What are good publishers for childrens books?
This is the most difficult area of publishing to break into. I just finished ghostwriting two children’s books for a very major publisher (one of the giants) and a celebrity who shall go unnamed. This is how the children’s book market breaks down right now. 1) About 40% of the market is controlled by celebrities like Madonna, Jamie Lee Curtis etc. Celebrity kids books sell. 2) Another 40% is controlled by tried and true kids authors like Eric Carle etc. They sell too. 3) Another 15 – 20% is controlled by reprints of classic kids books like Curious George etc. They sell also. That leaves at best 5% for new authors. And lately adult authors like Carl Hiaasen and one of those Higgins Clark women have entered the kids market – reducing your 5% and practically slamming the door on new authors. In addition, major publishers like the one I write for have huge backlogs of books they have contracted with but haven’t gotten out yet. Kids books take a LONG time to come out. Therefore, many major
