As a new children's author, what publishing company did you choose, and why?

I have my first manuscript completed, now I am researching publishing companies. When you were in my position, who did you go with, and why?As a new children's author, what publishing company did you choose, and why?
If you have not done much or any research into the children's publishing world, I would recommend immersing yourself in that for a little while before making decisions regarding manuscript submission. Honestly, children's publishing is its own little world -- in my opinion, a bit kinder but also much more insular than adult publishing -- and there is so much to learn! For a start, join SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), or at least look them up and see what they're all about. If they're holding a conference in your area anytime soon, go! You'll get to meet with editors, agents, and other authors up close, and ask them questions about anything you'd like to know. Also, if you join the organization, you'll receive a markets guide that has updated information about all the children's publishers, and you'll also get a magazine every quarter with new markets, submission info, and articles about craft. I met my awesome critique group through a SCBWI conference and have networked with editors and agents there, as well.

The next best thing to going to a conference is picking up the Children's Writers and Illustrators Market. It's published and updated every year, and contains a wonderful selection of interviews and craft-related articles, plus a full directory of agents and publishers who accept children's and YA work. Just make sure to double check everything in the book against the agent's or publisher's website -- not because the book is wrong, but because the children's publishing world can change very quickly! Editors and agents move around a lot, so it's important to keep tabs on anyone you're planning to submit to.

I used to work for a children's commercial publisher so you'll have to endure my bias in terms of commercial publishing versus self-publishing. Don't get me wrong -- I think it's awesome that self-publishing technology exists and is so accessible these days, and for some books / genres, it works well. But so many sales of children's books, particularly those for younger children, are based on a kid and / or parent catching sight of a book in a bookstore and being able to flip through it. Additionally, libraries really help drive children's book sales, and it's hard to get distribution of a self-published book in libraries beyond the ones in your own hometown. So while it's not impossible to do well with a SP children's book, it's certainly setting yourself up with a lot of obstacles -- sure, your book will be out there, but how will anyone know about it? Plus, you can't have it both ways with self-pub -- that is, if you self-pub the book and it doesn't do well in terms of sales, you won't be able to just take it off Amazon or whatever and then start submitting it to commercial publishers.

Just some thoughts!As a new children's author, what publishing company did you choose, and why?
My co-author and I tried many publishing companies before deciding to go with self-publishing. The problem with doing that is you do not have a huge corporation with all their marketing strategies backing you up. We initially chose createspace and kindle for our works, but have recently been exploring smashwords because they offer a wider range of digital formats.

If you want to go the traditional route, I highly recommend subscribing to the Writers Market. You can do so online for a very reasonable price. They have many listings of publishers, what they are looking for, and their submission guidelines.

Good luck to you. When you do publish, let me know. I would like to include your book in the lists on our website.