Everything You Need to Know About Children's Publishing

Live Introduction: February 17 at noon (EST). New content added every Monday, February 24 - April 13; with your one-to-one consultation set up between April 1 - May 31

This specialty online workshop is designed to give you a comprehensive look at how the children’s book publishing industry works. You will gain understanding of all processes associated with submitting, producing, and selling a trade book or magazine article. Workshop leader Harold Underdown, and his special guests will share details about the editorial development process, including what to do once you have a finished book. Included in the price, you'll have a customized consultation, including a manuscript review, following the 9-part course. Each session (including the LIVE sessions) are available to you after the date listed. Please note that you may access the content until 3 months after the workshop ends.

Session Titles & Workshop Details

  • LIVE: February 17 Session One: Introduction to the Crash Course
    1. Faculty introductions
    2. Chapter-by-chapter review
    3. Thinkific design
    4. Writer and Illustrator introductions, and goal setting


  • February 24 Session Two: Books, Publishers, Markets and More
    1. Types and genres in the children's book industry
    2. Types of publishers, and who's who
    3. Today's children's book market
    4. Additional resources, including Matthew Winner's "Writers Are Readers" and more!


  • March 2 Session Three: Your Manuscript and What Happens Next
    1. Building your industry knowledge
    2. SCBWI, critique groups, & kids
    3. Revision
    4. Additional resources, including the newly announced ALA and YALSA award winning book list, and more!

  • March 9 Session Four: Getting Started as a Professional with Leah Henderson and Harold Underdown
    1. Getting started as a writer
    2. Finding community, caring for yourself as a creative, and dedicating time to your craft
    3. Additional resources, including "You're Never Too Old to Write" and more!

  • March 16 Session Five: Digging into the Work, more with Leah Henderson, including 4 creative exercises
    1. Knowing Your Characters
      1. Character Backstory
      2. Little Known Facts
      3. Character voice
      4. Character interview
      5. Place as character
    2. Additional resources, including "Kidlit Illustrators Share Tips and Tricks," and more!

  • March 23 Session Six: Researching and Submitting
    1. Publishers and Editors
    2. Agents & What They Do
    3. Submissions
    4. Additional resources including, "Query Writing is All About the Pitch" and more!


  • March 30 Session Seven: Getting the Deal
    1. Acquisitions 
    2. The Contract
      1. Understanding terms and royalties
    3. What to WATCH OUT for
    4. Additional resources including "Believing After 10 Rejections" and more!


  • April 6 Session Eight: The Deal, Continued...
    1. Developmental editing, line-editing, copyediting and proofreading.
    2. Design and illustration
    3. Production
    4. Marketing
    5. Distribution
    6. The "End" 
    7. Additional resources including a video highlighting self-publishing in today's market, and more!


  • LIVE April 13 Session Nine: Where do we go from here? Includes a live session with Harold Underdown to talk about goals, consultations, and more!

Course Snapshot

  • Lectures

    Keynote lectures, and additional video resources

  • Community Connections

    Post reflections, questions, and make connections in the Community Boards

  • Resources

    In addition to resources related to each session, you will have a custom consultation with an industry professional to review your creative goals and journey into the Children's Book Industry

Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing

Faculty

Faculty

Harold Underdown

Harold Underdown is an independent editor and publishing consultant; he does critiques, helps to develop manuscripts, does strategic consulting, and provides other services for individuals and publishers. Harold enjoys teaching, and in that role wrote The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Children’s Book Publishing, now in its third edition. He founded and runs “The Purple Crayon,” a respected web site with information about the children’s publishing world at www.underdown.org. He speaks and gives workshops through the Highlights Foundation, SCBWI’s national and regional conferences, and Kid’s Book Revisions (offering online and on-site tutorials, webinars, retreats, and workshops in partnership with Eileen Robinson: www.kidsbookrevisions.com). As an in-house editor, he worked at Macmillan, Orchard, and Charlesbridge, and has experience in trade and educational publishing.