How strong is your story's opening? Turbocharge it with this 5-point checklist

Did you ever watch a space shuttle launch? 

It was an awesome thing: the thundering noise, the heat, the deep bass rumble.  Why do they have to put so much energy into launching ships into space?  They have to start out with a ton of power so the ship has enough velocity to make it all the way into space.

And that's what your story has to do, too.

Adding rocket fuel to your book

Pour a ton of thrust into the story's opening to carry readers all the way through to the end.  Here's a quick 5-point checklist to make sure your opening covers all the bases.

If you're writing a chapter book, you should include all these elements in the first chapter, preferably in the first half of the first chapter.   In a picture book, you'll want all of this on the first one or two pages.  That seems tight, but remember that your illustrations are going to be doing at least half the work.

Ready?  Get out your red pencil... here's the checklist:

Does your story's opening...

1) …Introduce the main character?

We should get a clear idea of who this character is and what they're going to want in the story.  Show, don't tell. Let the illustrations do part of the work here, and whatever you do, don't start with the character's name and age.

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The stinky fish guide to choosing and using big words in your children’s story.

What’s your favourite condiment?  What do you love to squirt onto your burgers, your dogs, your sandwiches?

(I’ll tell you what America’s current favourite is in a minute – and why it’s important to you as a writer.)

Know what condiment the ancient Romans loved best?  It’s called garum, a putrid blend made of stinky rotten fish.  The Roman writer Seneca called it an “expensive bloody mass of decayed fish [which] consumes the stomach with its salted putrefaction.”

Yum, right?  (OMG, no.)

Know why the Romans loved the stuff?  Because their food was so, so stinky that they needed a condiment strong enough to cover it up.  Ew.

The perfect condiment for stinky writing

Some people’s writing is like this, too.  Stinky stuff.  Their writing isn’t clear, their ideas are shallow – but they use big, fancy words, splashing them around like garum to cover up the stench.  They hope you won’t notice.

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So you want to write a children’s book…? The ultimate Quick-Start tutorial.

When I started out writing children’s books, I was full of ideas, but I had no idea what to actually DO. 

Should I write the story?  Find an artist?  How was it all supposed to come together into an actual book?  Like I said, I had no idea.

You might be right where I was a few years ago, wondering how to get started.

I’ve put this quick-start guide together to help YOU skip over the mistakes I made.  I hope it’ll help give you a smoother launch into this incredible world of writing for children.

1. How can you write (or finish) your book?

You can’t do much until you have a finished book saved on your hard drive (or, if you’re the old-fashioned type, written down on paper).  Here are the basics, the least you need to know to sit down and get writing.

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Write like a journalist: use the 5 W’s to write captivating children’s books.

How are you on the 5 W’s? 

You know:  “who, what, when, where, why”?  Those 5 W’s.  The ones your high school English teacher badgered you about. 

Maybe you’ve pushed them aside and not thought about them since high school.  But it’s time to dust them off and see how they can help you create a tighter, more fascinating story.

Every journalist knows that if they haven’t answered these 5 W questions in the very beginning.  So should every story writer. 

Open up any newspaper in the world and you’ll see how those 5 W’s have been worked into the first paragraph – known as the “lede.”  Here’s a short news item from Reuters today:

An explosion at a gas filling station in Ghana's capital killed at least 78 people, many of whom had sought shelter there due to torrential rain, a spokesman for the national fire brigade told JOYFM radio on Thursday.

Let’s take a look at those 5 W’s.

• Who’s it about?  78 people who were killed, and one fire brigade spokesman.
• What happened?  An explosion.
• When?  Today, Thursday June 4 (or maybe it happened yesterday).
• Where?  Accra, the capital of Ghana.
• Why?  The people were in the gas station to seek shelter from the rain.  The article doesn't given a reason for the explosion itself, but the next paragraph says it may be connected to the rain as well.

Oh, and by the way, I know nothing about Ghana.  That’s another thing journalists realize:  if they’re doing their job right, they can make you feel entranced, utterly fascinated, by anything.  They can make you care.

Now let’s look at the beginning of a children’s book.

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What's your story REALLY about? (Hint: forget the forest, just show us a tree.)

I’ve figured out how to get rich.  What’s the secret, you’re wondering?

I’m going to make folks hand over a nickel every time they say:

• “I’ve written (or I’m writing) a story about bullying.“
• “It’s a kids’ story all about grief.”
• “This is my book about divorce and/or remarriage and/or gay families.”
• “It’s an illustrated picture book about eating right.”
• “I’m writing a story about consideration / politeness / good manners.”

