Updated February 22, 2026 Writing in general can be a tough business; writing for children is even tougher, with its own unique rules and processes. One of those rules is to use age-appropriate words. How this differs from writing in general is that the children’s writing arena is divided into specific age groups. There are…
Author: Karen Cioffi
Karen Cioffi is an award-winning author and children's ghostwriter. She loves to help those who want to be the author of a children's book fulfill their dream. Contact Karen today to get your story started!
Ingredients for the Perfect Picture Book
Writing for young children can be tricky. It’s not as straightforward as writing for adults. You can’t use your own vocabulary, and need to be careful of age-appropriate story lines. You also need to introduce your main character immediately. It’s also important to keep in mind that children don’t have the same comprehension level as…
Book Marketing and the Query Letter
If you are contemplating writing a book or you’ve already written one and intend to travel the traditional publishing path, you’ll need a query letter and a cover letter. This is true whether you’re an author, a writer, or a business owner who wants to build your authority with a book. Wondering what a query…
Children’s Writing and Publishing Jargon: The Basics
The writing and publishing arena has a number of words specific to the industry, its lingo or jargon. Below are some of the most important ones for the children’s author. 1. Manuscript (MS): This is what your draft is called once it’s complete and ready for submission. 2. WIP (Work in Progress): A manuscript currently…
Children’s Ghostwriter Fees – Does Price Equal Quality?
As a ghostwriter for children’s books, I get a number of queries each month. And, interestingly, I never know if the potential client will think my prices are too high, too low, or just right. It seems that around $15,000 is the norm to ghostwrite a middle-grade book of 35,000 words. To me though, that…
Getting to Know Your Characters
I read a post about writing for children. It focused on the story’s characters. The post advised creating and knowing your characters inside and out before beginning the story. In fact, it suggested that the author build the story around the characters once they were fully developed. While this is good advice, and many experienced…
Plot and Your Story – Four Formats
Plot. As writers, we’ve all heard of this literary term. But what does it mean? Well, plot is what gives the story a reason to be. It’s the ‘why’ as to the reason the story exists. The plot is what the story is about. And, if the plot is good, it will entertain and engage…
Make Your Children’s Website Focused: 3 Must-Haves, 6 Tips
Updated February 2026 Is your site on the mark? As we get caught up in our writing careers, sometimes it’s easy to forget to stay focused. That’s a no-no! It’s important to present a focused brand and site. Okay, so what are three website must-haves and six tips? The Must-Haves As a writer, whether you’re…
Day’s End Lullaby Video Book Review
Thanks to Amy Robbins-Wilson, creator of Lullaby Link, Day’s End Lullaby is in a video. Amy did a Google search for “lullaby” and came upon my book. She contacted me and offered to include my book as a review video on her site. But, she didn’t stop there, she offered to create a video of…
What Makes a Good Story? Plot Driven vs. Character Driven
Stories can be plot-driven or character-driven, so which is the best formula to use? Knowing a little about both methods should help in making a decision. Plot Driven Story A story’s plot moves it forward from point A to point B. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in a straight line; in fact, a course…