Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: the Abcs of Writing for Children 5
Chapter 1: Exploring the Basics of Writing Children’s Books 7
Knowing Your Format, Genre, and Audience 8
Getting into a Good Writing Zone 8
Transforming Yourself into a Storyteller 9
Polishing Your Gem and Getting It Ready to Send 10
Selling Your Story 11
Promoting Your Book 11
Improving Your Chances of Getting Published 12
Chapter 2: Delving into Children’s Book Formats 15
Dissecting the Anatomy of a Book 16
Grouping Types of Children’s Books 17
Illustrated Books for All Ages 18
Baby-friendly board books 19
Picture books for toddlers 20
Other books that have pictures 24
Working through Wordy Books 30
Early readers 30
First chapter books 32
Middle-grade books 34
Young adult books 36
Chapter 3: Exploring the Genres 39
Going Out of This World 40
Science fiction 40
Fantasy 40
Graphic novels and manga 42
Horror and ghost stories 42
Getting in on the Action (and History) 43
Action/adventure 43
True stories 44
Historical fiction 45
Mysteries 46
Writing About Real People 48
Biography/memoir 48
Lgbtqia 49
Gender-oriented series books 51
Friendship 53
School issues 54
Developmental milestones and first experiences 55
Prose poetry 56
Romance 57
Giving Stories a Message 57
Learning/educational 57
Religion 60
Aspirational and inspirational 60
Diversity 61
Family issues 62
Pets and animals 63
Cultural issues 64
Addiction, abuse, and mental illness 65
Keeping Them Laughing with Humor 67
Quirky characters 67
Parody, satire, and jokes 67
Slapstick and gross 68
Dark humor 68
Wordplay 68
Chapter 4: Understanding the Children’s Book Market 71
Getting Insight into Book Buyers’ Needs 74
For chain and big-box bookstores 74
For independent bookstores 76
Recognizing What Reviewers Offer 78
Discovering What Librarians Add to the Mix 79
Taking a Look at How Teachers Use Books in Their Classrooms 84
Considering Parents’ Perspectives 86
Thinking Like a Kid 86
Going after what kids like — regardless of Mom and Dad 87
Knowing what kids don’t like 88
Part 2: Immersing Yourself in The Writing Process 89
Chapter 5: Setting Up for Success: Finding the Time and Space to Write 91
Finding Time to Write 92
Figuring out when you’re most productive 92
Sticking to a writing schedule 93
Evaluating your commitment 93
Optimizing Your Writing Environment 94
Locating your special writing spot 94
Keeping helpful references handy 95
Cutting down on clutter and getting organized 96
Preventing and dealing with interruptions 98
Chapter 6: Starting with a Great Idea 101
Once Upon a Time: Coming Up with an Idea 101
Relying on specific ideas rather than big ones 102
Tapping into your own experiences 103
Digging through childhood mementos 105
Drawing from other children’s experiences 106
Pulling ideas from the world around you 106
Stumped? Break through with Brainstorming 107
Doing it all by yourself 108
Giving free association a whirl 109
Taking up journaling 109
Buddying up to the buddy system 111
Asking the advice of classmates and writing professionals 112
Seeking help from your audience 113
Going to the source 115
Checking the “best of” book lists 116
Fighting Writer’s Block 117
Chapter 7: Researching Your Audience and Subject 119
Hanging Out with Kids 120
Going back to school 120
Becoming a storyteller 122
Borrowing a friend’s child for a day 125
Dipping into Popular Culture 127
Watching kids’ TV shows and movies 127
Playing kid-focused digital games 128
Reading parenting and family magazines and blogs 129
Perusing pop culture magazines and blogs 130
Surfing the web 130
Browsing bookstores 131
Visiting children’s stores online or in person 132
Studying kids’ fashion trends 133
Eavesdropping where kids hang out 133
Researching Your Nonfiction Topic 134
Outlining the research process 134
Getting around locally 136
Going far afield 136
Visiting the web — a lot 137
Part 3: Creating a Spellbinding Story 139
Chapter 8: Creating Compelling Characters 141
The Secret Formula for an Exceptional Main Character 142
Defining your main character’s driving desire 142
Show, don’t tell: Fleshing out your main character 143
Getting to Know Your Characters through Dialogue 144
Compiling a Character Bible 147
Surveying a sample character bible 148
Creating consistency 150
Writing Stories with Two or More Main Characters 151
Choosing Supporting Characters 152
Calling All Character Arcs 154
Character Don’ts — and How to Avoid Them 157
Steer clear of stereotypes 157
Don’t tell us everything 158
Toss out passivity and indefinites 160
Don’t rely on backstory or flashbacks 161
Developing Characters through Writing Exercises 162
Describe your first best friend 162
Borrow your favorite children’s book characters 163
