Editing and Searching

I've been using my own advice from the last post and looking over my picture books I've written in the past year and fine tuning them to send out to publishers.

I've been all over the internet looking up publishing companies and their submission policies.
If you go to The Children's Book Council sight you will find an A-B-C listing of the CBC members list. I have a link to their sight on the right of my blog.

Unfortunately many of them say at the end of their listing:

Not accepting unsolicited manuscripts at this time. ....... or
Only accepting manuscripts submitted by agents and/or published authors at this time.....
How do unpublished writers get a foot in the door?

It's kind of like the job listings that say experience necessary. How do you get experience if everyone wants someone with experience?

But if you look long enough you will soon find this:
Currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts.

And, as I posted in my other blog - Joy is Contagious!

TheChildren's Writer's& Illustrator's market is also a must for children's writers.

In addition to book publishing companies, it also lists magazines, clubs and organizations and conferences and workshops. It is also filled with helpful articles and interviews. A new edition comes out every year.

Becoming a published author is not as easy as friends and relatives think.

When inspiration hits, the words and stories may flow, but getting a publisher to look at it and love it as much as you do is the hardest part.

You have to love to write, have perseverance and keep plugging along.

Is anyone else getting ready to submit?