Editors and Market Research

Writing a kids book is easy! You come up with a romantic idea and your gutt feeling tells you it's a number one book seller for sure! That's the easy part.  But, after you've written the book I suggest sending it to an editor, not a friend, but a professional.  After, what I thought was a finished book ready to print, I had a friend read it and let me tell ya...she wasn't shy in offering suggestions. Depending on the friend you have, he or she could be too helpful like some junior hairstylist hacking off all your hair because she thought it would look "cool" but not knowing what they were doing; or not helpful at all and offering that, "ohhhh it's so great" advice. My editor is Debbie Bazzet from Kelowna BC. She is absolutley WONDERFUL! She is my saving grace!

So get a proffesional EDITOR!

Next, do  your market research. For example, a couple of years back everyone was putting out an "ABC" book but putting their own twist like ABC Firemans, or ABC Logging, or Alphabad are some examples. If you are thinking of doing this type of book, I would really think twice. The market is flooded with these types of books. If you've bought a book and you really like the style, topic, or content, ask your bookstore or librarian for other books which are similar. Find out how many other books are like the one you like. If there is more than one, I would not suggest pursuing that type of book if you are thinking of writing one similar.

Publishers and agents are always looking for something different. Something they haven't seen before.