Writing for Children

Are you thinking about writing a children’s picture book? Writing a story for a younger audience can be a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. You will want to pick a subject that is not difficult for a child to understand. Put yourself in the child’s shoes. Think about what your potential reader’s likes or dislikes might be.

Do you know someone who has a young child? Once your story is written, ask the parent to read it out loud to their child. Ask the parent and the child questions such as:

• Did you like my story?
• Do the characters make sense?
• Is there something else I should add to the story?
• Should I take out this part?
• Do you understand the plot?
• How can I make the story better?

Getting advice from parents and your target audience will help you decide how to continue with your manuscript. Making your story appeal to a younger audience takes a lot of time and patience.

Should I self-publish my children’s picture book?

That depends. Before jumping too quickly into either the self-publishing or the traditional publishing routes, do some research. Look at the different options. Think about the pros and cons. If you decide to go down the traditional publishing route, be prepared for rejection letters.

Some publishers require writers to go to a literary agent before sending something directly to them. If you do decide to pitch a query letter and a pitch package to a literary agent, make sure that the literary agent accepts new writers and pay close attention to the literary agent’s guidelines.

Get advice from both self-published and traditionally published authors. Ask them what their experience is with self-publishing or traditional publishing. If an author has a good experience with a literary agent, they might recommend their agent to a new writer.

A word of warning

Don’t be surprised if the literary agent still rejects you after they look at your work.

Last advice

Pray about these options. Ask God to give you wisdom about whom you should submit your story to.

Copyright 2023 Angela Lano