Writing and Publishing Books for Children in the 1990s: The Inside Story from the Editor's Desk

Rating:
Summary: Helpful, although a little out of date.
Review: I found this book very helpful as I started writing for children. I could write the stories but didn't know what to do after that. She writes from an editor's point of view and that is good information to have. She tells you the dos and don'ts of trying to get published. I only wish she would write a book about how to get it done in year 2000 and beyond.

Rating:
Summary: Good overview, but dated in parts
Review: This is a really good general overview of writing and publishing for children, complete with a brief history of the childrens,' JA, and YA publishing history, how censors operate and how to combat them, what to do after you've been published, and how to write a picture book. I think, though, that the advice Ms. Litowinsky gave on sending an unsolicited manuscript was out of date even when this book was written. That is one way to gt published, particularly if you follow her advice of getting to know the editor to whom you're sending it, but chances are you'll get nowhere if you don't have an agent (which she doesn't endorse that heartily), and even if you do do all of your homework in getting to know who's who in the publishing house, books similar to yours which that editor in particular worked on, even saying that you heard the editor speaking at a conference you attended or that a well-known friend of yours recommended him or her, your manuscript will still probably sit unnnoticed in the slush pile because no matter what it's still an unsolicited manuscript. Nowadays the best way to go is to get an agent first, or if you want to do it the old-fashioned way, sent a query letter and synopsis first, with sample chapters if the publishing house requires it. You'll get a reply faster, and you won't have spent unneeded postage money on a gamble that, if it does pay off, probably won't pay off for quite a long time.

I write historical fiction, and Ms. Litowinsky focuses by and large on writing books set in contemporary settings. She adds that most children aren't interested in reading books about history outside of school, and only recommends writing in this genre if it really really interests you. She also says that a book about something pivotal often only sells well or gets published if it's an anniversary year, like 1995 having been the fiftieth anniversary of the end of WWII, and only if it's interesting and written well will it still be read after that year. If you're really interested in those events, why not write about them regardless of whether their anniversary is coming up or not? She also recommends naming your characters after your friends' children, or to look in birth announcements to find them. I know that many of my fellow writers are very interested in names by virtue of being writers...why would you want your character to have an ordinary name like Tyler or Ashley when you can have an unforgettable character with a more unusual and memorable moniker like Ammiel or Eulalia?

Still, this is only a general overview, and there are a lot of good books and magazines referenced in the back pages. It's not meant to be the end-all and be-all of childrens' writing and publishing; a good writer goes with his or her heart, even if that means writing in a genre that isn't as popular among young people as something like fiction set in contemporary times.