What publishers love...what publishers despise...and how to properly format a picture book manuscript for submission to a publishing house.

My creative baby was ugly, at least that's what I thought.

I was finished. Finally finished with my first children's book manuscript - a 55-verse children's poem. I had worked on it for weeks - whenever I could - and among the torn-out, stapled spiral pages, and the jots on memo and used printer paper, the semblance of the work took shape. It asked to be assembled, collated and edited to form. Yes, really, it was supposed to be longer (unbelievable) but since I'm one of those writers that edits as I go, it seemed to find its own com

I don't really remember the exact day that it came about, but I do remember that I'd decided to take a nap. Nothing feels better to a pregnant woman than some great sleep - the kind of sleep that doesn't visit very often in the third trimester. That day, I was ready, it was the couch...and my pillow was in that special configuration (I love it when that happens). Just as I was dozing off, an idea for a poem - a dream-story - started taking shape in my mind. Two toy characters

Think about your favorite childhood picture book – the one book – you opened time and time again. For me, it was A Kiss for Little Bear, by Else Minarik, illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Although we may never know exactly why any one particular book struck our fancy, as adults, we do know that picture books are important to developmental literacy in children. While there are many reasons, and much discussion on the subject, here are my top five: 1. Snuggle time! Picture books p