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The
overwhelming response we have received from our readers in the contribution
section just goes to show how many people are out there with great ideas
and a whole lot of talent.
While
we cannot teach you how to write (you will need to join a writing class,
or pray harder to God), we could help you with the stages of writing your
book and getting it published.
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Choose
a Target Audience
We
know children are the target audience, but you have to be more age specific
than that.
3-5
3-5
will of course be very basic stuff like “See Spot run.” Or “My name is
Billy Goat Gruff.” They are usually highly illustrated books, with just
a sentence or two of writing on each page.
6-8
Ages
6-8 would be stories for children who are just starting to read on their
own, and would have very basic and simple plot lines. It is a good idea
to have pictures as well, and if you are an artist, that's great! Send
the manuscript in along with a few pictures. However, if you know you cannot
be called an artist by any stretch of the imagination, don't fret about
it. Publishers are usually in contact with artists, and you can work with
the artist to come up with great illustrations.
9-12
9-12
would be for slightly older children, like the Enid Blytons we grew up
with. The plots are still rather simple, and could probably have a moralistic
theme such as don't bully weaker children, be generous etc. They could
also have a mystery angle, and you could make the protagonist wear various
disguises - always a hit with kids. The story should not attempt to preach,
but should rather bring about the moral through an interesting plot or
through the characters. Basically the 'good wins over bad' plot is always
a good idea, as long as you bring this point across in a new and different
way.
Early
Teenager
Or
are you targeting the early teenager? Such stories could have a very slight
angle of romance if you like, or you could steer clear of this subject
totally. Young teens love books with a mystery theme, so try and come up
with imaginative stuff. If you come up with run-of-the-mill stories, you
will only meet rejection at the hands of various publishers - not a good
feeling.
A good rule of thumb to follow is that younger children love magic and fantasy, slightly older children like mysteries and plots, while teenagers usually like books with protagonists and plots that they can relate to.
Borrow
Books
Once
you have decided on the age group, go to the library and borrow books which
target the same age group as you are targeting. Read them, to get an idea
as to the kind of books that are being sold in the market. What do those
books have in common? Remember, the books we read while growing up will
not necessarily sell in the current market scenario. If you like, you could
even go through a child psychology book, so you can get into the mind of
a child. In any case, if you have a child, you are probably already doing
this!
Plot
Come
up with a story idea that you figure will be popular even five, if not
ten, years from now. Don't come up with time-specific books. Those work
for articles, but when the publisher looks at your book, he sees, or wants
to see, once thing alone - and that is profit. So if he figures that your
book may bring in profits for one year but not the next, he's not going
to be very happy about it, and you can expect another rejection letter.
Who will be your main characters? What will they be like? Will the protagonist
be a male or a female? Now's the time to decide.
Contact
Publishers
Make
a list of children's book publishers, along with their postal address and
telephone number. Call them, email them, and inform them that you would
be sending in a book. If possible, request and appointment and go over
to meet them. Discuss what you have in mind. Follow up with calls. Don't
forget, you're in India, and if you forget that you have sent in a manuscript,
so will they. Go for it in full swing. While there isn't a tremendous amount
in children's books initially, the joy in watching a child pick up your
book at a bookstore, or reading out a bedtime story that you've written
to your child, is enough to compensate for all the hard work you've put
in.
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