Hi everybody! I am Jon Bard, Managing Editor of Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers and Fightin’ Bookwork-in-Chief at the CBI clubhouse, our brand new members only community just for success minded children’s book writers.
Today, 7 things editors wish children’s book writers knew. We have great respect for children’s book editors. They have a very, very tough job. They sift through piles of manuscripts looking for gems amidst manuscripts that are well, less than gem like. And I’m sure many of them would love to issue proclamations such as, “Don’t even think about sending me your work until you understand how to use an apostrophe.” But editors are by and large very nice people who wouldn’t dream of being rude. So, I’ll do the job for them. Here’s some tidbits that we’ve learned over the past 20 years in the children’s book field.
1. Please learn to punctuate. You misplace comma or two won’t prevent you from getting published. Publishers in fact have people on-staff who correct these things. But if your manuscript is riddled with typos, it gives a bad first impression. To me the most egregious offense is poor punctuation. It’s easy to gloss over a misspelled word when reading a manuscript for the first time. But inappropriate semicolons or dialogue with all the quotation marks in the wrong places just ruins the flow of the story. If your not absolutely sure of your punctuation skills, have someone else proof your manuscript before you send it out.
2. Don’t rhyme unless you have to. Many authors think picture books equal rhyming stories. The problem is that most people can’t write very well in rhyming format should be the last thing you think about. First comes character development then the plot, then the pacing and tightly written text. If that’s all in place, then perhaps you could overlay the rhyme without adding any extra unnecessary details to the story. Only tell a story in rhyme if it’s absolutely the best way, really the only way it could be told.
3. Only develop ideas worth spending a lot of money on. Do you know that it cost some major publishers as much as $100,000.00 to get a picture from manuscript to the bookstore. Is your idea worth that much of a risk? Novels do cost less to produce because there is no color illustrations but the market is smaller. Books that are simply cute, sweet, informative, or teaching an important lesson don’t do enough to justify the publisher’s financial risk. Manuscripts need to do more than one thing. So, develop ideas that are funny and teach science concepts or a multi-cultural, entertaining and illustrate a important life lesson without preaching to the reader.
4. Pay attention to established age groups and word counts. Once your famous you could break all the rules you want. In the mean time, you need to write within an established guidelines so editors can visualize exactly where your book would fit on their list and more importantly how their sales reps would pitch it to a bookstore. Don’t submit a 3,000 word picture book for ages 3 to 6, it simply won’t fit in to 32 pages with illustrations. And don’t write a 15 chapter easy reader. Most second graders will be intimated by a book that long. Be creative with your story not its format.
5. If you're writing to older readers, understand the distinction between middle grade and young adult. Read several novels for ages 8 to 12 and then for ages 12 and up so you can begin to see the difference in characters and conflicts for the two age groups. Very often beginning writers think they're writing -- but they're actually creating a middle grade novel with 15 year old characters. Do incorporate subplots into your story. These books need to have several layers, some emotional, some action driven that all work together to build the plot.
6. If your story is very personal and specific to your life or family, consider self-publishing. For your life to be interesting to a wide audience, you must be willing to sacrifice the facts when necessary to create good fiction. The incidents need a universal theme that’s relevant to many children. If you have your heart set on writing a book about all the funny mischievous things your kids and pets did when they were little and you don’t want to alter any events to create a solid unique plot, then self-publish a few copies to your local copy shop and give them to family members in the next reunion. Your book will be treasured by people who will appreciate it the most.
7. Finally, don’t think you can abandon logic just because you're writing for children. Several years ago, we worked with a writer who was creating a middle grade fantasy set in the distant past. And one of his characters had a few modern day items in his bedroom. We explained that even though the book was fantasy, 21st Century devices couldn’t exist if he clearly stated that the story happened a long time ago. Kids aren’t going to care with his response but they will. Even picture book readers will wonder why your spider character carries a life-sized baseball in his pocket and then your credibility as an author is shot. If you maintain logic in your details, you can get away with the far greater suspension of disbelief in the story. And a story that’s a delight to believe is what editors wish foremost of all.
For much more about writing for children we invite you to stop by the CBI Clubhouse. Its our new members only community just for children’s book writers and filled with audio, video, articles, message boards and much more and it also includes a full subscription to the famous Children’s Book Insider Newsletter. We’re found at cbiclubhouse.com. We hope you stop by, say hello and come hang with the fighting bookworms. Until next time, this is Jon Bard, keep writing.
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