On the Facebook PiBoIdMo group, I’ve been asking picture book writers which topics they want to see on my blog. Then it finally dawned on me (and Dawn is my middle name, so this should have occurred far sooner)—I should ask on the blog. DUH.
Tara-ra-BOOM-dee-ay by AJ Smith
See that? It’s my head exploding from the geniusity. (Yes, I made that word up. I’m allowed. I write picture books!)
So here I am, asking you, dear blog readers, what is your most burning, brain-blasting kidlit question?
Leave it below in the comments and later this month, I’ll strive to answer them all.
But just remember, you’ll be getting an answer from someone with half a head.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 
28 comments
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May 16, 2014 at 9:31 am
writeknit
Is there a better place than Amazon to search to see if the fabulous (at least in my head LOL) idea you came up with has already been done a million times?
May 16, 2014 at 9:34 am
patricianesbitt
Do you have any inside tips as to what themes or topics publishers are looking for?
May 16, 2014 at 9:34 am
Josh Funk
how do you get awesome illustrators to do “head shots” for you? (like AJ Smith did above)
May 16, 2014 at 9:57 am
jdewdropsofink
So after reading your previous post, I want to know the super secret story techniques you learned from Sudipta. 🙂
May 16, 2014 at 9:59 am
nicole snitselaar
I would like to know, how much details you must write down when you are planning a PB without words…
May 16, 2014 at 10:19 am
jenniferkirkeby
What do you do to keep yourself motivated? Especially after rejections? Thanks, Tara!
May 16, 2014 at 10:32 am
yangmommy
Hi! I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation at the MD/DE SCBWI in Maryland last month. It was the highlight of my day (and I still find myself saying, “whhyyy?”)!
But I left wondering more about how and when to insert the art notes. In the margins? Within the text (but doesn’t that break up the flow?) ? Do you have an example you can showcase on your blog? Thanks ever so much!
May 16, 2014 at 10:37 am
yangmommy
Hi Tara! First off, I wanted to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed your SCBWI presentation last month in Maryland. It was the highlight of my day, and I still find myself saying, “whhyyy?!”
But I did leave the session pondering when and how to insert art notes. Does one put them in the margins? Within the body copy (wouldn’t that upset the ebb and flow of the story?)? Do you have a sample you could post on your blog?
Thanks ever so much for your advice! (And if I have somehow double-commented, my apologies. Raging rainstorms often distract me!)
Thanks again!!
~Jennifer
May 16, 2014 at 10:46 am
Maria Matthews
Is it better to aim at writing a current popular topic or to write a quirky unusual book? Great blog page.
May 16, 2014 at 10:51 am
Tim
Tara, I love your blog. Keep up the great work.
I attended a picture book writing conference recently, and the presented asked for a show of hands of all those who at least occasionally wrote manuscript in rhyme. Nearly every hand in the room went up. And many new rhyming picture books are published each year. Yet aspiring PB writers are told frequently that rhyme is a very tough sell. So I’d love to see a post or two on how to sell rhyming PBs. Not tips on how to write in rhyme–there are lots of resources for that–but on how to SELL it, including the no-nos either in queries or in manuscripts that will stop an editor or agent cold.
May 16, 2014 at 11:04 am
Ginger
What does a picture book look like in written form and do you add picture ideas?
May 16, 2014 at 12:20 pm
mvanhierden
When submitting query letters for picture books, is it standard practice to include a manuscript? Thanks!
May 16, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Anne Bromley
I heard recently that one needs at least 3 polished, ready-to-submit picture book stories in order for an agent to take serious interest. Has this been your experience as well? Thank you, Tara, for your fun and informative blog!
May 16, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Patricia Tilton
When do you set aside a MS after many rejections, even though it’s polished, been through editors and you’ve done the revisions and more revisions? Or do you just keep submitting.
May 16, 2014 at 4:34 pm
Jo Dearden
In your query letter, when it comes to describing your Picture Book, should you include a short paragraph in the style of a jacket blurb, or should it be a straighter description (like a mini, paragraph-long synopsis)? This is assuming you’re sending the whole text to the agent/publisher.
May 16, 2014 at 5:18 pm
berylreichenberg
All very good questions. Here’s another: If you already have several picture books published, what are the best blog and other sites to use to get the word out and market your books?
