[evelyn-savitz Posts: 1 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

I have rewritten a story of mine that was published 10 years ago in a holiday anthology into a picture book manuscript titled the same. Do publishers consider rewrites or is this something they don't like?
Has anyone out there in SCBWI published a rewrite? With the same title? 
Thanks! Evelyn Luchs

[dkshumaker Posts: 1,446 Status: Offline]

So the first story published in the anthology was not a picture book but just a short story?

I think it would depend on what your contract states for that anthology. And when you say "rewrite" is the story arc the same? I think if you've changed things up significantly, it might be OK, but I really have nothing to base that on. I hope someone with more experience with anthologies and rewrites chimes in. . . .

[Vijaya Posts: 7,104 Status: Offline Encourage]

I've seen a couple of magazine stories (Crickets?) turn into PBs and I assume that the author only sold first North American serial rights (this was before they bought all rights). I've asked for non-exclusive rights and they've been granted. Haven't done anything with them yet because I'm always chasing new ideas. But first thing to do is to check what rights you have and when you submit you might want to mention that the story was in an anthology 10 yrs ago. Editors appreciate knowing the history of a piece, especially if it's appeared before in another form. Good luck.

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 7,068 Status: Offline Language is so cool!]

As said above, you have to make sure you own the rights. If you do, then you can try to sell this as a PB but do be up front about it's history. And I don't know if a publisher will look a it since most don't want anything previously published. You simply have nothing to lose but time. (This sort of thing happened often in the heyday or short stories. Many became novels.) The title does not matter. Titles are not part o copyright.

V, I've seen magazine stories turned into PBs by the magazine. Highlights stories pubbed by Boyd's Mills for example.  Were the ones you're thinking of put out by separate publishers?

[Vijaya Posts: 7,104 Status: Offline Encourage]

Debbie, I've seen both Highlights/Boyds Mills and Cricket/Cricket books. Same umbrella.

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 7,068 Status: Offline Language is so cool!]

Debbie, I've seen both Highlights/Boyds Mills and Cricket/Cricket books. Same umbrella.

That's what I suspected. They sometimes owned all rights when they made the PB version. Less risk for them since they aren't paying the author again. Of course, that's not always the case, but this is still far different than this happening from an anthology story.