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Children's Books, Writing For Children - Top Tips
Children's books and writing for children tend
to conjure up images of cosy reading sessions on the sofa when we
were young, reading on the beach, under the desk at school, or in
bed by the light of a torch after mother has told us to put the
light out.
Many adults think nostalgically of their own childhood and decide
that it is easy to write a book for children. After all, we all
have children, grandchildren, know children, have children in our
road, were children once upon a time..... so hey! We are all authorities
on childhood and what fun it would be to write a children's book!
From there come dreams of hitting the bestseller list and becoming
the next J.K. Rowling. Sounds an easy way to make our fortune and
be able to tell the boss to stuff his boring job.
So we start to put pen to paper, or fingers to the computer, and
find it's not so easy after all.
If we do manage to finish our magnum opus, we follow all the writer's
guides and send off our manuscript dutifully double spaced on A4
to Bloomsbury (They discovered J.K Rowling so why not me?) and several
more publishers later, we start to realise children's books are
actually one of the hardest nuts in the world to crack.
I've had more than my fair share of rejections, nearly-but-not-quite-publishing
opportunites and....argh!.... the great self-publishing nightmare
of printing too many copies of your book and nearly breaking the
joists in the attic with the weight of unsold copies.
Rejection, heartbreak, depression, despair.... yes, been there and
got the T.shirt to match.
Finally, for the first time in twenty five years - yippee! I am
free of the books in the attic! The last batch came down and were
dispatched to that exciting batch of unknown children. At long last,
I have managed to break into the several thousand copies sold league.
So if you are starting out on the rosy - or should that read rocky
path of children's writing, or if you're treading that hard concrete
road which is littered with rejection letters, here are the ten
ten tips from someone who has finally reached Narnia.
1. Believe in yourself. Unless you are very lucky,
you need a strong sense of self belief to keep going when everyone
is telling you to get a proper job.
2. Develop self discipline. A little every day
gets you into the writing habit. A regular routine trains your mind.
3. Don't take rejection personally. That editor
who has just returned your beloved MS may genuinely like your work
but have just taken on a similar book or simply feels they cannot
convince the sales department that it will sell in the quantities
they demand.
4. Have belief in your story. A strong vision will
carry your work to its conclusion. Writing a detailed synopsis will
give you a roadmap and keep you on track.
5. Have belief in your characters. Cut out pictures
from magazines and pin them to a noticeboard above your desk. Ask
questions of them. How would they react in such and such a situation?
What is their background? What do they like/ dislike? Who are their
friends/enemies? What do they believe in?
6. Don't turn your nose up at the world of marketing.
It's all very well to be an artist, but in today's world, writers
need to develop many skills. If you want to sell books, at some
point, when the book is finished - or preferably before you start
- you will have to get to grips with the mechanics of selling.
7. Keep your eyes and ears alert for stories. Even
that scrap of newspaper blowing in the wind is a great potential
source of ideas for your book.
8. Listen to people - adults and children - get
a feel for how different types of people express themselves and
you will learn to create great dialog.
9. Revise, revise, revise, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite,
rewrite... put it aside for a day, a week, a month... then revise
and rewrite again.
10. Don't drive yourself into the grave. Do as
much as you can in the time you have but stop while you are still
enjoying it. Tomorrow is another day and you can return refreshed.
11. Stop rewriting when you are happy with what
you've done. Listen to other people's views on your work but remain
true to your vision.
Happy Writing!
Cara Louise
Cara Louise Children's Books
http://www.caralouisebooks.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cara_Louise
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