Revisit a painful or joyful experience from your childhood 163
Chapter 9: The Plot Thickens: Conflict, Climax, and Resolution 165
Plot: It’s All about Action 166
Centering on the Story 167
Giving Your Story a Beginning, Middle, and End 168
Propelling Your Story with Drama and Pacing 168
Drama: A reason to turn the page 169
Pacing: How you keep the pages turning 169
Outlining to Structure Your Plot 170
Creating a step sheet 171
Fleshing out your outline 172
Knowing when to circumvent an outline 175
Preventing Plot Problems 176
Writing Your First Draft 176
Chapter 10: Can We Talk? Writing Effective Dialogue 179
The Fundamentals of Good Dialogue 180
Dialogue has a function 180
Dialogue has drama 182
Listening to Real-World Dialogue 184
How kids talk 184
How grown-ups talk 185
Adding a Speech Section to Your Character Bible 186
Testing! Testing! Reading Dialogue Out Loud 187
Avoiding Common Dialogue Mistakes 188
Failing to have conflict or tension 188
Repeating information: Showing versus telling 189
Describing dialogue 189
Using too many speaker references and attributions 190
Creating heavy-handed and unrealistic dialogue 191
Filling space with unnecessary dialogue 191
Improving Dialogue by Using Writing Exercises 192
Talking on paper 193
Introducing your first best friend to the love of your life 193
Chapter 11: Setting the Scene 195
Giving Context to Your Story and Its Characters with Scenery 195
Creating a Context Bible 196
Knowing When to Include Scenery and Context 197
When place figures prominently 198
When place plays an important role 199
When description of place doesn’t interrupt flow of action 200
When you must mention an exotic locale 200
When you mention a specific place at the beginning 201
When you use place to transition to a new scene 201
Providing the Right Amount of Setting 202
Engaging Your Readers’ Senses 203
Knowing When Not to Make a Scene 204
Exercising Your Nose through Smellography 204
Chapter 12: Finding Your Voice: Point of View and Tone 207
Building a Solid Point of View 208
Reviewing POV options 208
Picking your POV 209
Matching tense with POV 211
Having Fun with Words through Wordplay, Rhyming, and Rhythm 212
Engaging in wordplay 212
Taking different approaches to rhyming 214
Keeping your story moving with rhythm 215
Using Humor to Your Advantage 216
Figuring out what kids consider funny 217
Turning to the outrageous and the gross 220
The Mojo of Good Writing: Exploring Voice, Style, and Tone 221
Finding your story’s voice 222
Writing with style 223
Taking the right tone 223
Knowing When You Need a Voice Makeover 224
Helping Your Voice Emerge by Playing Pretend 225
Pretend to be someone (or something) else 225
Chapter 13: Writing Creative Nonfiction Books 227
The Nonfiction Children’s Book World at a Glance 228
Writing Toward a Nonfiction Masterpiece 229
Choosing a Great Nonfiction Topic 231
Looking at topics that get kids’ attention 232
Finding topics that interest you 233
Branching out into the real world 233
Testing Your Topic 235
Outlining Your Creative Nonfiction 236
Starting simple 236
Fleshing out your ideas 237
Enhancing your outline by using visual aids 238
Common Creative Nonfiction Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them) 239
Writing Exercises for Creative Nonfiction 240
Pretend you’re a newspaper reporter 240
Create a funny five-step procedure to wash a dog 241
More short exercises to get you writing 241
Part 4: Making Your Story Sparkle 245
Chapter 14: Editing, Revising, and Formatting Your Way to a Happy Ending 247
Your Revising Checklist: Getting Major Story Elements in Order 248
Theme 249
Characters 249
Plot 250
Pacing and drama 251
Setting and context 252
Point of view 252
Fine-Tuning Your Text: Editing Important Areas 253
Strengthening your opening 254
Keeping your dialogue tight and on target 254
Transitioning effectively 255
Trimming wordiness 256
Keeping your chronologies in order 257
Formatting Basics: First Impressions Matter 257
Including the proper information on the first page 258
Following other children’s book formatting conventions 258
Not to Put Too Fine a Point on It: Checking Basic Grammar and Style 261
Punctuation 261
Style 262
Miscellaneous 263
Hiring Help: Working with an Editor or Editorial Service 265
Finding a good editor or editorial service 266
Asking the right questions 268
Digital versus hard-copy editing 269
Chapter 15: Creating Pictures from Your Words: The World of Illustrations 271
To Illustrate or Not to Illustrate 272
Recognizing Why You Shouldn’t Hire an Illustrator 272
Following the Hand-Drawn Illustration Process with Artist Tim Bowers 274
Starting with black-and-white pencil sketches 275
Moving on to finished pencils 276
Creating color art 276
Capturing the right cover image 277
