i would like to write children books any ideas how to get started?

Question

i would like to target ages 3-7 ty

Answer 1

hello there, I also write childrens books . Do you have any children ?I do and sometimes I write about them . Basically , when you write a story for children you need to decide what age you are trying to target, and make sure they can read it . A good story needs colorful characters and and interesting story , one that children can relate to and most of all a moral . The moral can be minor or major , but it needs to be there . Or you can write a learning book which doesn't need a moral because it is non-fiction . The part I find the hardest is illustrations, if you don't draw yourself you will need an illistrator , which is rather costly . Maybe there is someone you know who can help in this department.
good luck

Answer 2

Depends a lot on _why_ you want to write children's books. If you just want to write anything for children, then the biggest market--or at least the easiest to break into--these days seems to be in nonfiction, so if there's something you're especially knowledgeable about--like a craft, or a period in history, or some such, that may be a good place to start. Write about that in a clear, concise, and entertaining manner. Some publications list what publishers are looking for, as a service to publishers and writers. The one I know about is the bulletin of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, at http://www.scbwi.org. It's something like $75 to join, and then more to attend the conferences, but may be well spent.

If you're looking to write fiction for children, there are a lot of things to know. The first is preferred word count. For example, a picture book is something like 1,000 to 2,000 words (please doublecheck; I'm writing this from memory), while a young-adult novel should be 40,000 to 60,000 words. A lot of publishers won't even look at things that aren't the right length, because if something is too long or too short that cuts into profits. The next thing to know is that your characters should be at least a year or two older than your intended audience--conventional wisdom says that most kids want to read about their future, not their past. The third thing is to write something that you as an adult would also enjoy reading.

There's more you can learn elsewhere, but that seems like a good place to start.

Answer 3

Here is my advice:

1. Research! Research! Research!
Know your market - what books sell? What books are popular? What is your market? Are you writing Picture books? Young Adult? Series? Chapter books? Ask children what they read and what they would like to see in a book. I can't stress it enough - know your market.

2. Don't underestimate the readers.

3. Get to know and develop the characters you want and don't make them one dimensional. Afterall, if the book becomes popular the expectation is a sequel.

4. Invest in the Children's Market Book of publishers. You need to know what the publishers are looking for because there are some that do not accept unsolicited material.

5. Don't limit yourself in terms of trying to write a book. Some magazines accept short stories for children and it's good practice.

6. Personally, I don't think one should self-publish their book because the distribution and the costs are not going to get recovered.

7. When you write a story and you think it is good or great, read it to a few people to get their opinion. Then go to your local library or school and see if you can volunteer to read it to your target readers. You can gage by their reactions how the story is going. You can also ask them for feedback which is probably the best marketing and advice you will ever get.

I hope this helps!!

Answer 4

First you need to think about which age group you want to target. Do you want to write early chapter books, or picturebooks? Do some research on the age group. Go to your local library and look at a number of books, especially popular ones.

While I don't know as much about chapter books, for picture books you want a fairly simple story, but one that will catch the child's attention. Keep in mind that younger children don't have the attention span to focus on a book for too long. Don't make the pictures/words too 'busy'.

Also, find some books on story writing. Many of them are very good references that have a great many tips and tricks to help you get started.

Answer 5

First find your target audience (which also includes word count, etc. etc.) as described in some of the answers above.

Then try to come up with a main character for your story. Write down a description - male, female, eye color, etc. etc.

Then take this character and imagine then in some odd place or scenario – anything goes! Write down ideas on what would have to happen to your character or how they would react to the scenario you placed them in.

You can do this for multiple characters if you like.

This may seem futile, but it will help you flesh out some characters and give you insight into what you may want to happen to this type of character in a potential story. You may even come up with multiple story lines!

Strong well crafted main characters can inspire readers to love your story as well as drive you to write a great story for these imagined beings to be in! :-)

Answer 6

I'd recommend looking into the Children's Literature Institute in Connecticutt. They offer a correspondence course, and the professor works with a script you are writing intended for publication.

Answer 7

i might learn different young ones e book to get a experience for the artform. Then i might think of of a set of tale concepts, then verify which one i admire terrific, then create a life like define for the pages and the photographs. As you in all probability know, photographs are mandatory in young ones books!

Answer 8

first thing you need is an idea. it depends on what kind of book you want to write. do you want the kids to learn something? do you want to make them laugh? do you want it to be sweet? or gross? for boys or girls or both? once you have an idea, just toy with them on paper and see what comes out. but first you need to decide what kind of book you want to write and who your target audience is.

Answer 9

well thats great go to a nursry near your area and ask the nice lady if you can work with the nice kids. and spend a day with them and write a story about your spending your day with the kids.

Answer 10

Once upon a time