I've started writing picture books fairly recently. No sales yet, though. We had a visit by Bruce Coville at a SCBWI conference here in Nashville, and I'm planning to go back and revise everything in accordance with what I learned from him.

A "beginning reader" book doesn't typically have that high of a word count.  Children who are learning to read (which is what that catagory is) are still learning their phonetics and tend to loose interest after just a few pages. Maybe simply changing the catagory to Children's book (sounds appropriate for about a seven or eight-year-old for length) or Young Reader dependant upon the subject and writing style would be better.  This way you wouldn't have to change the story itself.  My older brother has a tendency to re-write his work so much that the original storyline gets lost in translation ... that or by the time he's done the age group he originally wrote for is no longer appropriate.  The length and catagories was something that took me a while to get used to when I started writing for children.  To give you an idea of what publishers are looking for you can try going to some of their webpages and see what their guidelines are.  One of the more recent ones I've gone to myself is Cricket Magazine.  It's part of a group of magazines meant for a variety of ages ... different magazines for different ages ... and thier guidelines are very clear about what lengths (pages and words) they accept for the different age groups and "readers".  I hope this was helpful.Live, Laugh, and Be Well!

I want to do the best I can do when it comes to writing for children. " Jake I love you, yes I do, but I can't believe what you've put me through," is one story about a child and a dog and learning responsibility.  I love to read the manuscript over and over to work the kinks out of the rhyme and to make sure the story line is working all the way through. 

I've been reading a lot of posts and and get the feeling that it's way too hard to get published? They say it takes money to make money.  It's going to take some postage.  It's goiing to take some diligence in studying the markets and keep submitting. 

If you truly love writing for children then keep at it.  My "little" children that I've written for and find inspiration to write for have grown up  They are all taller than me!  Now I have some children at church and school that I keep in contact with.  I need to keep understanding what children are going through...and what kind of story may meet their need.

Oct 10, 2008 -- 9:55AM, Maggie wrote:

Before I started writing on business, I wrote many children's books. Over 20 I think. Is there anyone out there who writes for children? Though I've put away that hat temporarily, it's still my greatest love.

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

I've written several PB's and have sent out many a manuscript and recieved many a rejection letter. That is to be expected in this business. Some rejection letters are good and some are just form letters. But either way, its all good experience. I learn things everytime. I am continuing my education efforts by attending conferences and workshops as well. You would think that writing for children wouldn't be such a complicated effort, but it there is much to be learned yet. The process is making me an even better person for having gone through it though. I really believe in my work and desire to be published. I believe my books will be most inspirational to children and parents. I stick to the motto - "When at first you don't succeed, try, try again." You have to be persistant in this business to get anyway. Many, many famous writer's such as Dr. Suise were rejected hundreds of times before they found success.