First, collect addresses of appropriate publishers by perusing market guides like Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market, industry newsletters such as Children's Book Insider and looking through similar books at the store or library. Then send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the publisher asking for writer’s guidelines (you can start this process while you’re still writing your book as it may take a few weeks to receive a response). Review the guidelines carefully to make sure your manuscript fits with what the publisher is looking for.

Most publishers want to see the entire manuscript for picture books. Type your manuscript on white paper, double spaced, indenting at the beginning of each paragraph. Use at least one inch margins on each side and justify the left margin only. Put your name and the title of the book at the top of each page and number the pages consecutively. Your name, address, phone number and email should appear in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Center the title of the manuscript about a third of the way down on page 1, skip a line and then start the text.

Don’t break the text up into pages as it would appear in the finished book and don’t include illustrations unless you’re a professional artist (in which case, send a black and white dummy with a sketch of each illustration and 2-3 copies of finished color illustrations along with the typed manuscript). Send with a brief cover letter stating the title, intended age group and word count of the story. Add any previous publishing experience and memberships to writing organizations (if you don’t have such experience, leave this section out). Mention if this is a simultaneous submission (sending the manuscript to several publishers at once) and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with enough postage to return the manuscript if necessary.