The July/August issue of The Horn Book Magazine always reprints the speeches of the current Newbery Medal winner (best written book) for that year.

Many authors have written autobiographically about their writing life. Some of these include Guild members Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and Katherine Paterson, plus others such as Mem Fox, Mollie Hunter, Ralph Fletcher, Eloise Greenfield, Marian Dane Bauer, Jean Craighead George, Sid Fleischman, Richard Peck, Cynthia Rylant, and many others. Ask at the library.

1. Read today's children's books. While you are reading, check to see which publishing companies are publishing work similar in spirit and genre to yours. It is a waste of your time and theirs to send a manuscript to to a publisher who has no interest in publishing the type of book you are writing. Libraries may not have the newest books, so you should check bookstores, too, to get the most current information. Ask what is selling, too. Markets change as do things in the publishing world. Magazines found in most libraries, such as School Library Journal, Booklist, and Publishers' Weekly, frequently discuss trends and issues.
2. Editors receive many manuscripts a year. Only the most carefully crafted and original will get their attention. It can be invaluable to have your manuscript critiqued professionally at a class on writing for children at a local university, college, or adult education program. Writer's conferences often offer critiques, too. One long-running writing conference that is offered by the Highlights publishing group can be found by clicking on "workshops" at www.highlightsfoundation.org. They also offer numerous mini-workshops throughout the fall and spring, plus a helpful question-and-answer section. If you go to the web site of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, www.scbwi.org, you can find out about their conferences held all over the US. There is also a section on how to prepare a manuscript for submission. SCBWI has a huge membership and is a good organization which anyone can join. Their conferences offer excellent opportunities for learning and networking.
3. Unless you are a writer-illustrator, editors prefer to receive picture book manuscripts without illustrations. If a publisher were to buy your manuscript, the editor would find and contract separately with an artist to illustrate it. Writers usually have no say in who illustrates their work until they have published several books.
4. There is no need to have your work copyrighted in advance. The publisher takes care of this for you before publication.
5. If you are considering a nonfiction book, it is essential to survey what is out there on the topic before you begin. Publishers are always looking for fresh, age-appropriate information and today's nonfiction has never been better. But you want to be sure your idea hasn't been done several times already, or with the approach you plan to use, before you spend time in researching a topic. Write a query letter to a publisher explaining what you hope to do, why your proposed book is necessary, any competing books and how yours differs, what age you aim for, and your approach.
6. Up-to-date addresses, submission policies, etc., for each publisher are found in Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, available at bookstores and libraries. It comes out yearly. The same information may be found in Literary Marketplace. You can also find current publishers' information in the "members" section of the Children's Book Council website plus a host of information for getting published at www.cbcbooks.org.
7. You may find it easier to break into the magazine market first by submitting to such journals as Highlights, the Cricket Group, and so forth. This also gives you some writing credits to put on your resume before trying to submit a book to a publisher. Again, see Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, Children's Writer, or Literary Marketplace for publishers of children's magazines.
8. Those who have published a book or have a book contract in hand are eligible to join the Authors Guild. This organization promotes the professional interests of authors and benefits include review of a book contract. Contact them at www.authorsguild.org

In general, there are several books for children which help adult readers understand how a picture book comes about. Eileen Christelow's What Do Illustrators Do? and What Do Authors Do? are clear and straightforward. Janet Stevens's From Pictures to Words shows the process of creating a picture book as well as an example of a book dummy.

Some helpful how-to, nuts-and-bolts books for adults about writing, illustrating, and publishing a children's picture book, informational book, or novel are Jim Giblin's Writing Books for Young People; Barbara Seuling's How to Write a Children's Book and Get it Published; Judith Appelbaum's How to Get Happily Published; and many others. Check at your local library.

To understand how illustrators view their art, it may be helpful to read books by the experts. In Uri Shulevitz's Writing with Pictures, the award-winning illustrator details how picture book illustrations work and what to consider when designing. Perry Nodelman is not an illustrator but his Words about Pictures: The Narrative Art of Children's Picture Books is informative and thought-provoking. Pat Cummings has edited a three-volume set of Talking with Artists in which well-known illustrators answer questions about their craft. The July/August issue of The Horn Book Magazine always reprints the speeches of the current Caldecott Medal winner (best illustrated book) for that year.

Art leagues, colleges, and adult education courses sometimes provide an opportunity to hone your skills in developing illustrations. Conferences on children's literature and children's bookstores often feature illustrators speaking about the creation of their books, a good source of insight as well as, perhaps, personal advice.

