Turn Personal Struggles into Books for
Children
By Laura Backes, Publisher, Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's
Writers
Suppose you've just gone through a divorce and lost custody of your kids.
Or a loved one has recently died of cancer. Or you struggled in school as a
child because you have dyslexia.
Many writers turn difficult periods in their lives into books for children,
hoping to help young readers through similar painful experiences. Here are
some tips to keep in mind when creating and selling books based on real-life
events:
Remember that you're writing a children's book, not a personal essay intended
to purge your soul from a painful memory. Children want to read about how they
feel. Many writers create a child character and tell the story through that
character's eyes. Don't write in first person if the "I" is you,
the adult author. Instead of explaining how bad you feel that your kids no
longer live with you, show how a five-year-old character feels about only getting
to see Daddy every other weekend.
Books for younger children (up to age eight) centering around a personal crisis
are generally most effective if the author uses a fictional vehicle for imparting
the information. If you want to stick closer to nonfiction, make sure the book
focuses on the child in the center of the event, and is told in a narrative
format with a beginning, middle and end. Older children can handle more traditional
self-help books, with each chapter concentrating on a specific aspect of the
problem. However, interspersing the advice with personal anecdotes from other
children who have gone through the same thing will make the information more
appealing and relevant to the readers.
Targeting appropriate publishers with these manuscripts is important. Look
in subject index of Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market under "Self
Help" and "Special Needs" for publishers. Peruse the children's
nonfiction section of a large bookstore, and read reviews in Publisher's
Weekly,
School Library Journal and Horn Book (trade magazines found in most libraries)
to see which publishers do similar types of books. Always send a self-addressed,
stamped envelope to the children's editorial department asking for writer's
guidelines before submitting your manuscript. You can also look at books written
for parents to help their children cope with an illness, loss or divorce, and
query the publisher asking if they'd like to publish a children's book on the
same topic.
Though many mainstream publishers are interested in books that deal with special
issues, some topics have too narrow an audience for a large house to market
the book successfully. In this case, many authors have elected to self-publish.
If you get several personal rejection letters from editors who praise the book
but say the audience isn't broad enough, you might consider publishing it yourself.
But self-publishing should be approached cautiously; color illustrations are
essential for picture books, making them very expensive to produce. And you
must be prepared to devote at least a year of your life to selling and distributing
your book. Most self-published books are sold primarily through direct mail.
Can you purchase mailing lists of parents with children who could benefit from
your book? Stories on adoption, specific childhood illnesses, or those that
might fit in a pediatrician's waiting room or hospital gift shop are examples
of books with a very targeted audience. Dan Poynter's The Self-Publishing
Manual (Para Publishing) and The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by
Tom and Marilyn Ross (Writer's Digest Books) are two good resources to check
out before making
the commitment to self-publish. •
10/30/04
More Writing
for Kids Articles
For more information about writing children's books, including
free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children's
Book Insider's
home on the Web at write4kids.com.
Copyright 2001, Children's Book Insider, LLC.
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