Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books, Second Edition

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This wonderful work is a great starting point for anyone interested in writing children's books. It's filled with practical information that will help you get started and avoid making the mistakes that will brand you a newbie. Anytime I asked "Who, What, Where, When, Why or How do I...?, I found the answers contained within its pages. As a newly published children's author ("Nonsense! He Yelled"), I also found it answered my marketing and publicity questions--areas you might not be concerned with at first but will need to know when your book is in the stores. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books is crammed with concise information that's put together in an easy to read format. I highly recommend it.

In the best traditions of the CIG books, "Publishing Children's Books" gives you all the basic info you need to know, distilled down into plain talk and understandable terms. The book has some info on how to write and illustratate your story, but it really comes into its own when discussing what you need to do in order to get the book published.

Indispensible for the novice children's author/illustrator, and invaluable in helping those of us just starting out with navigating the confusing and imposing world of children's book publishing.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books is the most comprehensive book on writing for children available. If you teach writing it is an invaluable resource. It breaks all the basics down to bite-sized chunks so any beginner can find the information he/she needs. If you have a question about writing, selling, or publishing for children-- this book is the place to start to find your answer. The index is great and the glossary is very useful. The sidebars and illustrations make the information easy to find. You'd have to complete the Institute for Children's Literature courses to find better information, and that is very costly in terms of time and money.

If you're just getting into writing for children and you'd like some inside information on how it all works, this book is for you. Yes, it answers basic questions about what types of children's books are out there and who draws the pictures for picture books, etc. But it also goes into detail about submissions (with examples of cover and query letters), working with editors (what's it like to be one?), what to expect in a contract (what are the basic clauses?), how to approach marketing (getting the word out on you and your book), who does what at a publishing house (why do changes happen and who makes them?), etc. It's like having one of the top people in the biz talk you through everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-children's-publishing but not might have even thought to ask!

I admit to lurking in the Writing Reference section of my local bookstores just for fun--I love a good "how to" guide. I own many "How to Write for Children" books, but Harold Underdown's Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books is NOT a writing technique book! It tackles all the other aspects of a kid lit career. I have recommended the first edition of this book over and over to people who are interested in learning the basics of the biz, and I was glad to see this second edition was out. It has all the great info that was packed into the first book, plus more. New chapters just for illustrators have been added (one basic "so you want to illustrate" chapter, and one on how to submit). A new chapter on agents has been added (the first edition had only a page on this). There are a bunch of other changes throughout (you can check Harold Underdown's website under "Second Edition FAQ" if you really want details about the differences in the editions).

Overall, the 2nd edition seems slightly longer, more compact, and a bit more adult, to tell you the truth (the cartoonish "Idiot's Guide" icons are smaller and more subdued, for example). If you already own the first edition and you consult it frequently, like I do, you might check this one out--I think it's nicer to look at, and definitely fills in some gaps left by the first book (particularly for illustrators). If you didn't buy the first edition and are considering getting this guide to boost your career, do it--it's the best book of its kind out there!

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books,
Second edition, by Harold D. Underdown

To write a succinct review of a book which so thoroughly covers all the aspects of Children's publishing from idea to book store events after it is published, is a monumental task.

Underdown begins with an over view of writing children's books in general and quickly moves into introducing you to the nitty-gritty of the publishing world. The book is divided into Five parts that each contains a complete plan. (...).

Each section moves you seamlessly along the path to publication and beyond with a plethora of examples, links and helpful guidance. In part three Underdown takes you on a guided tour of specific publishers explaining just how they chose their books and what their editors do. It gives you a new perspective into the very busy lives of the editors of these houses. It helps you to understand the reason it takes so long to get your acceptance or rejection and why many times a rejection can't be personalized.

The way ...Publishing Children's Books is written, be you writer or illustrator, you can pick and choose which chapters or sections interest you, each chapter is complete in itself, but I recommend reading from cover to cover. As an author of several published novels and other works, I still garnered important hints, tips and information from Underdown's well presented material.

Throughout Underdown has placed invaluable information as extras in side bars/boxes such as: Vocabulary, which explains the terms used. Class Rules which gives the reader warnings or cautions. Can you Keep A Secret, tips and resources as well as suggestions are found in these. Play Ground Stories give real life anecdotes from other children's authors. Besides all the extras in the sidebars, Underdown provides Appendixes that offer a Glossary, Resource Lists and samples of guidelines, cover letters, query letters and manuscript format.

This unique book is truly a one of a kind complete guide to the world of children's publishing. It's a book you will read through, but never loan out because you will refer back to it time and again. Harold Underdown, has posted sample chapters and many more links and guides as well on his personal web site, The Purple Crayon. I can't begin to recommend Publishing Children's Books highly enough. Beginner or pro you are bound to find it an extremely important book.

If you're just, just, JUST getting started, this book will help you a lot. It's a very broad survey with a lot of information that will give you an idea of the field. But don't buy this book if you have a specific question. Need to know how to write query letters? Get John Wood's book, How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters. Want to know about submission format? Look for some of the Writer's Digest books. Agents? There are hundreds of books on agents. Publishers? Come on, if you need information about publishers, just look. So...buy this book if you are, as the title says, a Complete Idiot when it comes to Publishing Children's Books. Otherwise, leave it alone.

-

As a writer, I found Underdown's guide informative and a great read for all writers. He provides readers with the inside track - something I would have loved 10 years ago when I started in the book biz. Great sidebars with web sites and other resources. This book is a must have for all people interested in writing books for children. Underdown is upfront in his approach and does not sugarcoat the business side of the industry. Readers will benefit from his years in publishing.

This book is an excellent resource for new writers who have no idea what to do to be published. Mr. Underdown is very thorough and covers not only unpublished writers but illustrators. He answered every question I had- and a few I had not thought of concerning approaching publishers with manuscripts, dealing with editors and the feasibility of finding an agent.

Complete, helpful, easy to find the information you are looking for. If you can only own one book on how to publish a children's book, make it this one. You can't go wrong.

This amazing book, supplemented with cartoons and sidebars, is (...) full of information for budding children's book writers as well as published authors. Sure, I've been published but I still get rejection letters, and it's great to have a friend, or an author, remind me about persistence. I especially loved the section about school presentations. I've visited dozens of schools and libraries over the last six years, yet I found myself thinking, while I read this book, I never thought of that! This is a reference book I'll return to again and again.