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pete m
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Is this an appropriate place to upload my young childrens manuscripts? Having perused the site, it seems that most are for novellists and short story writers (though i do have quite a few unfinished novel manuscripts!) My children's books are only between 700 and 1000 words long.
Suitable? YES or NO.
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Tabby
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Quote: pete m, Wednesday, 14 May 2008 15:57Is this an appropriate place to upload my young childrens manuscripts? Having perused the site, it seems that most are for novellists and short story writers (though i do have quite a few unfinished novel manuscripts!) My children's books are only between 700 and 1000 words long. Suitable? YES or NO. Hi Pete I'd say there's no harm in trying, it depends on what you want from the site, but bear in mind that there aren't that many reviewers who will know much about kids books especially for the younger reader. I'm presuming that your word length is indicative of work for maybe 4-5 or even younger picture books. I'm a children's writer albeit for the age group 8 and above and there are other children's writers here too, so you wouldn't be alone. With that word count you aren't eligible to enter the top ten but if I may, and you aren't already a member, there is always SCBWI, if you decide on an alternative review route for these particular mss. Hope that helps. Tabby 
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allie
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Quote: Tabby, Wednesday, 14 May 2008 16:06Quote: pete m, Wednesday, 14 May 2008 15:57Is this an appropriate place to upload my young childrens manuscripts? Having perused the site, it seems that most are for novellists and short story writers (though i do have quite a few unfinished novel manuscripts!) My children's books are only between 700 and 1000 words long. Suitable? YES or NO. Hi Pete I'd say there's no harm in trying, it depends on what you want from the site, but bear in mind that there aren't that many reviewers who will know much about kids books especially for the younger reader. I'm presuming that your word length is indicative of work for maybe 4-5 or even younger picture books. I'm a children's writer albeit for the age group 8 and above and there are other children's writers here too, so you wouldn't be alone. With that word count you aren't eligible to enter the top ten but if I may, and you aren't already a member, there is always SCBWI, if you decide on an alternative review route for these particular mss. Hope that helps. Tabby In my time I have read loads of books to all ages of children. I'm not sure where Tabby gets her information from about members of this site not being able to review certain categories. As a suggestion though, why not upload a few at a time to meet the word count? I hope I get assigned some of your stories
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Tabby
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In my time I have read loads of books to all ages of children. I'm not sure where Tabby gets her information from about members of this site not being able to review certain categories.
As a suggestion though, why not upload a few at a time to meet the word count?
I hope I get assigned some of your stories
My information is based purely from several members reviewing my work and saying thay don't know anything about reading kids books and find it hard to comment.
I agree that it is a good thing to review in genres you know nothing about but as a writer it is also best to be aware that the reviewers may not understand the market. Unless the reviewer reads kids books of today, which I do voraciously, it can be hard to offer constructive opinion if your knowledge is based on books from your own childhood, (although, of course, that depends on your current age).
I'm just wary for Pete because if his work is along the lines of picture books, then that is a different ball game altogether and I was offering SCBWI as a specialised society for children's writers. You have to pay to join but that's all they specialise in - writing for children of all age groups.
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pete m
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Dear Tabby and Allie
Thank you kindly for your responses. I shall indeed upload them
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pete m
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What's SCBWI ? Please escuse my ignorance.  Quote: allie, Thursday, 15 May 2008 12:37Quote: Tabby, Wednesday, 14 May 2008 16:06Quote: pete m, Wednesday, 14 May 2008 15:57Is this an appropriate place to upload my young childrens manuscripts? Having perused the site, it seems that most are for novellists and short story writers (though i do have quite a few unfinished novel manuscripts!) My children's books are only between 700 and 1000 words long. Suitable? YES or NO. Hi Pete I'd say there's no harm in trying, it depends on what you want from the site, but bear in mind that there aren't that many reviewers who will know much about kids books especially for the younger reader. I'm presuming that your word length is indicative of work for maybe 4-5 or even younger picture books. I'm a children's writer albeit for the age group 8 and above and there are other children's writers here too, so you wouldn't be alone. With that word count you aren't eligible to enter the top ten but if I may, and you aren't already a member, there is always SCBWI, if you decide on an alternative review route for these particular mss. Hope that helps. Tabby In my time I have read loads of books to all ages of children. I'm not sure where Tabby gets her information from about members of this site not being able to review certain categories. As a suggestion though, why not upload a few at a time to meet the word count? I hope I get assigned some of your stories
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Tabby
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Hi Pete SCBWI - Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I don't know which country you're in but it exists in several countries, so if you're in UK, it'll be British SCBWI. You'll find it on the internet though. It's a very well respected society with many published authors and illustrators, and there are many writers for younger children. Tabby
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songbird
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Quote: pete m, Wednesday, 14 May 2008 15:57Is this an appropriate place to upload my young childrens manuscripts? Having perused the site, it seems that most are for novellists and short story writers (though i do have quite a few unfinished novel manuscripts!) My children's books are only between 700 and 1000 words long. Suitable? YES or NO. YES! Welcome aboard fellow children's writer. Yes, you will certainly get comments that indicate the reader doesn't know a lot about writing for children (e.g. I had a criticism of word repetition in a book for 5 - 7 yr olds) but I think you will get helpful comments. I certainly have. We all get books to review that are nothing like what we would usually read and try to find something helpful to say about them. The only problem is word count - you may have to upload in pairs (or more?) to get inside the word count for a chart position. And if you upload pieces that are only 1,000 words or so, some people will earn a very easy reading credit! 
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pete m
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As ever, dear ladies all. I am indebted to your kindness and the good advice i have received from you.
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Crossmouse
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Quote: pete m, Wednesday, 14 May 2008 15:57Is this an appropriate place to upload my young childrens manuscripts? Having perused the site, it seems that most are for novellists and short story writers (though i do have quite a few unfinished novel manuscripts!) My children's books are only between 700 and 1000 words long. Suitable? YES or NO. Hi Pete. Books for young children are not a problem here but make it very clear that you won't be offended if people remove the review if they aren't interested in kids' books. Double (or more) uploads to make up the word count are quite common, even for v. short adult stories. I had a couple of stories up a while ago and got plenty of feedback, eventually. It was slower than usual but some people actually read the stories to their kids and gave the kids' responses. That was very valuable but a bit of a two edged weapon as, of course, they were used to stories with illustrations and the stories were designed to be illustrated. Ted has been promising us .pdf uploads, which could include graphics, but I think that's some way down the pipe. Good luck Ed
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Genre Question re young childrens books.
14 May 2008, 15:57
