Job Fair Atlanta

what is the best process for getting written work in front of publishers and finding a character illustrator?

I have a short rhyming story that I wrote for my 6 year old daughter.I would like to try to see if a publisher (probably specialising in material for children) might be interested in it. It needs help from illustrations from a good character illustrator, but I don't know how to go about finding one.

Public Comments

1. You need to educate yourself on the writing and publishing industry. www.writing.com is just one of many websites where you can find information
2. Try put an advert up at an art school. Gives them an oppurtunity to get some work on their portfolio and should also be eager.
3. You can get the publishers hand book from w.h.smiths. and as far as i can remember they don't like illustrations from the author.
4. 1 - Make sure you send it to a named person, the actual one who is supposed to read new material... 2 - Make sure it's a company that specially deals in your genre... 3 - Include any other published works that you have (even if it's letters in the papers, or columns in a magazine), they don't like reading unpublished authors, but they will give it a glance if you site your other published stuff... 4 - Don't send in the whole thing, send in an abstract, with the first complete chapter. Make sure your contact details are in small letters, on every page. 5 - Don't take anything personally, sometimes it's just about trends that are in fashion at the time... sometimes it's just about being in the right place at the right time. 6 - Don't do your illustrations... if they like it, they will commission their own illustrations. 7 - Do not self-publish.... nothing looks more amateurish than self published authors. 8 - Take constructive criticism, but don't change the vision. Sometimes in this game, it's more about the journey than the destination. good luck!
5. There is a book called "The writers and artists yearbook", it is revised annually, It lists all the publishing houses, etc and categorises them, so you can easily find which publishers specialise in childrens' material. Generally, if you are a writer you are not expected to be an illustrator and most publishing houses have their own list of artists.