You get the idea.  These are all great concepts, each and every one.  But they are also all lousy kids’ stories.

The truth is, they’re not stories at all. 

Because a story is not about the great big FOREST that is your concept.  A story is about the tiny, individual trees that live in the forest.

Finding the trees in the forest

Have you made this mistake?  I know I have. 

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Is your manuscript headed for the shredder? 15 formatting DO’s and DON’Ts to make editors fall in love.

Will your story survive the slushpile… only to end up in an editor’s recycle bin, trash can, or shredder?

A story manuscript that doesn’t look like a manuscript will get you exactly the WRONG kind of attention.  The kind that winds your story up in that virtual paper shredder before the editor gets to word one.

True, you’re submitting a children’s book.  But the core of all these DON’Ts is one simple fact:  your story can’t LOOK like a children’s book when you submit it.

What not to do.

Be very, very careful.  Violating any one of these will get your story tossed (or shredded) in disgust:

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Do you know about the FREE Children’s Story Magic writing course?

New session begins February 1st!

Here's what you'll get, in 30 days:

• Character - creating heroes and villains that we'll love
• Wonderful words - choosing and using the best nouns, verbs, adjective and more
• Dialogue - tools to put words in your characters' mouths
• Plot - crafting a story that keeps us on our toes

Each day's email is a tasty, bite-sized 100 words long.  That’s super-short, because I know you’re super-busy. 

Every day, you’ll be challenged, through examples and exercises, to think about successful kids’ books… and about your own.  Let’s get YOUR book off your hard drive and into kids’ hands sooner than you could ever have dreamed.

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Holidays overwhelming you? Here are 3 easy ways to jingle readers’ bells.

How can you even think about writing with a holiday coming up?

Writing may be the last thing on your mind at this time of year.  So let’s get right to the point with three quick MUSTS you’ve just got to have in your children’s holiday book.  Don’t worry, they’re simple, too.

It doesn’t matter what holiday, either.  Easter, Chanukah, Shavuot, Eid, they’re all totally different… but the best books have so much in common that you’re going to succeed no matter what you’re writing about.

1) STORY. 

Do you love a great story?  So do kids.  Unless you’re writing nonfiction (and maybe even then), you’ll want to make sure your book has a good, solid story.  That almost always means tension.  Your character shouldn’t just wake up, prepare for the holiday, celebrate the holiday, and go to bed happy.  That’s not a story; it’s a diary entry, and not a very interesting one.

Save your story by giving your character a real problem.

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Caution, Rant: spammy spammers spamming stupid “Children’s Books” in their KDP listing title.

Every once in a while, I’ve just got to rant.  Maybe you know the feeling?

Today’s rant is about that growing breed of Kindle kids’ ebooks that have almost more title than actual book.  I’m sure you know the ones:  the cover of the book has maybe a five-word title, but the title of the book as shown on its Amazon listing is a mile long, like this:

Children books : MARGARET AND THE DONUT: (Explore the Galaxy kids book exclusive collection) (Super-Duper eBook)Sleep & Playtime Books(Short Story) (Bedtime ... Books for Babby & Toddler Readers #15) [Kindle Edition]

You think I’m joking?

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Fever Pitch: 1-step first aid for sick stories

Is your story sick?  Something not quite right?

Your spelling and punctuation may be perfect, but if something just seems off… if it’s under the weather, but you’re not sure how to fix it…

… just pitch it.

No, I don’t mean throw it away.  I mean create a sales pitch and start selling your book.  Not (yet) on Amazon, or Kobo, or Smashwords, or anywhere else.  No, to make it great, you have to sell the story to your most important customer – yourself.

You’ll do that with a “pitch.”  Known by a few different names, it’s basically a 1-2 sentence “elevator speech” for the book.  This pitch has to be great.  It must hook the reader – and before it’s ready for readers, it has to hook YOU.

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Basics, Part 3: Are you choosing words that zoom, screech, soar, sing?

You’re a writer, right?

And writing is all about words? 

(Come on, let me hear you nodding.)

So picking the words to go into your kids’ book should be simple… but it’s not.

In the first post in this series, Basics, Part 1: What is a children’s book? I laid out the most simple definition of a children’s book: 

1. Pages between covers
2. Aimed at young readers
3. Usually illustrated
4. All about story

In Basics, Part 2: Does your book measure up?, we looked at the first part of that definition:  pages between covers.  How many pages, exactly?  How many words?  Well, that depends on who you’re writing for.

