How to write for children and get published - Louise Jordan

The fully updated essential guide to writing for children. Huge numbers of people want to write for children but it is notoriously difficult to find a publisher in this increasingly competitive area. Children's publishing has its own set of rules and demands. This comprehensive and fully updated book tells you all you need to know, in a new edition that offers the very latest information on market trends, such as self publishing. Written by an acknowledged expert on children's publishing, this inspiring, practical and wide-ranging guide takes the reader step-by-step through all the different markets for children's books including: picture books, educational books, series, teenage fiction, short stories, poetry, non-fiction and the fast-changing multi-media market. Louise Jordan gives valuable advice on: developing ideas, themes and style; presenting proposals and manuscripts; approaching publishers and agents; what you need to know once your book has been accepted for publication. In addition, the author advises on how to make your work stand out from the crowd and appeal in a unique way to commissioning editors and to the intended audience.

Louise Jordan has worked in children's publishing for over twenty five years and is one of the original founders of The Writers' Advice Centre for Children's Books. Before founding the Advice Centre, Louise worked as head reader for Puffin and still reads for a number of children's publishers, including Puffin, Dorling Kindersley, Ladybird and Warne.

Anyone can write for kids--it's easy. Wrong! The first thing author Louise Jordan does in her book How to Write for Children and Get Published is to dispel this notion. As Jordan says, "...writing a children's book is not easier than writing an adult book, merely different ... What is needed is a clarity of vision, and this is harder than you might think." Jordan runs The Writers Advice Centre for Children's Books in London and is also a reader for Penguin Children's Books. She gives information from the point of view of both writer and editor, which results in a sympathetic but pragmatic perspective on the world of children's publishing.
Knowing the market is a crucial element of writing that is often overlooked. Jordan explores differe

Jordan doesn't just tell the prospective children's writer what to do--she provides insightful exercises after each chapter so that her readers can learn for themselves. This is a practical, accessible guide to writing children's books.
- Caryn Jenner, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW