Have you ever wondered how the acquisition of a book actually works? Whenever I do a book signing or school visit, the audience is amazed that it sometimes takes from two years to four or five years before a book is published. It all depends on whether we’re talking about a picture book, which requires a lot of art work, or a chapter book or novel, which usually don’t require illustrations.  It all starts with your manuscript and whether an editor is interested enough to make an offer. Has he or she fallen in love with your story and believes in it enough to make it into a book? This gets the ball rolling. The acquisition process has started. There’s nothing more thrilling for a writer than getting that first offer.

If you’re interested in how it all works from beginning to end, visit children’s book editor, Harold Underdown’s blog. You’ll find his article, “The Acquistion Process: From Submission to Contract,” full of interesting details.  You will also find a lot of other tidbits for writers on his blog.  Wishing you a productive writing day.