Exploring the Digital Art Process with Author/Illustrator Barney Saltzberg 279
Interior art 280
Cover art 281
Getting Your Art Seen by the Right Folks 283
Considering some solid options 283
Preparing a book dummy 285
Handling Art When You’re Self-Publishing (and Not an Artist) 286
Chapter 16: Finding and Incorporating Feedback 291
Deciding When to Seek Feedback 292
Getting Help from Friends and Relatives (or Not) 294
Delving into the pros and cons of friendly advice 295
Having a friend in the business 295
Calling on Topic Experts: Beta and Sensitivity Readers 296
Attending Conferences or Retreats 297
Exploring the conference scene 297
Getting away with retreats 300
Participating in a Workshop 301
Working with a Writing (or Illustrating) Group 302
Finding the right group 302
Starting your own group 304
Sifting through the feedback you receive 305
What Feedback Should You Expect During the Publishing Process? 309
Part 5: Getting Published and Promoting Your Book 311
Chapter 17: The Traditional Route: Signing with an Agent or Publisher 313
Identifying the Right Publisher 314
Gathering information from the marketplace 314
Perusing writer’s guides and directories 316
Drafting Query Letters and Proposals 316
Perfecting the query letter 317
Drafting a great book proposal 320
Joining Forces: Working with an Agent 322
Finding and approaching your ideal agent 322
Managing multiple agent submissions 323
Understanding typical agency agreements 324
Terminating your agency relationship 327
Copyright: Protecting Your Work 329
Success! Reviewing Your Publishing Contract 330
Surveying the two types of publishing agreements 330
Getting what you want in the contract 331
Dealing with Rejection 334
Chapter 18: Considering Hybrid Publishing 339
The Good and the Bad about Hybrid Publishing 340
The good about hybrid publishing 340
The bad about hybrid publishers 341
Vanity presses: Don’t say we didn’t warn you 342
Identifying the Right Hybrid Publisher for Your Book 344
Doing your research and asking around 344
Confirming some important criteria 345
Approaching a hybrid publisher 346
Getting the Biggest Bang for Your Hybrid Buck 346
Fees and payments 347
What about distribution and marketing? 347
Chapter 19: So You Want to Self-Publish? 351
Weighing the Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing 352
Exploring Your Self-Publishing Options 354
The print route 355
The digital route 358
Setting a Price for Your Publication 359
Distributing Your Self-Published Book 360
Getting in the door at traditional bookstores 360
Persuading online booksellers 361
Considering other places to sell your book 362
Chapter 20: Donning Your Publicity Cap 363
Understanding How Your Publisher Promotes Your Book 364
Publicizing Your Own Book 364
Focusing on the digital components 365
Touching on the traditional components 369
Promoting Your Work in Person 373
Planning a publicity tour 373
Joining the signing and reading circuit 373
Hiring a Publicist 374
Discovering what a publicist can do 374
Finding the right publicist 377
Getting the most for your money 378
Chapter 21: Getting Savvy with Social Media 379
Influencing the Influencers 380
The basics of influencing others 380
Understanding the different kinds of online influencers 381
Figuring out where online your influencers live 382
Knowing Where to Create a Social Media Presence 382
Blogs 383
Podcasts 383
Goodreads website 384
Facebook 384
Twitter 385
Instagram 385
YouTube 385
TikTok 385
#BookTok 386
Pinterest 386
Making a Splash: Launching a Social Media Campaign 389
Reviewing the ABCs of a social media campaign 389
Getting noticed on social media 390
Surveying the unwritten rules of social media marketing 391
Applying search engine optimization 392
Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Campaign 393
Part 6: the Part of Tens 395
Chapter 22: More Than Ten Great Sources for Timeless Storylines 397
Tales of Yore: Fairy and Folk Tales, Fables, and the Like 398
Mythology and Mythological Heroes 399
Nursery Rhymes 399
Bible and Religious Stories 399
Family Issues and Changes 400
Sibling Issues 400
First Experiences 400
Common Childhood Fantasies 400
Friendship and Social Issues 401
Growing Pains (Emotional and Behavioral) 401
Bodies and the Brain: Their Functions and Changes 401
History Makers and History in the Making 402
Nature, Science, Technology 402
Chapter 23: Ten Children’s-Author Recognitions to Dream About 403
Newbery Medal 403
Caldecott Medal 403
Coretta Scott King Book Award 404
Printz Award 404
Pura Belpre Award 404
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award 404
ALA Quick Pick & ALA Notable Books for Children 404
Stonewall Book Award 405
Robert F Sibert Informational Book Medal 405
State and Local Book Awards 405
Index 407
