Children’s Writing Web Journal

It’s often the little details that make a picture book, chapter book or novel successful.  One of those things — good character names that accurately reflect the time setting of the story.  A girl in 1945 isn’t likely to be named Ariel, and a girl in 2009 probably won’t be named Ida.

That’s why the Baby Name Voyager is so useful.  Choose any common boy’s or girl’s name and the Voyager will show you how popular it has been at any given time.  You can also browse through names and see their rank over the past century, so the site can also help you develop new character names.

It’s free and a lot of fun.  Pay a visit at http://www.babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/

For much more great information about writing children’s books, stop by the CBI Clubhouse, our new community for writers that’s packed with audio, video, articles, inside writing tips and much more.  We’re at http://cbiclubhouse.com.

Successful, published children’s book authors tend have four things in common. See if you have what it takes to make it writing children’s books and getting them published.

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From picture books to young adult novels, there are certain rules newer children’s book authors should never break. Here they are!

Enjoy!

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We get lots of e-mails from writers with questions, and we do our best to answer as many as possible.  Here’s a sampling of some common questions, along with responses from Children’s Book Insider Editor Laura Backes….

Q: What are the qualities that make a memorable picture book?

A: Many things make a picture book memorable. Well-defined characters with which young children can identity, and who have a problem or goal that young children can understand and find important. A well-paced plot that inspires the child to turn the page and see what happens next. Lyrical, rhythmic text that sounds appealing when read out loud. Engaging illustrations that contain details not found in the text, and also add another layer to the story. And finally, an original, imaginative story that the child, parent and editor haven’t seen before!

If you think about your favorite books from your own childhood, they are probably stories that made you feel something: wonder, joy, excitement, surprise, or even sadness. Those stories that speak directly to a child’s emotions are always the most memorable.

Q: I am considering submitting to a publisher who requests a cover letter, full manuscript and information on my personal/professional background. Would this personal/professional info. be included in a cover letter or in a resume? Also, I don’t have recent professional experience as I am currently a homemaker. Do I state this or only include my previous professional experience (which does not relate to writing though does relate to children)?

The personal/professional information would be presented in a short paragraph in your cover letter. Any professional experience that relates to writing or children can be included. If you were formerly a teacher, for example, that’s relevant. If you’ve been published but it was for the adult market, I believe you can still include that information in your cover letter. However, if you’re unpublished but a member of a writing organization such as the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, this information would be of interest to an editor. If you’re without experience, don’t worry about it. Simply skip this paragraph.

For much more information about writing children’s books, visit the Home of the Fightin’ Bookworms - http://cbiclubhouse.com

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.

Don’t Disregard Designated Word Lengths

No editor is going to turn down a terrific book just because the text length falls outside the average guidelines. If your young adult novel is complete in 100 pages, there’s no sense padding the manuscript simply because most YAs are longer. But length guidelines are there for a reason- -publishers have determined about how much text kids of different ages can read, and so it behooves you to try to stay as close to those guidelines as possible. And if you’ve ever tried to get a group of 4-year-olds to sit still for a 2000-word picture book, you’ll understand why editors are leaning toward shorter texts in the youngest age brackets. When submitting to magazines, it’s absolutely essential that you stick to the requested word limits because articles must fit within a finite amount of space on the page. Too long, or too short, can mean instant rejection.

Don’t Provide Testimonials in Queries

It’s nice to have lots of neighborhood kids read your manuscript and give you positive feedback, but your potential editor doesn’t need to hear about it. Frankly, editors don’t give much credence to testimonials from readers who may be family or friends of the author. Also, don’t clutter up the query letter with ideas for why children need your book or what they’ll learn from it. This is up to the editor to decide. (One exception: You’ve written a nonfiction book and can show that there aren’t any other books in print that cover the same subject). Keep your query letter tight, brief, and to the point. Provide an intriguing plot synopsis or nonfiction outline, relevant information about yourself, and enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Sell your book, not your reasons for writing it.

