An Overview of the Children’s Fiction Market

Buried in the Slushpile

The Children’s Fiction Market can be divided into six areas based on age. Here’s a handy image with some quick references. Now remember, these are generalizations not hard and fast rules. There are original board books; however, the majority are concept books or books that are from picture books. For that matter, you can find middle grade novels under thirty-thousand words; however, many are thirty-thousand words or more.

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Four Questions, One Query Letter

Aug 31, 2023 | Buried in the Slushpile

Query Letters answer four questions. Seriously. That’s it. That’s all they do. Yes, you’ll see posts (including mine) that will talk about query letters and break them up into paragraphs. But those paragraphs are answering four fundamental questions: 1. Why is this...

Striking Inspiration

Aug 25, 2023 | Buried in the Slushpile

As creatives, we often have no shortage of ideas. In fact, one of the challenges can be sticking to an idea and seeing it all the way through to the end. I don’t know how many times I’ve been mid-book only to get what feels like an even better, more interesting idea....

The Stars of Your Story

Aug 14, 2023 | Buried in the Slushpile

When it comes to writing a children’s book (or a YA), the characters are the most important part! No matter how cool your concept is, if your characters aren't compelling, readers won't care enough to go on the journey with them. So, who is the book about? Here are...