And so does the language you choose to fill your book.

You want to choose words that zoom; words that soar; words that transport your readers and sing to them – or screech at them.

In Part 2, I actually gave you a chart, and I’m going to do the same thing here. 

Let me be honest:  a lot of people HATED the chart in my last Basics post.  These folks are artists, and I respect that.  And they refuse to be hemmed in by conventions.  Fair enough.

Life as an artist

But if you were an artist artist, I mean the kind that paints pictures, and somebody hired you to paint a family portrait to hang on the wall above their fireplace… would you measure the wall above their fireplace first?

I suspect you would.

And then you’d choose a canvas to fit the space, right?

(Just keep nodding.)

Here’s what you wouldn’t do:  go home, picking up any old size of bedsheet along the way; and proceed to paint the picture on a canvas that was huge… or too tiny to be seen.  If you do, I would hope you’d have the good grace not to get made at your client if he refused to pay for your work.

As most painters through the ages have discovered, working within size (and other) constraints probably won’t kill your artistic spirit.

So please don’t hate me for suggesting them.

Big, beautiful words

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Basics, Part 2: Does your book measure up?

How long is a children’s book?

Figuring out how long your kids’ book should be is easy:  you start typing at the beginning, and stop when it’s long enough.  Or do you?

In the first post in this series, Basics, Part 1: What is a children’s book? we looked at the most simple definition of a children’s book: 

1. Pages between covers
2. Aimed at young readers
3. Usually illustrated
4. All about story

I’ve talked a lot over the last little while about points 2-4, but not so much about #1, namely – how many pages should be between your covers?

I’ll tell you in a second.  In fact, I’ll go one better and give you a handy chart.

But first – I want you to remember that word lengths and all this technical stuff has NOTHING whatsoever to do with #4, “all about story.”  Your children’s book is primarily about story, and when you’re writing your first draft, just write. Don’t even think about word length.

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Twelve steps to writing an awful kids’ book.

Mea culpa.  I have been there and I have done that.  I have written awful children’s books; not just book but books, plural.  And no amount of “Hail Mary”s can fix the bad writing I’ve done (plus, I’m not Catholic).

Phew.  Feels good to get it off my chest.  These days, I sometimes turn up an old file on my hard drive and open it up, only to discover an ugly early attempt at a kids’ story.  I’m nowhere near perfect yet, but it has become easier, at least, to spot where all those early attempts went wrong.

If I ever wanted to write an awful kids’ book again, let’s just say I now know all the steps to get me there.  And having been there and done that, I’m happy to share this twelve-step plan to help you, too, create a children’s book that truly stinks. 

What?  You want to write a great kids’ book?

Don’t worry… for each of these twelve steps, I’ve offered a few tips (many from painful personal experience) on how to do it right.  You know… just in case you want to write this book:

Instead of this one:

You decide which you want to write… and then follow these twelve simple tips.

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15 Kindle books under $10 that will help you write a great children’s book… and 3 to skip at any price.

I read a lot of ebooks these days, because we’re about a bazillion miles from the nearest English-language bookstore.  And like always, I love reading… about writing.  But I don’t love spending a ton on writing books.  It makes writing feel like a self-indulgent hobby, an extravagance.  So I’m always on the lookout for cheap, high-quality writing books.
Happily, there are many good books out there for not much money.  But how can you sift through them all and decide which ones are worth even the little that they cost?  Here, I’ve sifted through the cheapest and best I could find to offer you fifteen good ones and three stinkers.

What do I look for in a writing book?

First, here’s what I don’t look for - a few pet peeves I try to avoid, including:

• Generic cover with a typewriter or something writerly that screams, “I’m going to spend all my time turning out a series of a dozen books on writing books… instead of writing books myself.”  Shudder.
• Puns that promise you “the write stuff” or any other pun-ishing approach to writing it “write.”  Groan.
• Books that start by telling you that “some people” think kids’ books are super-easy to write.  We know, we know.  Don’t lead with this – it’s not news.  Blah.
• Out-of-date books that are re-released for Kindle with no new content.  Ugh.

 

Different genres of writing books

Before you buy any book, make sure you know what you’re buying.  The book’s description should tell you clearly what type of book it is:

• Is it a “basics” book that will give prompts and help you actually write the story?
• Is it an “industry overview” book that explains the business of publishing?
• Is it a “nuts and bolts” book that tells you how to get your book ready for a specific format, like Kindle?
• Is it a “promotion” book that shows you how to market a book you’ve already written?

