Client InformationCobblestone Publishing
http://www.cobblestonepub.com/--
Go to Publisher's Weekly Homepage at: http://www.bookwire.com/pw/pw.html and look for PW Daily. It is a free newsletter with some interesting info once in a while. There is also a people section on this website that tells you who has been hired and who has left different publishing houses. Good to check out once in a while for mailings.LindaSW
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CICADACicada, POB 300, Peru, IL USA 61354. Editor-in-Chief: Marianne Carus. Editor: Deborah Vetter. Pub. bimonthly. Literary magazine for teenagers and young adults, published by the Cricket Magazine group. For ages 14 and up, publishes original short stories, poems, and first-person essays written for teens and young adults. In some cases, CICADA purchases rights for excerpts from books yet to be published. Each issue also includes several reprints of high-quality selections. Measures 5.5" x 8.5", 128 pp, full-color cover, perfect bound. B&w illustrations. For sample issues, send $8.50; requests from foreign countries must be accompanied by International Postal Reply Coupons valued at US$8.50. Please do NOT send a check or money order.
"CICADA would like to reach as many authors and illustrators as possible for original contributions, but our standards are very high, and we will accept only top-quality material. PLEASE DO NOT QUERY FIRST. CICADA will consider any manuscripts or art samples sent on speculation and accompanied by a SASE. For art, send tearsheets or photoprints/photocopies. PLEASE DO NOT send original artwork. Be sure that each sample is marked with your name, address, and phone number. Allow 12 weeks for a reply."
MANUSCRIPTS: Fiction - realistic, contemporary, humor, fantasy, science fiction (main protagonist should be 14 or older; stories should have a genuine teen sensibility and be aimed at readers in high school or college). Non-fiction - first-person experiences that are relevant and interesting to teenagers. Poetry - serious or humorous, rhymed or free verse. Other - book reviews providing in-depth, thoughtful commentary. Length - fiction/articles: up to 5,000 wds, novellas: up to 15,000 wds (runs one novella per issue), poems: up to 25 lines, book reviews: 300-700 wds. "An exact word count should be noted on each manuscript submitted. For poetry, indicate number of lines instead. Word count includes every word, but does not include the title of the manuscript or the author's name."
RATES: Fiction and articles: up to 25c/wd. Poems: up to $3/line. Pays on publication. Address all mss to Submissions Editor, all art samples to Ron McCutchan, Senior Art Director, all inquiries re: rights nad permissions to Mary Ann Hocking.
RIGHTS: for previously unpublished stories and poems, buys first publication rights in English language as well as additional rights option. Also request right to reprint the work in any volume or anthology published by Carus Publishing Company upon payment of half the original fee. (from Cicada)
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I don't want to gloat here but I can pass along some tips that came with my Cricket assignment recently. First they said that they get some of their stories w/illus. from a French magazine and that these are of (because of the European culture) mostly white children. Therefore they are looking for people to add in multiethnic children. Also when doing animals for young children, no parts of the animal should be cut off. In other words, if a horse is only shown with three legs, young children will think horses have only three legs. Not that everyone should redo your samples you send to them, but think twice before you bypass the ethnic children for the white bread ones.Hope this is helpful,
Denise O.
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Their pay (Cricket's) is not phenomenal, however, and they make you pay for additional copies other than the whole 2 they give you. They used to give tearsheets.--
Frank Schaffer - It is usually B/w work and not much glory and the pay isn't as high as Silver Burdett and Ginn ...but it helps to pay the bills and a place to get published. A must is that you can draw fast and furious and can do kids/aminals with very little reference as you normally don't have time to get it all line up. So if anyone is interested I can E you privately with some info.Terri
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Here's info on a children's book publisher some may wish to add to their mailing list:Carol Wright
Illumination Arts
PO Box 1865
Bellevue, WA 98009
fax 425-646-4144
888-210-8216
liteinfo@illumin.com
www.illumin.com
Home office: P.O. Box 402, Eastsound, WA 98245
360-376-4014, fax 360-376-2440, cwright@rockisland.com--
"I don't think this way is any easier, but I send for their catalogs..."A good way to do this is to attend the Book Fair in your city, if your city has one. If you have a city! San Francisco has a great fair, it costs about $5 to get in, and I collect a bazillion catalogs that way.
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According to the new CWIM, there's a searchable database of over 1000 publisher's writer's guidelines at http://www.writersdigest.com. This isn't just children's publishers though.The Children's Book Council is another source of info at http://www.cbcbooks.org. Children's Writer newsletter is a good source for the kind of manuscripts publishers are currently looking for. I think if you call the Institute of Children's Literature at 1-800-243-9645 they can tell you how to subscribe. It's a very worthwhile newsletter for children's writers.
As for artist's guidelines, I've never found them to be of much help. They usually just say not to send in original art. I send for publisher's catalogs to find out if their line is compatible with my art before I send them any samples. And then I send them my samples unsolicited with a cover letter, reply card and SASE. Your local children's librarian would probably let you look at their collection of publisher's catalogs too.
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"If a publisher releases a lot of realistic watercolor picture books, does that mean they'll be less likely to publish cartoony colored penciled stuff, even though the subject is the same?"I think you're right in assuming this. If they don't show any cartoony colored penciled stuff it's probably because the editor or A.D. have other preferences.
I evaluate publishers catalogs based both on style and subject matter. If my style seems compatible AND I like the subject of their books I'll send them samples.
Looking at publisher's catalogs gives you a wealth of information to decide if the publisher is appropriate for you, too. You can see their professional standards, get an idea of how well they pay their artists, how many books they publish in a year, how long they've been in business, who their other illustrators and authors are, etc.
Phyllis