If you want to write a picture book, you need to read picture books. That's just the way it is.
I’ve written about this before, but I’m still getting outlines and drafts with an adult as the main character.
In fact, in the two most recent, there were NO children in the story, and they were to be children’s picture books.
One basic guideline for writing for children is that the story must revolve around a child.
This is the guideline and that’s that; it’s about the young reader. Kids want to read books about kids, not adults.
The age group of the intended reader will determine the main character's (MC) age. As children like to read up, the MC should be a little older than the intended reader, or at the very least, the top of that targeted age group.
With all the information online, if you’re thinking of writing a children’s book or you've already started one, hopefully you’ve done some research, and you should know this basic information.
So, why does this still happen? Why do I still get stories from clients with adults as the main character?
It’s simple: The author hasn’t bothered to read current children’s books or research in the genre you want to write.
I recently attended a Highlights workshop on picture book structure with Leslie Helakoski and Darcy Pattison. Every year or every other year, they both read 100 books published within the last five years. And they get those books from the library.
Why is getting the books from the library essential?
It’s essential because if a book has made it into the library, it’s a quality book, whether traditionally published or self-published.
This isn't to say self-published books that don’t make it into the library system are of poor quality; it’s just that those already in the library have been vetted. There’s no guessing involved.
Darcy said she reads all 100 picture books within one month to absorb them as a whole and get a sense of what publishers are buying and publishing. If the book is self-published, it shows what libraries are accepting from that realm.
I haven’t done the 100-book challenge, but I intend to. It really is the only way to know what’s working and selling in the children’s book market.
I get that reading 100 books may seem daunting, but why not think in increments of 10 or 20 a month until you reach 100?
I like Darcy’s strategy of bombarding yourself with what’s working in the children’s market over a month. It entails reading 3-4 picture books a day. Considering recent picture books are around 500 words or fewer, it doesn’t seem too difficult.
Darcy didn’t mention whether she takes notes on each book, but I would assume she does. I will definitely take notes.
You might create a spreadsheet with: 1. Theme 2. Plot 3. Main Character 4. Inciting incident 5. When the inciting incident was introduced 6. How many obstacles did the main character overcome to reach the goal 7. Word count 8. Main character 9. Number of secondary characters 10. Were adults involved 11. Year published 12. Publisher
You can tweak this however you like, shorten it, add to it, whatever works for you. Keep the details very brief so you don’t spend too much time on them.
The idea is to absorb what works in children’s picture books. And I guarantee that if you do this, you won’t write a story with an adult as the main character or with adults heavily involved.
Off to the library.
I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, book doctor, editor, and self-publisher. I help turn your idea, outline, or manuscript into a book you’ll be proud to call your own—and provide hands-on guidance through every step of the self-publishing process.
