BellaOnline Forums Career Writing for Children Registering your story

Should I be scared a publisher will take my story idea if I am sending my finished story to publishers to gain interest? Is there an association like the screenwriters guild for screenwriters where you can register your script and they can�t use the idea?

Killah

First, no you shouldn't be scared that this will happen.

two, wow, it must be a good idea if you think a publisher would steal it.

three, you can copyright your work with the US Copyright Office.

You can copyright your own work simply by claiming the copyright. Write "copyright" along with the date and your name on the work. Among the advantages of computers is that they record when actions are taken. If you type a copyright on your work today, there is a record of when it happend.

This isn't quite as good as a government issued copyright. Another method of protection that isn't quite as good is to have your signature notarized on a few pages. Cost you a buck or two.

The story is finished. The artist is finishing the art work now. We want to pitch the book to publishers as finished and either sell it or work out some kind of royalty deal. Basically we want the publishers to have to do the least ammount of work possible. The story is very mass market and is very cute!..Very marketable.

Thanks,

Killah

Just to add to what FrankJBN said, there is no real need to copyright your work unless you're sending it to a dodgy publisher - vanity publishing for example. Make sure you research what publishers to send it to, reputable publishers who publish similar books. That's crucial.

Remember also that many publishers don't like it if you submit to more than one at a time. You can of course still do this, just don't mention it in your covering letter. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> They won't find out since it's sooooo unlikely that more than one would take it up, no matter how sparklingly brilliant we all think our work is.

As for the deal, publishers rarely buy your book so you should expect the royalties option to be the one offered. If it isn't, or even if it is, you can maybe get someone like The American Society of Authors and Writers - http://amsaw.org/ - to look over the contract.

Don't forget me when you get your first royalty cheque. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

First, I agree with everyone else here. It is important to copyright your work with the copyright office. It is there to save you any problems in the future. It's not that expensive either. I would copyright my work before sending the completed copy to any publisher, legit or otherwise.

BTW, I have a novel out although it isn't a children's novel but I did copyright immediately upon completion. It saved me major headaches down the road I am sure.

Paisley

Also be aware that you may find it more difficult to get publishers to accept your illustrator - they may want to assign their own. You may be better off targetting publishers who state that they accept submissions from freelance illustrators.

Elle:
I agree with you.
I had this happen to me early last spring.
All set with my book with "my" illustrations when I found out the hard way that most agents and publishers frown, and frown deeply, when you submit illustrated material. However, I do see many books that are written and illustrated by the author, however, the first time out of the gate is not a good time to submit an entire package.

I would suggest that you save your own illustrations for your website. That way you offer unique extras to your readers who have gone looking for you on the Internet, and you don't bug publishers with stuff they're not interested in. Even JK Rowling did this with her site.

And you know what else? When I really looked into what it took to present illustrations to a publisher, I found that they don't always just want what you drew for that particular project. Oh no, many times they want to see your portfolio. And I didn't have one. I had the drawings I did for one story. I couldn't show them different medias and whatnot.