Writing Picture Books for Children Today
What Editors Expect From Authors of Illustrated Books
Jul 4, 2009
In the past, children's picture books were often more than 1,000 words long. If that many words were needed to tell the story, fine. But today, even 1,000 words can be problematic in this poetry-like genre.
The Shorter the Better, Editors Say About Picture Book Manuscripts
A few years ago, a writer in the know said, "Editors start to smile when the word count drops below 800." Emily Easton, publisher at Walker Books for Young Readers, said recently that if you want a picture book to sell today, it should have no more than 500 words. How is it possible to construct a great story with so few words? Planning and hard work are the answer.
Learn From Maurice Sendak and Peter H. Reynolds
The great picture book writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak's classic story, Where the Wild Things Are, (Harper Collins) has only 338 words. Is a story that short easy to write? Absolutely not, even for someone like Sendak. In Worlds of Childhood - The Art and Craft of Writing for Children, edited by William Zinssner, Sendak writes that he never spends less than two years writing the text of his picture books, even thought they are all less than 400 words long. And he doesn't even think about the illustrations until the text is just right.
Sendak isn't the only master of brevity in this field. Peter H. Reynolds's book, The Dot, (Candlewick Press) has just 331 words. Yet it has a strong main character and two interesting secondary characters as well as an effective circular plot in which the end brings readers back to the beginning quite nicely. The main character has a well-defined problem that is solved in a positive way that helps her grow as a person. And, the story itself promotes the importance of creativity in children's lives. What more could a reader ask for in a story?
Character and Plot Are as Important as Ever
Despite the emphasis on brevity, editors still want stories with strong plots and memorable characters. They also prefer exciting stories to quiet ones like Good Night Moon. The very first two-page spread must draw the reader in. The Dot begins, "Art class was over, but Vashti sat glued to her chair. Her paper was empty." Readers know right away this girl is very frustrated and also very stubborn, and wonder why she hasn't even tried to draw. They really want to know what's going on and are sure to turn the page and keep reading.
Sendak's classic begins, "The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind". He doesn't even finish the sentence so the reader has to turn the page. Readers know by the wolf suit and mischief that Max has a wild streak, which they connect in their minds to the book's title. They suspect Max will somehow get involved with genuine wild things and want to know how, so we read on. Both books continue in this way, leading the reader in each spread to want to turn the page and find out what happens next.
Of course picture books also have to end well, and these books do. Vashti discovers her creativity and learns the satisfaction of helping someone else, and Max has a great adventure but discovers that home is really the nicest place to be.
Writing picture books today may be a challenge, but it's a satisfying one. Just remember to keep it short, to have an interesting main character with a problem to solve, to make the story active and exciting, and to end it in a way that will reward your readers.
 |
 |
