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Markets – Young Adult & Children’s Authors
The market for young adult (YA) and children’s (kid lit) authors offers diverse opportunities in traditional publishing, freelancing, education, and related media fields. The market is robust, with consistent sales growth, particularly in YA and middle-grade categories. Writing jobs for young adult (YA) and children’s authors typically involve either pursuing a traditional publishing contract via a literary agent or working as a freelance content creator for publishers and educational companies.
Traditional Publishing
The traditional path to becoming a published author involves writing a complete manuscript and securing a literary agent to represent your work to publishing houses.
- Research the Market: Read widely in your specific category (picture books, middle grade, or YA) to understand current trends, writing styles, and which publishers are active in those genres.
- Join Professional Organizations: The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is the primary professional organization for children’s and YA authors. Membership provides access to educational resources, critique groups, grants, and networking opportunities with industry professionals like agents and editors.
- Find a Literary Agent: Most major publishing houses only accept submissions through agents. Use resources like Reedsy’s agent lists or literary agency websites to find agents specializing in children’s or YA fiction who are currently accepting submissions.
- Submit Your Work: Follow each agent’s specific submission guidelines meticulously. Submitting a polished, professionally formatted manuscript is crucial for success.
Freelance & Content Creation Jobs
For more immediate, job-oriented opportunities, consider freelance work or roles within educational technology and publishing companies.
- Job Boards: Check general freelance platforms like Upwork and job sites like Indeed for positions such as:
- Children’s story writer
- Educational content creator (e.g., developing curriculum materials to accompany books)
- Game writer for EdTech apps
- Creative writing facilitator or instructor
- Build a Portfolio: Create a strong portfolio of writing samples, even if they are initially unpaid pieces or self-published work, to showcase your skills to potential clients.
- Network: Connect with editors, publishers, and other writers online and at industry events. This can lead to valuable opportunities and collaborations.
Key Skills and Tips
- Understand Your Audience: Tailor your vocabulary, syntax, and themes to the target age group’s reading level and developmental stage.
- Seek Feedback: Join a critique group to get objective feedback on your work before sending it to professionals.
- Be Persistent: The publishing industry can move slowly, and rejections are common. Perseverance and a commitment to your craft are essential.
Ultimate Guide to Being a Freelancer 2025 Update
If you’re thinking of becoming a freelancer, you’re probably bored with your day job and looking for new challenges in your life. Maybe you love the idea of being your own boss, or maybe you just need more flexibility in your work schedule. Either way, the freelance life could be perfect for you.
Submission Tracking
Linda S. Dupie
Recently a writer asked me how I keep track of my submissions, this is something I hadn’t thought about often, but something I do day after day. There are as many ways to track your submissions, as there are writers, for simplicity we’ll look at three of the most common systems I have found while talking to writers. Some writers use their computers, others use index cards, notebooks, and some write the information on the files they keep for each project. Others use all of the above.
Write the Perfect Book Proposal
10 That Sold and Why, 2nd Edition
Want to publish your book? Charismatic authors and literary agents Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman have successfully sold hundreds of titles and learned–through trial and error–how to write a flawless book proposal that publishers can’t resist. Now you can benefit from their hard work and publishing savvy. In this new edition, they offer guidance and advice that will inspire, educate, and, most importantly, give you the necessary edge to get your book published. They explain:
What Are Your Chances of Getting Published?
Laura Backes
Most beginning children’s writers are curious about their chances of ever seeing their work in print. Editors have told me that a mid- to large-sized publishing house gets upwards of 5000 unsolicited submissions a year. About 95% are rejected right off the bat (most get form letters, a few promising authors get personalized notes stating why the manuscript was rejected). Of the 5% left, some are queries for which the editors request entire manuscripts. Others are manuscripts submitted in their entirety, and these go on to the next stage of the acquisitions process.
How to Write a Novel Synopsis
It’s probably the single most despised document you might be asked to prepare: the synopsis. The synopsis is sometimes required because an agent or publisher wants to see, from beginning to end, what happens in your story. Thus, the synopsis must convey a book’s entire narrative arc. It shows what happens and who changes, and it has to reveal the ending.
Youth Writing Markets
A list of organizations for young adult authors and young writers. This list includes information about writing for children, writing young adult and where children and young adults can enter competitions.
Why Article Writing Should Be A Part Of Your Career Development Strategy
Article writing empowers you to establish yourself as an authority, develops communication skills, fuels continuous learning, engages readers, and advances your career.
Words That Pay-The Rewards Of Choosing Writing As A Job
In expert writing, the rewards stretch out past money-related gains. Choosing a writing vocation opens ways to a domain of chances, release of innovativeness, experience educational development, and have a beneficial outcome.
How To Market Your Book After You’ve Written It
An excellent article from Writer’s Write. 5 ways to market your book after you’ve written it.
35 Online Work Ideas to Earn Good Money Whilst Studying
Teens can work remotely and make good money. There are all kinds of jobs that students can try while they’re studying depending on their current education level and the time they have to dedicate to working. Online tutoring is particularly popular, but freelancing in writing and editing, IT, or gaming is also possible. Freelance web designers, resume writers, transcriptionists and linguists might all be able to have flexible schedules while they’re in school.
Love to Write: Here Is How You Can Build Your Career
Building a writing career has never been easier than this age of digitalization has made it.
3 Ways to Make Your Non-Fiction Article Pitch Stand Out
3 ways to make your pitch stand out. Writing nonfiction articles for magazines, websites, and other media is unlike nearly any other form of writing. That’s because so much of a writer’s success and failure is determined at the pitching stage. This can be both a good and bad thing. Good because you don’t have to start writing until it’s already been accepted or assigned; bad because many writers would rather write than pitch their writing.
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