A Kick-in-the-Pants!

If you're a writer, you already know this. But I want to say it again. A Writer's Group (Critique Group) is very, very important! A good group will offer excellent feedback on your writing, will share industry information, and provide a consistent outlet for your work.

This last one is what I needed most recently. What I needed was a Kick-in-the-Pants! Winter hit me hard this year, plus I got very busy. So busy, in fact, that I hadn't written any new material in weeks! (I apologize to my blog followers for being so LAME lately. This will change as of now.)

I didn't bring anything to our November Pita meeting. I didn't want to show up to our December meeting empty handed either. I saw the date getting closer and felt the pressure to produce. This is self-imposed pressure, but very motivating. I didn't want two whole months to slip away without some useful feedback from my fellow writers!

I bet the reason the Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) takes place in November is because November sucks! (You can see my obvious bias here. I live in a state where November comes early and hard and makes me want to hibernate like the bears.) But, seriously, a significant outside motivator like Nanowrimo gets people writing more when they might be writing less.

So, I dug out the chapter book I was working on and re-looked at the Hermit Crab chapter. Thank God for Hermit Crabs and the Flaming Pitas! I feel like I'm back on track.

Writing Retreat

Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a three-day writing retreat with 3 of the 4 women in my writer's group. This was actually the first time I had ever gone on an official writing retreat, and it was well worth it!

We stayed at "The Sequel", a beautiful, cozy cabin on a lake. It was cold and rainy, then snowy. But, frankly, that was fine with me. I was less inclined to go exploring outside and more inclined to happily write away the afternoon.

Before the retreat we planned out a schedule for each day. Our day looked something like this:

8:00 am - Breakfast

9:00 am - Writing Exercise, then Free Writing Time

Noon - Lunch

1:00 pm - Hike and Write

3:00 pm - Free Writing Time

6:00 pm - Dinner

7:00 pm - Free Writing Time

8:00 pm - Games

We each came prepared to lead one writing exercise. These included exercises on character, setting, plot, and story starters. Writing exercises were kept fairly short so that we could optimize free writing time.

The other, extremely wonderful thing we did that helped optimize our writing time, was that we hired a great chef (and friend) to cook for us on the retreat. We were all so happy to have her with us!

All in all, I got a lot of writing done and had a great time. In fact, all of us had such a good time that we plan to go on a writing retreat twice a year.

If you (alone or with your writing group) can put together some kind of organized writing retreat, I highly recommend it. What a great way to get some concentrated writing accomplished and have fun along the way!

Rejection Quotes

Here is a list of some of the comments I have received in rejection letters. Some are generic, some confusing, some helpful, and some seem to reflect the current, tricky picture book market.

Please feel free to share some of your rejection letter comments - the silly and the serious! It will be interesting to see our collection all together.

• "your book would (not) be a comfortable fit for our current list"

• "there needs to be more plot"

• "too quiet"

• "Ultimately, I did not fall in love"

• "(not) distinct enough to withstand the current tough picture book climate"

• "I just didn't feel enthusiastic about this particular project."

• "(It) did not tickle the funny bone of our editor."

• "Not right for me."

• "this project would work best if you yourself were also the artist" (I wish!)

• "I'm not connecting with them."

• "Does not fit our needs."

• "(the) ending needed . . . something more unique and funny."

What are some of your rejection quotes? Were they helpful? Confusing? Bizarre? Let's compare notes.

The Hierarchy of Rejection

In the children's publishing world there is a definite Hierarchy of Rejection. This is very important to keep in mind as you start submitting work for consideration. Not all rejections are created equal!

1. The bottom of the Hierarchy is, of course, no rejection notification at all. It is simply being ignored, passed aside, recycled. This type of rejection is happening more and more these days. For example, the manuscript submission policy on the Charlesbridge website states:

Please do not include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Due to high volume of submissions we respond only to manuscripts of interest. All other manuscripts will be recycled.

Where in the past, no news could be possibly good news, not so anymore. No news - after a significant amount of time - means "No thank you."

To Charlesbridge's credit, they clearly state their policy online so you know what to expect. It's the publishers that just never get back to you, without telling you they won't, that really stinks.

2. Next on the Hierarchy of Rejection scale is the 1/2 slip of photocopied form rejection. I have received a fair number of these over the years. They usually have one sentence that states, "Sorry. Your manuscript does not fit our editorial needs." Or something like that. Blah!

3. A step up is a full sheet of paper, standard rejection. It's a little kinder and usually states, "Not everyone will feel the same way I feel." In other words, "Good luck finding another publisher. Not!"

4. Another step up the Hierarchy - and an important one - is if the editor actually signed the letter and added a note at the bottom. This is a good sign. If the editor wrote something like, "I enjoyed your writing, but it wasn't right for me," then for heaven's sake, if you write something in the future that may be more to her/his tastes, send it! The editor will remember you if they liked your writing the first time around.

