Publications for children are targeted primarily to reading level. Books for infants are written to assist the development of language, giving parents a tool to help their child relate objects to words. Simple, basic pictures and words or even letters alone are the focus. As children begin to read, stories with beginning, middle and end become more important. Books for kindergarten through second grade generally involve simple content in straight forward language that depicts primary relationships between people, animals and objects in the world. Fantasy at this stage is a wonderful tool to capture the child's imagination and to encourage her to read. A bulldozer can speak, animals can dress in human clothes and do human things and a cow can jump over the moon. Third through fifth grade readers are on their way to more complex thinking and can be challenged by more conceptual writing styles and stories that address their psychological development. Before you start writing, decide from a publication standpoint who your primary readers will be. Writing to the meet the direct developmental needs of each audience is essential to successful publication in the children's industry.
Most publishing houses will provide guidelines that indicate whether or not a children's story can be submitted with illustrations. The bigger groups in particular commonly prefer text-only submissions. If they like your story, they will assign their own artists to the illustration process. Many times, even the companies that do accept illustrations as part of the pitch will accept your story but not the submitted illustrations. If you are fully committed to both story and illustrations, do your research well and find publishing houses that will accept both. By the same token, if you are a great writer and are willing to let the illustrations take on a life of their own through the publishing process, you are free to submit almost anywhere.
Children's publication is highly competitive. It is important to research options for your story thoroughly and to follow guidelines closely. A good exercise is to go to the book store and spend some time in the children's section reviewing categories, writing styles and story topics in detail. Write down the names of publishing companies that publish stories compatible to your style. Ask yourself what types of stories are missing in the library of titles available. Review story depth and language use by reading level. When you sit down to write your story, fill in the story gaps, use the trends creatively and target your style to the reader. Once you have submitted your story, package a second pitch to another company and put it by the door. Thousands of submissions are received by publishing houses every day, and the review process is impersonal. When a rejection letter comes, mail the next package. Perseverance is the key to success. Keep writing. Keep researching. Keep submitting. Do not give up.