None of these is the WRONG answer, by the way.  You need different books at different points in your life and even different days of the week.  If you’re not sure from the description of the book, be very wary.  Read reviews to try to find out.  Click to see the preview.  If you’re still not clear on what you’re going to get out of the book… give up and try the next one on the list.

The books

So without further ado (dontcha hate when they say “without further adieu…”?), I now present… the books.  I know I promised cheap Kindle books in the headline.  But I’m going to do you an even bigger favour and divide these books up into three price ranges:  super-cheap (under $2), way cheap (under $7) and still pretty cheap (under $10).  Beyond that, the books here appear in no particular order.

Super-cheap (under $2)

#1… $1.99 How To Write a Children's Picture Book by Darcy Pattison (Nov 28, 2013).  A terrific value even at a few bucks more, you cannot go wrong with this detailed book, that gets into the real nitty gritty of the writing and publishing business.  I OWN THIS BOOK.

#2… $0.01 The Business of Writing for Children: An Award-Winning Author's Tips on  Writing Children's Books and Publishing by Aaron Shepard (Mar 25, 2014).  As of this writing, it costs only one cent, way less than what I paid (I think $0.99 or $1.00?).  Buy it!!!  I OWN THIS BOOK.

#3… $0.91 Formatting of Children's Books and Comics for the Kindle, by Charles Spender (November 13, 2012).  The Amazon page for this book now directs you to this site (5th book down in the list) to download a free (& totally legit) copy.  What a nice surprise!  With 35 mostly-positive reviews, and a price tag like this, what are you waiting for?  I OWN THIS BOOK (now).

Way cheap (under $7)

#4… $2.83 The Easy Way to Write Picture Books That Sell by Robyn Opie Parnell (Oct 20, 2013).  Not my favourite, because I didn’t really click with her writing style and the book was a little basic for me.  She’s very enthusiastic, though – if slightly redundant in her advice.  This one is high on confidence but low on technical details.  A great suggestion if you’re just starting out.  I OWN THIS BOOK.

#5… $4.99 The Children's Writer's Guide by Simon Rose (Sep 22, 2013).  This one also falls into the category of good books for beginners, dealing with issues like naming your characters, turning ideas into stories, making time to write, dealing with rejection (important!) and more.  For under $5, it’s like a writing course in easy portable ebook form.

#6… $4.59 A Self-Publisher's Companion: Expert Advice for Authors Who Want to Publish by Joel Friedlander (Mar 24, 2011).  The only non-kids’-book specific book you’ll find on this list (and similarly, the only non-kids’-book-related blog on my blogroll, for the same reason).  If you ever hope to self-publish, Friedlander won’t steer you wrong.  You’ll get an overview of the publishing industry and what has changed with the advent of ebooks, as well as crucial lists of what self-publishers do wrong and how to fix them.  True, a lot of the pieces are available free on his blog, but come on - $5?  And most have been expertly revised to suit the book form and flow from chapter to chapter.  I OWN THIS BOOK.

#7… $2.87 Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard (November 13, 2013).  Recommended despite the “write” pun in the title.  This book deals with ten BIG problems that writers encounter when their stories meet up with editors for the first time.  It assumes you have a story that is already written and goes through this list of ten biggies step by step.  I love a book this focused and on-task, and as a result, this book is now ON MY WISH LIST.

#8… $6.28 Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly by Gail Carson Levine (August 27, 2013).  You don’t get much more cred than Levine, creator of such books as Ella Enchanted.  Mainly geared towards teaching middle-schoolers how to write, this book has clearly struck a chord with adult writers as well, judging from its positive reviews.  If you consider yourself an expert or advanced writer, this may not be the book for you given its young adult focus.

#9… $3.67 The Busy Writer's Tips on Writing for Children by Marg McAlister (November 22, 2012).  Another one I’d never heard of.  Amazon says the writer, Marg McAlister, has written more than 60 books for children – which may be, but not a single one is listed on Amazon; all they have is her books on writing for writers.  But she’s in Australia, which may explain this, and her own website, writing course, etc., look legit.

Still pretty cheap (under $10)

#10… $7.62 How to Write a Children's Picture Book and Get it Published by Andrea Shavick (July 29, 2011).  I admit, I hadn’t heard of Shavick or her book, but it looks well written enough, and her personal website is professionally done, which tells me that some effort has probably gone into the book as well.  If that sounds like it’s setting the bar pretty low, you should see some of the so-called writing books out there.

