Gabrielle Wang, as well as being a great writer for kids in her own right, is running a series of guest blogs on how different writers write. Go have a look !
knowonder! is an online magazine that has been in existence since 2009. Our goal is to provide a quality story daily for children ages 3 to 10.
Jane Johnson is the editor of the magazine, and she had this to say: As the editor at this magnificent children’s magazine, I have the pleasure of working with founder Phillip Chipping as we search through submissions looking for creative stories that will encourage imagination and wonder in children. I’ve always loved reading and telling stories to my own children. As a special education teacher I get to read with amazing kids every day. I love it when a story engages them, holds their attention, provokes conversation. My original bachelor’s degree is in English literature. I love to read; some of my favorite characters include Stanley Yelnats, Silas Marner, a little known Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione, Mr. Bennet, and many other men and all of the women created by Jane Austen.
WOW: Jane, welcome to The Muffin. knowonder! provides a FREE story daily to read aloud or with children ages 3 to 10. How do parents access this story? Are there illustrations with it?
Jane: Stories can easily be accessed at knowonder.com; or if parents join our e-mail list on the “join us” tab, we’ll e-mail the stories to them each day. I hope they’ll have a look around our site. They will find more worthy reading under the “For You by You” tab, and artwork and stories from children under the “By Kids for Kids” section.
Our stories will include one illustration. We’re glad to use illustrations submitted by the author if they are well done like the Tucker the Turtle illustration on day two of September’s issue. We even link to other works by the artist.
WOW: What type of stories are on knowonder!? Are they all different genres?
Jane: Absolutely! We will consider sci-fi, fantasy, realistic fiction, and any other original work of fiction. We are looking for really fun stories with lots of action, humor, suspense, and other elements of quality fiction. We want our writers to create imaginative works of art; stories with plenty of description, imagery, simile, metaphor, alliteration, and my personal favorite-- onomatopoeia. We want to give parents plenty of wonderful words and sensational sentences that flow together smoothly as they read them aloud, plenty of opportunity to really get into the characters in the story and have fun with their children while reading with expression. We will only occasionally print non-fiction. We’ve had a few submissions that treat a non-fiction topic cleverly disguised as fiction, and we are seriously considering including them.
Have you ever wanted to write a children's book? Are you working on one right now and feeling lost? We have a great interview in store for you then! We welcome to The Muffin today Shirley Raye Redmond and Jennifer McKerley, authors of the book Write a Marketable Children's Book in 7 Weeks. Shirley Raye Redmond is an award-winning writer and frequent conference speaker. She has sold more than 26 book manuscripts and over 450 magazine and newspaper articles. Her children’s book, Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President (Random House), has sold 200,000 copies and was a Children’s Book of the Month Club main selection in 2003. Jennifer McKerley is a teacher and award-winning writer. She has authored Random House books for grades 1-3: Man O’ War, Best Racehorse Ever (2005) and Amazing Armadillos (2009). Amazing Armadillos was the 2010 Winner for Young Readers Book in the New Mexico Book Awards and was named one of the best children’s books of 2010 by Bank Street College of Education. She has also written several other children's books.
WOW: Welcome, Jennifer and Shirley Raye, to The Muffin. We are excited to have you here with us today and to share your book, Write a Marketable Children's Book in 7 Weeks, with our readers. To start off, please tell us a little about the purpose of your book and your target audience.SRR: Many people dream of writing a children’s book, but don’t know how to get started. Our workbook walks the reader through the process in about two hours a day for seven weeks. We’ve used this method dozens of times to write manuscripts that sold to major publishers, such as Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Gale Cengage. Some of our titles have even won contests and awards. JM: When we wrote this workbook, we had in mind the many people who’ve told us they have an idea for a children’s book, but they felt lost about how to begin and about the publishing process. They knew it was hard to sell a book and wanted to avoid false steps. We show writers how to begin on sound footing and keep going. Part of this involves understanding the publishing world, and we provide a quickie-education. |
| Jennifer McKerley |
1 Comments on Write a Marketable Children's Book in 7 Weeks, last added: 4/27/2011
Middle grade novels are fun to write, and I believe there are two reasons why. The first is that the readers, which are generally between the ages of 9 and 12, love to read. They love the characters, the series and the writers. They can devour books like no other. When I taught fifth grade, some of my students would finish a book a day. They'd go home and read, read, read. Remember those days?
