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Writing The Perfect Children’s Book

Mitt Ray — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:00:32 +0000

Writing children’s books might seem very easy, but it actually could turn out to be one of the hardest forms of writing. Some people have a natural flair to think of and write stories, novels and educative books, which will suit and entertain children. But for some people it could take a lot of effort.

Before you write your books you need to take two factors into consideration:-

1. Children:

You need to find out what children like. This means you need to spend time with children, if you have got your own children this could be very easy, but if you don’t you might need to spend time with your friend’s or others children and find out what they like, what excites them, and what the latest trends are.

After you have gathered enough information you need to take a closer look at what children enjoy doing and think of ways to incorporate this information into your writing.

2. Parents:

It’s not just the children’s interests you need to take into consideration. Another factor you need to take into consideration is if the parents will approve your book. Before children get to read the book, their parents will normally read the book and the book reviews and make sure that the book is suitable for their children.

So if you want to make sure that children will get to read your book, you need to make sure that parents will give the book an approval. This is the reason why you need to find out all about the types of books, parents let their children read.

How do you find out what children like to read and what their parents let them read:-

1. Organize Events and Parties: Organize events and parties where children can come along with their parents and you can use this opportunity to spend some time with parents and children and find all about their likes and dislikes.

2. Conduct online surveys: There are many services which provide easy ways to conduct online surveys. You can take this opportunity to find out what sort of books let their kids read and what sort of books children like to read.

3. Social Media: A vast percentage of children and parents continue to spend time on social media sites like Twitter. You can take advantage of this opportunity to find out all about the latest trends and developments in children’s books.

Using tools like Social oomph you can track keywords people use on their tweets on twitter. So if run a search for the keyword children’s books or children’s stories daily, you will be able to find out the latest trends about children’s stories and children’s books that are being published on twitter every day.

These are some of the methods and techniques you need to take into consideration while writing children’s books and stories, to make sure you write books which suit both children and their parents.

Mitt Ray is a children’s book writer. His book “Living With Ogres,” http://www.mittray.com/living-with-ogres/ will be out by the end of this month. He also regularly posts articles on books and stories children and young adults will enjoy reading on his blog http://www.mittray.com/

Children’s Book Publishing Tips Your Agent May Not Tell You

Bethany Ramos — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:00:56 +0000

Being an aspiring writer is one thing, but what if you’re trying to break into the children’s book industry? Where are you supposed to get the inside scoop on what it really takes to publish a successful children’s book – aside from all the smoke and mirrors?

Don’t Fall for a Scam

Unfortunately, since the children’s book industry is so popular today, and so many unpublished authors are hoping to break into it, there are more than a few scammers out there trying to take advantage of your unpublished manuscript. If you want to self-publish your children’s book, that is a perfectly valid option. Self publishers are normally not scammers. But make sure you choose a trustworthy self publisher with an affordable price package as a bottom line.

Although I can’t name names, I was given a children’s book “contract” by a publishing company that turned out to be a self publisher in disguise. This contract required me to pay $4000 as a good-faith investment that I would then get back when and if my book was successful. I would encourage you not to put down that much money as a supposed investment for your book. Instead, continue to research and submit queries again and again and again until you find a fair publisher interested in your work. It’ll happen!

Don’t Illustrate – Unless You’re a Professional Illustrator

Unless you happen to be the rare combination of a professional illustrator and author all in one, it’s best not to illustrate your own book. Most publishers will tell you in bold print on their website not to provide your own illustrations. Instead, a publisher will be responsible for illustrating the book for you. As a side note, you may want to make notes in your children’s book manuscript of the illustrations you have in mind, but that’s as much as you should offer.

Try to Get a Literary Agent First of All

Again, the children’s book market is quite competitive. But if you can get a literary agent to represent your work, then you’re in good hands. A literary agent will be able to send your manuscript to larger publishing houses to help you to get a bigger break that you may not have been able to otherwise. BUT! Remember that you should only submit your manuscript to literary agents interested in children’s books, and those agents are often few and far between.

Consider Small Publishers

Last but not least, consider submitting to small publishers to help break ground with your children’s book. This will give you the opportunity to get your feet wet in the children’s book industry, establish a relationship with a dependable publisher, and even have more input in the publishing process.

