going to be a happy couple. I'd love to submit to Scholastic but they ask for agented or published authors only and although I've published over 100 articles/profiles/columns etc. I have no books published. Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.

SCBWI members don't necessarily need an agent. Be sure to send for the "Publishers of Books for Young People/Market Survey," published annually. I use it all the time. Publishers who are listed in the survey will look at un-agented submissions from SCBWI members. Be sure to follow their guidelines. Because of the anthrax threat, queries seem to be the way to go these days, as I outlined in my December column. My November column describes four publications that also publish reliable up-to-date market info for children's writers. These publications, plus the "Publisher's Corner" in the SCBWI, very often report on specific calls from editors for manuscripts. Editors who call for manuscripts will usually ask for full manuscripts. It's important to include in your cover letter a reference to the editor's call and the publication where it appeared.

Can You Help Me Find Contests For Children's Writers?

It seems like most children's writer's contests are for published books. I'm wondering if you can steer me to a resource for finding upcoming writing contests for pre-published picture books and YA novels.

Three publishing houses sponsor children's writer's contests. Random House is the home of two major contests, the Delacorte Press Contest for a First Young Adult Novel and the Marguerite de Angeli Contest for middle grade fiction (ages 7-10). Both contests offer prizes of $1,500 and standard advance/royalty publishing contract to the winners. Milkweed Editions has adopted a sensible approach to unsolicited submissions. Every submission becomes an entry in their annual Prize for Children's Literature. Lee and Low's New Voices Award is open to writers of color who are residents of the U.S. and who have not previously published a children's picture book. Winning entries in these contests also result in book contracts and publication. You can find guidelines for all these contests online at the publishers' web sites.

Several magazines host children's writer's contests. The most popular is the annual Highlights Fiction Contest for stories about today's kids, with a fast approaching deadline of February 28, 2002. Writer's Digest Writing Competition also has a category for children's fiction. The Children's Writer's Newsletter is currently running six contests: Profiles in History, Contemporary Issues/YA Fiction, Science and Nature, Mystery, Sports/Recreation, and PreK (Concept) Fiction. Prize money and publication are awarded to the winners of these magazine contests. Byline Magazine conducts four contests in every issue, including children's stories and poems. They award prize money. The entry guidelines for these contests can be found at the magazines' web sites.

Writing Contests.net site is loaded with resources and easy to navigate but lacks a children's writer's contest category. You can find specific contests in each of the categories: Short-term Contests, Regular Contests, and Extended Contests. Plus they provide links to more than a dozen other contest listings. Make sure you bookmark this site and visit monthly for updates.

Can You Recommend Any Good Children's Writers Discussion Lists?

I've been hearing a lot of good things lately about discussion lists for writers on the Internet. Most of what I've written so far is for children, so I would really prefer to join a discussion list with other children's writers. Do you know how I can find one, or could you recommend a good list?

A less reliable but more adventurous way of finding children's writers discussion lists is to go to Yahoo Groups and do a search for children's writers and you'll retrieve a listing of several groups. Children's Publishers' Submission Guidelines Online is strictly an information list, not a discussion list, but you might find some valuable information there.

Also be sure to go to Topica and do a search for children's writers. You'll find several more interesting groups such as Scribbles for Children's Writers, which advertises "author interviews, tips, exercises, opinions, book reviews, writing articles, clubs, critique groups and more."

For more information:

SCBWI Publications

http://www.scbwi.org/pubs.htm

How Has The Anthrax Alert Affected Publishers' Submissions Policies?

http://www.writing-world.com/caterpillar/cat11.shtml

How To Gain an Edge in the Competitive Children's Book Market

http://www.writing-world.com/caterpillar/cat10.shtml

Delacorte Press Contest for a First Young Adult Novel

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/games/delacorte.html

Marguerite de Angeli Prize Contest

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/games/marguerite.html

The Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature

http://www.milkweed.org/2_1_2_a.html

Lee and Low New Voices Award

http://www.leeandlow.com/editorial/voices.html

Highlights Fiction Contest Guidelines

http://www.highlights.com/about/contribFiction.html

Children's Writer Newsletter

http://www.childrenswriter.com/
(Click on Writing Contests in left column.)

Writer's Digest Writing Competitions

http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/

Byline Magazine Contests

http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp

Writing-World.com Contest Page

http://www.writing-world.com/contests/index.shtml

SCBWI Regional Advisors

http://www.scbwi.org/regions.htm

Yahoo Groups

http://groups.yahoo.com

Children's Publishers' Submission Guidelines Online

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cpchildrenswriter-announce/

Topica

http://www.topica.com

Scribbles for Children's Writers

http://www.topica.com/lists/Lil_Scribbles/?cid=2108

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