Children's Fantasy

[Joshua Jones]

Does anyone have experience writing and publishing children's fantasy? My 5 year old invented a character, and I am thinking about co-authoring a storybook based on this character with her, and setting the proceeds aside for her college. We already wrote one story together about a ladybug getting caught in a spider's web, then the spider, instead of eating her, setting her loose and befriending her (the storyline was entirely hers, btw. I just asked some guiding questions). So, what I am looking for are:
Any good articles about writing children's fantasy, especially episodic books.
Any advice about what makes such things compelling for children.
Suggestions about agents/publishers who are interested in such books.

Thanks!

 

[Brian G Turner]

My wife has been working on a series of children's books, but she made a point of going through the various books our own children enjoyed and analyzing their content - the same process of understanding your market that helps for any genre.

However, she's decided on self-publishing for a few reasons: not least that children's publishers don't generally allow the writer to be the illustrator, and that it's both an extremely competitive market and a shrinking one - I've seen agents say they are picking up fewer children's books.

In other words, just like with adult genre fiction, you can't simply have a good idea and hope to go somewhere with it - you're going to have to seriously apply yourself to it the same way you would with any other writing project. And don't let the low word count fool you into thinking it will be easier to get a deal!

If you do see it through and decide to self-publish, you can use the Kindle kid's book creator to put the images and text together for optimal reading on the Kindle - but be warned that it's still a small market, as it tends to be the parents who make the purchasing decisions rather than the children.

It's hard enough getting adults to buy self-published books aimed at them - it's even harder to get them to buy self-published ebooks for their children.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Have a look at SCBWI - they may have a local branch near you

Oh and Brian’s right - self publishing kids picture books is really tough. Trad rules in that market

 

[The Judge]

LukeW has written and drawn a book for children, which has popped up in Critiques in the past -- That children's book again NB the links to earlier threads in the opening post no longer work, so you'll have to go into his profile and find the other threads that way, or do a search for his posts in Critiques (and possibly Writing Discussion as he might have posted queries there).

Luke hasn't been around for a couple of years now, though, so I've no idea if a PM would get through to him. Might be worth trying, perhaps.

 

[Joshua Jones]

I was thinking traditional probably is the way to go here, and that they expect a different illustrator is not particularly dire for me; I am not an illustrator by any stretch of the imagination, and the only one I know doesn't do people.

Now, my kids are addicted to Disney Princess books (which tend to sell based on the characters, rather than any innate literary value), so I have a limited set of exposure. Maybe I will take a Barnes and Noble field trip...

 

[Joshua Jones]

Meanwhile, my entrepreneurial kindergartener is planning her toy line to launch with the book...

 

[Joshua Jones]

LukeW has written and drawn a book for children, which has popped up in Critiques in the past -- That children's book again NB the links to earlier threads in the opening post no longer work, so you'll have to go into his profile and find the other threads that way, or do a search for his posts in Critiques (and possibly Writing Discussion as he might have posted queries there).

Luke hasn't been around for a couple of years now, though, so I've no idea if a PM would get through to him. Might be worth trying, perhaps.

Thanks for the tip; I found the thread, and there is quite a bit of great advice there. His audience is a bit older, as I am going for preschool-early elementary, but it is still quite useful with a little adaptation. Thanks again!

 

[Joshua Jones]

Have a look at SCBWI - they may have a local branch near you

Oh and Brian’s right - self publishing kids picture books is really tough. Trad rules in that market

Great idea, and I will definitely pick through their resources, but the closest chapter to me is a 10 1/2 hour drive away.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

they have loads of online support too

 

[Juliana]

Another 'vote' for the SCBWI from me. I've been a member for 5 years now, and a big chunk of my writing network and knowledge of publishing comes from them. (I write YA though, so not much help for you...)

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by episodic books, but here are a few links on where a story fits in with established age group/reading/publishing divisions:
(the first two links are great for general word count/age division info)

Understanding Children's Book Categories from Picture Books to YA
Jennifer Represents...: Wordcount Dracula
Early readers vs. Picture books
difference between early readers and chapter books | Chapter Book Chat

 

[EJDeBrun]

If you're looking for direct feedback and have the $$ / willing to bid for charity there are these two auctions as well:

Children's Book Query Letter Critique by Weslie Turner of Scholastic Books | eBay

and

Children's Picture Book Critique by Literary Agent Jennifer March Soloway | eBay