But writing one? That’s a different story. It’s definitely not easy.

Five Points to Consider if You’re New to the Picture Book Scene 

1. It’s an extremely tough market to break into. Which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for it—just be aware.
2. If you are unpublished, it’s best to have at least 3-5 picture book (PB) manuscripts ready before you query an agent. If they like your manuscript, they will likely ask to see at least two or three others before signing you as a picture book author.
3. The art is truly half the story. Pictures are on every page and are critical, not extra bonus material. In fact, sometimes including images that outright contradict the text are the crux of the humor (See This is Not My Hat, by Jon Klassen for a clever example.)
4. As the author, you will likely never meet or talk to the illustrator. The publisher matches you up, and it’s hard to begin as a writer-illustrator unless you are very good at both.
5. Go easy on visual descriptions, because the illustrator will take care of that. Don’t waste your precious word count. In 32 pages, you’ve got 500 words or less to tell a compelling story that holds up to repeated readings. You could stretch it to 800 or maybe 1000 tops, but those don’t sell as well.

Consider Nonfiction

Good news! Nonfiction picture books are a great way to break into the PB market. The Day-Glo Brothers (non-fiction) was Chris Barton’s first published book, but he followed it up with the successful and silly Shark vs. Train. He’s since published several more nonfiction picture books.

Teachers and librarians love well-researched and entertaining nonfiction picture books that give an overview of a topic in a concise way. Teachers often use books in the E section for science or history lessons. Need to study black holes? Boom—check out A Black Hole is Not a Hole, by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano. Studying Fibonacci Numbers in math? Bam—The Rabbit Problem, by Emily Gravett, is right there center stage, playing best supporting actor in your nonfiction picture book line-up.

Understand the Market for Your Fiction

The education market isn’t cornered by nonfiction, either. Teachers also use fiction picture books to instruct about plot, character, mood, tone, theme, setting and more. This holds true even for older grades. As a 7^th grade reading teacher, I used The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka to teach point of view and bias. The kids loved it. In fact, I used picture books all the time in my middle school reading and English classes, because they offered a compact but complete story to study in a 45 minute class.

Unlike books for adults, picture books must first appeal to a group of people beyond their primary audience: the parents, teachers, and librarians who buy books for children. But remember that while some adults like preachy books, kids don’t like them. Don’t talk down to your audience.

Avoid Rhyme

Unless you have a special gift

Rhyming words cause rejection: swift!

There are many reasons not to rhyme. Consider them carefully.

Show Me the Money? Maybe Not

New writers may not realize that picture book authors split their royalties with the illustrator, usually 50/50. And the Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) states that the illustrator usually gets a bigger percentage of the advance. If you are cool with that, awesome. If that bothers you, don’t write picture books unless you’re an amazing artist as well. If you write chapter books, middle grade, or YA, you won’t have that concern. Cover artists for novels are paid during development, not from royalties.

But regardless of payment, if you write for children in any form―picture books through YA―don’t expect tons of respect from adults. Many assume we write for children because it’s easier than writing for grown-ups. Some even think that anyone can write kidlit… until they try it for themselves! The truth is that all writing is challenging if you’re doing it right. But we do it because we love it.

Learn from the Best

Read a lot of picture books, and study the great ones. Last Friday, I wrote a Five on Friday post about five fantastic picture books to check out, as well as a number of author/illustrators. You can check out that post here. One thing I found really enlightening was to take the text of my favorite picture book and type it out in prose form. Look at how just the text works, without the images, and how it differs as a reading experience. See for yourself how sparse and lean a picture book manuscript can be while still conveying a story. You can do this exercise with any picture book you love—the more the merrier.

Join Other Picture Book Writers

Finally, whenever someone tells me they want to write for children, I suggest they join SCBWI and/or get plugged into their local chapter. I have learned so much from SCBWI conferences, critiques, and fellow writers. Plus, it’s fun to be around others who share the same passion as you do!

Now start writing! Bonus: Remember that November is PiBoIdMo—Picture Book Idea Month! Picture book writers can join in the fun of NaNoWriMo insanity! The registration closed Nov. 5, but you can still play along!

Do you have any favorite picture books you still remember from your childhood or from your children’s childhood? I’d love to hear about them!

**Full disclosure: Though not a picture book author myself–which should be clear from the length of this post–I have studied writing for children via conferences, books, classes, and seminars. Picture book writing is a hot topic in all of those forums. But as it turns out, everything I write comes out best suited for tweens and teens. So that’s what I do—and I love it!

Amy holds a Masters of Library Science along with a certification in school librarianship.  She is a former reading and English teacher, mostly for 6^th-8^th graders.  Her debut book, FAIRY KEEPER, is an upper-middle-grade fantasy, now available from Curiosity Quills Press.  She currently lives in Germany with her family, though they still call Texas home. Her daughters are 9 and 11 years old. As you might imagine, middle grade books are a hot commodity around their house.

