Workshop this weekend with Michael Katz of Tradewind Publishing. Just a few notes:
1. Main character has to be likeable
2. Main character doesn’t generally die
3. Main character must triumph in some way through their own actions.
4. No explicit sex
5. No swearing
6. Generally, you don’t see the parents in a children’s book. It’s all about the kid. Grandparents are ok, aunts and uncles okay, as long as they’re great characters (can be wicked!)
Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? Here’s Cynthia Dusseault with workshop-goer Sarah Roberts’ soon-to-be-target child we’re writing these books to please:
We learned word counts for the various ages of children’s books, i.e.
1. Picture Book (age 3): very few words
2. Story Book (4 – 7 years old) 850 words (60 max on a page), 32 pages
3. First Reader (grades 2nd – 4th grade) : 4 – 7,000 words
4. Chapter Books (middle grades 3rd – 5th): 9 – 14,000 words
5. Pre-teen novel (11 – 13 year olds) 27,000 words – 40,000 words
6. Novel (14 – 17 year olds): up to 80,000 words
Michael said that picture books don’t work for kids under 3 because they rip them… but there are ‘board books’ for that age group, and they’re ’10 spreads’.
For younger children, the book should not be written in the first person, because little kids don’t have a voice yet.
Generally, the protagonist should be two years older than your target market, esp in pre-teen and teen books.
Here we are, most of us together:
The cover letter. Boy was that an eye-opening few minutes, as we watched and listened as Michael opened up the day’s mail (no real names were spoken, and details were smushed so we wouldn’t know the identity of the writer or the work), but it was, shall we say, excruciating. I read the cover letter I wrote introducing my children’s book idea. This letter prompted Michael to call me and discuss the possiblity of working on something in the near future.
The audience for picture books is Grannies, Aunties, etc. I got the impression that Tradewind Books is really looking for teen books – they’ve got lots of picture books.
He gave us books, urls and organizations to investigate:
Children’s Writer’s & Illustrators Guide (Published by Writer’s Digest)
Society of Children’s Book Writers SCBWI.com (this site has great links)
ccbc.ca Canadian Children’s Book
Gotta go to the opening of Meditation on Lotus: Family at Yoga by the Sea in Roberts Creek. Next: The cover letter and PJ Reece our guest at workshop!
