Getting Started

CCA and B, LLC is an award-winning publishing company founded in 2005, which develops family-unifying products and promotes timeless traditions. The Georgia-based business has an affinity for innovative family-focused products.

As one of the most talked about emerging publishers, CCA and B continues to discover new authors and develop creative products and we currently welcome unsolicited manuscripts which embrace our ideology and values.

Below, you will find advice from the co-authors of award-winning The Elf on the Shelf® Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell, on their insight into the publishing world. They will also help you understand the process of streamlining a proposal and submitting a manuscript to CCA and B.

• Are you familiar with the products CCA and B offers?
• Is your idea fully formed and easily explained?
• Do you know your target audience?
• Is your submission compliant with the age range you’re trying to reach?
• Have you researched similar products to determine whether or not the manuscript you are submitting is filling a void?
• Do you know your genre?
• What are your goals for this project and what do you want to accomplish?
• Are you prepared to do what is necessary to see this project through to the end?

• Be prepared for a long journey. Being a writer takes patience.
• Be flexible enough to take and use constructive criticism. Being adaptable is the key to your success as a writer.
• Keep in mind that the time and energy you put into your project and its submission reciprocates the outcome. Present yourself as a professional. Read over your work carefully before submitting it. All words should be spelled correctly. Proper punctuation and capitalization should always be utilized, even in your correspondence.
• Educate yourself concerning the business of becoming a writer. Here are some suggestions: join a writing group, subscribe to professional literature like Writer’s Digest Magazine and read Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents: Who they are! What they want! How to win them over! You can visit his website at www.jeffherman.com.
• Remember: no one will believe in your work more than you, and no one will work harder than you to promote it.

• CCA and B accepts games, activities and inventions, picture books, picture story books, early picture books, books for easy readers and transition books.

• Games, Activities, and Inventions — Which promote family togetherness and a sense of community.
• Picture books — By definition, are books in which the illustrations play a significant role in telling the story. There are several types of books which fall into this category.
• Picture story books – These books usually average 32 pages and are meant for ages 4-8. Manuscripts may include up to 1,500 words; with 1000 words being the average length. Plots are simple and the illustrations play as great a role as the text in telling the story. Picture books cover a wide range of topics and styles.
• Early picture books – Books that are geared toward the lower end of the 4-8 age range. These stories are simple and contain less than 1,000 words. Many early picture books have been reprinted in the board book format, thus widening the audience.
• Easy readers — Books that are designed for children just starting to read on their own (age 6-8). They have color illustrations on every page like a picture book, but the format is more age appropriate. The books average between 32 and 64 pages. Typically, with an easy reader you can expect to use no less than 200 words and no more than 1,500 words to tell the story. What sets easy readers apart from other picture books is the use of action and dialogue to tell the story. Sentences are grammatically very simple, and they average 2-5 sentences per page.
• Transition books – Commonly referred to as "early chapter books,” are meant for ages 6-10. They are written like easy readers in style, but transition books are longer with small 2-3 page chapters. They have a smaller trim size and black and white illustrations.

Any manuscript submitted to CCA and B should do more than “just tell a story.” Carefully evaluate why anyone would want to read your story. Is there a point or moral to the story? Can your story be marketed with anything else, yet stand alone on its own merit? We prefer story lines that have a “deeper meaning.” We accept both fiction and non-fiction stories. Please note that illustrations are not required for a project submission. Do not send large chapter books, romance, science fiction, novels or anything with “adult content.” Those submissions will be returned unopened.

Are you ready for this journey? If “Yes!” is your answer, then what are you waiting for? It’s time to focus on the proposal.

• In a way, this will be the most difficult part of your publishing journey – Have PATIENCE.
• You've put a lot of time and effort into this project. Don't annoy the publisher with daily phone calls or emails to ask us, "Did you receive my submission? How do you like it? When will it be published, etc.?" Regarding inquiries, ANY AND ALL inquiries about your submission MUST be made through our website on our Contact Us page.
• Most literary agents and/or publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts receive up to 12,000 manuscripts a month! It takes a lot of time to wade through them. (Hint: This is the reason you want the first few words of the proposal to "grab" the submission committee's interest.) It may take four to six months to hear anything.
• If after six months you still have not heard anything from the publisher it is acceptable to: a) inquire as to the publisher's interest in the product and/or b) request the return of your submission. Email is the only acceptable mode of inquiry. (Please see above.)
• Eventually, you will receive a formal response from CCA and B regarding your submission. If CCA and B is unable to use your manuscript/material, your entire submission will be returned to you—if you remembered to include your SASE (self addressed stamped envelope). Submissions made without a SASE will be properly disposed of by CCA and B.

• Each submission must be handled separately. In other words: one idea with an accompanying proposal. Please do not include multiple ideas in one proposal.
• Book submissions do not need to be illustrated.
• You must sign our submissions agreement and include a signed, hard copy with each of your submissions.
• Please note that additions to The Elf on the Shelf® will not be accepted.