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So You Want to Be a Children's Book Author...
Perhaps you are nostalgiac for the books from your youth or you have noticed a lack in a particular subject or character. Maybe you have this epic fantasy you have been dreaming about and are finally ready to get it out of your head and onto a piece of paper. Whatever the case may be, there are some important things that you may not have considered about children's books that need to be addressed first, because, despite the fact that these books are aimed at children, the process is anything but easy.
1. Identify your audience
Before you start writing, think carefully about your intended audience. Are you writing for babies, young children, middle-grade readers, or young adults? Understanding your audience will help you create characters, settings, and themes that will resonate with them. While any age can read a children's book, the typical age range can be broken down as follows:
Board Books - ages 0-3
Picture Books - ages 2-8
Chapter Books - ages 5-8
Intermediate/Middle Grade - ages 7-12
Young Adult - ages 12-18
Of course, there are six-year-olds who are capable of reading a middle-grade book because they are reading at a higher reading level, but in general, these are the ages that books that these genres are aimed at.
2. Know Your Audience
Once you have identified the type of children's book you are writing, it's important to understand that age group's interests and concerns. This will help you to create characters, settings, and storylines that resonate with your readers. For example, a five-year-old may have several things that they are concerned about, like starting school for the first time, a fear of the dark, how to make friends, and playing a sport. Perhaps writing a picture book that addresses one of these concerns would connect with some readers. For middle-grade and young adults, a good rule of thumb to remember is that the main character is usually a year or two older than the intended audience. So if your main character if eleven, your audience would be roughly nine and ten year olds. Kids gravitate towards characters that are a little older than themselves.
It is important to remember that whatever issue you are addressing, to never trivialize them. Or as Mo Willems put it, "“The difference between children and adults is that they're shorter - not dumber."
3. Read widely
One of the best ways to become a better writer is to read widely in your chosen genre. Pick up some popular books that may be similar to what you plan to write and study how they're written. What makes them successful? How do they engage the reader? What is the opening line? Does it hook the reader? How is the pacing and plot? Pick it apart. Learn how to read like a writer so you can start writing like a writer.
If you want to be a children's book writer, but don't like to read children's book or haven't read one in a while, then it is time to dust off the library card and start reading. Writing in a genre you know nothing about will show, both in your writing and the interest of the reader.
4. Develop your characters
Your characters are the heart of your story, so spend some time developing them before you start writing. Think about their personalities, backgrounds, and motivations. The characters in your book should be three-demensional and relatable to your readers. They should have hopes, dreams, and desires that will carry them through the book. It is important to note that sometimes what the character thinks they want is not always what they truly need or want deep down. For example, in The Secret Garden by Mary Hodgson Burnett, Mary Lennox starts the book believing that she just wants to be left alone. She is miserable and unhappy, but has no idea why. In the end, Mary discovers that what she truly wanted and needed were friends and family to help her grow just like her garden. She needed nurturing and tending.
Your characters should feel like real people, to you and your readers.
5. Plan your plot
Once you have a sense of your character(s), start thinking about the plot. What obstacles will they face? What challenges will they overcome? How will the story end? A strong plot should be engaging, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. It should also have rising action, conflict, and a resolution that satisfies the reader.
You do not need to have a big baddie. Sometimes the conflict is survival against the odds like in Hatchet. The conflict can also be internal with a character fighting their own demons as in Challenger Deep by Neal Schusterman.
6. Start writing
With your characters and plot in mind, it's time to start writing. Remember that your first draft doesn't have to be perfect – just get your ideas down on paper. Neil Gaiman advises first-time writers to "Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there'll always be better writers than you and there'll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that – but you are the only you."
It is easy to get bogged down in research and character building. One could work on these for a decade and never write a word. It won't be perfect. That's okay. You can always revise. But you can't revise a book that isn't written.
7. Find Your Voice
Voice is a crucial aspect of writing children's books, as it helps to create an emotional connection between the reader and the characters. A strong voice can make a story come alive, creating a sense of intimacy and authenticity that draws the reader in.
Voice can manifest in a variety of ways, such as through the use of language, tone, and perspective. It can be humorous, serious, or somewhere in between. Regardless of the tone, a strong voice is one that is consistent throughout the book, reflecting the author's unique style and vision.
One example of a book with a strong voice is "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie. The book is written from the perspective of a teenage boy named Junior, who is growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington state. The book is filled with Junior's wry humor and irreverent tone, which makes his experiences all the more poignant. Here is an example quote from the book:
"I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats."
It's important to note that this will happen as you write. When you first start writing, your "voice" may be a bit all over the place. That's okay. You will find it as you continue to write.
8. Edit and Revise
No book is perfect on the first draft. It's important to revise your work, paying close attention to pacing, character development, plot, and style. As Rick Riordan said, "I'm a completely different writer now than I was when I wrote my first book. I've learned a lot about the craft, and about storytelling in general. The biggest lesson I've learned is that the first draft is just the beginning – it's the revisions that make a book great."
Your book will go through several rounds of revisions. If you finish a first draft and all your friends and family are telling you it is perfect the way it is...they are wrong. No book is perfect on the first go. You won't find any books by famous authors, not even when people were writing everything by hand, where they stopped after the first draft and announced it was perfect.
We will cover in more detail these different aspects of writing as well as what to do with your book once you have revised it.
Books to Help Elevate Your Writing:
These books offer practical advice on developing characters, plotting, and finding your voice as a children's book author. They also include insights on publishing, submitting manuscripts, and navigating the industry.
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