Writing well over 300 stories, between ghostwriting and rewriting, I’ve only seen one story that couldn’t be tweaked, nudged, shaken, or even deconstructed and reconstructed into a publishable story. The concept and author of that one book were, well, not quite all there. Dealing with so many clients, I’m surprised I only had one so…
Category: writing for children
Hiring a Ghostwriter for Your Picture Book? Are Illustrations Included?
It seems lately, a lot of people who want to have a children’s picture book ghostwritten for them aren’t quite sure what they get for their money. I’m often surprised when a potential client asks if the price quoted includes illustrations. Another query I’m getting a number of lately is about writing and illustration packages….
The Cost of a Picture Book
Probably 75 percent of my clients want picture books. Of that 75 percent, about 25 percent go the traditional route. Yep, most don’t have the patience or grit to go the traditional route. But, with the retail price of a traditionally published picture book being on the high side, authors may wonder why they only…
Turn a Children’s Movie into a Children’s Book
While it’s usually the other way around, book to movie, if you’re a freelance writer or ghostwriter, you may get a request to turn a children’s movie into a children’s book. If this should arise, there’s a lot to consider, especially when most non-cartoon children’s movies have multiple POVs (point-of-perspectives). Another problem that may arise…
Children’s Books and Back Matter
Are you thinking of writing a children’s book? Or, maybe you’ve written one already. The majority of my clients hire me for picture books, although I’m getting more and more chapter and simple middle grade clients now. As authors having a book to be published, it’s important to know a bit about what should go…
4 Reasons Why Self-Publishing Your Children’s Book May Be Your Best Option
Last week I talked about why you shouldn’t self-publish a young children’s book. I gave 5 reality-check tips. You can check that article out here: Is Self-Publishing a Children’s Book the Way to Go? 4 Realities For this article, let’s go over the reasons taking the self-publishing path for your children’s book may be a…
Is Self-Publishing a Children’s Book the Way to Go? 4 Realities
I self-published a children’s picture book in 2008 when self-publishing wasn’t as popular as it is today. And as a newbie to self-publishing, I made a couple of mistakes. The first of which was that I didn’t hire an illustrator-–I did the illustrations and book cover myself. I can hear the gasps. It’s okay, though….
Self-Publishing a Picture Book and Vanity Presses
Sadly, there are still new authors who fall for the lure of self-publishing (vanity) services. And, while this article focuses on picture books, it’s solid advice for authors of other genres. As a ghostwriter, the majority of my clients hit the self-publishing road as do I think most of today’s authors. It’s just easier and…
Writing a Successful Children’s Series – 3 Key Elements
This is Part2 of writing a children’s series. And, if you’re a children’s writer of chapter books, middle grade, or young adult you can write one. To write a series, you need three things: 1. Strong characters In a ‘live’ workshop, Scholastic senior editor Matt Ringler noted that the most important element of a series…
Writing a Children’s Book Series – Different Types
I attended another ‘live’ workshop through SCBWI. This one was with Senior Editor Matt Ringler with Scholastic. He’s in the series department for chapter books, middle grade, and young adult. If you write in these genres, you’ll want to read on! In case you weren’t aware, Scholastic is the only publisher that deals solely with…