Bethany Ramos is a freelance writer who has a contract to publish her children’s book Lions Can’t Eat Spaghetti with 4RV Publishing. She also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

5 Rules for Writing a Successful Children’s Book

Bethany Ramos — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:00:51 +0000

Many people think writing a children’s book is easy when that’s actually far from the truth. Even more people write their own delightful children’s story and submit it to publishers, only to be met with rejection after rejection. What gives?

The truth is that while it may appear simple to write a children’s book, there are five important rules to consider to make sure that your children’s book is worth publishing. By sticking to these rules, it will help you to fine-tune your children’s book manuscript so that you’re even more likely to get noticed by the top publishers and agents out there:

Solve a Problem: Almost all children’s books center around solving a problem or considering a moral dilemma. These themes are easy for young children to identify with, and problem-solving will also attract children to a storyline right away. Entertaining children’s stories are wonderful, but they must also have a problem that can be solved to keep kids interested enough to read the book over and over again.

Use Repetition: If you’ve been around children lately, you’ve probably noticed that kids love repeating fun phrases over and over. Almost to a fault! Using repetition in a story will make it easier for kids to follow along, even if they haven’t learned to read yet.

Stay Short and Sweet: A top children’s book will be short, compelling, and concise, making it likely to become a hit that kids will want to read again and again. If a book is too long or too complicated, a young child is likely to lose interest immediately.

Get Kids Involved: By using noises in the story or asking for kids to make gestures as a part of the plot, it will keep kids engaged and interested. Try to incorporate creative calls-to-action, where you ask the reader to make a funny sound, shout, or whisper to become a part of the story.

Use Simple Illustrations: If you’ve written a children’s book manuscript, then you may not be responsible for illustrations if you submit it to a publishing company. But if you have also done the illustrations for your book, make sure that they are simple, bright, and attractive for a young reader. If a picture is too complicated or abstract, then once again, a child is likely to lose interest.

You can use the above tips as a helpful checklist to make sure that your children’s book is ready for publishing. From there, it’s time to start putting yourself out there and get prepared for rejection. Rejection is a given for any author seeking publication, and even more so if you’re competing in the booming children’s book industry.

The best word of advice? Continue to believe in your story, don’t give up, and you’ll see a reward for all your hard work!

4 Tips to Promote a Children’s Book

Corinne Liccketto — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:00:10 +0000

If you’ve written a children’s book, you might already know that promoting and securing media attention for this genre can be tough. The competition is high making it difficult to stand out from your peers and their projects.

However, just because the children’s genre is difficult to tap into, doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Every story has its target markets; you just need to know how to reach them! Here are a few tips on how to promote your children’s book.

1) Hold an event at your local and regional libraries and elementary schools.

Contact the events coordinator at your library and local elementary school district administration office. Offer an ‘afternoon with a local children’s author’ in which you can read your book to the target age group, discuss the characters, themes and lessons, and hold a workshop with the students. Have your elevator pitch prepared when you call and an electronic outline of your event description ready to submit as a follow-up.

2) Ground your book with relevant themes.

The most difficult children’s books to promote are ones of pure entertainment purpose. When authors weave a ‘real-life’ angle, educational theme, social cause, etc. into their book, it is easier to highlight the uniqueness of the story. The media will be more apt to consider featuring the book/author when they can tie it into a bigger issue. Parents will be more likely to buy the book for their children when they know it is a book that goes beyond a fun read. And, ultimately, children will learn something from reading the book!

3) Find and tap into the children’s book social network.

For each book genre there is a network – the same holds true for the children’s market. Do your research on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs and start interacting with fellow children’s book writers, publishers, and authors. Ask and answer questions, suggest links and associations and share what makes your book unique! The more awareness you generate within your network, the greater ‘word of mouth awareness’ success you’ll have.

4) Submit guest blogs.

Seek out blogs from other children’s authors, readers, and publishers and submit guest blog entries. This is especially great for authors who may have published an entertaining read. Research, select and write about a trend in the children’s book industry and watch publicity for your project follow.

Bottom line: Don’t be afraid to steer away from topics in your book! Children’s authors, especially, must be creative and persistent.
Bonus Tip: Jacket Flap online is a website that connects you to the work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. Visit today to start networking! http://www.jacketflap.com

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

How to Write a Children’s Book Based on Your Personal Struggles

Laura Backes — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:00:06 +0000

Suppose you’ve just gone through a divorce and lost custody of your kids. Or a loved one has recently died of cancer. Or you struggled in school as a child because you have dyslexia.