The second reason why middle grade novels are so much fun is the characters. I LOVE middle grade characters. Take the series by Gennifer Choldenko pictured here. How can you not fall in love with Moose from page one? There are famous characters like Margaret from Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret or Stanley Yelnats from Holes. And there are even money makers like Harry Potter. The wonderful thing is the characters are complex, lovable, flawed, brave and usually under 12--an age we all couldn't wait to grow out of, but an age we want to back to if we could.
What characteristics does a middle grade main character need?
They can be a boy or a girl, and they should be about 11 to 13. Kids like to read about kids their same age or older, as a rule (of course, there are always exceptions). If you are a new author, try to follow this rule. In my middle grade novel Finding My Place, my main character Anna is 13 and her younger brother is 11. I hope to appeal to both boys and girls with these two characters.
But besides age and gender, I think that readers are looking for ordinary kids who can do extraordinary things with their ordinary talents. Look at Harry Potter. Even though he's a witch, we don't love him because of that. We love him because he is smart, brave, and good. He stands up against the fiercest evil and wins, again and again, and for his family and his friends. That's chivalry. That's what kids want.
If you are writing a middle grade novel, one of the best things you can do is read other middle grade novels. Look at the main characters. Make a list of their personality traits and why they are so likable. Then look at your character. How does he or she measure up?
What are some of your favorite middle grade characters and why?
Join Margo Dill on March 23 for her online class, Writing the Middle Grade Novel. To see a syllabus and sign up, check out the class listing. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Margo at margo (at) wow-wom
I recently discussed It's a Book by Lane Smith on my blog. If you haven't seen this book and you are a writer and lover of books, you are going to want to rush out to your nearest bookstore and check it out. In a nutshell, there's a donkey (a.k.a. jackass) and a monkey who are discussing a book. The monkey is reading a good, old-fashioned book with pages to turn, a cover to open, and a story to enjoy. The donkey can't quite get over this thing called a book that you don't have to charge or scroll down to read.
The controversy lies in the last word of this book, which is jackass, and whether or not this is a book for kids. In general, people don't think kids will understand the satire of the book the way adults will--many adults who are worried books will be obsolete some day. Adults will love It's a Book and get it; many picture book audience kids will not. But the big controversy and the reason why some parents would not buy it for their kids (and they said so on Amazon.com) is the last word.
This got me thinking. Why are there cuss words in children's books? Every time there is one, someone has to complain about it or even try to ban the book. Do we think kids aren't exposed to these words in their everyday lives? Of course, we know they are. But I guess there's something about reading them that just really gets people going.
I'm not sure what my position is, as to me, it depends on the book. I think that if the book calls for cussing, then there should be cussing. If authors are just doing it for shock value, I think they can search for another way to get readers' attention. I probably wouldn't put a cuss word in a picture book, but I tell you, I think Lane Smith's book is GENIUS. It is laugh out loud funny.
What's your take on it? If you are a children's author, have you used inappropriate words in your manuscripts? Do you let your children read these books with cuss words? If you are a teacher, do you share a book with cuss words in it with your class?
Let us know!
post by Margo L. Dill, http://margodill.com/blog/
Today I was working on the first 2 page spread for our book. I've already worked up a very rough sketch indicating placement and proportion, and Kimberlee shared what she was envisioning. The first sketches are always rough because there will be changes and unforeseen developments. No need to waste time and effort on tight detailed drawings at this stage. The sketch at left is on tracing paper that allows for quick erasing and placement of elements before starting the actual painting. I quickly traced over sketches in my sketchbook, placing them in the template sized 8 x 11 inches per page and adapting size and proportion. We decided to add a loose border treatment of slender vines or branches and drape the art along the lower portion of both pages. I like to keep some butterfly wings, my sketches and reference materials near by.
I work with layers and scraps of of tracing paper, making small changes then attaching them right over the rough draft. Not having to erase or redraw something speeds up production time and helps my ideas formulate without breaking the flow. At top right you can see some of my botanical references, sketch pad and multiple layers of sketched ideas.
Award-winning children’s author Donna McDine published her first book The Golden Pathway, August 2010 with Guardian Angel Publishing and has two more books under contract with said publisher for The Hockey Agony and Powder Monkey. She writes, moms, and is the publicist intern for The National Writing for Children Center and Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club, and the editor-in-chief for Guardian Angel Kids e-zine from her home in the historical hamlet, Tappan, NY. McDine is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Musing Our Children.
