Customer Reviews

How to Write a Children's Book and Get It Published

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is divided into five parts. Each part is designed to help you in progressing towards the publishing of a book/play/poem/story for children. This is not a quick process. The key ingredient to this book being successful is that the book shows you what is involved.

In the first section of the book, Seuling discusses the world of children's books. This will give you an idea of the history of children's books and help you become familiar with the lingo.

In the second and third sections (Developing Your Ideas and Writing Your Book, respectively), she talks about some of the pitfalls (she calls sabotage) and talks about what is required for different kinds of books (for instance, what is needed for an Easy Reader versus a Chapter Book). To help you, the author includes the titles of books that best exemplify the kind of book she is discussing. Now, you can check out the book and see the example for yourself.

In the fourth and fifth sections (Selling Your Book and A Publisher in Your Future), she explains how the publishing field works. With this information in hand, you can make your submission more professional and increase your chances of getting a contract.

For each chapter in the book, she summarizes the key points and gives you "assignments" which will help you internalize the material and become an expert. The only problem with the assignments is that there is no right or wrong answer. You will need to assume that you are doing it correctly. If you follow the assignments, however, you will learn a lot.

Most importantly, Seuling has appendices that list a wealth of information on helping you become a successful writer for children. If nothing else, the book is worth it for those lists (things like marketing information, editorial services, references, and reviews of children's books). I would recommend this book for anyone thinking of writing for children.

Even though this is the revised edition, I have been told by professionals in the children's book industry that the information I got from this book is out-of-date and incorrect.

It may not have been the author's explicit intent to discourage new authors form entering the field of children's literature but, it is certainly one of the likely effects that this book will have on its readers. Its hard to believe that this book which is filled with ambiguous and conflicting advice was written by a former editor. The author seems to be interested in showing off erudite sentence structure at the expense of clarity throughout the book. In addition her credibility is drawn into question has she frequently offers conflicting advice regarding format and lay out for submissions. Beyond problems of readability and consistency, the tone of the book is so discouraging that it seems to be the product of an embittered experienced professional out on a crusade to "fix" all of the errors hat she had to endure over the years. Also note that although the book was first published in 1984 and revised in 1991 all of the technical submission advice is geared towards a typewriter. This is to me further evidence of either the author's lack of attention to relevant information or, evidence of an antediluvian attitude. I recommend that you avoid this bitter and confusing advice manual.

Are you thinking that you MIGHT want to be a children's writer? Maybe you have a story that the family loves but are wondering what to do next. This book is a great place to start. Ms. Seuling gives step-by-step instructions for categorizing your work, editing, formatting the manuscript and deciding where to send it. Great references for related information in the back, too. This is not a perfect book for someone already on the way to being published, but it's a great little book for beginners.

How to Write a Children's book and get it published by Barbara Seuling is a very informative book for those who are just starting in the business of children's books--Although the book has a brief chapter on illustrating children's books, this section could have been expanded to be more useful to both those of us who are illustrators and those who write and illustrate their own books.

After reading this concise and highly informative guide on how to break into the children's book market, I immediately sought online tutoring from this frank and knowledgeable author-editor in one of her AOL classes. In ten words or less: if you want to get published, first go to Barbara.

Barbara Seuling was my instructor when I took a two-year writing course in writing children's literature from The Institute of Children's Literature. Ms. Seuling is exceedingly knowledgeable, skillful, talented, and very practical about writing children's literature and getting it published. Also, she writes instructions that are very easy to understand. I highly recommend this book.

Recently I have read approximately five books on writing for children. I found Barbara Seulings book to be the best of the lot. She realistically portrays the difficulty in breaking into the children's market in the '90s, yet she encourages the reader and provides a wealth of helpful information to do just that. Barabara Seulings book is easily readable for a reference book and one that anyone interested in writing for children today should have in their personal library. Good job Ms. Seuling -

I would definately recommend this book if you are serious about writing for children. Very useful, easy to understand and it covers all the ins and outs of the basics for writing for children and other negotiations etc.

This book was and is a concise account of the how-tos of the Childrens Picture Book world. From writing, to submission process, everything a would-be CPB author/illustrator needs is in here.<P> In addition to her book, I have taken her AOL online class and found her to be informative, organized, and a concise constructive critic. It was her book and her course that enabled me to successfully complete my first picture book.<P> I highly recommend this book for anyone wishing to publish picture books.