Before starting out on this course it is important to consider why you want to write children's books in the first place.

This chapter will help you examine your motives and determine whether writing is the career for you.

1.1 Asking Yourself Your True Motives for Wanting to Write Children's Books

There are certainly some questions you should ask yourself about what you expect out of your new career as a children's writer.

If you are looking for a quick and easy way to make money then you should definitely look for ideas elsewhere. Whilst it is certainly possible to become successful and rich from writing books, most authors will never achieve this. Similarly if you believe it to be your path to fame and fortune, then think again.

Many children's writers experience success in the fact that they get a book or two published, but few enjoy success in the same way as authors such as Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, or J.

K. Rowling. Of course it is great to have ambitious aspirations but it is also important to be realistic about your goals and not expect to have success immediately, or even ever.

To embark on a career as a children's writer you need to have a passion for telling stories to children. You need to be dedicated to the art of weaving words that paint pictures in young people's heads and stretch their imaginations. Your main concern should be to just have children read and enjoy your books, rather than focusing on the financial gain you hope to achieve.

When setting out as a children's author it may mean living more modestly for several years or even the rest of your life. However doing something that you are passionate about and enjoying the career you have chosen should far outweigh the downsides of starting out as a new children's writer.

1.3 Writing for Kids is Easier than Writing for Adults…Right?

Wrong.

You should also consider why you specifically want to write books aimed at children.

Aspiring authors may think that writing books for children is easier than writing books for adults but this is certainly not the case. Yes, the plot will usually be simpler and the length of the book shorter, but there is also a lot more to think about. Firstly, you need to pick an age group. There are many different types of children's books aimed at the different age groups, so you need to figure out which audience you are going to target. We will cover all the different types of books for various age ranges in another chapter, however, it is important to realise that for each age range you will need to cater your vocabulary and complexity of your plot to your target readers' ages. You need to come up with a balance that means they are challenged but not confused.

Writing books for children can be difficult simply because we are not children any more. Our grasp of reality is different, our acceptance of information we are given is different and our sense of humour is different. Therefore, you must put in more effort to research your target age group to discover what makes them tick, what makes them laugh, what they believe in, and what they relate to.

You also have to grab a child's attention and keep them engaged throughout the whole book. Forget long descriptions or chunks of back story as a child's attention span is a lot shorter than an adult's. You need to work hard to create conflict and tension; maintaining it throughout the story. Where an adult might have the mind-set that even if the book is a little description-heavy and slow-going they will stick with it and see if it improves, a child is more likely to discard it immediately and pick up something different.

Another difficulty when writing for children, depending on the age group you are targeting, is that the books are often read by parents and teachers as well. That means the books need to have some kind of appeal to adults also. This is difficult to achieve but many good authors have done so, even when writing books for very young children.

When adults are also engaged in your story they are a lot more likely to read your book over and over again to their children, as well as to buy further books that you write. However, appealing to both your selected age range of children as well as their parents and teachers is a tough skill to develop.

1.5 What is Involved in Writing a Children's Book?

When embarking on your new career as a children's writer you need to understand that writing the book is just the tip of the iceberg with regards to the amount of work involved.

You need to spend time honing it to perfection and may rewrite the entire book several times. You need to get a lot of feedback and criticism to then edit it again, again and again!

When the book is finally as good as you can possibly make it you need to decide whether you are going to try and get published, or whether you want to self-publish. The latter may be suitable if you have sufficient funding, are confident in the success of your book and do not want to wait for the long process of being accepted by a publisher. Self-publishing may also be suitable for those writing a book as more of a hobby, to give out to children they know as presents, etc. Whatever the reason for self-publishing you need to be aware that it will cost you a lot of money in both the publishing costs as well as marketing strategies, and there is no guarantee you will ever see that money back again.

Going to a publisher takes the money worries away from you but it also means months of waiting and hoping, with the possible crushing disappointment of receiving rejection letters. You must be patient and thick-skinned in order to wait for replies, deal with rejections, and carry on pushing your book until someone accepts it. There are many qualities writers must possess and we will discuss these more in the following chapter.