Many writers turn difficult periods in their lives into books for children, hoping to help young readers through similar painful experiences. Here are some tips to keep in mind when creating and selling books based on real-life events:

Remember that you’re writing a children’s book, not a personal essay intended to purge your soul from a painful memory. Children want to read about how they feel. Many writers create a child character and tell the story through that character’s eyes. Don’t write in first person if the “I” is you, the adult author. Instead of explaining how bad you feel that your kids no longer live with you, show how a five-year-old character feels about only getting to see Daddy every other weekend.

Books for younger children (up to age eight) centering around a personal crisis are generally most effective if the author uses a fictional vehicle for imparting the information. If you want to stick closer to nonfiction, make sure the book focuses on the child in the center of the event, and is told in a narrative format with a beginning, middle and end. Older children can handle more traditional self-help books, with each chapter concentrating on a specific aspect of the problem. However, interspersing the advice with personal anecdotes from other children who have gone through the same thing will make the information more appealing and relevant to the readers.

Targeting appropriate publishers with these manuscripts is important. Look in subject index of Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market under “Self Help” and “Special Needs” for publishers. Peruse the children’s nonfiction section of a large bookstore, and read reviews in Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal and Horn Book (trade magazines found online and in most libraries) to see which publishers do similar types of books. Check out websites for editorial guidelines (if you can’t find them, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the children’s editorial department asking for guidelines before you write and submit your manuscript). You can also look at books written for parents to help their children cope with an illness, loss or divorce, and query the publisher asking if they’d like to publish a children’s book on the same topic.

Though many mainstream publishers are interested in books that deal with special issues, some topics have too narrow an audience for a large house to market the book successfully. In this case, many authors have elected to self-publish. If you get several personal rejection letters from editors who praise the book but say the audience isn’t broad enough, you might consider publishing it yourself. But self-publishing should be approached cautiously; color illustrations are essential for picture books, making them very expensive to produce. And you must be prepared to devote at least a year of your life to selling and distributing your book. Most self-published books are sold primarily through direct mail. Can you purchase mailing lists of parents with children who could benefit from your book? Stories on adoption, specific childhood illnesses, or those that might fit in a pediatrician’s waiting room or hospital gift shop are examples of books with a very targeted audience.

Laura Backes is the Publisher of Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Book Writers. Want to learn how to become a successful children’s book author? Come hang with the Fightin’ Bookworms at http://cbiclubhouse.com Whether is writing picture books, chapter books, young adult novels, finding children’s book publishers — or anything else — you’ll find all the answers at the CBI Clubhouse!

Authors of Children’s Books Will Love New iPhone App

Scott Lorenz — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:00:14 +0000

As a book publicist I am always on the lookout for new tools and technology to reach consumers and convince them to purchase my client’s books. During the past decade, the most important tool has been the Internet, especially email, online search (like Google and Yahoo), and social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. During the past couple of years, it has become very clear that book promoters need to take advantage of the huge popularity of hand-held devices with Internet connectivity…especially smart phones…especially iPhone Apps.

As part of my book marketing strategy, I have made several contacts and established continuing business relationships with iPhone App developers. The experience and knowledge I have gained convinces me that the successful book promoter will tap into any and every iPhone App that’s related in any way to their book.

An excellent case study is the Kids Book App (www.kidsbookapp.com), an iPhone App created by 1776 Productions that connects book buyers directly with the San Francisco Book Review (SFBR) and Sacramento Book Review (SBR) which produce some 500 new book reviews every month from 40 genres – most of them books for young adults, pre-teens, and children. The Kids Book App not only provides hundreds of book reviews, but also author-related events, such as tour stops and book signings, in addition to author podcast interviews.

1776 Productions was launched in 2008 by Heidi Komlofske and Ross Rojek to help readers find new books and authors and to be a means to support and encourage writers, publishers, and readers. One of the latest ventures of 1776 Productions is the Kids Book Review App, which can be downloaded at the iTunes App Store.

Any author of a book written for children, middle schoolers, teens, or young adults will certainly want to do what it takes to get a review of their book done by SBR or SFBR, which can be accessed anytime, anywhere by book buyers using the Kids Book App to make a purchase decision. In offering your book up for review, remember that SBR/SFBR is only interested in new releases that are within 90 days of their release date.

