Louise Jordan has worked for many years in children’s publishing. She is currently a reader for Puffin and runs The Writers Advice Center for Children’s books in London, a literary consultancy service.

There are many books in the market for new writers, but very few for children’s book writers, so this book is the essential guide for all those who don’t know how to go about it.

How to Write for Children and Get Published is not just another how-to book; it is a self-study mini-course, teaching thoroughly the aspiring writer how to approach children’s writing and succeed. ‘Treat this book rather as you would a correspondence course,’ Jordan writes. ‘Start at the beginning with Lesson One and progress through to the end of the book.’

Packed with excellent advice and practical exercises, this book includes invaluable information on the market, the technique of writing, the presentation of work and publisher approach. It is a comprehensive guide exploring every aspect of children’s writing as the reader can find here all kinds of markets, all genres of children’s writing, as well as practical exercises at the end of each chapter. ‘Find a published picture book that you feel works well,’ Jordan says. ‘Using your own idea and text, copy the lay out, trying to keep to approximately the same number of words.’

There are seventeen chapters in all, each one dealing with a separate topic. Abundant advice is also included on how to write a plot, to create a strong character and how to approach a publisher.  The author advises, ‘The main thing to remember when submitting a manuscript is not to give the publisher any excuse to reject your work without proper consideration. Publishers want to find good new writers...’

At the end of the book, an appendix lists useful addresses of organizations, publications, and training centers. On the last pages there is a Prizes and Awards section; The Macmillan Prize, The Children’s Book Award, Mother Goose Award and Signal Poetry Award are only a few of the list. To sum up, in this book you have all the advice and information you need at your fingertips .

How to Write for Children and Get Published is a highly informative, useful, clearly laid out home-study course book that caters to those who wish to enter the world of children’s writing. It fills the reader with loads of invaluable information, advice and practical exercises that are absolutely necessary to have and master in order to get published - an excellent book the new writer or the writer-to-be cannot simply afford to be without it.