Have you ever gotten really frustrated with autocorrect? Of course you have.
But sometimes it offers genius moments. Unexpected combinations of words. Creative interpretations our logical brains would never produce. Hilariously inappropriate statements.
Just recently I suggested that my husband get a cough drop but autocorrect suggested a “cough frog.” Wait what? A cough frog? What could that be about?
Autocorrect renamed my son’s teacher to “Mrs. Sewers.” That is a great villain name.
It also changed “ancient grains eater” to “ancient grains water” and now I’m thinking about a strange water with special powers.
Have you ever had a really good autocorrect that sparked some creativity?
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite bird. I usually list my top five.
I love red-tailed hawks. I formed a bond with one that used to follow me when I went on runs and even killed a rabbit in my backyard.
I love crows. They are so smart and family oriented. I want to make friends with our neighborhood crows.
Baltimore Orioles are the birds of my hometown. But I never saw them when I lived in Maryland. I’ll never forget when I saw one in my backyard for the first time on Mother’s Day.
I think puffins are awesome, but I’ve never seen one in real life. It’s my dream to see one!
Now I’m struggling to pick a fifth. Is it the hermit thrush that landed on the trail in front of me? They have a beautiful song. The hooded warbler I hunted for all summer? The evening grosbeaks I finally saw with my youngest?
I don’t know if I can pick a fifth. What’s your favorite bird?
I love birding. I love being out in nature, listening to bird song, spotting a feathered friend in the leaves and branches.
I love keeping track of birds from year to year. January 1 is so exciting because I get to count familiar birds all over again! I’ve some wonderful birding moments this year and it’s only January!
In 2022, my first bird of the year was a bananaquit. We were in Puerto Rico and these little birds were everywhere.
My first bird of the year in Pennsylvania was an American Robin. Kind of a classic.
A few days ago I heard some agitated crows outside. I went to take a look because feisty crows usually means a good hawk sighting. I was delighted and surprised to see the crows harassing a much, much bigger raven. I even heard the raven croak!
Then on a Thursday morning, as I let the dog out, I heard the unmistakable trill of a screech owl. We have an owl house, but it’s been empty for years. I glanced at it and was shocked and amazed to see we had a new neighbor!
Our owl house is south facing, and screech owls apparently love to get some sun. I don’t know for sure if it has made a nest in the box or if it was just stopping by. But I hope it stays!
Later that same day, I saw two red-tailed hawks land near a nest I’ve been watching. I thought we might see some great horned owls nest there, but I’d love to watch red-tailed hawks raise a family.
My family has seen the pileated woodpecker around, and we had golden-crowned kinglets in the yard, too. 2022 is starting off as a great year for birding!
2021 is almost done. I like to take a look at the past year and acknowledge the highs, the lows, and all of the “I don’t knows.”
I have kept a tracking sheet of my writing pretty regularly since 2013. I use Numbers, but I also use a little book. Yes, I keep the same info in both. But the Numbers spreadsheet does a nice job of helping my analyze my results.
Based on these numbers, 2021 was a better year for me in terms of Acceptances.
I sent out 96 projects in 2020 and less than 10% of them led to publication. But in 2021, I sent out 33 projects and had a 15% acceptance rate! That’s pretty good based on my past results.
In comparison to 2020, I only received 5 acceptances this year, while I had 7 in 2020.
I was thinking I have to add a new column to my tracker because this year I actually turned down two offers.
Yep.
I said no to a writing project. Twice.
Can you believe it? It felt very weird. I don’t like saying no, I still have the feeling of “say yes to it all, you need it!” But a long conversation with my agent Miranda Paul helped me keep an eye on the bigger picture.
I’m also waiting to hear back from Highlights on some submissions that are still in progress. So this data can change.
In past years, I haven’t always been that productive toward the end of the year, but I did send out three pitches in December. The Y axis on my graph might need to change because I doubt I’ll be sending out 40 of anything in one month in coming years.
I also worked on more longer projects in 2021. I completed two middle grade novel manuscripts. That’s a lot of words – even though one is a graphic novel. I estimated over 60,000 words between the two. I also revised a middle grade manuscript this year (but I had written a few years ago) that was 56,000+.
One thing I can share for now is that I made about $200 more last year. A big part of this came from my offering editing services on Reedsy. That has been so much fun, I’m really glad I signed up as a professional there. I am proud of my 5 star rating!
But I spent twice as much on continuing education this year and that was hiring professional editors for several projects. So in the end, I netted about $1,000 less.
I’m so curious to see how 2022 goes!
My 2020 data for comparison:
You can take a look at previous years at these links:
Congratulations! You’ve written a children’s book! You love reading children’s books so much you have dedicated yourself to learning the craft and written one yourself. And you’ve done the homework from Part 1, right? No? OK take a minute and go read that post and then do the homework. Then come back here.
Done now?
Great job! I’m proud of you, because doing all of that reading is great research.
