Picture books may seem easy to write, but writing them for actual kids to read and enjoy requires work. Why? There's a lot of competition in this genre, so you not only have to come up with a fresh idea, you have to write about it in the simplest terms, yet keep it lively! To give your manuscript an edge, try these tips:
Study the genre.
Talk to children in the age group that best suits your ideas.
Read stacks of children’s picture books and note your preferences.
Ask the librarian in the children’s section of your public library which books parents and teachers like and, more importantly, which ones kids return to again and again.
Make a list of interesting, kid-appropriate topics that might need to be covered.
Keep an idea file.
Read your manuscript to children in your chosen age group.
Study catalogs and guidelines of publishers whose picture books you like.
Notice how a successful picture book has simple sentences, kid-friendly vocabulary, and only a few words on each page.
Each page needs to be visually-oriented to lend itself to illustration.
The total page length – including front and back matter (title page, copyright page, dedication, bibliography, notes to parents or teachers, etc.) – should be divisible by four since a sheet of paper, folded in half, adds four pages.
For more ideas and information, see these related articles:
Keeping Your #KidLit User-Friendly
Writing Winner Nonfiction for Kids
Writing Children’s Stories With No Pink Fairies Or Old Fads
(c) 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler
