Are you trying to get your children's book manuscript published? Don't make these mistakes when writing a query letter to a children's book publisher:
1. Don't ignore the publisher's submission guidelines.
2. Don't make ridiculous claims.
3. Don't make spelling and grammatical errors.
4. Don't say that your children, grandchildren, friend's children etc. loved it.
5. Don't say that the book will appeal to all children.
6. Don't send artwork unless you are a professional artist.
7. Don't write more than one page.
8. Don't say that your manuscript is copyrighted.
9. Don't say that you are unpublished, or use bad publishing credits.
10. Don't use coloured paper, fancy fonts etc.
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1. The rules do apply to you, no matter how wonderful you think your book is. If you ignore a publisher's guidelines, chances are your manuscript or sample chapters will go straight into the trash.
The guidelines may specify certain information that should be included in the query letter, but more commonly it will specify what should accompany the letter. Your letter should refer to the enclosures, but make sure you only submit what is requested. For example, if the guidelines say they want three sample chapters and an outline, don't send them your entire manuscript.
2. The editor will likely stop reading your letter if they read something like "My book will be the next "Harry Potter" or "I guarantee you it will sell 10 million copies". Even somewhat lesser claims such as "This would make a great movie" should be avoided as they make you look like an amateur.
3. Remember, the query letter is the first piece of writing that the editor reads, and if they are left with a bad impression, chances are they will not bother to read any further.
There is no excuses for making spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors in your query letter (whatever you do, don't spell the editor's or publishing house's name wrong). In addition to using the "spellcheck" in your word processing software, find trusted people to proofread it, or you can even hire a professional.
4. Almost every child enjoys getting the attention of being read a story, so resist the urge to say that your children, grandchildren, friend's children etc. loved your manuscript. It may make you feel good inside, but from an editor's point of view, this just makes you look like an amateur.
5. By saying that the book will appeal to all children, the editor will suspect that your book will in fact not appeal to anyone. Your book should be targeted to an identifiable age range, and to readers of a particular genre. Remember, even bestselling books like the "Harry Potter" series do not appeal to everyone.
6. Unless you are a professional artist, submitting artwork is a big no-no. The same goes for submitting artwork by a relative, friend etc even if they are a professional artist. If a publisher accepts your manuscript, they will select the illustrator.
7. Your query letter should be succint and no more than one page. There are many sample query letters on the internet you can look at for guidance on how to keep your letter to short and to the point.
8. In most countries your writing is automatically protected by copyright, and you don't need to use the copywrite symbol. You can register the copyright, but this is something the publisher will do.
9. Don't draw attention to the fact that you are an unpublished author, or use publishing credits that aren't really real (e.g. if you were published in one of those poetry/anthology "contests" that every entrant "wins").
If you are only self-published, make sure you do not state that you are a published author as this is misleading (i.e. say you are a self-published author instead).
10. Resist the urge to make your query letter stand out by using colours, pictures, fancy fonts etc. It will make your letter stand out, but not in a good way.
If you are an editor, what are some of your pet peeves when it comes to query letters? If you are a writer, what additional suggestions do you have?
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