But there’s more work to do. Now that you are familiar with current children’s books, it’s time to learn the essentials of writing a good story. I teach a picture book writing course for McDaniel College, and we spend weeks learning about the structure of a strong picture book.
There is a basic formula to writing good stories, regardless of the age of the audience. It comes down to a creating a compelling character with a goal. Then you must introduce an obstacle that is keeping them from reaching that goal. Finally, the main character uses their unique traits or behaviors or qualities to overcome the obstacle and achieve their goal.
It’s not too hard when you think of it like that. Anyone can write a story with those elements.
But it’s also really hard. Because most of the time people write stories that leave out those elements, and then the stories aren’t any good.
Now I have a question for you. Do you want to write ANY story? Just drop some words on paper, slap some illustrations on the pages, print the book and be done? OK, then you don’t have to do this next homework assignment. But if you want to write a GOOD STORY, then take the time to do this homework. Whether you are self-publishing or aiming for the traditional publishing industry path, these books will make your story better. You will be a better writer. You will create something that satisfies readers and they will want to read more.
As always, the choice is yours. If you choose to continue, then for your next homework assignment, you have more reading. Pick up these books from the library or your local independent bookstore.
I see this question a lot on social media sites and forums about writing. People ask, “I’ve written a children’s book. Now what?”
I love talking with people about writing for children, so I’m always tempted to answer. But the answer I want to give is not the answer people want to hear. They want to hear one or two of a few things:
How to get it illustrated
How to get an agent
How to get it published
How to start selling it
So while I know what answers they want to hear, I also know those are the wrong questions to ask. Look, I get it. I’m impulsive and impatient, too. When I do something difficult, or something that I really love, I want to hear a word that rhymes with “Gongratulations!” I don’t really want to go back and hear about how I could have done it better. Or where I went wrong. Or that it’s not quite done.
Since these people are asking on social media or websites, I have to be really careful how I answer. Because it’s hard to convey tone in a quick, written post. I can easily come off as rude or flip. And I don’t want to be rude. But I know my answer will sound rude, because the first answer I want to give is actually another question.
My answer is “How many children’s books, like the one you’ve written, have you read recently?”
And the second answer is, “Have you read children’s books, like the one you’ve written, that have been published in the last two-three years, or even stretched to five years?”
If the answers to those questions are “zero” or “none” or “I don’t read children’s books” then the red flags start popping up all over the place.
The phrase “red flags” reminds me of a children’s book my kids loved but I don’t think would get published today. Have you ever read the book Tootle? It was a Little Golden Book. I’m not sure this book would get published today.
Tootle was at train who didn’t want to stay on the tracks, he wanted to frolic in the grass.
This book is actually a perfect analogy for people who don’t read children’s books, or who have read a few and say, “Well, my book is totally different from what’s out there.”
I get it – we want to forge our own way.
But folks, publishing is an industry. A business. There are rules that publishers and bookstores follow to sell their products. They know what people want and products are created to meet those needs. That’s why we don’t see t-shirts with three sleeves.
Sure, that kind of shirt is totally different from what’s out there.
But no one is going to buy it because it won’t fit.
What we do see is t-shirts all kinds of styles with all kinds of unique features and designs that appeal to all kinds of personalities. But they are still all similar in certain important ways. The essence is still there.
You need to KNOW those ways. These are the rules of the game. You need to KNOW the basic features of children’s books that are common across all books. Then you can go wild and free and create your unique version while understanding the essence of the product.
Here’s your homework:
If you’re going to write a picture book, go read 100 picture books from the past 2-3 years.
If you want to write a chapter book – don’t. Too hard. Will discuss in later post.
If you want to write a novel, read a minimum of 25 novels directed at your age group. Yes, there are different age groups. Do you know them? No? OK, will discuss in later post.
If you want to write nonfiction, read between at least 25 nonfiction books that are produced for your age group. Yep, there are different age groups for nonfiction, too.
Once you’ve done your homework, then take a look at your manuscript again. Does it have that essence of the children’s books you’ve read? Really? OK, how can you revise to fill it with the essence while keeping it true to you?
NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. It’s a great event for writers who love deadlines and external accountability. The challenge is to write a novel about 50,000 words long in one month.
I made some great friends through NaNoWriMo in the past. I’ve “won” the event, or reached 50,000 words, a few times. So I have fond memories of this month.
But I’m not doing it this year. This year I’m doing my own “NaNoRevMo” – or “National Novel Revision Month.” I have two novels, one fiction and one historical fiction. I am so lucky that people in my family will read my drafts and offer honest, helpful feedback.
Excellent feedback from my personal editor
Once I get through the suggested changes, I can’t wait to send these two projects to my wonderful agent.
If you are doing NaNoWriMo, I wish you luck! If you are doing a different project, I wish you luck, too! The goal is to write, create, and explore.
I’m headed to my first teacher and librarian conference this month. Here’s a list of the conferences I know about – do you know of any? Are they a great way to connect authors and illustrators with teachers and librarians?