Amy‘s next book, MER-CHARMER, will be released May 9, 2016.

The post Picture Books: Not So Easy appeared first on DIY MFA.

If you want to write picture books, one of the best things to do is study the great picture book writers and their works. There are two main types of picture book authors: the author/illustrators and authors whose manuscripts are paired with illustrators.

For those of you lucky enough to be gifted with both art and writing, you should definitely check out the works of the following author/illustrators: Maurice Sendack, Mo Williams, Mark Teague, Pat Mora, Steve Jenkins, Patricia Polacco, Jack Ezra Keats, Eric Carle, David Wiesner, and Janel Cannon. They are beloved for a reason.

But for those who can’t draw a stick figure, take heart!

Here are five delightful picture books to enjoy and study, all of which have separate authors and illustrators.  As the author, you only need to come up with a manuscript—not even the ideas for the illustrations! (If that sounds strange to you, next week, DIY MFA will be posting an article about writing picture books…check back on Monday the 23^rd if you’re interested!)

And even if you don’t want to write picture books, they are an enjoyable reading experience for everyone, so make sure to check these out!

Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type

Written by: Doreen Cronin

Illustrated by: Betsy Lewin

If you want to write humorous books—always a popular choice with children—this is a great author to study.  Doreen Cronin’s dead-pan, clever text matches perfectly with Betsy Lewin’s illustrations to create a series of books that make kids (and adults) crack up. She uses a single strong setting that grounds her story well, and her use of repetition allows pre-readers to join in during those sections. You may also be familiar with Doreen Cronin’s popular Diary of a Worm series, which are illustrated by Harry Bliss.  As an author, your work may be paired with different artists.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Written by: Laura Numeroff

Illustrated by Felicia Bond. This is a fun example of a “series of events” story that kids delight in.  She’s extended this concept to many other books, such as If You Give a Pig a Pancake and If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. Felicia Bond’s illustrations clearly link all the books at a quick glance. Numeroff is a prolific author, and any of her books are informative to study.

On a Beam of Light

Written by: Jennifer Berne

Illustrated by: Vladimir Radunsky

This book is a celebration and overview of Albert Einstein’s life and discoveries. Children enjoy seeing that such a famous genius was also once a child, just like them, with his own quirks and differences. Perfect for use in history class as an introductory biography or in science as an introduction to Einstein’s work.  Also emphasizes the importance of imagination and question-asking in science.  Inspiring in so many ways.

Jingle Dancer

Written by: Cynthia Leitich Smith

Illustrated by: Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu

Diversity matters. Readers of all kinds of backgrounds need to see themselves reflected in books.  Multicultural stories with modern, realistic protagonists from cultures less frequently represented in literature are very much desired and important. Jingle Dancer was Cynthia L. Smith’s first published work, and she has since gone on to become a New York Times best-selling YA author of gothic fantasy.

Goodnight Moon

Written by: Margaret Wise Brown

Illustrated by: Clement Hurd Interestingly, the author did not envision the bunnies in those illustrations or the bright colors. Hurd made that call, and his distinctive illustrations helped make the book a hallmark of goodnight stories. If you want to write for very young children, studying Margaret Wise Brown is a smart move.

Bonus Book:  Just because you are that awesome.

Sit-In:  How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down

Written by: Andrea Davis Pinkney

Illustrated by: Brian Pinkney

Created by a wife/husband team, it didn’t quite fit in the above list, where the author was totally separate from the illustrator, but it’s too good to not mention.  This non-fiction picture book is a celebration and explanation of the 1960 Woolworth’s lunch counter peaceful sit-in by four students.  Teachers will find this an attention-grabbing way to introduce students to the civil rights movement.  Also raises great discussion for parents and their children about why this event happened, and issues with equality today.

As a huge fan of picture books, I could list fifty books here, but that would be “Fifty on Friday,” and while that sounds pretty catchy, I think that might be a bit much.  But I’d love to hear what your favorite picture books are, either from when you were a child, from raising your own children, or books you admire as a writer.

Share in the comments below so we can all add those books to our TBR list!  Thanks!

…………………………

Amy holds a Masters of Library Science along with a certification in school librarianship.  She is a former reading and English teacher, mostly for 6^th-8^th graders.  Her debut book, FAIRY KEEPER, is an upper-middle-grade fantasy, now available from Curiosity Quills Press.  She currently lives in Germany with her family, though they still call Texas home. Her daughters are 9 and 11 years old. As you might imagine, middle grade books are a hot commodity around their house.

The post #5OnFri: Five Fabulous Picture Books in honor of #PiBoIdMo! appeared first on DIY MFA.