Sleepsong
By George Ella Lyon
Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
December 2008
40 pages
Sleepsong
My 7-year old granddaughter read this book and loved it. Since she doesn’t read music, she made up her own tune.
Sleepsong
Copyright (c) 2008 by Peggy Tibbetts
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Peggy and Tod, Venus and Zeus along the West Elk Ski Trail
I’m using How to Publish Your Children’s Book
by Liza Burby, and the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Marketto help me submit my first book. In Burby’s book, Chapter 5 is about the submissions package. The author recommends including information to indicate the potential size of my book’s audience. The example is: “The popularity of middle grade fantasy novels … accounts for 40 percent of all book sales in the middle grade category in 2005.” Where can I find statistics to include in my cover letter?
The question is: Why do you need to provide the publisher with book industry statistics? Editors already have current information available to them. Writers aren’t expected to provide statistics. In fact it’s possible that if you do include book industry statistics in your cover letter, the editor might think you are showing off, or trying to tell her about the business. Generally speaking, you have no idea about the individual on the receiving end of your cover letter and manuscript. Proceed with professionalism.
I’m not familiar with Burby’s book. I usually recommend Harold Underdown’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books
He also adds that you should not include: your resume, marketing plan, endorsements, apologies, or a lengthy plot summary. In my own submissions I do include my resume, but on a separate sheet. Underdown’s point is, if you don’t have a long resume yet, it’s okay not to include one. I would also add that if you’re a member of SCBWI, be sure to mention that in your cover letter or resume.
I say forget about book industry statistics. Keep your query and/or submission simple and focused on your book, and the story you are telling. That’s the best way to attract an editor’s attention.
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What I Saw And How I Lied
By Judy Blundell
Scholastic Press
November 2008
288 pages
When Evie’s stepfather Joe returns to Queens from World War II, she and her mom Beverly are so relieved he’s alive they don’t question where the money came from to start a chain of appliance stores. They’re so happy to have him at home, they ignore the changes in him. When he drags them off to Palm Beach, Florida, on a whim they pretend that everything is perfectly normal. What Evie and her mom choose not to see is as plain as day to the reader. That all is not what it seems.
Blundell meticulously knits the compelling theme into the fabric of the story. From Peter, the mysterious young man whom Evie falls head over heels for, to the Graysons who are hiding a secret, to a shocking mystery involving her parents. All along the reader can see there’s something wrong with this picture while waiting for Evie to wake up and smell the coffee.
It’s easy to see how What I Saw And How I Lied
Copyright (c) 2008 by Peggy Tibbetts
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