Children’s books are one of the most lucrative categories of the publishing industry, with consistently growing sales rates every year. It then, comes as no surprise as to why a lot of people now consider writing a children’s book for a living. As of 2010, the American Association of publishers have noted $ 48.9 million revenue among children’s and young adult paperback publications, which was 4.5% higher than the previous year. On top of that, there was a $ 59.7 million income among hardcover books, which was a 0.2% improvement from 2009. In 2011, the latter was up by 27% with brick-and-mortar bookstores encouraging impulsive children book buying within the year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for these products is set to rise by 15% within the coming years. This should give way to a job opening of 174,100 within 2011 and 2012.
One would think it’s difficult to get started with writing a children’s book. But if you actually have some creativity and short experience in academic journalism, you will not find it hard to come up with a noteworthy story after a few months of writing, and start working as a ghost writer for major publications. If you are not as talented, you could start reading up on some of the popular children’s literature today and get educated. The most important aspect of the task is to get the ball rolling. Once you have accomplished that, you could pursue these tips to make you more effective and productive.
a. Think about why you want to write children’s books. What fascinates you about the genre? What do you think you can contribute to it? It’s easy to rip off someone’s ideas and just recalibrate their storylines, so they would appear unique. But publishers don’t usually buy off materials that are common. So, you have to find meaning in the task, and be able to reflect that in your work. Some people choose to go for writing children’s books, because they are mothers or children that have been inspired by the stories their parents told them growing up.
b. Find out what publishers are looking for. To increase your chances of being bought, you could ask publishers what they’d like to read from you. They usually have their fingers on the pulse of literary trends, so they are the authority on what would sell and what wouldn’t. Besides, when you are starting out, they will be your biggest consumers. So, you have to pattern your outputs according to their expectations.
c. Make outlines. Naturally, you will not be able to complete a hundred-page write up in just one sitting. You’d probably spend hours, or even days, on coming up with one. The best thing you could do after you decide to start writing a children’s book is make draft outlines of ideas that pop into your head – anything from plots, characters, and moral lessons to references. The more you put them down in writing, the more they will make sense. And then eventually, you’d find it simpler to piece information together and come up with a complete story.