12 Tips on Submissions

I’m having a submissions day. This is true: a manuscript that is only in a drawer or only a file on your computer will not sell. It’s only when you send out a manuscript to an editor that you get a contract, a sale, a publication.

Last year, I talked about reevaluating my career and the market place and how that led to a new picture book, Prairie Storms. It’s a story about a year on the prairie and how the wildlife survives the prairie storms.

Prairie Storms by Darcy Pattison
Coming August, 2011

I’m excited to say that Sylvan Dell will be publishing a companion book, DESERT BATHS. This follows desert animals through a 24-hour period and shows how they take baths. The same illustrator, Kathleen Rietz will be working on this story. Look for it in 2012.

Meanwhile, a sale doesn’t mean that you STOP submitting. Here are some other tips on submissions.

  1. Why Rejection Should be Your Goal
  2. Are You Still Submitting Before Revising?
  3. Are You Still NOT Submitting?
  4. Are You Still Submitting Blind?
  5. Are You Still Singly Submitting?
  6. Are You Still Not Tracking Submissions?
  7. The Biggest Mistake in Submitting a Picture Book
  8. 8 Sources of Market Info
  9. Test Submissions
  10. How To Contact an Editor
  11. Q&A: How Do I Find an Editor’s Name for Submission
  12. 10 Ways to Deal with Rejection
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