Dr. Mira’s Seven Tips for Writing Cover Letters, Pitches, and Bios

Dr. Mira’s Tips for

Writing Cover Letters, Pitches, and Bios

If your dream is to write and publish children’s picture books, you need to prepare not only a compelling, or hilarious, manuscript but also an effective cover letter, pitch, and bio to get an agent or editor to go to bat for you in getting your story published. The following elements play a crucial role in capturing their attention.

1. Research Preparation:

Before diving into the cover letter, do lots of research on your target publishing houses’ websites to make sure your manuscript aligns with their specific submission guidelines, as they vary from one publisher to another. Some houses may accept submissions only from agents, so respect this requirement to avoid wasting time.

Consider the focus of the publishing house; some specialize in books featuring diverse and multicultural characters. If your book doesn’t align with their emphasis on diversity, it might not be a suitable fit. However, being a person of color or from a marginalized group can be an asset, as it brings authenticity to your story in an era when cultural appropriation is a concern. Don’t forget that everyone has a cultural background, and exploring your own rich traditions to infuse as a layer in your manuscript can truly add depth to your work. Think about your passions or interests, e.g., if you love gardening you might do an environmental caring, community story that involves gardening, or maybe a book about farming for publishers like Readers to Eaters or Feeding Minds Press. If you’ve got a passion for cooking, stories around family recipes and their cultural circumstances have been popular lately.

2. Crafting Your Cover Letter:

The cover letter is your first opportunity to impress a publisher. Demonstrate that you’ve done your homework by addressing the editor or publisher by name and mentioning their publishing company. Express why you’ve chosen to reach out to them and what you admire about their books.

3. The Irresistible Pitch:

Your pitch is a tantalizing, brief description of your story that captures the essence without revealing everything. Use this opportunity to showcase your writing skills and infuse it with the flavor of your story’s narrative. The goal is to leave them craving more while offering clarity and elegance (or delight) in your language.

4. Comparable Titles (Comps):

To give publishers a clear sense of where your book fits in the market, provide at least two comparable titles. Comparable titles, or comps, are recently published books with literary elements in common with your story. Use an “x meets y” format or something like “with the heart of x crossed with the humor of y” to establish a connection with existing books. This not only shows you’ve done your market research but also helps publishers understand the potential audience for your book.

5. Author Bio:

Your bio should highlight any qualifications or experiences that make your book more marketable and credible. If your story features botanical elements, mention if you’re a botanist, and how you plan to connect with relevant associations and online communities. If you are an educator in the age group your book targets, emphasize this. Include any impressive educational qualifications, membership in organizations like SCBWI, being a Children’s Book Academy graduate, or relevant publications in the kidlit field. End your bio with a personal, fun, or quirky detail about yourself, showing your warm personality, and maybe include where you live and what kinds of animals you have (kidlit publishing is a relational business).

6. Keep it Concise:

Fit all of this information into four paragraphs or less and include your contact information and the date. If you have a substantial social media following or any other marketable assets, also include this information to enhance your appeal.

7. End with a Warm Salutation:

Thank them for their time in reading this. (Editors and agents are incredibly busy, but they are also humans who like to be acknowledged.)

Dr. Mira Reisberg Bio:

Helping and creativity are two of Dr. Mira Reisberg’s love languages. With a PhD in Education and Cultural Studies focused on KidLit, she runs the Children’s Book Academy. Mira is super proud that her hard-working students have published over 1,400 books and won many, many awards. Her own long-ago-published books also won awards and sold over 600,000 copies. Mira is excited to be co-teaching the Ultimate Craft and Business of Writing Children’s Picture Books interactive e-course starting November 6th right here: https://tinyurl.com/CBA-PBlove She lives in Portland, Oregon with her hubs and cat.

Mira, thank you for sharing this helpful information with all of us.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy