It's a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World: A Writer's Guide to Surviving and Thriving in Today's Competitive Children's Book Market

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book for Children's Book Writers!
Review: I have been writing children's books and articles about children's books for approximately twenty years. (I am a former teacher and school librarian.) When I began writing full time, I read THE WRITER and WRITER'S DIGEST cover-to-cover each month. And I ordered many of the books those magazines published about writing, preparing mss., querying, marketing etc. I knew that I knew nothing about building characters and plots and less about the publishing industry. Three years after beginning my new career, I was fortunately offered a contract by Franklin Watts for a nonfiction book, PIRATES, now out of print. Well, the publishing industry has stayed the same in some ways but has become even more difficult to break into these days. As much as I've learned about publishing companies over the years, IT'S A BUNNY-EAT-BUNNY WORLD gave me insight into many things I was unaware of. Ms. Litowinsky has been an editor, agent, and author and provides a realistic inside look into publishing houses. (I have read at least 3 of her well-written insightful books.) I am grateful for the new information she gave me. But when she revises this BUNNY BOOK, I hope she will add a chapter on the accuracy of Amazon and BN.com sales rankings and best-selling lists as well as book tracking information. Thank you, Ms. Litowinsky. K.J. McWilliams, author of The Journal of Darien Dexter Duff, an Emancipated Slave, The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo, and The Journal of Leroy Jeremiah Jones, a Fugitive Slave

Rating:
Summary: Like "Watership Down." Only bloodier.
Review: OK, I'm exaggerating.

There aren't any scenes of cute li'l bunnies ripping out each other's throats, but there ARE true and sometimes terrifying tales of what goes on behind the scenes in the children's book trade. Having seen the biz from three sides (author, editor, agent), Olga Litowinsky gives us a frank, refreshing, and often scary alternative to the glut of "Read this and you WILL get published, GUARANTEED!" tomes crowding the shelves.

From editors who steal ideas for successful new book series to editorial meetings where potentially great books meet their end, "It's a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World" takes the reader behind closed doors to see the stuff we're not supposed to see. The book also follows the publishing adventures of a fictionalized author selling his first book and showing the first-time author what to expect after signing on the dotted line. Often, it's another several months of even harder work than writing the manuscript for the book.

Beyond being a guide for writers, "It's a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World" will also give parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else who buys children's books a fascinating insider's view. Once you read it, you'll realize that every cute li'l bunny on the cover of a children's book had to claw his way there.

Rating:
Summary: Hare's to a Great Book about Writing for Children
Review: This is easily one of the best books available about writing for children. It provides a clear explanation about the factors that acquisition editors consider when evaluating manuscripts and explains how to avoid looking like one of those writers who believes that children will read anything so long as it is cute. It also shows how to make a submission look professional and describes the proper etiquette of approaching editors and agents. Several books are available about this subject but this one, in my opinion, gives the most specific, helpful, and realistic advice.