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Every monthly issue of Children’s Writer brings you pointers from experts and current market tips like these:

Tip: According to our annual surveys of juvenile publishing, over 100 children’s book imprints and magazines are withdrawn every year while 125-150 are added. Children’s Writer reports these important comings and goings in every issue.

Tip: Newly-formed book publishers offer prime opportunities for writers, so we report all arrivals.  Recent ones include Orbit Books, a sci-fi imprint from Hachette Book Group; Blue Dolphin Publishing with middle-grade readers; Mitten Press with picture and chapter books; Smith & Sons with adventure, fantasy, and sci-fi for tweens; and Pinestein Press, looking for humor, horror, mystery, and sci-fi.

Tip: Board books, concept books, novelty books, and picture books for the very young look simple. They’re not. Children’s Writer keeps you on top of all that is happening in these exciting categories.

Tip: Several editors and book packagers explain why activity books and novelty books, both interactive, are an important part of children’s publishing.  In part it’s because they teach important information and skills in interesting ways—and there’s a growing market for them.

Tip: Editors from Babybug, Humpty Dumpty’s, Highlights, High Five, Turtle, Click, Ladybug, and others explain how to craft a publishable preK story.

Tip: Many writers started their careers in activities and rebuses. Editors from Spider, Highlights, Sparkle, Click, Hopscotch, Boys’ Quest, and Fun For Kidz all say you should consider it too.

Tip: Short folktales, fairy tales, and rewritten myths will find a home in today’s children’s magazines as long as the “enchantment” factor is high. So say editors from Highlights for Children, Cricket and Spider, Jack And Jill, Skipping Stones, U*S*Kids, and others.

Tip: Fiction editors are generally not looking for writers to propose series, like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Most editors want one solid story, and the possibility for more books may come later. Series are shorter now and more edgy. For many nonfiction publishers, ideas for a series—or additions to an existing series—are welcome.

Tip: Highlights’ hugely respected Senior Editor Marileta Robinson tells us that “the easiest way to break in is with a craft, puzzle, or activity, but we also publish stories and articles by previously unpublished authors.”

Tip: Children’s Book Press is “looking for stories by Latino and Chinese American authors,” says Executive Editor Dana Goldberg.

Tip: Many a writer is intrigued by the idea of having an agent. What can one do for you? How do you approach them? How do you choose one? What’s standard compensation? Children’s Writer follows agents and tells you what’s what.

Tip: When Eve Bunting’s Smoky Night, set during the Los Angeles riots, won the Caldecott Medal, the controversy started. Should picture books avoid troublesome social issues? Children’s Writer concluded that writers can and should address social issues, but without assaulting young readers’ tender sensibilities.

Tip:  The teen market is booming behind the surge in the teen population, already 80 million strong and not yet peaking. Editors from HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Walker Books say that they especially want books on relationships, friendships, and romance.

Tip: Inspirational writing is a booming market, including nonfiction, anthologies and essay collections, and magazines. Poetry, personal experience pieces, nostalgia, humor, profiles, as-told-to stories, and action/adventure true stories are all in demand.

In every issue you’ll get valuable

market tips and expert pointers on writing:

Pointer: Experts review the basics of rhyming texts for picture books. Sample advice: read poetry aloud; listen to other people read it to train your ear; and concentrate on your verbs while eliminating adjectives.

Pointer: Ten pointers on how to effectively work with picture book editors.

Pointer: Fantasy books are still selling well even after the Harry Potter phenomenon. Editors and publishers from Eldridge Publishing, Flux Books, Moose Hide Books, Mirrorstone, and others talk about key ingredients in a good fantasy such as compelling and fully developed characters, an exciting and adventurous sequence of events, and a convincingly built world.

Pointer: Work-for-hire contracts may not be writer-friendly, but they are increasingly popular with publishers. What do you do when confronted with one?

Pointer: Many local and regional book publishers have strong marketing niches that local writers can fill best, where homegrown perspective and an insider's point of view are needed. The good news: There are several such publishers near you.

Pointer: At Clubhouse, Managing Editor Jesse Florea reports that crafts and recipes, quizzes, and 900-word nonfiction pieces are the best opportunities for new writers.

Pointer: New magazines are prime markets.  Some recent launches include National Geographic Little Kids, looking for animal stories for 3- to 6-year-olds; Fandangle Magazine wants entertaining fiction and nonfiction with subtle life lessons; Young Urban Viewz, articles that expose teens to real life issues; Go! Magazine wants queries geared to its editorial calendar, available online.

Pointer: Contests are great training grounds for writers: you have to write to a spec and on a deadline. That’s why Children’s Writer conducts two contests a year with cash prizes up to $500 per manuscript. But there are lots of other excellent contests. We spoke with editors, judges, and entrants, and evaluated the major contests for you.

Pointer: How to squeeze more writing time out of every 24 hours: The advantages of working very early or very late; what you should never write about; and 10 more down-to-earth, practical tips to help you get more down on paper every day.

Watch Children’s Writer for these

upcoming articles and features:

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You can have a real impact on preK readers, but it requires skill and care to write for these children.

Openings are key to attracting readers . . . and editors, too. Learn some tricks from the pros.

Real-life adventures are very popular with editors.

Older reader picture books represent a writing niche you might want to try.

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