publishing...new letter and type of submission I make

...I sent out to another 4 agents. Having read the writers and artists yearbook I changed the type of stuff I send out.

The agents get only one kitten story (or in the case below 3, as this is what they specifically asked for in their submission guidlines) and a letter broken into three parts - synopsis of the books, my cv (in terms of what kind of author I wouold be and what skills I have that might help to sell the books) and comments from people who have read the books. I change the letter for each person and I've cleaned up the style and grammar, but the basis format is like the below...

Childrens’ Books Department
PFD
Drury House
34-43 Russell St
London
WC2B 5HA

8th April 2007,


FLUFFY LITTLE KITTEN

“Synopsis”

I have enclosed a copy of three of my children’s books, “Fluffy Little Kitten’s Birthday”, “Too Many Kittens” and “Beautiful Kitten.” They are picture books for young children. The stories are simple; Fluffy Little Kitten suffers minor setbacks, which upset him. Luckily his friends and family are there to help him and things work out all right in the end. Hopefully they’ll put a smile on your face.

The three stories I have sent are part of a series of stories that are already written. There are 3 other stories already ready for publishing, and another six in the final stages of production. Each of the stories deals with the minor mishaps that befall Fluffy Little Kitten, and their happy resolution.

I see the Fluffy Little Kitten stories as falling into the same section of the market occupied by the Mister Men books. I can see readers becoming loyal fans of the series – buying each book as it comes out. The potential for merchandising and expansion into other media is considerable.

“CV”

I am a thirty three year old who has worked on the business side of the publishing industry for 13 years, first at IPC magazines, and then for the last 7 years at Associated Newspapers.

In addition to the quality of the stories I have written I can bring a lot of additional benefits if you choose to represent me. I have a wealth of contacts at every national newspaper and all of the major magazine companies in the UK. I have been dealing with the marketing departments of all the major UK book publishers for almost a decade and can count a number of marketing directors and managers as friends. I know a number of senior marketing figures at major UK book and general retailers. If Fluffy Little Kitten was published I would be able to use these contacts to help promote the books.

I am prepared to work very hard to promote my work and the fact that I’ve spent 13 years selling gives me great experience.

“What People Think About Fluffy Little Kitten”Rather than rely solely on the opinion of my friends and family, I decided to test whether my stories would have a general appeal.

I made the stories available for sale on Ebay. Customers paid me a pound or so and I posted them an electronic copy of the stories. I received over a hundred positive feedback messages and no negative comments at all. I have appended the list of those comments to this letter.

The feedback includes positive messages from New York, Hawaii, Sydney and Iceland, proving the international potential of the stories. They also include plenty of comments that indicated that parents very much enjoyed the books as well as their children.

Notable fans of the Fluffy Little Kitten books include Ruth Liptrott (TV presenter Five/Sky News), Kelly Edgeson-Wright (Marketing director of Hodder) and Keirsten Clark (ex-Curtis Brown and now MD of Paperbooks.)

My guess based on what is essentially a fairly large sample size is that the stories will have a wide appeal.

“What I Would Like From You”

I would very much like to send you the other Fluffy Little Kitten stories so that you could see how the characters and storylines develop. The three I have sent are good examples, but a reader can get a much stronger sense of why the stories can become a success by looking at the whole series.

I am also very happy to come in to see you at any time to discuss the potential for Fluffy Little Kitten.

I can be contacted in the day on 0207 752 8446 or 0771 466 7585 at any time. My email address is rob.bassett@and.co.uk but I can also be reached on f.l.kitten@gmail.com if I’m not at work.

Yours,






Robert Bassett