A while ago, I started a new children’s ghostwriting project, and the client recommended that I read a book she wanted her book to be similar to.
The client raved about the picture book. So, I bought the Kindle version and read it.
I’ll start with the positives of the book:
1. The illustrations were colorful and fun.
Now onto the negatives:
1. Children's writers have a responsibility.
While the book was written to help children overcome emotional issues, it was misleading. The main character was miraculously healed in one day.
I’ve written for enough child psychologists and therapists to know that overcoming emotional issues takes time and work. It's essential that the child and parents are aware of this.
How the process should basically work: There’s a struggle. The child moves forward, then there are setbacks. The child moves further along with more setbacks, then there is forward movement, possibly with more minor setbacks, until after a while, he is finally able to handle his symptoms.
It’s not wise or professional to give children and parents false expectations.
2. Grammar errors.
There were grammatical errors, including missing periods at the end of sentences and missing quotation marks. And there were some poor word choices used.
3. Rhyming problems.
The book was described as 'lightly rhyming'. I’ve never heard that phrase before, and I don't know what it’s supposed to mean.
The book was mainly rhymed, though some of the rhymes felt forced. And notice I said, “mainly rhymed.” A couple of paragraphs weren’t rhymed. It could be that the author couldn’t come up with a rhyme for those paragraphs, so just left them.
Important tip: If the rhyme isn't working for the entire story, you probably shouldn’t rhyme.
4. Too much telling.
Telling is when the author 'tells' the reader what's going on rather than showing him through action, dialogue, senses, and details. This book had a lot of telling.
5. Formatting issues.
In a one or two spots, I had to reread the page a couple of times to make sense of it and figure out who was speaking. And page-wise, it was much shorter than a standard picture book.
There are industry standards for a reason - children’s writers should adhere to them.
6. Back cover issue.
The back cover copy wasn’t professionally written, and the sales page author info wasn’t professionally written.
I'm not sure what my client saw in this book, but it certainly isn't a book I would want to model.
SUMMING IT UP
This isn’t about tearing apart an author’s book; it’s just that it was too easy to quickly know that this was self-published... and unprofessionally done.
That’s never a good thing. It’s these types of books that perpetuate the stigma of self-publishing. Even worse, it can be misleading to young readers.
While it’s easy to send a book out into the world, the quality of the book should never be sacrificed for speed of publishing or the money to have the book professionally edited and formatted.
While many authors may slack off on quality, we shouldn't let that happen when writing for children. As children’s authors, we should set the standard high… and keep it there.
The takeaway of this article is that if you’re going to self-publish a book, please take the time to do it right. Put in the time and effort, and spend the money if needed; at the very least, have it professionally edited and properly formatted. And if you’re a children’s writer, think of what you’re conveying to the young reader.
I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, rewriter, 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.