Caveat - do not rush and resubmit the next thing on your pile. Wait. Really think about what she likes to publish. Look at their recent catalog. Look online. If in 6 months, a year, you have something new that might fit the bill, send it. Don't worry that it's somehow "too late." I think editors will appreciate that you really thought about what you would re-submit vs. rushing to submit anything.

5. Next up the Hierarchy of Rejection is the fabulous personal rejection letter! You might be thinking what in the world is fabulous about any rejection letter? But, if the editor actually took the time to write a personal letter, then you, my friend, need to keep this editor at the top of your list. They not only liked your writing, they obviously felt you had potential to write something they might like in the future. Even if the letter does not directly ask you to submit new work, do so. But make sure you put your best foot forward. This editor is hopeful that you could be the one! So don't mess it up and send something half done. You might not get the personal rejection letter next time.

6. At the tippy-top of the Hierarchy is the rejection letter that isn't really a rejection letter, but a letter requesting that you re-write your story and resubmit it. This doesn't happen every day, so if you get this kind of letter - pounce. Once again, don't resubmit the very next day. The editor might not think you took the editing very seriously if you whipped it off overnight. Take the time to re-write. Re-read the letter to see what the editor is suggesting. How was it close, but not close enough?

When I submitted my manuscript, REMEMBERING MAMA, to Augsburg Press, I received a top of the hierarchy rejection letter that was two pages long! At first I was bummed out. (I hadn't been submitting long enough to realize how good this rejection was.) Then, after a few days, I re-read the letter and realized the editor basically wanted me to add some minimal things to the story. I re-wrote REMEMBERING MAMA, re-submitted it, and it became my first published book. If I had ignored her rejection letter and simply moved on to another editor, I would not have that book published today.

So, if you get a 1/2 slip for rejection in the mail, forget about it and definitely MOVE ON. But, if you get a "good" rejection where the editor took the time to write a note, or better yet a whole letter, then keep that person's name handy. Don't feel bad. (Well, OK, feel bad for one day.) But then, feel happy that you got such a good rejection. In the Hierarchy of Rejections, any personal note is excellent! It could possibly lead to a future publishing relationship.

Laura Purdie Salas at Red Balloon

Last Saturday, I went to hear Laura Purdie Salas read her new book, STAMPEDE: POEMS TO CELEBRATE THE WILD SIDE OF SCHOOL, at the Red Balloon Bookstore in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Laura is a good friend and we're in the same critique group. Plus, the two of us have partnered a lot on book promotion over the past several months. But, this was a fun opportunity to see Laura in action on her own. And she did great!

Laura talked about her inspiration for writing poems that compare kids to animals. The inspiration involved her daughter Maddie, some pulled teeth, and two straws. Basically, Laura thought her daughter looked like a walrus and a poem was born! Whoa be to the children of authors. Everything and anything is fair game!

Then, Laura read STAMPEDE, with the help of her lovely assistant, Maddie, who helped show the illustrations to the audience. After each of the poems, Laura got the audience (children and adults) to make the animal sounds and movements from that poem. It was great to hear everyone snorting like a pig and stampeding like an elephant. (BTW, my friend Bridget can make an amazingly authentic elephant sound!)

After the reading, Laura and Maddie set up fun, interactive stations where people could compare the length of their "wing span" to that of a condor, flamingo and flying fox bat. You could also see how far you could jump in comparison to a flee, squirrel and rabbit. These "extras" are what make a good reading, great. And Laura put a lot of thought into what makes a good reading.

All in all, it was lots of fun to support a writer friend and hear some great kid poems to boot. If you have school age kids, STAMPEDE would make a super great teacher gift. Think about it - there's already snow on the ground here in Minnesota, which means it's almost time for holiday shopping. So get cracking and pick up a copy of STAMPEDE. Your kid's teacher will thank you:)

MBA Children's Breakfast

The highlight of the recent Midwest Booksellers Association convention was the annual Children's Breakfast. The four featured authors were:

• Loren Long, author and illustrator of OTIS, a picture book about a very special tractor,

• Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of FRONT AND CENTER, the last book in the DAIRY QUEEN trilogy,

• M.T. Anderson, author of FEED and JASPER DASH AND THE FLAME-PITS OF DELAWARE, and

• Neil Gaiman, author of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK and ODD AND THE FROST GIANTS.

Each author spoke about their new books and about being an author/illustrator. Each was funny in their own way. Loren Long talked about getting the idea for his book from his kids. Murdock showed pictures of her home where she works. Anderson talked about setting his scary, adventure book in Delaware (of all places)! And Gaiman told us how he originally wrote ODD AND THE FROST GIANTS for World Book Day in England where authors write short novels for free and kids get these books for free using special tokens.

I snapped this great shot of Gaiman and Anderson. It was EARLY in the morning. I'm not sure Neil Gaiman owns a hairbrush. Anderson is purposely making a "tough guy" face.

