After you've polished your manuscript, had it critiqued, and made sure it was different than the competition, it's time to think about mailing! Where will you send your work?

The first place to look is your reading list. Which publishers do you like? Who publishes books like yours?

Now look through your market guides. Are there publishers in your SCBWI, Children's Book Insider or Children's Writer newletters looking for work like yours?

Once you have a list of 5-10 publishers, look them up in your 2008 CWIM (2008 Children's Writers and Illustrators Market Guide.) Can you send the editor a manuscript? Or do they require that you have an agent?

Follow the directions the publisher or the agent provides. Do they want a query letter? Or can you send a typed and doubled spaced manuscript with a cover letter?

After you mail out your manuscript, make a note of it in your files and go back to the library. It's time to start the process all over again...with a new book!