1. Study illustrations you particularly admire in children's books to see how each book's layout varies from page to page and helps the story progress logically. Note in general the variety of media used today in children's picture book art, including all kinds of paint; photography; pastels; computer-generated art; collage in a variety of materials besides paper; clay; organic materials; needlecraft; and so on. Also be aware of the size of art on each page layout, the incorporation of copy, and the use of variety so that all pages don't look alike.
2. Look for ways artists use action and create visual movement in their work. The characters shouldn't just stand there. Note how artists use page format, avoid important visuals falling into the gutter, and make the eye turn toward the right to the page turn.
3. Use different vantage points (close-ups, aerial views, views from below, etc.).
4. Expressions on faces and in posture are absolutely vital. It is also essential that a character appear to be the same person from page to page, not a younger and older, taller and shorter version.
5. Pay attention to the descriptions the text offers. Readers (and later reviewers) will compare what the author describes with what you have depicted.
6. Illustrations should do more than look pretty. They must also logically connect to the story and should advance the plot as well as enhance it. The definition of a picture storybook includes the words and pictures combining to make meaning with both important to the whole.
7. Do a little research at libraries and bookstores to find out what kind of books the various houses publish and what kind of artwork they tend to use. Not all publishers do picture books, and some publish only a very small number of them each year. Some publishers do not accept "unsolicited manuscripts." Make a list of publishers who are appropriate for you and include the ones that have picture books on their lists each year. You can find the names and addresses of children's book publishers along with the names of their art directors and editors, their phone numbers and e-mail addresses, and the types of books they use, in Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market or Literary Marketplace. These books can be found in most libraries and some bookstores. They come out yearly. Be sure to use the most current edition because editors' and art directors' jobs change all the time. You can also find current publishers' information in the "members" section of the Children's Book Council website, too, at www.cbcbooks.org/html/mlist1.html
8. Then select which publishers you want to see and contact them with a short precise cover letter and, if possible, a printed (not an original) sample of your absolute best artwork suitable for children's books. Preferably but not necessarily, it can be one that has been used by a real client. Ask to set up an interview. If you are so minded, you can also send a manuscript with one finished sample spread and a pencil dummy (a small booklet of 32, or multiples of 4, pages showing your rough layouts and the intended size of the entire book). If you're not a writer, either use a classic tale you would like to illustrate or don't do this at all.
9. Show only your very best work, even if you show only five pieces. Make sure it is work that can be used in children's books. Note the multiracial makeup of most children's classrooms and neighborhoods today. Don't ever be corny, sweet, or cute. If you do, the publisher won't have anything to do with you forever. "Fine art" is truly fine as long as it is applicable to the story. Use other good books as a general guideline for appropriate and varied art styles, materials (anything goes here), and typical page sizes. Avoid oversized books which are difficult for libraries to put on the shelf.
10. Remember that most books have 32 pages including title page or pages, copyright pages, and, sometimes, printed endpapers. Nonfiction may also include an index, glossary, related resources, or teaching ideas. Endpapers should not carry important information for understanding the story because libraries may paste card pockets there or jacket flap may obscure your art. In the body of the book, leave room for type. For layout's sake you can use 18pt or 24pt type font to get an idea of size of text but individual book designers will decide what font and what size the final text will be.
11. Most art directors prefer to reduce rather than enlarge artwork, says one Guild illustrator, because enlarging often turns up flaws. Therefore, he always works about 10% larger than the actual size of the finished book. If you plan to submit a finished book, work in a standard size. Once again, see a collection of recent children's books to determine what your size options might be.

3. Where can I get writing by children published?

Parents and children submit questions to the Guild about publishing children's work. There are numerous magazines that will accept children's work and it helps to know what kinds of writing each publishes. You can check out these magazines at your local bookstore or library and visit their web sites before deciding where you'll send your work. Most publishers have a web site or a brochure that tells you how to submit, whether to include a self-addressed envelope, and whether they also take artwork such as drawings or photographs. If not, you can always ask.

Good luck. Many children's book authors and illustrators got a start publishing something as children.

Children's Work Under 14:

Creative Kids, P. O. Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714. www.prufrock.com

Highlights for Children, 803 Church St., Honesdale, PA 18431. www.highlights.com

New Moon, P.O. Box 3620, Duluth, MN 55803. www.newmoon.org

KidPub. www.kidpub.com

Potato Hill Poetry, 81 Speen St., Natick, MA 01760. www.potatohill.com

Potluck Magazine, PO Box 546, Deerflield, IL 60015 www.potluckmagazine.org

Merlyn's Pen; P.O. Box 910, East Greenwich, RI 02818. www.merlynspen.com

Stone Soup, P. O. Box 83, Santa Cruz, C 95063. www.stonesoup.com

Word Dance, Playful Productions Inc., P. O. Box 10804, Wilmington, DE 19850. www.worddance.com

The Writers' Slate, 1601 Leavenworth St., Manhattan, KS 66502-4156. www.writingconference.com

Children's Work 12 and Up:

The Apprentice Writer, Writers' Institute Director, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA 17870. Or visit www.susqu.edu/writers and click on "High School Students."

Cicada, P.O. Box 300, Peru, IL 61354. www.cricketmag.com and click on "Cicada"

Imagine, CTY/Imagine, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218. www.jhu.edu/gifted/imagine

Potluck Magazine, PO Box 546, Deerflield, IL 60015 www.potluckmagazine.org

Merlyn's Pen. www.merlynspen.com

Teenink, P.O. Box 30, Newton, MA 02461. www.teenink.com

4. Does the Guild have a recommended reading list for children's books?

We do not have a specific list. However, Guild members are involved in many activities that feature recommended books. Some Guild members serve on "Capitol Choices" which publishes and posts a list of noteworthy books from the previous year on its website www.capitolchoices.org

Children's Literature, a Guild member, posts a free list of the 150 best books of the year on its website www.childrenslit.com.

In addition, our Speakers Bureau notes specialists who talk about a variety of noteworthy books as well as authors and illustrators who speak about their own work. Several Guild members are also reviewers of children's media for such sources as The Horn Book Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, and School Library Journal.

A standard and reliable source of recommended reading is the American Library Association's annual list of Notable Children's Books, usually published in the March issue of School Library Journal. You may also find it on ALA's website, www.ala.org/ and then search through ALSC to Awards and Scholarships to Children's Notable Lists

5. Can I get free books from the Guild?

Generally, Guild members do not have free books to give or send out. Authors get a very limited number of books to share with family and friends and those disappear quickly. We suggest you contact publishers, book distributors, jobbers, or bookstores for books.