Don’t Write a Series Before Selling the First Book

I’ve critiqued many manuscripts from authors who say, “I’ve got six more books written with these characters. Should I mention that to the editor when I submit my manuscript?” My answer is always no. Unless an editor is specifically looking for new series proposals, and the books were written from the start to form a series, this is a bad idea. Realize that series are created as a group of books that are bound together by some sort of hook; in fiction, it might be a club the main characters form, a neighborhood they all live in, or a cause they champion. In nonfiction, it’s a topic (natural sciences, biographies) and an age group. Rarely do you see picture book fiction series. What does happen is a character may become very popular with readers and the author is asked to write another book featuring the same cast. These fiction “series” actually grow slowly one book at a time.

So, unless you’ve conceived your books as a traditional series and are able to send a thought-out series proposal to the editor, stick to selling one book. When an editor sees you have numerous manuscripts featuring the same characters and similar plots, she may feel that you’ve spent too much writing new material and not enough time revising what you’ve already got. And remember, each book–series or not–must stand on its own. It needs a strong beginning, well-developed middle, and satisfying end. No fair leaving the ending unfinished with the intention of continuing the story in the next book.

For writing tips and more information about writing for children, visit The CBI Clubhouse - Home of the Fightin’ Bookworms!

Picture books aren’t read, they’re performed.

The very act of reading a story out loud to a child forces the reader to add inflection, dramatic pauses, and even ad-lib some commentary. Where the pages are turned can add (or detract) as much from the experience as the quality of the story itself.

Picture books are almost always 32 pages long. There is no mysterious artistic reason for this; it’s simply how the printing presses work. If the book is longer, it will go up in 8-page increments, but most publishers don’t risk this added expense on new authors. The 32 pages includes the endpages (the white or decorated pages at the beginning and end of the book), the title page, and the copyright/dedication page. So the author has an average of 26 pages to tell the story. In general, the first page of text is a righthand page, and the last page of text is on the left.

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We’ve all heard “show, don’t tell”.  It’s pretty much the first piece of advice a new writer hears.  But how best to make that truism come to life?

One way is to give your characters a vivid body language.  How we move, manipulate our facial muscles, even cross our legs tells a great deal about our inner dialogue.  As a writer, the more you understand about body language, the more you can avoid telling, and really begin showing.

Here’s an example:

Emma didn’t trust Martin.  She thought he was a liar.  When he told her that he wasn’t responsible for the broken glass, she knew he wasn’t telling the truth.

Now, here’s the same exchange with body language incorporated:

Martin’s eyes darted around.  He couldn’t look Emma in the face.  “I didn’t break that glass”, he muttered.  Emma watched him silently.  Martin could only stare at the ground, slowly making a circle in the dirt with the tip of his sneaker.

We all have what poker players refer to as “tells”.  Give your characters their own “tells” and they’ll become more vivid and memorable, and your writing will grow sharper.

Here are some excellent resources for learning about body language:

http://www.wikihow.com/Read-Body-Language

http://www.ismckenzie.com/05/15/control-your-body-language-for-effective-communication/

We’re big fans of writing advice that goes beyond “show, don’t tell.” So I’m happy to point you to some that goes way beyond the usual.

Jack Kerouac certainly marched to the beat of his own drum, and he left behind a little of his sheet music, in the form of 30 bits of advice for writers.

Here are a few of my faves:

Remove literary, grammatical and syntactical inhibition

Write in recollection and amazement for yourself

No fear or shame in the dignity of yr experience, language & knowledge

Composing wild, undisciplined, pure, coming in from under, crazier the better

and my absolute favorite:

You’re a Genius all the time

Indeed you are. Head over to http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationPages/index.php/PageID/464 to dig the whole list, lit cats. You’ll feel like you’re sitting in Cafe Vesuvio with Jack, Neal and Allen just shootin’ the karmic breeze.

