As with anything you attempt to do, it’s important to know what you’re doing.
My father was a contractor – he built homes.
How structurally sound do you think those homes would have been if he didn’t know what he’s doing or didn’t know how to read blueprints?
Or what about a musician who didn’t learn how to play an instrument. Or one who learned the basics, but never practiced. Would you attend a concert that musician was giving?
Well, the same thing applies to writing for children.
It’s true that a self-published author can publish a poorly written book, no one will stop him. But do you think that’s fair to the reader and to those authors who produce quality books?
The answer is NO on both accounts.
A common problem I see with new children’s authors is that they’re not familiar with the different genres.
I’ll see 2,000-word picture book drafts or 9,000-word middle grade drafts.
I’ll also see things like an intended middle grade draft with inappropriate content for the age group.
This also goes for the words you use in your story. Everything must be age appropriate when writing for children.
And, there must be a main character (protagonist).
A story I recently reviewed had no main character. It didn’t have a story arc either.
This is common for some new authors. They have a message they want to convey, but don’t realize it needs to be within the boundaries of a good fiction story.
Another biggie I notice is middle grade stories with multiple points of view (POV), even to the point of changing POVs within a chapter.
I realize that many people think writing for children is simple.
I mean how hard can it be, right?
Well, it’s actually a tough genre.
When writing for children, you must adhere to the industry’s standard guidelines. In other words, you need to know what you’re doing … you need to play by the rules.
Some elements that pertain to playing by the rules are:
- Word count
- Sentence length
- Chapter length
- Story length
- Age appropriate content
- Age appropriate words
- Point of view
- Protagonist
- Character arc
- Story arc
- The protagonist must solve the problem and grow in some way as a result of his journey
While there are other factors involved, these are eleven of the most important.
So, before you jump into a children’s story, read a lot of books in the genre you want to write. Be sure they’re well-written, though. A good way to do this is to read recently traditionally published books by top publishers, such as Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Chronical Books.
There are good self-published books out there, but it’s sometimes a guessing game as to which are well-written and which are poorly written. You wouldn’t want to learn or model poorly written books.
Traditionally published books will be up to the current publishing guidelines and well-edited.
You should also take a few online children’s writing courses, read books on writing for children, and possibly get a children’s writing coach to help you overcome the hurdles of writing a publishable book.
I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, editor, and coach. I can help turn your story into a book you’ll be proud to be the author of, one that’s publishable and marketable.
Or maybe you’d rather do-it-yourself. Check out my book, HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN’S FICTION BOOK.
There’s also an online course: FICTION WRITING FOR CHILDREN ECOURSE.
If your children’s manuscript is done and you need help self-publishing, check out WRITERS ON THE MOVE PRESS.
You can contact me at: kcioffiventrice@gmail.com. Or give me a call at 347—834—6700. (Please leave a message- I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.)
MORE ON WRITING FOR CHILDREN
Writing a Fiction Story – Walking Through Walls Backstory
Learning to Write for Children – It’s More Than Just ABC
10 Rules for Writing Children’s Stories
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