Picture Book Manuscript Done

Hidden Falls above Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park

Whew! It's finished--at least until it gets to an editor at a publisher. Now I'm ready to search out a publisher, find an agent and get to work on the next book project. I also have a few more children's articles up my sleeve that I want to tackle.

The book, The Tail of Chessie--The Heart of God, is nothing like the original version I wrote last summer. It underwent a complete overhaul keeping only the major premise--teaching children about the character of God through a dog. The long process included a professional edit by a children's author, several critiques at Mount Hermon's Writer's Conference, and last but not least, the scrutiny of fellow members of Inspire Christian Writers critique group. It has been seen by no less than nine pairs of eyes with sharp pencils. I really like the book in its current state.

And now for a treat, here's a link to Julie Cantrell's blog on how she got lucky and landed a fabulous agent. Julie is the newly published author of the companion picture books God is with Me through the Night and God is with Me through the Day. I will be following Julie's outline on her blog to make my query and proposal as perfect as possible.  Hope this helps you in your publishing journey.

Educational Markets for Children's Writers

In poking around the web, wanting to learn more about writing for children, I found a great resource on Evelyn Christensen's site. She has posted a list of publishers in the educational market--complete with links to those sites. It is a very comprehensive list. Check it out and give Evelyn a Thank You at her site. You might want to peruse her site. She is a puzzle creator extraordinaire. Fun!

BTW, for those who have inquired, the pictures on my blog (except the Hawaii underwater pic/videos taken by my brother, Paul Getchel) were taken by me.