Children’s Writing Web Journal

Welcome! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. We'll be updating the blog on a daily basis, with plenty of exclusive tips, articles and goodies for aspiring children's book writers. So why not subscribe now and have easy access any time you'd like!

You’ve labored over your manuscript for months. It’s a polished, spell-checked, one-of-a-kind manuscript. Now it’s time to approach an editor. Does the editor want to see a complete manuscript with a cover letter, or a query letter? Either way, you’ll have about ten seconds to get his or her attention.

What is a cover letter?

A cover letter is a business letter introducing a particular piece of writing, which accompanies the letter, to an editor or agent. It should be concise, informative and professional. Professional does not mean stuffy. This letter is your representative. Let your own personality come across. The letter should contain all the necessary information…and nothing more. (more…)

I often talk about the “rules” of writing for kids, citing proper page lengths and story types for different age groups. A better term would probably be “guidelines”; these rules exist only to tell you what, in general, editors like to see in the manuscripts sent to them. And, of course, for every rule there are numerous exceptions. But while we’d all like to think our book is strong enough to override the guidelines, this is usually not the case. Here are some rules that shouldn’t be broken until you really know what you’re doing:

Don’t Write Picture Books in Rhyme

Yes, you’ve seen them in the stores and kids like them. But children also like picture books that aren’t written in rhyme. It takes a great deal of skill and hard work to craft an original story, complete with unique characters, in about 1000 words. It takes another skill entirely to tell that story in rhyme. If you’ve got it, great. But don’t assume that because your story is aimed at young children it has to rhyme. Always try to write it in prose first. Once you’ve got the story on paper, decide if the rhyming format will add to the text. If the answer is yes, make sure it’s strong rhyme: it has a consistent meter, uses no clichés or extra words, and has a rhythm that is easy to read aloud. (more…)

One of the great things about being a writer is that you can do it pretty much anywhere. 

Charge up the laptop battery and you’re ready to go.  But to really go mobile, a “wi-fi” connection to the internet is the only way to travel.

These days, scores of coffee shops, bookstores and even fast food joints offer wi-fi service to their customers.  The tricky part?  Finding them.  I’ve looked at a bunch of directories, and I’ve found this one to be very comprehensive and reliable:

http://www.jiwire.com/search-hotspot-locations.htm

And here’s one that shows locations on a map:

http://hotspotr.com/wifi

Happy wi-fying!

Sure, YouTube is filled with great stuff for kids to view.  It’s also packed with videos that, well, aren’t too great for them to view.  How to keep a young surfer on a safe path?  Try TotLOL, a monitored front-end to YouTube that offers only G-rated videos for the young ‘uns.  It’s free!

TotLOL (via Lifehacker and Learning My Way Through)

The Just One More Book site has a new podcast up, featuring an interview with author Henrik Drescher. Drescher’s credits include Turbulence: A Log Book, Simon’s Book, Hubert the Pudge: A Vegetarian Tale and McFig and McFly: A Tale of Jealousy, Revenge and Death (with a Happy Ending).

Drescher is a skilled and compelling artist, and I suggest a visit to his site — http://www.hdrescher.com/ — as a complement to the interview.  You can find the podcast at http://www.justonemorebook.com/2008/06/16/interview-with-henrik-drescher/

Baseball great Willie Keeler had a simple explanation for his batting prowess: “I hit ‘em where they ain’t”. If you yearn to see your name in print, you might follow Willie’s example. Why not “hit ‘em where they ain’t” by going where there’s less competition? One excellent — and underserved — field is writing nonfiction magazine articles. Nonfiction can be profitable because you can use the same research on several pieces. Find a topic you love, gather your information, and then craft several articles for different markets. Remember that children are most interested in the “how” and “why” of a subject, especially if you present it in a humorous or unique way. (more…)

I was volunteering at recess at my son’s elementary school last week, when a trio of third grade girls walked by. I’ve known them all since kindergarten, and I made a comment to one of them along the lines of, “I like your shoes.” She smirked at me, grabbed her friends’ hands, and skipped away. Something about her expression launched me back to junior high. I saw Lori Coleman, who thought she was so much better than the rest of us, whispering about me behind her hand on the school bus. I had to remind myself that this third grader was not Lori, that I was in fact bigger than her and could probably beat her at hopscotch if given the chance.

What a difference a year makes. In second grade Matthew’s classmates welcomed me with hugs, now they politely tolerate my presence. The boys seem to want me to join their games more than the girls, which I found surprising until I remembered being a third grade girl myself and escaping to that magic world inhabited only by a few close friends every chance I got. In kindergarten, all the kids were basically the same unmolded, cute little blobs of personality. Sure, some were more outgoing than others, some more sensitive, but everyone played together as long as no one hogged all the Legos or kicked sand in someone else’s eyes. In first grade kids started to band together by interests, but it was easy to bounce from group to group. Second grade brought sharper divisions, especially among the girls. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have never believed that cliques could form so young. But the kids still operated as units, predictable in their activities (the Tag kids, the Jump Rope girls, the Basketball boys, the Hide and Seek gang). Then something magical happened in the summer between second grade and third. Suddenly, these kids have distinct, interesting, individual personalities. (more…)

Writing contests are great ways to gain some recognition and find out exactly how you stack up against other writers. There are many, many contests these days, ranging from big national events to tiny niche competitions.

Want to find out if there’s a contest you’re perfectly suited to win? Try these hand-picked links….

www.writers.net/resources/resources_awards.php

www.writers-editors.com/Writers/Contests/contests.htm

Good luck!

J.K. Rowling was the commencement speaker at Harvard, and she gave a lovely speech. To view it in its entirely, or to read the transcript, visit http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

Whoa, this is cool. Jott.com is a free service that does lots of things, but the most immediately impressive is its voice to e-mail feature.

Here’s how it works:

1. Set up a Jott account by registering your e-mail and your phone number.
2. Program Jott’s toll-free number into your phone contacts.
3. Whenever you want, call the toll-free number and leave yourself a message.
4. The message is transcribed and e-mailed to you, along with a link to the actual audio.

The possibilities are numerous.

You’re in the library or the bookstore and you come across some titles you’ll want to study later. Jott yourself all the info and it will be waiting for you in your inbox.

You’re at a conference looking for subjects to interview for your blog when you meet a famous author. Call Jott and conduct the interview using the phone as a “microphone”. The entire interview will be transcribed and sent to you along with the audio.

Needless to say, there are hundreds more uses, and Jott has a lot more to offer, including the ability to send RSS feeds to your phone. A killer resource!

http://jott.com