WOW: Donna, welcome to the Muffin! We're thrilled you've decided to share your experience on freelance writing. So, let's start at the beginning. How should a writer prepare herself to enter the freelance marketplace?
Donna: Before someone jumps into a freelance writing career, keep your day job. The comfort of a steady paycheck will lessen the stress until you build up your publishing credits and clientele. It is imperative to study the market or genre you are interested in writing for by visiting various websites, blogs, and discussion boards to educate yourself on each unique opportunity. Since I write for the children, I offer the following suggestions to get you started:
WOW: Thanks for the specific examples! We know that a writer's bio and resume are an important asset to a publication, but what if she doesn't have any published clips yet? What should she do to build her platform?
Donna: Building one’s platform is not as difficult as it sounds. Start out by writing book reviews and post them on your blog, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. Conduct interviews of authors, publishers, editors, agents, and illustrators and post these too on your blog. I highly recommend Christina Katz’s book, Get Known Before the Book Deal published by Writer’s Digest Books.
WOW: So, as we learn from example, what was the very first freelance publication you were accepted to? And what did your query letter entail?
Donna: Stories for Children Magazine was my very first acceptance for my non-fiction article, “What’s Not a Fish, But is Called a Fish?” Even though my submission was via e-mail, I made sure to keep it professional and to submit it according to their submission guidelines.
WOW: That's so true! And I love that title. In your opinion, when you write query letters, what do you find is the key ingredient that entices an editor?
Donna: A key component I always make sure to include is my research of their back issues, themes (if a themed magazine), and
NORTH CENTRAL CHILDREN'S WRITERS & ILLUSTRATORS MEET SATURDAY FEBRUARY 5, 1-3 P.M. GUEST SPEAKER JUDY TRANSUE, CHILDREN'S LIBRARIAN ASSISTANT, DONALD W. REYNOLDS PUBLIC LIBRARY, MOUNTAIN HOME , AR. ROOM "A" KNOX COMMUNITY ROOM.
SATURDAY MORNING 10:30-11:30 - LOCAL CHILDREN 'S AUTHOR ELAINE WILSON WILL BE SHARING AT STORYTIME IN THE CHILDREN'S LIBRARY.
AFTERNOON: NC CHILDREN'S WRITER'S & ILLUSTRATOR'S MEETING
Bring: Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market Book
A sample of a query and a cover letter
A manuscript to read or have critiqued
Illustrators bring your illustrations/drawings
If you want to only listen and learn - this is okay.
Mary Nida Smith, Founder & President
[email protected]
At the left side in the top photo are 2 images. One is the Beatrice painting Ive been working on in this blog. On the right you see an older, rejected version. I wasn't happy with body or face and was using this reject to experiment with, mainly exploring the nature of the paper . While working on the leaves a motif came to mind which I hope to draw this evening.
Until there is a brighter day its very difficult for me to predict how these will reproduce. The paper is bright white but as you can see, it looks much darker. even though I brightened the image in Photoshop.
While experimenting I was thinking of the kind of books I liked when very young. Lots of color, clear patterns, contrasts. Somehow this triggered a cascade of ideas which may or may not be plausible for the book.
In the last blog I wrote about looking for a new space and since then have found one. We'll save the details of locating an affordable work space for a different entry because today was a painting day without interruption and I'd like to share what was happening with the art . People sometimes ask whether I use a frisket or mask to keep paint from covering areas where it dosnt belong. The answer is no, never. My work is detailed and to use frisket would take too long, its far easier and much quicker to just paint around the white areas. After regular practice your hand/eye coordination will adapt. A hot press surface is best when leaving minute white areas, the water and pigment glide off the brush and there are no textures to inhibit the flow. At right you see a close up of what is being worked on, at the tip of my brush. In some paintings I draw the negative space in before beginning, other times I just move along leaving the white spaces while painting, wherever they feel right. They can always be washed over later.
Here's a closeup of the above section, partially filled in. I painted the stems first, then came back later when they were dry and applied the browns.
Notice the segments in the leaf and how they are rendered. Compare the penciled lines in the leaf in photo 1, above, with the same leaf, at right. Eventually Ill be coming in with even darker browns and purples, adding some depth to those shaded areas. Doing so will cause the foliage to 'pop' and create the impression Beatrice is sitting above and upon the foliage. This is a timely process, hurrying will result in sloppy brushwork and blurred lines.
I have a difficult time aligning all my photos in one entry. Ive a photo of the entire painting as it looked when finished, but can't seem to get them loaded correctly. On tomorrow's blog Ill include a photo of where I left off today. Sorry!