“There are a few options for book publicists or authors to submit a book for review with us,” says Ross Rojek. “We have about 150 books a week coming in for review, with about 130 book reviewers. Options for submitting a book for review are available at http://www.sanfranciscobookreview.com/submission-guidelines/

The address for mailing books is: 1215 K Street, 17th Floor, Sacramento, CA 94518. http://www.sanfranciscobookreview.com

One author who found this service especially helpful was Karen McFarren, author of “Flaherty’s Crossing”, who comments: “As an author, reviews are incredibly important and a wonderful tool for marketing your book. My experience with Sacramento Book Review/San Francisco Book Review was nothing short of amazing. I received an honest, timely appraisal of my story and would love to have future novels reviewed by this professional group. Their name, alone, adds credibility and should be on the top of any author’s review list!”

If the Kids Book App does not meet your criteria, simply go to the iPhone Store and search the apps on sale there for one that is appropriate and relevant to your book marketing needs. Then go to the developer’s website and learn more about the App and how to get your book listed.

Technology opens many new doors for us each month. Let’s be sure we enter every one!

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few. Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at http://www.book-marketing-expert.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090.

Tips for Writing Children’s Books: How to Incorporate “The Slow Reveal”

Laura Backes — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:37:18 +0000

Eighteen months ago, I took up karate. It’s a great workout, but the biggest reason I train is I want to be a formidable senior citizen. If someone tries to nab my purse or deny my senior discount at Denny’s, I’ll be able to answer with a nasty roundhouse kick to the solar plexus. By laying the foundation now, I’ll be a badass when I’m 70.

But the neatest thing about taking up karate when you’re a woman in her mid-40′s is that people don’t automatically expect it. If you’re just a casual acquaintance, you won’t know I’m working toward my black belt. And by the time I’m collecting Social Security, the possibility won’t even cross your mind. Unless you try to grab my purse.

In life most people become more complex as we get to know them. This should also be true for characters in children’s books. At a conference I recently attended, Lyron Bennett, editor for Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, called it “the slow reveal”. It means investing your characters with enough varied qualities that some can be withheld until called for in the plot.

The slow reveal is particularly important when writing a series. If J.K. Rowling had allowed Harry Potter to reach his full power as a wizard in Book 1, would fans have waited nine years and six more books to discover if he finally defeated you-know-who? But equally important is planting the seeds early on for who you want your character to become. From the beginning, readers saw Harry’s potential, and Rowling allowed greatness to surface in Harry when it was least expected. Those qualities expanded along with Harry as the series unfolded.

You don’t want to reveal everything at once in stand-alone books either. Picture books and easy readers, with their smaller word counts and straightforward plots, do best with characters who have one or two surprises up their sleeve. In Peggy Parish’s classic easy reader Amelia Bedelia, the child sees that Amelia is doing a bad job on her first day as a housekeeper because she doesn’t understand the list her employer left her. But even before Amelia begins on the list, she whips up a lemon merengue pie. What the reader doesn’t know is that Amelia makes the most delicious pies anywhere, which eventually saves her job at the end of the book.

Parceling out your protagonist’s strengths and weaknesses keeps the tension taut in a novel. In Gary Paulsen’s timeless Hatchet (ages 11-14), Brian, a city kid, is stranded in the Canadian wilderness after the his bush plane crashes, killing the pilot. Neither Brian nor the reader know if he’s got what it takes to survive on his own. Can he figure out how to start a fire? Yes, quite by accident. Can he fish? Eventually. Kill and cook a bird? How about live through a moose attack or weather a tornado? Brian evolves from reacting to his predicament and stumbling upon solutions to carefully taking control of his situation. But nothing Brian does is out of character. Though he must teach himself to live in the wild, he draws upon bits of information he learned from watching television or at school, and reserves of strength that were in him all along.

Even if you’re writing a single title, make your children’s book characters complex enough to carry on for several books, just in case. Fans loved Brian so much that Paulsen was persuaded to use the character in several other wilderness adventures. Picture book series (such as Mo Willem’s Pigeon books) or easy reader series like Amelia Bedelia generally grow because the protagonist’s quirks are open-ended and funny enough that readers don’t mind exploring them over and over in different circumstances.

