VPL Panel: Writing and Illustrating for Children – Question #4

QUESTION #4 (asked by Cherry)

If I want to write non-fiction would I use the same process as discussed for fiction writing?

fiction writing?

fiction writing?

ANSWER #3: (answered by Crystal)

Good question Cherry.  The basic guidelines you should keep in mind while submitting are the same: do your research, make sure you’re submitting to the right type of publisher, follow their guidelines etc.

On the writing site of things, the process is similar – but there are a few differences worth noting. It’s more common for non-fiction books to be written from a proposal, rather than just submitting a finished manuscript.  Also, it’s important that if you are not an established subject area expert, that you can show that you did good, thorough research on your topic and that your facts are correct.

Often the topics publishers are looking for books on, will be related to curriculum areas and certain grade levels in the school system, so it’s also important that you do your homework on that.  Bear in mind, these do differ slightly between Canada and the US (what year the schools teach certain topics) so you’ll want to make sure you know a bit about what country the publisher you’re submitting the proposal to is working in.  If you send a great query telling them your book is perfect for the grade 2 curriculum (which it might be in BC), but your publisher is in the US where they study that topic in grade 5, then it’s easier for them to discount your proposal because you didn’t “do your research”.

Most importantly – publishers will generally publish their guidelines on their websites, or in print form – so you should be able to simply follow the guidelines they’ve put up.

Something to note: not as many people write non-fiction, and the education system requires LOTS of non-fiction books (what we know about subjects are always changing, and so new books need to be written to keep the information current), so it’s actually a great way to get published and build your publishing resume. Also, there are lots of great educational magazines looking for content, so you should also consider submitting a shorter format as a magazine piece, and then submitting your longer version to a publisher once the rights revert back to you. (they probably will even pay experts to make sure all your facts are correct before they print it in the magazine, so you’ll get the benefit of a free “fact checking” service ; )

Hope that helps!

***SPECIAL THANKS to Laura Hana, wedding photographer who was on hand to take pictures at the event.  She has generously given her permission for us to use her photos in our VPL blogging adventure to help keep the spirit of the event alive!

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