“To
say that most writers who want to write for children want to write picture
books is only a slight over generalization.” ~Tracey E. Dils (You Can Write
Children’s Books)
The
Market and Audience:
Many think the audience (readership) and market
are the same, but truth be told, this is not the case with picture books. Even
though picture books are written for preschool to elementary aged children,
they are not the ones buying picture books.
What
does this mean to you as a writer? You need to know adults are your target
market when it comes to promoting your picture book. This also means your story
needs to not only appeal to children, but also to the adult buyer. It should
appeal to the adult’s sensibility and emotions, as well as to the child’s
literal understanding of basic story and the world around them.
Types
of Picture Books:
Picture books cover a wide range of topics and
subject matter. They can be written in both verse and prose, and can be
illustrated with a variety of media. They can even be completely wordless.
Unlike
other categories of books, there is no clear-cut kind of picture book. But they
are grouped into sub-genres, however these are not meant to be prescriptive. There
are picture books that don’t fall into any of these sub-genres.
Story Books: These are the
most popular kind. They are always fiction and may even be a retelling of a
folk or fairy tale. These types of picture books involve a series of events
leading up to a climax, and then resolution, which involves some sort of
character growth.
These
picture books also have a typical pattern they follow, which involves the main
character wanting to achieve or acquire something. Three episodes (scenes) of
conflict follow building upon each other to raise the intensity. During the
final episode, the character strives the hardest to reach his goal and
succeeds. (The Rule of 3)
Concept Books: These types of
picture books promote a child’s understand of the world around them. The can
actually teach an educational concept—like counting, colors or sorting. Or they
can offer suggestions for overcoming one of childhood’s many problems such as
giving, moving to a new house, etc. These can be either fiction or nonfiction.
Novelty
Books: These are also fiction or nonfiction and rely on some sort of gimmick to
tell the story. Pop-up books, seek-and-find, and lift-the-flap are the most
common. Some can even rely on a number of novelties to engage the reader.
Form
and Length:
There is one thing all picture books have in
common…they all have a very structured format. Picture books are probably the
most structured of all the children’s genres. Simply stated, picture books are
either 24 or 32 pages long.
Here’s
how page count can affect your work. If you are writing an average picture
book, which is 32 pages. As a writer you need to assume some of those pages
will contain what the publisher calls “front matter”—your copyright page, title
page, dedication, etc. These pages generally are not numbered and this means
your story is actually only going to be 28 pages long.
With a limited page and word count, the pacing of your story is extremely important. The main reason why many beginning writers get rejections on their picture book manuscripts is because the story is often bogged down from lack of enough dialogue and action to move the story forward. If you have this problem, here’s a suggestion: Script your story! By thinking of your story primarily in terms of dialogue and action, you’ll not only move your story forward and keep the pacing you’ll need for a picture book, but kids are almost entirely focused on what characters do and say, keeping them engaged in your storyline.
Make
a Dummy Book:
A
dummy book is a sample book in which you actually place the text on the
appropriate page, allowing for the front matter pages. This way you’ll be able
to see how your story evolves through page spreads (two pages facing each
other) and you’ll be able to see your story’s pacing.
One
question I am asked all the time is, “Should I send my picture book dummy with
my submission to the publisher?” The answer is NO, unless the pagination is
essential to the story itself.
Also,
while you might have some artistic talent, do not submit your artwork with the
manuscript either.
Tune in next week when I share Part 2: What is a Picture Book where I cover "plotting", "vocabulary" and "readability".