May 16, 2014 at 5:36 pm
Pat Miller
When you have a drawer full of PiBoIdMo drafts that just don’t seem to get off the ground, how do you maintain your motivation to dig back in and make one of them sing?
ESPECIALLY if you’re only working with half a head. The other half would prefer to clean toilets or get an ugly drivers license photo.
May 16, 2014 at 8:57 pm
amymariesmith
I’m going to my first SCBWI regional conference in June. Any tips on what to bring?
May 16, 2014 at 9:14 pm
Angela Turner
I am writing a nonfiction book in narrative form but I want to put notes on the same page that tell a little more with more specific language. What is the proper way to show this in your manuscript? Thank you
May 17, 2014 at 12:57 am
Carrie Brown
Now that’s a great kind of brain fart…the generous kind, that it! I love the Tara-ra-boom-dee-ay! Did A.J. name it, as well as illustrate it? Here is my question: We know, as writers, to revise until our very best work is present. Then, we know to send it out to our critique groups and revise some more. Repeat. Repeat again. Etc. Once our work is “the best it can be,” do you think there is a secret numbers formula as to how many subs a manuscript should go through before being shelved? What if, for example, a manuscript goes through a period of requests mixed with personal feedback from agents, and then said changes are made and it goes back out to be met with chirping crickets? Then what? Just like everything in the writing world, I know these questions will be met with subjectivity, as well. But this inquiring mind values your opinion! 🙂 Thanks for your help!
May 17, 2014 at 7:05 am
Joy Moore
How would you describe your writing style?
May 17, 2014 at 1:56 pm
hmmmmm
Thanks for the great blog!
I have been writing at different levels, and in various voices/styles/genres (all Picture book and early chapter book thus far). Whenever you sign up for a workshop or the like, you share one manuscript. I would love to have the opportunity to share a whole batch of MS’s with someone and get a more big-picture take on my writing, what direction/s make most sense, etc. Does such a thing even exist. Any thoughts/ideas would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
May 17, 2014 at 6:11 pm
Brenda Harris
if an author illustrator is self-publishing, who are the most important people (editors, art directors, etc) I should ask advice(hire?) from about my dummy book. And- where can I search and find these legit helpers?
May 18, 2014 at 10:43 pm
Stacy Couch
Hi Tara,
I was wondering about the different stages of birthing a PB.
PiBoIdMo does a great job re: brainstorming.
Maybe posts about craft would help bring those ideas to life.
Character-driven picture books: What they are, what makes a character sing.
Plot: How to plot a PB.
Plot: Why stakes matter.
Rule of Three
Plot and the Rule of Three.
Different Genres within the PB World (Quiet, Noisy, Character-Driven, Interactive, Etc.)
External vs. Internal Conflict
Allowing Room for the Illustrator
Then perhaps a series about critique groups (how to find them, how to set up one), conferences (purpost, intensives, tips) and another querying agents, editors (the importance of etiquette, researching them beforehand).
I’d love to see more craft-related posts, though, since any agent or editor would focus on the work itself.
Stacy
May 18, 2014 at 11:26 pm
berylreichenberg
All good questions, Stacy. Beryl
May 19, 2014 at 8:12 am
thiskidreviewsbooks
I want to know “what’s with all the PJs?!” Just kidding. 😉 No, I’d really like to know what your best time to write is (And the importance of having a set time to write). 🙂
May 19, 2014 at 10:22 am
Mrs Ricefield
There have been some great questions and I Hope you do get to write blog posts about all of these! I would also love to hear more on how to make the best out of conferences you attend. Thank you for the question.
May 20, 2014 at 2:03 pm
Charlotte Gunnufson
Hi, Tara, I’d really appreciate a post on the following: Why does it seem that there are so many women writing for children, attending SCBWI conferences, posting here, etc., and yet by comparison there seem to be so many successful children’s books by men? Ya know what I mean? Certainly there are tons of successful children’s books by women, but the rations have me baffled. At the last SCBWI conference I attended, women outnumbered men 98-2. Even if there are more children’s books by women authors, the ratio is not 98-2, not even close. So what’s going on? Do men feel more free to write wackier stories? Do women censor their own out-of-the-box impulses? Do editors and agents subconsciously give men more leeway to push the boundaries/break the rules? Do women tend to write more lesson-y stories? Are there just as many men writing and they just don’t show up at conferences? Whaddaya think?