Writing for Children Requires Doing Your Homework

Title: How to Write a Children’s Fiction Book

Subtitle: Your guide to Writing a Children’s Book

Author: Karen Cioffi

ISBN: 9780999294918

Nonfiction/ (Writing/Publishing)

Contact Reviewer: hojonews@aol.com

Writing for Children Requires “Doing Your Homework”

Ghostwriting Veteran Shares Children Fiction Book Secrets

Many of my editing clients first come to me because they’ve run into trouble with their first book. The ones that come to me with the most difficult problems are veteran writers who are attempting a new genre and assume that what they know about writing and the publishing industry is enough. 

I imagine that a doctor starting a new specialty would not make that mistake. Nor would a computer programmer intent on applying her skills to the marketing or human resources department. 

I agree that past experiences and knowledge will surely be useful for them just as they will for any writer. I have tons of stories about how seemingly unrelated experiences in my own life eased my way into publishing. I also believe in getting help in a variety of places. Writers’ conferences. Critique groups. Writing classes. Having said that, the most frugal and organized way to get the information we need for a new writing project is, ta da!—a book.

There are many such books by experts out there, but if the new genre you are ready to try is a children’s book, Karen Cioffi’s How to Write a Children’s Fiction Book is waiting for you. It is a perfect example of the reason I think books make the best learning tools for taking on something new. That is, it is complete. It is organized, all in one place. And it come to you from an expert. In Cioffi’s case, she has published many of her own children’s books, but she also has over 200 ghostwriting clients world-wide. So, she could ghostwrite for you or you can pick her brain all in one book and have the fun of writing a children’s book yourself.

One of the best parts of her book is a chapter called, “Writing a Children’s Book: Basic Genre Differences.” Trust me, it will prime you for knowing you should read the rest with stylus, pen, or Post-It notes at hand. In just a few pages, she’ll have you choosing the age group of your audience and refining what kind of a book for children it will be. Your story may be better as a bedtime story, a board book, a picture book for young children. Maybe a chapter book for children as young as six?

You get the idea. But an overall picture like this will save many starts and restarts, many disappointments. That same chapter offers reading suggestions as examples that will help you decide and may inspire you, too. 

Cioffi doesn’t miss a bet. She warns writers of the no-nos. We have all seen and been amused by books (even series!) of children’s books that touch on themes and topics—from snot and farts to the classic wicked witch stories. Many of them have been bestsellers. Nevertheless, Cioffi will make sure you don’t assume the children’s literature scene is an anything-goes-landscape. 

But more than anything else, there are writing techniques an author has used successfully in a book that should be avoided or altered for a children’s book. Check page twenty-six for one example or do a find on “point-of-view.” The traps here seem nearly infinite: Dialogue. Sentence structure. And on and on. In fact, authors may find some of Cioffi’s tips useful in whatever writing they do from this moment on.  

Here is the upshot. I am stowing Cioffi’s book on the keeper shelf in my office. I have a collection of children’s stories inspired by my travels—many of them based on local legends and myths--stored in the bowels of my computer.  I will drag this how-to book our and read it again—cover to cover—before I do any rewriting from my first draft. 

MORE ABOUT THE FRUGAL, SMART, AND

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of
books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and The Great First Impression Book Proposal, another booklet, helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart,and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Her SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com blog focuses on the writing life and book marketing and promotion. It is a Writers' Digest 101 Best blogs pick.