Owls are wonderful parents and talented hunters, navigating the woods in the night, spending their days in the treetops alone, avoiding the crows and pestering starlings. Some creative individuals are this way - we like others of our species just fine but need our space and time away from the flock. This week I'm addressing the need for a space of one's own, and sharing the experience start to finish.
Some creative individuals prefer working in a group, especially those in the hobby and weekend workshop categories. These group sessions are about social and communal needs as well as creating. What about those of us who aren't 'joiners', always flying off on their own and lacking the 'flocking' instinct? Like owls, we prefer flying alone, and associate with a limited circle of like minded creatures. I require space and no
interruptions or conversation when painting because all my focus is directed toward the work at hand. Socializing when creating jewelry or beading is great, but painting and drawing access my deeper processes and require focus and dedication of a different sort.
With family returned home and a husband who works from a home office this place can get busy, its like an airport terminal or busy storefront around here. Creative and work time has decreased significantly since my menfolk have returned to the nest, while domestic responsibilities have increased. Its getting out of hand lately and like many working at home women I'm feeling pressed into a choice. Either become a full time domestic goddess, or get a separate space where I can create and run my business.
After trying all the obvious solutions it may become apparent that you, too, will seek a place in which to create without the frequent interruptions that result when adults share a small living space 24/7. This is a common and understandable situation today, when parents who've downsized suddenly find themselves with adult children and often, older parents, moving in. We love our families , value their company, and like communal living...but we need our space too!
In the next entry Ill begin the process of deciding what is required and the adventure of hunting for and finding that space.
The owl in the photo was rescued after being wounded when somebody shot at her. She lives at one of our wonderful Illinois wildlife refuges and is well cared for. This photo was taken when the local preserve staged a community awareness day at the local strip mall. Her protective handlers demonstrated knowledge, gentleness and understanding. The owls and hawks were kept safe and out of children's reach.
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By:
Shutta Crum,
on 8/16/2010
Blog:
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Children’s authors hard at work!
I’ve enjoyed torturi . . . um, inspiring my writing and illustrating colleagues over the course of the last nine years with a short writing exercise at each schmooze. This year was no exception. It is during this time, since I get to inflict . . . um . . . lead the activities, that I have a few free moments to take snapshots of my friends giving in to the muse. (The writing prompt also gives me time to hit the dessert table once again while no one is looking.)
I was delighted by the laughter and advice freely shared, and all the good food y’all brought. (OMG: the Peruvian goat cheese! I was so glad Monica was gracious enough to leave me the leftovers. I was contemplating offering to arm wrestle her for it.) And I am so pleased at the boxes of books donated for the Martin County Library. Oh my! Five boxes full. (Diane-you are a doll!)
Finally, it was great to be able to put faces to the names that crop up on the Michigan SCBWI listserv and to welcome so many “old” hands and new faces to the playhouse. Keep on writing . . .
Many hugs from your devoted task master,
Shutta
If you write for children, grades K to nine, you might consider submitting to
Stone Arch; it is an imprint of Capstone Publishing.
According to Children’s Writer Market Place, Senior Editor Beth Brezenoff explains, “Send an age-appropriate writing sample and a resume. We don’t need to read full manuscripts to know whether a writer will work for us. We do need to know that writers are reliable and have work experience.” She goes on to explain that even with NO experience you can still submit.
http://www.capstonepub.com/category/LIB_PUBLISHER_SAB~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Write for a younger age group? Check out
Picture Window Books, another imprint of Capstone Publishing.
Picture Window Books publishes fiction and nonfiction easy readers, picture books and chapter books, grades preK-4. Words and illustrations weave together and captivate the imagination to inspire the learning of science, geography, history, language and character values.
http://www.capstonepub.com/category/LIB_PUBLISHER_PWB~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then there is
Kane/Miller Book Publishers who publish nonfiction for ages 2-12.
According to the Submissions Guidelines page:
Kane/Miller Book Publishers is a division of EDC Publishing, specializing in award-winning children's books from around the world. Our books bring the children of the world closer to each other, sharing stories and ideas, while exploring cultural differences and similarities.
Although we continue to look for books from other countries, we are now actively seeking works that convey cultures and communities within the US.
We are looking for non-fiction for ages 2-12 on those subjects which are particularly American: sports such as baseball, historical events, American biographies, American folk tales, etc.
http://www.kanemiller.com/contact.asp#submission~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, check out
Orchard House Press.
