So you want to write a children's book
Or when I try not to get too snarky and fail
Get in line. Seriously. You are not a unicorn, your idea is not the next Twilight or Harry Potter, and literally every grandmother attempts this at some point because her story is important for her grandchildren. If I had five bucks for every person who has told me over the years they want to write a children’s book, I’d have more money than I get from royalties, (which is zero, so maybe that’s a bad analogy because it wouldn't be too hard to achieve). Thing is, I’m willing to bet nine times out of ten nothing of substance actually gets written after that declaration. This is because far too many people think it’s easy to do and end up writing something awful or nothing at all.
This goes double for the people who say they will do it “when they have time.”
Okay. Let’s get something straight. When you say that, you’re just insulting all writers. Writers write whether they have time or not, and if this doesn’t categorize you, then you have very little chance of making a book at all, let alone a quality story that gets published. Sure you could slap up your PDF on Lulu and make it seem like you have a book, but do you really? Time will tell.
Are you still with me?
Is your idea still burning a hole in your brain? Keeping you up at night? Does it have you scribbling down notes on grocery store receipts, or doing voice recordings in the car while you wait in the pick up line? Does it grow by the day, threatening to take over your meetings with colleagues? Most importantly, have you ever written anything at all? Have you ever at least tried to make an idea turn into something outside your brain? If not, are you so desperate to try nothing will stop you after you finish reading this blog? If the answer is yes, then we might be able to work together.
When you walk into a bookstore or a library and get swept away by books, by the shelves and shelves of “ideas” that came to life, the one thing you need to know is that the vast majority of those books came by years of learning and hard work. These are not people who simply said “I might write a book someday” and then sit down one weekend and do it and become rich and famous. I’m sure it’s happened. There are always exceptions. I’m not looking them up because it will just piss me off. But it’s not really how it works, not even for children’s authors. Dare I say especially for children’s authors. Because in order to write a successful story for children, one has to be able to access that part of their moldy, inhibited, grown-up brain that is still childlike, and most adults cannot do this.
Do you still want to try?
Then here are the requirements to writing a children’s book that still may not make it to a shelf:
You must retain a sense of wonder.
You must be willing to learn forever.
You must be able to bend when others say “it’s not quite there yet”.
You must be able to invest significant time getting to know your characters and their world.
You must be able to say no to outside distractions.
You must be able to admit that you might know nothing about children today, and go learn about children today.
You must be able to accept that this initial idea might fizzle and die, and be wide open for more ideas.
Lastly, and this is what so many people need to hear:
You must learn the ins and outs of the children’s book business if publication is your goal. YOU. No author can take your idea and make it successful for you. The author you are hounding has spent years, maybe decades, learning the industry, understanding how to break into it professionally, and how to make connections with the right people as a genuine act of collaboration and friendship. The author you are stalking was not a sudden overnight success. There is not a single way of making a book happen, either. Educate yourself. Go to conferences, attend webinars, GOOGLE for crying out loud. There is a lot of information you need to learn, it will take time and commitment to understand it all, but here’s the best part: a lot of it is free. So don’t expect that author you ran into to give you some single piece of advice that makes it all click.
Unless that advice is to write.
Now go give it a try.
**If you feel most comfortable having someone hold your hand as you go (which I completely understand) and want to work with me in a professional book coaching scenario, stay tuned. I plan on opening up to new clients in 2024. I *love* working with hungry writers who want to take their ideas to the next level and while I can’t promise publication, I can give you a lot of time and dedicated work toward helping you, your writing, and your knowledge of the industry for both traditional and indie publishing. Every single one of us puts in the time in one way or another. I invested in an MFA, some invest in conferences and workshops, some hire one-on-one coaching. And some figure it all out on their own. There are so many ways to learn. I’m just offering one.