Most children’s book authors assume they need to hand over an illustrated manuscript when traditionally publishing a children’s book. So you’ll probably be surprised to learn that unless you’re a professional artist as well as the author, the publishing house will want to choose the illustrator.
When it comes to pitching publishing houses, your best bet is to let a children’s book agent do that for you. They’ll also handle any film, TV or merchandising rights if you get to that point. Of course, that means that you have to find—and pitch—literary agents. Reedsy has a list of more than 200 experience children’s book agents, so that’s a place to start. You can also check the latest edition of the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market since the book includes a listing of literary agents who handle kids’ books.
When querying agents, write a short letter highlighting where your book fits in the children’s publishing landscape, what makes it different and marketable, and why the agent is the clear choice to represent your book. As Reedsy points out in their “How to Publish a Children’s Book” blog post: “Know where your book fits into their list. If the agent already has a few unicorn-based picture books on their list, mention how your unicorn picture book will sit nicely alongside them. If they don’t have any unicorn books, say how your book can add depth to their list.”
If you can’t find an agent to represent your book, you can always submit it directly to publishers. That’s a tougher route since many don’t accept non-agent submissions, but it can be done. Once again, I’ll refer you to the latest edition of the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market, as well as Reedsy’s “How to Publish a Children’s Book” blog post.
Self-publishing is also an option. The great news is that this choice allows you to maintain creative control. You will also be able to publish your book quite a lot sooner than you would through traditional publishing. The bad news is that it will cost you. For more information about everything from anticipated costs to finding an illustrator when publishing a children’s book, check out Reedsy’s blog post about how to self-publish a children’s book.
Regardless of whether you wind up going the traditional route or self-publishing, I wish you the best of luck. Let’s do this!
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