Here’s a bit from their submissions guidelines page. “We are a very pro-child company, so don't treat children as expendable in your story lines. We're only interested in publishing books that are timeless, not the next "hot thing."
There guidelines are very specific, so be sure to read them carefully and follow them just as carefully.
http://www.orchardhousepress.com/Happy submitting!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related Articles:Stepping Stones to Publication
http://www.karencioffi.com/2010/04/6-stepping-stones-to-publication/Writing to Get Published
http://www.karencioffi.com/2010/03/writing-to-get-published/Critiques are Essential
http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com/2010/01/critiques-are-essential.htmlWriting Resources and Programs:You can also check out this description and great review of
Writing, Publishing, and Marketing - You Can Do It!&nbs
My friend Hope Vestergaard had a wonderful storytime at Nicola’s
Books today. She read her new book, Potty Animals, to the enjoyment of the crowd.
Afterward the kids built a castle with rolls of toilet paper!
Fun!
Shutta
They discovered we exist! True, CBAY is never mentioned by name, and it's not the profile that will later be in the Religion Bookline, but the article about David Michael Slater that's been kicking up all this dust is mentioned in Publishers Weekly!
I'm doing little fancy dances around the room.
You can see the link here. It's under the "In the Media" heading. Yeah!
Could a review at some point be next? We can only hope . . .
Tip of the Week: When an editor (or agent -- this applies to them too) asks for your complete manuscript via email, do not send each chapter in it's own separate attachment. Send the entire work in one document.
This is not a joke. I really did get a full manuscript from the Bloom Award sent to me with every chapter in a document. I threatened to refuse to read it on principle, but I was told I had too. Remember you don't want to alienate the editor before you even get started, and having to combine 17 documents into 1 so I can load it on my reader definitely puts me in a foul mood.
Tip of the Week: Always read all of the directions, and then follow them.
Now before all of the people who entered the contest worry that I'm talking about them, calm down. I'm not. In fact every single person who entered my contest had a perfect entry -- just the way I wanted it.
However, I thought of this tip because I've been reading submissions for The Bloom Award over at Blooming Tree Press, and there people have not always been as successful. Remember when it says double-spaced, it means double-spaced. Not 1 1/2 spaced, not triple spaced. Double spaced.
Like I said yesterday, a one page summary divulges the entire plot of your novel. Another word for it would be a plot summary. So, to help people understand what I mean by plot summaries, I went and found a few good ones on the web.
The first one is the plot summary for Madeleine L'Engle's A Swiftly Tilting Planet. You can find it on wikipedia here. Just look at the part of the page labeled "Plot Summary," not all the other things on the page.
This summary does a good job of detailing out every major plot point in an interesting manner. Granted, it contains lots of spoilers, but that's exactly what an agent or editor wants in a plot summary. They want to see the entire plot arc.
Now because this book is one in a series, the plot summary does not have to introduce the main characters. It's assumed that the reader, in this case random wikipedia readers, are already familiar with the characters in question. If you are pitching another book in a series to an editor who is familiar with your characters, then you can also be as brief about your characters. Otherwise, you would want to tell a sentence about each major character.
Another great source of plot summaries are any of the study guides designed for students. As an example, I've linked to SparkNotes plot summary for Treasure Island. You can see the page here.
These plot summaries are designed for students who do not have time (or desire) to read the assigned books. In a short summary, SparkNotes, Cliff Notes, and the like tell the reader about key characters and all major plot and subplot points. These are the same things an editor or an agent needs to see when they are trying to determine if they would like to read a certain work.
So, keep practicing on those summaries. Remember, the best will have their manuscripts requested.
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Fortunately, there are tons of ways for this to happen:
Great post, Margo. Your comparison to poetry and picture book writing is so true. If people can write poetry (or a picture book) they can write anything. (Just add more fluff when writing other things. ;)
Also, your suggestion to check out past issues--that's always a wise thing to do.
Thanks for the post.
Great overview of some excellent publications for this younger age group!
Oh, SO true, Margo! Writing for kids is harder than it looks, and it definitely pays to take a class, to get off on the right foot. (Even if you're accomplished in other writing--because honestly, it may be the same tools, but you have to figure out how to use 'em in the sandbox!)
@Sioux: I couldn't agree more!
@Patricia: Thanks!
@Cathy: Yes, using them in the sandbox is exactly right--hey the sandbox, that just gave me a story idea. :)