The slow reveal works particularly well in mysteries. In this genre, the readers gradually get to know the victim (perhaps an honor student who is discovered to be running an side business selling test answers), and the villain (who may seem like a nice guy at the beginning of the book). Or, how about a first person narrator in any genre who appears normal and likable early on, but becomes less and less reliable as the story unfolds? Read Robert Cormier’s timeless young adult I Am the Cheese for a masterful example of a shifting first person reality. If you prefer a broader perspective, try Avi’s Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel for ages 11-14, which looks at one incident from several viewpoints, gradually separating fact from fiction. So when you first breath life into your characters, don’t stop too soon. Add layers that can be exposed later on. These surprises will keep readers enthralled, whether you’re writing about a boy wizard, a demanding pigeon, or a ninja grandma.

Laura Backes is the publisher of Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers. For more information about how to write children’s books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets, the lowdown on children’s book publishers and much more, visit the CBI Clubhouse at http://cbiclubhouse.com

Getting it Right for Kid’s Books

Virginia Walton Pilegard — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:03:46 +0000

“Eastern dragons don’t have FLAMES! They are water beings.”

The Warlord’s Puzzle, my first mathematical adventure picture book set in medieval China, had barely been shelved in bookstores when my sales rep called to tell me a woman in New England questioned its veracity. Second to a bad review—and I was smarting from several of those—nothing scares a newly published author more than being told she’s gotten her facts wrong.

Thank God, Nicolas Debon, the Warlord’s series artist and I based our picture and description of “red flames” curling around the legs of “painted golden dragons” on a photograph of Tang Dynasty artifacts! I subsequently learned Eastern dragons are indeed water creatures, bearers of thunder. They have flames coming from their joints, not from their mouths like St. George’s western dragon. I should have known all those things before I dared mention a dragon!

In his introduction to Bells and Grass, Walter de la Mare cautions, “I know well that only the rarest kind of best in anything can be good enough for the young.”

These words (and my fear of a certain New England reader) keep me in constant fact-checking and research mode. Do I make mistakes? Sure, but not for lack of trying. You probably will too, and you can be sure.

Virginia Walton Pilegard, www.virginiapilegard.com

What If You Have Stage Fright?

Gail Langer Karwoski — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:02:52 +0000

If you are nervous about speaking in public, you are not alone – lots of people HATE to stand up and speak in front of a group of people, especially strangers. In some surveys, people have indicated that they would rather get cancer than speak in public!

If you are worried about public speaking, start small. Offer to pay a free visit to one classroom. Notice what the kids react to, what makes them giggle or gasp. Adjust your program so that you know it has audience appeal. Nobody is forcing you to become an author/illustrator in a speaking environment, so stick one toe in the water and see how it feels. You’ll probably be surprised and delighted by the result.

I think that public speaking gets easier the more you do it, and children are reassuring listeners. They wear their enthusiasm on their faces. Kids think that all adults are confident experts on every topic – they do not expect grownups to make mistakes or be nervous. Their confidence in you will be contagious – pretty soon, you’ll feel it, too!

For more information about Gail Karwoski, visit her website, http://gailkarwoski.com/ or visit the Sylvan Dell Publishing website, http://www.SylvanDellPublishing.com. For additional inquiries or to schedule an interview with Ms. Karwoski, contact Sara Dobie, Public Relations, at 877-958-2600 or SaraDobie@SylvanDellPublishing.com.

Why Authors Should Do School Visits

Gail Langer Karwoski — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:55:13 +0000

One important benefit of author school visits is that schools pay authors to present programs to the students. If you don’t need the money, is there any reason to do author visits to schools?

First of all, breathes there an author/illustrator who does NOT need the money?

However, if you are one of the fortunate few who do not need the income from author school visits, author visits are beneficial in many other ways:

Writing/illustrating is a solitary occupation. It’s reinforcing to meet the youngsters, teachers, and librarians who are enjoying your books.
Being around kids is the best way to keep current about what kids are learning, laughing about, and interested in. Your stock of info about kids will help you select future writing topics and create age-appropriate imagery.

Usually, schools sell copies of your books for you to autograph while on campus. These book sales are nothing to sneeze at – at one school visit, a hundred or more books may sell! While bookstores return “older” books to make room for the newest titles, your books are THE latest and greatest whenever you visit a school. Many authors manage to keep their books in print because they visit many schools.
School visits forge lasting relationships between teachers and librarians and YOUR books. These adults are likely to follow your career, recommend your books to others, and purchase your future titles.
Best of all, school visits transform kids into lifelong readers. When a child can “touch” the human hand behind the printed page, books become deeply personal and important. After meeting an author/illustrator, a child feels a special connection with a book. Eventually, this spark grows into a fire that lights a lifelong love for reading.