| I have this great idea for a
story, and . . . |
| Maybe you told
your children or grandchildren a story, and they loved it. Maybe you
remember something funny or striking from your own childhood. Maybe
you’re a teacher or a librarian, and you either fell in love with the
books you read to children, or you thought “I can do better than this.”
Maybe you want to make a career change. But you want to write, and/or
you want to publish. But in any case, you want advice. You want help.
And you came to Crescent. |
|
How CD can ---
and can’t --- help you |
| Let’s get some
of the nos out of the way. No, Crescent will not write your story for or
with you (she doesn’t even have enough time for writing her own stories
and she believes strongly that each person’s story should be told in
their own voice). Nor will she critique your manuscript (she is a
writer, not an editor). Nor will she help you find a publisher (she is a
writer, not an agent). Nor will she help you find an agent (she is a
writer, not an agent-finder). |
| Okay --- now we
move on to the good part, the yesses. Crescent does indeed help
children’s book writers, whatever phase of their calling they are in
(from want-to to have-done-in-the-past-but-am-now-blocked), by
teaching in a workshop environment. This workshop is called
Unadulterated: Writing for Children.
If you visit
Study with CD
you can find out
when she will next be offering it. |
|
Your publishing
questions answered, now |
| While
Crescent’s workshop focuses on the process of writing itself, she has
noted, over the years, that many people new to the field start by asking
questions about publishing, not writing. These questions include: |
- How
do I find a publisher?
- How
do I find an agent?
- How
do I find an illustrator?
- How
do I submit a manuscript?
- How
do I get a foot in the door?
- Do
I need a copyright?
- Should
I include a cover letter and if so, what should it say?
- Can
I submit to more than one publisher at a time?
|
| Crescent
finally wrote down all the answers to these questions, and a great many
more, in detail, a 15-page document called
Help! I Want to Get
Published .
If you have questions like those above, you need the Sheet. It
has examples, explanations, information, useful links --- everything you
need to know about the business of readying a children’s book manuscript
for submission and sending it off. And you can order it now, online, in
downloadable form. |
|
The Publishing Rap Sheet:
instant answers, $12.95 |
|
Here’s what to do: the gospel according to Patti, Crescent’s web
mistress extraordinaire: |
| Simply click on the The Publishing Rap
Sheet link above and you will be taken to DragonzBooks' order form
where you will find easy to follow instructions. |
| Now, because Crescent thinks that the questions would-be writers
tend to ask about publishing are the least important ones, she is
including a second downloadable document with the Sheet. It’s called
Isle of View, and it discusses several different perspectives from which
one might write, successfully or otherwise, for children. Full of
examples, it will clarify the position from which you address your young
readers, and make your story much stronger and much more yours.
It is not about publishing, but about some of the much deeper and more
interesting questions about the craft and practice of writing. You can
learn the info on the Rap Sheet in one or two reads. Isle of View, on
the other hand, contains open-ended nourishment that will feed your
whole writing life.
|
|
With the Sheet, you’ll know how to send something out. With
Isle of
View, you’ll have a much better chance of truly engaging with the deep,
joyful, and endlessly fascinating act of writing for children --- and
you might just end up with something you’ll be happy to send out. And
just maybe --- maybe --- a publisher may be equally delighted with it.
|
|
©Dragon,
Pen & Inc. 2000-2007 :: Last Updated:
03/05/07 ::