You want to write a picture book, but you don’t know where to start. Here’s how to find inspiration for ideas, develop your writing, and stop procrastinating.
So you want to write a picture book. And, of course, you want to get published. You like kids, enjoy children’s literature, have read Where the Wild Things Are about a billion times with your own kids. And you may have read some not-so-good children’s books too and thought to yourself, “Hey, I can do that. I can do better than that.”
Or maybe you just like to write, and you think writing a children’s book seems easier. Shorter, certainly, with less, like, you know, um... words.
Not so fast. Writing for children is most definitely an art, and there’s more to it than just coming up with a fresh take on the ABC’s. You’ve got a picky, tricky audience here, and a saturated market to break into. But if you have a passion for writing for children, you’ll stop at nothing to make your dream come true.
Let’s take this a step at a time. For now, forget about being published. Let’s get to first things first, and get down to the nitty gritty of writing.
Details You Should Know
Even though I said to forget about getting published just a couple of sentences ago, there is one detail to keep in the back of your mind during the writing process. Picture books are generally 32 pages, including the front (title and publisher) pages and back matter (there may be a blank page at the back of the book). Look at one to see. Plan for yours to be about 28 pages of actual writing. Note: Some books are shorter, some longer, but 32 is the general rule of thumb because a publisher can easily lay out 8 four-page spreads.
If you are planning two-page spreads for artwork, remember that the first and last pages will be single spreads. If you think about it, it makes sense. The first page is on the right hand side, the last page is on the left. The opposite pages are usually blank or just have some publishing information.