[kenneth-major Posts: 46 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

When subbing a NF PB cover letter and ms, should you include a list of your NF detailed references with this initial submittal?

Thank you,

Ken

[dkshumaker Posts: 1,448 Status: Offline WWW]

Yes. Definitely include your sources/references. And be sure they are primary and secondary sources, not just Internet sites/Wikipedia.

Many NF editors look at the bibliography before even reading the submission. They want to be sure you did your due diligence before writing.

Best of luck!

[RebeccaL-G Posts: 1,497 Status: Offline RA SCBWI Cen-Cal WWW]

What Debra said. Your bibliography is part of the manuscript submission.

[callie-dean Posts: 7 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Should it be a complete bibliography or a "selected bibliography?" I've noticed that a lot of picture books include a "selected references" section in the back matter, but these typically do not include the primary sources.

[RebeccaL-G Posts: 1,497 Status: Offline RA SCBWI Cen-Cal WWW]

When you submit an NF manuscript you include a full bibliography. I include full endnotes as well (for my own reference).  A publisher must see you've done your research due diligence. They may cut parts of it (endnotes or footnotes don't typically make it into publication but are useful resources during the editing process.)  This is how a "selected bibliography" comes to be--it's an edited version of the full bibliography that the editor/publisher sometimes does as part of the publication process.

[dkshumaker Posts: 1,448 Status: Offline WWW]

What Rebecca said. I don't actually include footnotes in my submission, but I have one version with footnotes so it's easy for me to find my info in case someone asks.  But submit the entire bibliography. If/when a publisher buys it, the editor may have you whittle it down to a "Selected References" as mine did. But I think it makes sense to submit the entire thing.

[Vijaya Posts: 7,165 Status: Offline Encourage WWW]

I have one version with footnotes so it's easy for me to find my info in case someone asks.  But submit the entire bibliography. If/when a publisher buys it, the editor may have you whittle it down to a "Selected References" as mine did. But I think it makes sense to submit the entire thing.

This.

Esp. the part about having a personal copy with footnotes. Some editors will prefer to see it as well so that it's easier for their fact checkers. The biggest reason is that by the time they get to fact checking, which can be months, you are already working on something else and it's hard to find where exactly you found your source unless you note it. Best wishes.

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 7,002 Status: Offline Language is so cool! WWW]

The bibliography is for the publisher. The selected one in the final book is resources appropriate for the reader, or maybe  teacher, to use. Sources that are likely to still be active in a few years are also more likely to be included.