So you think you can write a children's book, do you? If it was as easy as we all thought, though, we'd all be JK Rowling. I spoke with Wendy McClure, Associate Editor at Albert Whitman & Company, which is a small, independent publisher. She has some advice for those of you trying to get your book through the door:

You don't absolutely need an agent to get a children's book published--lots of houses are open to unagented submissions. The downside is that these same houses are swamped.

If it seems like children's book writer forums are really horrifyingly preoccupied with guidelines and format rules and all these hoops to jump through, it's because children's publishers' slush piles are even sloppier than at other kinds of houses. You know how weird people on the bus tell you they've written a children's book? Yeah. My main advice is: PLEASE JUMP THROUGH THOSE HOOPS, because the volume of work sent by amateurs and "dabblers" makes it that much harder for editors to cultivate relationships with the better writers who show potential. I get a lot of things from decent writers who have good ideas but who have no idea how long a picture book manuscript should be. So you can't just have a good idea.

Pet peeve 1: Writers from other disciplines who seem to think that the entire world of children's books was totally wimpy and unfunny until THEY showed up. They're like the obnoxious hipster uncles who assume that all grownups are uptight, except THEM.

Pet peeve 2: I don't need to hear writers' philosophies about children or children's writing in cover letters. I think a lot of people feel that "Children's Book Writer" is a special role for which they have to prove themselves. I don't care! Do it on your own time.

Pet peeve 3: No matter how talented your artist friend is, it's not a good idea to get him to illustrate an unpublished story. It might be an interesting exercise, but collaborations are very hard to sell and it's not how most publishers like to work (we pair author and illustrators). I've seen very professional-looking collaborative proposals produced by people in advertising or other creative fields get rejected just as quickly as the stories with awkward drawings that the writers got their poor nephews to draw. That's maybe my biggest aggravation—reading a submission where someone has put all their energy into making something look like a children's book when their time would have been better spent looking at my company's catalog to see what our needs are.

If you still think you're up for it, Ms. McClure has provided some links that might be useful to you:

The Purple Crayon, which is run by a children's book editor, who is also the author of The Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books.

The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Wendy says, "It's a good offline link and a professional organization. It's almost essential to join them or go to one of their events."

The website of Sharyn November, who is a children's book editor with her own imprint, Firebird. More advice from her here.

This author just got a book deal, plus if you're into that kind of thing, is involved in a 'discussion' with the blogger known as Old Hag.