What can I do about my picture book manuscript that my agent isn’t interested in marketing?

I wrote a picture book, but my agent isn’t interested in it. I would like to submit it on my own but I don’t know how to handle the fact that I’m agented. My agent represents “my fiction” which includes this and any other piece of fiction. Should I tell publishers that I’m agented but that my agent declined to market the book? What can I do about my picture book manuscript that my agent isn’t interested in marketing?

As it stands right now, since your agent represents your “fiction”, that includes your picture book manuscript. Technically, you aren’t free to submit it to publishers on your own, even though it has been shelved. Ask the agent for an addendum to the contract that excludes the picture book and names it by name. If your agent is not forthcoming, make up the addendum yourself, sign it and send it to the agent. If your agent has a problem with you submitting the manuscript to publishers, perhaps you can compromise by sending the manuscript to children’s magazines. No matter what, you need to discuss with your agent what to do about your “fiction” that he chooses not to represent.

Lots of children’s book publishers look at unagented submissions. However I don’t think it’s a good idea to inform the editor that your agent has declined to market the manuscript you are submitting. It will only add unnecessary confusion to your submission. It’s helpful if you’re a member of SCBWI. They put out calls for submissions from publishers on a regular basis, on the discussion boards and in the bi-monthly Bulletin. They have an encyclopedia’s worth of information on their web site. Claiming membership in your cover letter or resume will help your manuscript get picked out of the slush pile and actually read.

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Horror Anthologies Guidelines

Rymfire eBooks is a brand new ebook publisher actively seeking submissions for a horror anthologies series. There are very few markets for short horror stories. So here’s a chance to get published and make a little – and I do mean little — scratch.

Please pay attention to the reading period for each volume. Stories submitted before the reading period or after the reading period will be returned unread, NO EXCEPTIONS!

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Horror eBook anthology: “Vermin”

Reading period: April 15 – July 15, 2009

The “Vermin” anthology will be stories about those tiny, menacing feet inside the walls, creatures watching you from the darkness of the halls at midnight. Make it creepy! And PLEASE no generic “rat-creature in the attic, kills the exterminator, etc.” tales. Be original!

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Horror eBook anthology: “Heavy Metal Horror”

Reading period: May 15 – July 15, 2009

The “Heavy Metal Horror” anthology will be horror stories with heavy metal as a theme, a background or a plot. Heavy metal doesn’t have to dominate the story, the horror element does! There you go, wide open, and remember, be original!

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Horror eBook anthology: “Revenant”

Reading period: June 1 – August 1, 2009

The “Revenant” anthology will be. horror stories about ghosts that haunt a particular area, are bound to a place, whether it’s the graveyard, a haunted house, Wal-Mart, wherever! There you go, wide open, and remember… be original!

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Horror eBook anthology: “I, Executioner”

Reading period: June 15 – August 15, 2009

The “I, Executioner” anthology will be horror stories, NOT fantasy tales! We’re looking for stories of executioners, carnifex, butchers.

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Horror eBook anthology: “State of Horror: Louisiana”

Reading period: July 1 – September 1,  2009

The “State of Horror: Louisiana” anthology will be horror stories set in Louisiana. We are NOT looking for New Orleans Voodoo Queens stories, we’re looking for something different, but the state has to be featured in the tale! 

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Anthology submission guidelines: We will return (unread) anything not within these guidelines.

Length: 2,500 – 7,500 words

How to submit: You can submit a story as either an attachment in Word or in the body of an e-mail to: subs@rymfireebooks.com
Please put the title of the specific horror anthology (such as “I, Executioner”) in the subject of the e-mail and give a word count in the e-mail itself, even if the story also has it listed.
We do NOT accept snail mail. Our reading time is usually 6-8 weeks. NO multiple submissions. NO exceptions. Reprints accepted.

Payment: We pay $3.00* for each story accepted via PayPal. That’s it. We are a brand new eBook-only publisher looking to get the name out there and get some quality releases under our belts without making the mistake of so many other small-press publishers and overdoing it in the beginning. We pay everyone once the anthology has been officially filled. If this is acceptable, kindly submit to us.

Our eBooks will generally sell for around $2.99. We offer the $3.00 flat rate, but an author can earn royalties after each 150 eBooks sold as follows:
1-149 eBooks sold = $3.00 flat advance
150-300 eBooks sold = an additional $3.00 per author
301-450 eBooks sold = an additional $3.00 per author

ALL of the authors will receive monthly sales statements to see where your eBook stands and how your sales compare to the other anthologies and novellas

For more information go to Rymfire eBooks Submission Guidelines

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Review: Seize the Story

Seize the Story: A Handbook for Teens Who Like to Write
By Victoria Hanley
Cottonwood Press, Inc.
September 2008
228 pages

Some people are great teachers. Others are great writers. Victoria Hanley combines her unique talent for both to create a great resource for young writers. Seize the Story is a step-by-step guide to writing fiction, from coming up with an idea to polishing the finished piece.

The Building Your Story suggestions in each chapter show writers how to apply what they’ve learned to their own stories. Additional writing prompts are generously sprinkled throughout the book to encourage young writers to venture outside their comfort zones. An amazing collection of interviews with the likes of David Lubar, Joan Bauer, Lauren Myracle, plus twelve more, reveals what it takes to go from being someone who wants to write to accomplished author.

This is certainly the perfect book for teens – or even tweens – who want to write. Yet any writer who puts pen to paper and applies Hanley’s guidance can reach the end of the book with a complete first draft of a short story, or the skeleton of a novel. What sets this book apart from all the other books about writing is Hanley’s emphasis on building and then honing the skills necessary to create interesting characters and compelling plots.

Anyone who loves to dabble with words can learn how to become a better writer. Also writers who are besieged with writer’s block will find a variety of ways to help them unlock their inner storyteller. When Hanley’s techniques are applied to raw talent, story happens. At long last, teens and beginning writers have a writing book that speaks to them.

Copyright (c) 2009 by Peggy Tibbetts

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