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Have you ever thought about writing a children’s book? Kidlit can be anything from a book for a toddler to a book for a kid in elementary school to a book that’s read by a teenager. But no matter which age group your book is for, here are three things to consider as you begin to write.
Kids live their lives surrounded by people who are older than them, taller than them, and have more lived experience than they do. When they turn to stories, they don’t want to see people who look older and taller and way more knowledgeable than they are at this point in time. They want to see themselves reflected in books.
Your book might feature human characters, or it might feature land animals or sea creatures or robots or aliens. But no matter what, they should be the smaller, kid-size version. Not the parent, the teacher, or the sage adult off in the distance who knows all and sees all.
In a fictional story, kids don’t want to read about grown-ups saving the day. They want to be the ones doing the saving.
Just like children spend a lot of their lives surrounded by adults, they often have to abide by the rules and the guidelines that are set by their parents, grandparents, teachers, etc. But in children’s books, the kids are the problem solvers, not the adults. There might be an adult on hand who offers a suggestion, but it’s the kids who think through and execute the plan.
Kids can become reliant on adults solving all of their problems for them. Let’s give them the opportunity to see themselves in your characters and help them see how they can solve some of their own problems too.
Books open kids’ eyes to new worlds and experiences. They allow kids to learn to empathize with others’ situations and circumstances. Kidlit can change a child’s life.
And because of that, we want to give them our best work. They deserve more than the first or second draft of your book.
They deserve stories that have undergone revision, written by someone who knows their target audience and the industry expectations. They deserve stories that have been rewritten and revised into engaging stories that they will enjoy reading over and over again.
Writing a children’s book can be rewarding and life-changing. You have the opportunity to write a kid’s favorite book. You have the opportunity to make a kid laugh and cry and think, growing up into someone who is empathetic and thinks critically about the world around them.
Is writing kidlit easy? No.
But is it worth it? Absolutely.
📚 Check out more resources to help you write, market, and publish your book here.
📚 I offer book coaching and editing for authors of picture books, chapter books, and middle grade and YA novels. Are you ready to get started? Send me a message to tell me about your book.
Jennifer Navarre is a kidlit editor and book coach who spends her days helping authors refine their audience and their story as they develop their picture books, chapter books, and middle grade and YA novels.
She’s worked in prose and rhyme on books for kids, tweens, and teens and led presentations on writing and education at conferences across the US.
Jennifer is a part of many online writing communities as both a writer and an editor and is a champion procrastinator when getting her own stories out of her head and onto the page.