#11… $9.38 Writing Irresistible Kidlit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Readers by Mary Kole (Nov 6, 2012).  I love it when bloggers write books!  You can check out their writing and the quality of their advice for free ahead of time.  Mary Kole is a pro in both areas, and this book is ON MY WISHLIST.

#12… $9.17 You Can Write Children's Books by Tracey E. Dils (Sep 10, 2009).  Another one that was new to me, but what an encouraging title.  Lots of great reviews, too, showing that this is a beginner’s guide that may be worth the (under $10) investment just to have on the (virtual) bookshelf.  While I haven’t read this book specifically, the Kindle edition is an update of an earlier book published by Writer’s Digest, so I expect that it is well-produced, slick and upbeat, like most of their other books… a format that was very, very encouraging to me when I was just starting out.

#13… $9.18 The Everything Guide To Writing Children's Books by Lesley Bolton (Dec 1, 2002).  Looks like a solid overview from this company, that publishes “For Dummies” style intro books, and offers a glimpse of the process of creating kids’ books.  Most of the focus is on traditional publishing, with only a brief, discouraging (and perhaps slightly outdated) nod towards self-publishing.

#14… $9.17 The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books by Linda Ashman (September 25, 2013).  With a ton of published kids’ books under her belt, Linda Ashman feels like a writer you can trust.  Plus, blogger Julie Hedlund says it’s full of “juicy goodness”… how can we resist?

#15… Okay, at $10.15, How to Promote Your Children's Book: Tips, Tricks, and Secrets to Create a Bestseller, by Katie Davis (March 22, 2014), is slightly over the promised price point (but then I gave you one free, so go easy on me).  This is one I haven’t read, but it’s on my wish list now for sure.  With 151 positive reviews (in just over a month?!), this book about a much-overlooked area is what I’d call an Important Read.  How about this positive review from Laura Purdie Salas, co-author of Picture Books: The Write Way (see above):  “I blog, Facebook, and do a lot of promotional stuff, including an online book launch, online teacher extension materials, etc. But Katie's book still offered me tons more ideas for things I want to check out”?  Come on… it’s only $0.15 over!  ON MY WISH LIST.

…And 3 to skip unless they’re free

(and even then, probably skip them)

Why avoid these books?  Even a cheap book isn’t free if you think about the time you have to put in reading it.  Why throw your money away on a book that offers you cheap information that you can find either on the writer’s blog or, worse, on someone else’s – because they’ve just ripped it off and/or spun it to create their book.

#1… $4.71 Publish Children's Books - How to Self Publish and Market Your Kids Books by Caterina Christakos (Sep 1, 2013).  See that image of money bags on the cover???  Yeah, that’s you, raking in the dough over your little rhyming nursery story – NOT.  What a weird cover.  At only 18 pages, this is way too short to call a book.  A pamphlet, maybe?  Just from the preview, I can tell that the writer has no clue how to use a comma, and she uses every opportunity to hype her own book, How to Write a Children’s Book in 30 Days or Less! – which, by the way, has many bad reviews and is apparently full of typos.  Her only children’s book visible on Amazon begins with the sentence, “In every baby’s life, their comes the time when they get to meet their very own guardian Angel.”  Groan…

#2…$1.00 Writing Guide: RIGHT FOR KIDS: 333 One Sentence Tips and Tricks on the Art and Business of Writing Picture Books for Children by Tom Skinner (June 29, 2012).  This book is chock full of three hundred and thirty-three one-liners like, “The industry is very competitive and full of talented professionals,” “You can do it!  (With a few tips + bit of study + practice),” and “A picture book is simple.  And simply irresistible.”  Guess whose book I’m resisting very easily right now?  Pretty easy to avoid given that he has a chapter called “COZ HE WOZ.”

#3… $2.88 Writing Books for Children and Youth (Boot Camp for Christian Writers) by Carolyn Tomlin (Dec 19, 2013).  It’s not the religious aspect of this book that turned me off.  It’s the near-illiteracy of its sweeping generalizations (“There are some writers who look at trends – including what topics are being discussed in the media?” “Writers for children’s books would be wise to know the breakdown of the publisher you wish to submit your work”), and the lack of writing cred of the author.  Despite this lack, she offers copious examples – including a full-text excerpt – from her own single children’s book (“Matthew smiled when he thought about all of his different friends.  They all looked different from him.  Some had dark skin, others light.” Can you tell yet that the book is about multiculturalism??  In case you missed it, how about, “On the next block lived Matthew’s African American friend, Lakesia.”?).  And in case you’re looking for a Christian perspective, I couldn’t find any in this book except in the aforementioned excerpt.

