15 Tips From Children's Book Editors

        This weekend I attended a local writers' conference sponsored by the Long Island Children's Writers and Illustrators group at which we had the chance to have our work critiqued by four editors from top publishing houses. I won't say which houses because I learned that some of the people making decisions about whether or not our children's books get published aren't that much older than my high school senior. 
       But aside from that, what they had to say about why manuscripts get rejected echoes all that I wrote about in How to Publish Your Children's Book, and what I say whenever I speak to writers' groups. They also offered other random, but helpful tips. So, it was clear that they know their industry. 
    Here are 15 of the tips they shared, in no particular order of importance. May they be of use to you and lead to a major book contract.

    1. Don't sacrifice the story for a rhyme. Using a word just because it sounds like it fits is not good writing. And by the way, a lot of editors won't even look at books that rhyme anymore because they say it's too difficult for writers to do well.

    2. Grammatical and spelling errors are an immediate turn-off and reason for rejection. Editors don't have time to correct mistakes you should have looked at before sending the manuscript to them.

    3. If your book sounds too much like something that is already published and well known, publishers won't want to repeat it. And don't try to compete with a children's classic. Your work will immediately be compared to it.

    4. Make sure your picture books have characters who are children. (Despite a few critical responses I received for saying this myself in my last newsletter entry, there are writers who forget this.)
 
    5. Mysteries for children are slightly different than that for adults, and the only way to learn the distinction is to read the genre. A good series to look at right now are the Kiki Strike books by Kirsten Miller.

    6. Trends are fine to pay attention to. The hottest now are vampires, pirates and environmental or "green" books. But just as soon as the trend is met in the industry, it can quickly turn into enough already. So beware the rush to write to a trend.

    7. In a picture book manuscript, sometimes it's not the number of words you write, but the message they convey. Every word has to matter. They have to give insight into the main character and move the story along.

    8. The book's conflict should be clear within the first two pages.
    
    9. Familiarize yourself with the correct genre terms or you give yourself away as someone who doesn't quite know what you're sending an editor.

    10. Author Judy Blume once said you should start your manuscript on the day that everything changes for your character.

    11. Books need problems and resolutions.

    12. Kids love their grandparents, so as a topic, it's a great relationship to explore.

    13. Read the dialogue aloud once you've written it so you can hear if it has a natural rhythm and sounds realistic. To that end, listen to how kids speak so you get it right.

    14. Don't bother writing an alphabet book for the time being. They only sell if they have a big name attached, like Steve Martin's.

    15. Pay attention to all the details you write to be sure they make sense. If the family is moving furniture, can a four-year-old main character move a sofa by herself? If she can, the author has to explain why she has strength beyond her years.