You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Picture Books’ category.
You’ve got a great idea for a picture book.
You sit down and write it out.
You give it to your children to read. They love it.
You give it to your mother. She corrects a grammar mistake but otherwise dubs it “perfect.”
You give it to your neighbor. She thinks it’s wonderful and offers to illustrate it for you.
You buy a copy of The Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market.
You print out a copy of your story, attach your neighbor’s illustrations to each page and mail it out to every publisher in CWIM.
Congratulations!
You’ve just made every beginner mistake in the book.
Just because picture books are short—and for kids—doesn’t mean writing one is easy. Like any profession, children’s writing requires time educating yourself on the craft, refining your skills, and researching the market.
Stay tuned for tips on what to do with that idea. In the meantime, keep writing!
When a character stops talking to me, I have no choice but to ask another to come forward. Like a radio station that goes static across state lines, I must dial the tuner until I find another song worth listening to. And it’s gotta be catchy.
I could force myself to work on a project I’m not feeling, or jump on the current groove. I choose to go where inspiration takes me.
I understand that successful, published authors must learn to multitask. There may be times in the future when several projects will be coming to deadline and I’ll have to channel a myriad of characters. However, being still unpublished, I can follow my fickle desires.
So one middle grade novel that received interest from professionals gets shelved…and a new one begins.
In the meantime, my picture books have been submitted. All three are out looking for homes. Write home soon, won’t you, boys?
For my submissions, I researched publishers to target those with books similar to mine (but not in direct competition) already on their list. Amazon’s “advanced search” function is helpful here, enabling you to search by publisher and age range. If you find a book similar to yours, you may be able to read it on Lookybook immediately instead of running to the library.
If I haven’t blogged recently, you can’t blame a girl who has been writing and submitting her work. Now I must dive into research mode for my current middle grade novel, which includes historic elements that I last studied in grammar school. I need to start getting smarter than a 5th grader!
Employers spend an average of just 30 seconds scanning each job resumé. If you don’t make an immediate positive impression, you won’t get called in for an interview.
The same half-minute scan holds true for your fiction. One page is all you have to hook an agent or editor and entice them to keep reading. Without a strong voice, a compelling hook and sharp writing, you’re doomed for a swim with the slushies.
It therefore makes sense to attend a first page critique. The neighborhood kids may giggle over your tale, your friends might deem it wonderful, and your critique partners may even bless it as ready for submission. But a professional opinion is your best literary litmus test.
A professional first page critique can answer these questions:
- Is your writing appropriate for the genre? Does the voice match the target age range? Is your picture book too wordy; is your young adult novel too simple?
- Do you have a truly unique premise? Certain subjects—like fairies and witches—may be popular at the moment, but that also means the market could be saturated. If you’re writing about fairies or witches, your idea should really stand out from the books already on the shelves.
- Have you left enough questions for the reader to want to continue? Or do you leave the reader too confused instead?
- If you’re writing in rhyme, does it have a consistent scheme? Does it move the story along or bog it down?
- Does your dialogue sound authentic?
- Are you telling the tale in the most appropriate point of view?
- Can a child relate to the story?
- Does the reader get an immediate sense of who/what/when/where? Can the reader imagine herself in the book’s setting?
- Are you beginning the tale at the right place?
Wow! All this just from a first page? Absolutely!
Professional editors and agents know the latest trends in the literary marketplace and they see hundreds—if not thousands—of first pages every month. The highly competitive book publishing business dictates that they weed out undesirable stories as quickly as possible in order to get to the good ones.
Thirty seconds is all you have. Make them work for you.
Children’s book editors Margery Cuyler and Emily Lawrence lent their time and talent to the NJ-SCBWI this evening by critiquing more than 30 first pages from aspiring authors. (Yours truly channeled her acting background to read the manuscripts with a booming voice.)
If you’ve not participated in a first page critique, you’ve missed out on the immediate impressions of seasoned editors who will tell you if your story has fallen flat or piqued their interest enough to turn the page. The value of their professional expertise is, well, invaluable.
A little bragging first. Margery Cuyler, publisher at Marshall Cavendish Children’s said of my work: “The voice is great. This writer has a talented voice and she should hold onto it for dear life.” I would have passed out if I wasn’t so engrossed in taking notes. I wanted to learn from all the manuscripts, not just my own.
Ms. Cuyler went on to point out that many things in a story can be fixed—setting, conflict, etc.—but a voice is something pure that is difficult to teach. In other words, if you don’t have a good, strong voice, it’s back to square one.
So, I’ve got a good voice—for writing and for reading aloud. What else did I learn at this session? Loads. Tons.
-
Don’t rhyme unless you’re an extraordinarily talented poet.
Neither editor was keen on rhyming stories. They found fault in the cadence of many stories and disliked stretching to make rhymes work. The rhymes interfered with telling the tales; the rhymes took over the stories. They suggested switching to prose. -
Know the age and comfort level of your audience.
A picture book about a pet python, while well-written, was thought to be too scary for the age range. They suggested it be rewritten for middle grade readers. -
It’s important to relate to your reader.
Certain genres are a hard sell, like historical fiction. While there are award-winning books in this genre, they tend to convey universal feelings and emotions, those that are relevant no matter what the setting. -
If you’re writing for kids, make the story primarily about kids, not grown-ups.
A delightful, humorous book had a slight problem because it was all about adults. The editors thought children would have a difficult time relating to the story without a young central character. -
Research existing books with your desired subject matter.
Both editors thought books about new babies in a family were overdone at the moment. Even though the manuscript had sweet moments, one editor felt the marketplace was saturated and that the story wasn’t special enough to continue. -
Don’t go into too much detail, especially in a picture book.
A book about twins tried to explain how different in size they were, but the story became bogged down in height and weight numbers. Both editors thought it was erroneous information. It might make sense to adults, but not to kids. Use comparisons children can relate to like “Timmy was one lollipop taller than Tommy.” Remember that illustrations can also convey a lot of information. Every little detail doesn’t need to appear in writing.
Some universal lessons:
-
Make the conflict known early in the story.
It should be there on the first page and it should compell the reader to continue. It’s all about the hook. -
Show, don’t tell.
We hear this a lot, but what exactly does it mean? Show your character in scene (dialogue, action in real time) rather than just expository writing. Instead of simply saying the teacher was angry over something your main character did, show the scene and the source of conflict. -
Remember to use settings that children can relate to.
School and summer vacation were two examples of settings that sell a story.
Many thanks to Ms. Cuyler and Ms. Lawrence for reading and commenting on our stories this evening. I’m inspired to work even harder!
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 