*All prices are as of this writing.  Amazon pricing can fluctuate randomly from day to day and even from minute to minute.

Did I forget to include your favourite book?  Let me know in the comments!

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Having trouble choosing a children’s-book writing course? I don’t blame you!

When I decided to take an online children’s picture book writing course, I had no idea where to start (I’ll tell you where I ended up later on, and offer a few more good suggestions as well.).

Googling “children’s picture-book writing course” turns up a dizzying range of courses, from universities (expensive!) to individual authors’ homemade courses (sketchy?).  Some claim to have been around for 30-some-odd years, while many others have popped up overnight.

All these courses claim to be the BEST.  How can you tell them apart? 

The good news is that you can find decent courses at a few different price levels.  As for which ones will actually help you get ahead… I’m convinced that has more to do with your attitude than with the teacher (as long as he/she is reasonably competent).

I’ve taken a bunch of creative writing classes, both online and in person.  Some were good, a couple were great… one (in-person at a major university) was pretty bad:  we spent much of the time looking at the professor’s own (mediocre) writing.

Here are three questions to help you narrow down what you’re looking for:

1.  What is my goal for the course?

Do you want to get your story down on paper?  Are you struggling with stilted language?  Or are you at the stage of figuring out how to get it in front of as many publishers as possible? 

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The one thing you MUST do before hitting Publish.

Have you looked at a kids’ book lately?  Before you hit Publish, take a minute to haul a few kids’ books off the shelves.  If you don’t have any, go to the library and bring some home.  Let’s look at them together. 

What are we looking for?  Bear with me, because we, my friend, are looking for secrets that will rescue your book from the morass of terrible self-published children’s literature out there.  Okay, I call it literature here to be nice.  It isn’t always; sometimes, frankly, it’s just books.

There are 5 main things you’ll want to look in that stack of REAL, professionally published children’s books that will save you a ton of heartbreak if you’re self-publishing and getting your own book ready to print. 

This will take a little time up front, but you’ll thank me, really you will, when your book comes out looking nice and professional in the end.

So just grab one of the books off that pile, open it up, and take a look…

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For the win: kill the parents, save your story.

What do all these children’s books have in common?

• A Series of Unfortunate Events
• Anne of Green Gables
• The Secret Garden
• Harry Potter
• Pippi Longstocking
• The Giver
• Milkweed
• Ballet Shoes
• Great Expectations

Well, by now you’ve probably figured it out – right???  (If you hadn’t yet, the last one gave it away, I’m sure…)

Every single one of these books, many of them enduring classics, features a main character whose parents have – um – gone to the next world.

Tragic, isn’t it?

Or it WOULD be tragic if the books themselves weren’t so terrific because of it.

Why do orphans make such great main characters?

We love these books so much because orphans are forced to fend for themselves.  If they do have a guardian, the guardian is often either incompetent, unaware, or simply not emotionally connected to the main character.

And this is GREAT for your story!

Why? 

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Three Strikes, You’re Out: The “Three Deadlies”

What are the worst sins a children’s book writer can commit??? 

In some forms of Christianity, there are Seven Deadly Sins, for which one presumably can’t be forgiven.  If you take children’s books seriously, like “on the level of religion” seriously, then it stands to reason there will be Deadly Sins here, too.

I know I sound like a hopeless snob, but I believe there are three sins that you, as a self-published writer, must NEVER commit if you want me to take your book seriously.  These are errors that scream out, “I’m putting out my own book – on the cheap!”

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Basics, Part 1: What is a children’s book?

Seems pretty simple, right?  But you’d be surprised – not everybody who tries to write one actually knows what they’re trying to accomplish.

But if you’re looking for specifics that will lead you invariably to success, you may come away from this post slightly disappointed.  Sorry!  (for a few of those tips, see Part 2 of this series)

Honestly, I’ve read all the books and blogs and ebooks that promise to tell you exactly how many pages you need to have, and exactly how your book has to look; how the illustrations must be formatted, font, type size, and more. 

I’m not going to do that.  It’s bossy and kind of mean and besides, none of what used to be conventional wisdom is totally true anymore.  I’m not a professional publisher, and if I was, self-publishing would have already blown me out of the water and made all my pompous pronouncements worthless.

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