In December, I had my one-on-one skype critique with the talented Penny Parker Klostermann (see previous post and check out her wonderful books). She gave me a great critique on one of my rhyming stories and also shared some invaluable advice that I wanted to pass on:
- When writing rhyme...don't sacrifice the story just to get the rhyme. You have limited real estate, so to speak, don't waste it just for that last word of the phrase.
- Make every word count. Every word must belong and make sense to the story - don't take short cuts.
- Picture books need to either A) Have a strong goal/purpose, where the main character goes through some sort of transformation, or B) If the story is more of a general journey through and experience, there must be a theme throughout the story to tie it all together, such as a repeating phrase. (Say no to vague stories about feelings or lists, that don't have any purpose or theme!)
- Check out Storystorm here: https://taralazar.com/storystorm/. It happens once a year in the month of January (So it just finished up), but it's a great, FREE resource for picture book writers.
- Read THE NUTS AND BOLTS GUIDE TO WRITING PICTURE BOOKS by Linda Ashman.
- Make sure your in a writing group that consists specifically of picture book writers, who know the market and the ins and outs of picture book writing (which is quite different than other genres).
I also organized a new writing group last month through my SCBWI membership - they have resources on their blackboard where you can find other members who'd like to start a critique group. So we have started meeting once a month and that's been great!
So yeah, Penny's advice has been amazing. I'm feeling super excited about my newly written manuscripts and have even started querying some stories again. It's been a good month!
In other news, my new book THE TWO ANGELS, A STORY ABOUT TWINS has been out for about 2 months now, and I've been so grateful for the success it's had. The first month of sales was better than I hoped, and I'm noticing that even after Christmas, there's been a steady stream of online sales. This wasn't the case with my first self-published book, ITCHY MITCHIE, and here's what I think is the difference. THE TWO ANGELS appeals to a very specific market: Twin families, and also Christians. When I set the book up in Amazon, I made "books for twins" and "a book about twins" two of the key phrases. Because of that, and also since there just aren't that many twin books out there, when people search for those things in Amazon, my book is one of the first to show up. It's also listed under religious fiction and Christianity, which makes it even more specific. So it turns out that writing a book for a niche market can be really beneficial rather than a generic children's book that may appeal to a wider audience but will simply not get seen in the enormous sea of picture books. Good to know, huh! (Now what other book could I write that appeals to a small, but consistent niche? Hmmmmm....)
Anyway, the kids are all emerging from naps and play time, so I better wrap this up, but it's been a great couple months of writing and I'm excited for what's ahead in 2018!
Oh, oh! Ps. One more thing: Susanna Hill's next writing contest has been announced. It's coming up in a couple weeks, check it out here: https://susannahill.com/2018/01/27/bic-writers-its-time-for-the-2018-valentiny-contest-guildelines/
More soon!
Looks like you had a fantastic January. Here's to 11 more equally wonderful months!
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