A New York restaurant has granted a pardon to George — a 140 year old lobster! He was released back to the ocean in Maine. Imagine that — a lobster born around the end of the Civil War still swimming around out there.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090110/ap_on_fe_st/odd_liberated_lobster

So, who amongst you is ready to do George his proper justice in a picture book?

Know what I find offensive? I mean really, really offensive?

Mediocrity.

I’m really quite OK with bad books, or bad music, or bad movies—as long as I can observe that the people behind the work had the intention of making something great. There’s no shame in trying to produce something beautiful and falling short. There’s no shame in trying to reach beyond your level of talent and hitting a wall.

But mediocrity is another matter. Mediocrity says that you never intended to shoot for the stars. You just wanted to get something out there, make a few bucks and grab a little fame.

It used to be that mediocrity was obliterated by excellence. Think about the pop culture titans who strode the earth in days past: Mailer, Sinatra, Ali, Hepburn, Dylan, Bowie…. Sure there were hacks all over the place back then, but they were largely obscured by the shadows of the truly talented.

Now look at the culture around you and think about who our most famous people are. We’re surrounded by a sea of reality TV stars, vapid mass-produced pop idols and ceaseless self-promoters. We have become a society that doesn’t just tolerate mediocrity, we venerate it. We’ve mistaken heat for talent. And we’ve handed over the keys of our culture to the unbearably average.

So what’s this have to do with you, dear children’s writer? Just this:

We don’t need more children’s books. We need more great children’s books. If you’re not fully committed to trying to create something spectacular, and wonderful and utterly breathtaking, find another hobby.

Now, you may not have the chops to actually succeed at creating something beautiful, but you won’t know that until you truly try. If you fail, at least you’ll have gone down with a dignity of purpose. If you succeed, you may not sell as many books as the celebrity-author-of-the-day, but I guarantee that kids will know. And future generations will know. And, for goodness sakes, is there another form of artistic expression that offers a greater chance for unbounded creativity, joy and inventiveness than a children’s book? And is there another field that offers a better chance for the truly visionary to actually come out on top? J.K. Rowling, Mo Willems and Louis Sachar don’t sell so many books because they were hyped to the heavens. They sell so many books because kids have a natural B.S. detector and can tell the truly great from the truly mediocre. They sell so many books because they dreamed of greatness, and it was greatness they so deservedly achieved.

Kids don’t care about hype. They just want what’s good. In that, they are the final firewall against mediocrity. And they deserve only the best as a result.

And here’s the best part: If you set your sights not on fame and fortune, but rather on simply creating something beautiful, your chances of success become so much greater. When we’ve asked writers about the best moments of their careers, we’ve never heard anyone say “getting a big advance” or “making the bestseller list”. What we’ve heard was “when a parent stopped and thanked me for writing a book that turned her child on to reading” or “when I got a letter from a young boy who told me that my book changed his life” or “when a writer I really admire complimented me.” And these are from some folks who have gotten big advances and have made bestseller lists.

In March 1966, The Velvet Underground released their debut album. It was met with confused indifference and barely dented the charts. Today it’s said that 5,000 people bought that record and every one of them started a band. The impact of that album is profound beyond words and, while most of the bands who bested the Velvet Underground in sales are now forgotten, young musicians still pull that record out and marvel. And then they start a band.

The point: create something special and beautiful and then give it to the world. Forget about sales, forget about acclaim. Just write a book that even a handful of kids will read. But make that book so special, so wonderful, that this handful will go forth and write their own wonderful books.

Right now:

1. Decide if you are truly committed to creating something absolutely, utterly transcendent. If not, walk away.

2. If you are up to the task, defend this decision with everything you’ve got. Don’t let naysayers, shortsighted rejecters, and the voices of those who would drag you down to their level of mediocrity and compromise stop you. Forge ahead and find your path to excellence.

For more articles and instruction, visit the CBI Clubhouse, a community for children’s writers, at http://cbiclubhouse.com