Young Adult & Children

Justin Stanchfield, Associate Editor,
Young Adult & Children's Fiction

Issue # 3: 04/01/01

Otherwhens: A Theory of Alternate History
By J. S. Burke

Blunting the Knife
By Alison Sinclair

Reporting for Fiction
By Katherine Derbyshire

Making Dreams into Reality
By Jennifer St. Clair Bush

Fear and Crisis
By Michael E. Norman

Fantasy:

A Triad of Religious Articles
By Sarah Jane Elliott
Peggy Kurilla
Bryn Neuenschwander

Horror:

Classic Structure in the Horror Novel
By Ron Brown

Poetry:

Poetry Revival
By Lazette Gifford

Romance:

E-Books and the Romance Field
By Anne M. Marble

Science Fiction:

Eureka!
By Bob Billing

Suspense & Mystery:

Preparing for Your First Mystery
By Lazette Gifford

Young Adult & Children:

Turn Personal Struggles into Books for Children
By Laura Backes

Young Writer's Scene:

Write What You Know -- Or What You Want?
By Beth Adele Long

Screenplay: The Foundations
of Screen Writing
Reviewed by Shane P. Carr

AImovie.Com, Tangent Online
By Beth Adele Long

Turn Personal Struggles into Books for Children

Laura Backes, Publisher,

Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers

Suppose you've just gone through a divorce and lost custody of your kids. Or a loved one has recently died of cancer. Or you struggled in school as a child because you have dyslexia.

Many writers turn difficult periods in their lives into books for children, hoping to help young readers through similar painful experiences. Here are some tips to keep in mind when creating and selling books based on real-life events.

Remember that you're writing a children's book, not a personal essay intended to purge your soul from a painful memory. Children want to read about how they feel. Many writers create a child character and tell the story through that character's eyes. Don't write in first person if the "I" is you, the adult author. Instead of explaining how bad you feel that your kids no longer live with you, show how a five-year-old character feels about only getting to see Daddy every other weekend.

Books for younger children (up to age eight) centering around a personal crisis are generally most effective if the author uses a fictional vehicle for imparting the information. If you want to stick closer to nonfiction, make sure the book focuses on the child in the center of the event, and is told in a narrative format with a beginning, middle and end. Older children can handle more traditional self-help books, with each chapter concentrating on a specific aspect of the problem. However, interspersing the advice with personal anecdotes from other children who have gone through the same thing will make the information more appealing and relevant to the readers.

Targeting appropriate publishers with these manuscripts is important. Look in subject index of Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market under "Self Help" and "Special Needs" for publishers. Peruse the children's nonfiction section of a large bookstore, and read reviews in Publisher's Weekly, School Library Journal and Horn Book (trade magazines found in most libraries) to see which publishers do similar types of books. Always send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the children's editorial department asking for writer's guidelines before submitting your manuscript. You can also look at books written for parents to help their children cope with an illness, loss or divorce, and query the publisher asking if they'd like to publish a children's book on the same topic.

Though many mainstream publishers are interested in books that deal with special issues, some topics have too narrow an audience for a large house to market the book successfully. In this case, many authors have elected to self-publish. If you get several personal rejection letters from editors who praise the book but say the audience isn't broad enough, you might consider publishing it yourself. But self-publishing should be approached cautiously; color illustrations are essential for picture books, making them very expensive to produce. And you must be prepared to devote at least a year of your life to selling and distributing your book. Most self-published books are sold primarily through direct mail. Can you purchase mailing lists of parents with children who could benefit from your book? Stories on adoption, specific childhood illnesses, or those that might fit in a pediatrician's waiting room or hospital gift shop are examples of books with a very targeted audience. Dan Poynter's The Self-Publishing Manual (Para Publishing) and The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Tom and Marilyn Ross (Writer's Digest Books) are two good resources to check out before making the commitment to self-publish.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's BookInsider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about writing children's books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's home on the web at http://write4kids.com

Copyright Information

Downloadable versions of Vision
(Adobe Acrobat™ and Palm Systems™)

Young Adult & Children

Justin Stanchfield, Associate Editor, Young Adult & Children's Fiction

Issue # 3: 04/01/01

Otherwhens: A Theory of Alternate History By J. S. Burke

Blunting the Knife By Alison Sinclair

Reporting for Fiction By Katherine Derbyshire

Making Dreams into Reality By Jennifer St. Clair Bush

Fear and Crisis By Michael E. Norman

Fantasy:

A Triad of Religious Articles By Sarah Jane Elliott Peggy Kurilla Bryn Neuenschwander

Horror:

Classic Structure in the Horror Novel By Ron Brown

Poetry:

Poetry Revival By Lazette Gifford