It was pretty amazing to meet these authors and hear them speak. Who knows? Maybe someday, one of us will be up there speaking at the MBA Children's Breakfast. I can't wait to see who's there next year!

Authors, Authors, Authors

This weekend, I will be attending the Midwest Booksellers Association (MBA) Trade Show in St. Paul. This annual event is geared for independent bookstores in 9 1/2 Midwest states. (I say 1/2 because MBA includes stores from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but apparently not the Lower Peninsula.) The Trade Show/Conference has workshops for independent booksellers, publisher booths with their forthcoming books, award events, and opportunities to meet many adult and children's authors.

As a children's author, I feel it's imperative to meet other children's authors, especially those who you admire, if at all possible. Going to writer's conventions and attending book signings are two ways to do this. Another way is to work at a bookstore and go to MBA.

I will be attending MBA as a bookseller, but I will be wearing two "hats." As a bookseller, I will meet sales reps and look at upcoming books. As an author, I will be meeting other authors, listening to their stories, and snapping up copies of their books.

Some of the children's authors I hope to meet at MBA include: Neil Gaiman (photo above), M.T. Anderson, Patricia C. Wrede, Maggie Stiefvater, Loren Long, Catherine Gilbert Murdock and Cynthia Rylant.

I also hope to see children's authors I have met before including: Marion Dane Bauer, Kate DiCamillo, and Kathy-jo Wargin.

Attending an event like MBA is a big perk of working at a bookstore. (Of course, it's only one of many perks:) But, it's a good one - not only as a bookseller, but also as an author.

MN SCBWI Conference with Donna Jo Napoli

I love attending children's writing conferences. I always leave feeling rejuvenated and ready to run home and write. That is, after a long nap first. (Conferences can also be exhausting.)

Last Saturday, I attended the Minnesota SCBWI Annual Conference. I was there with two "hats" on. First, I was a manuscript reviewer for 7 children's writers. I had already read and commented on their manuscripts. At the conference we met and talked about their stories. I put a lot of time into critiquing the manuscripts, and I hope it will help. I know from my own experience as a writer, manuscript reviews can be difficult to hear sometimes. But in the end, I always find they help me strengthen my writing.

My second "hat" for the day was as a participant, soaking up all the good writing vibes. I was only able to attend some of the sessions, but the highlight for me was hearing Donna Jo Napoli speak. She is the award-winning author of many, many books for children including the recently released ALLIGATOR BAYOU from Random House.

Donna Jo does extensive research before she begins writing her novels. If her novel will be set in the 1880's in Italy (for example), she will immerse herself in reading history of that time and place, look at pictures from then, and even listen to music from 1880's Italy. Only then does she begin to write.

At first glance, Donna Jo seems very quiet and petite, perhaps a little shy. But, then she starts to talk and you realize she is a little Italian firecracker who is very energetic and funny. I'm still cracking up about a story she told the audience. She described herself as "dramatic." She told of a time she received a rejection letter in the mail. Upon opening the letter, she fell to the floor, right there in the hall, sobbing. Her four young children gathered around her to comfort her. Then, one son about age 4 says, "Those *&%#!! jerks." (I paraphrase slightly.) Some parents might threaten the bar of soap in the mouth at this point, but not Donna Jo. She felt comforted by her son's heart-felt expression. I love this! It makes me want to be part of her family.

At the end of the day, I walked home with ideas running around in my head. And the next day, I wrote. I wrote an entire chapter of a middle-grade novel I'm working on. It wasn't very good. But as Donna Jo says, the first draft should be "#&%@!" Then you get down to the business of making it good. Like Donna Jo.

To Rhyme or Not Rhyme

Here's a big question: Should you use rhyme in your picture book?

There are some excellent picture books that rhyme. These books tend to be either books for very young children or poetry for children. Some of my personal rhyming favorites include BARNYARD DANCE by Sandra Boynton, GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown, and my recent poetry favorite, STAMPEDE: POEMS THAT CELEBRATE THE WILD SIDE OF SCHOOL by Laura Purdie Salas.

There are also excellent poetry books and books for young children that do not rhyme. Two of my favorites are OWL BABIES by Martin Waddell and LITTLE DOG POEMS by Kristine O'Connell George.

While there are books published every year that rhyme, the VAST majority of books published for children do not rhyme.

Why is that?

- Rhyme is very difficult to do well.

• I have read many manuscripts (including my own) that use near-rhyme that doesn't work, sentence construction that is mangled to fit in a rhyming word, goofy made-up words that don't make sense, and cliched word combos (think "bed" and "head".)

- Rhyme doesn't usually work well for older picture books.

• In my opinion, any time you are telling a story vs. writing a concept-type book, the story is best told in good old prose. Stories in rhyme tend to fall flat.

- Rhyme is limiting.

• Authors, especially beginning ones, become constricted by the rhyme instead of telling the full story they have to tell.

So should I dump my rhyming picture book manuscript? Not necessarily. I recommend doing the following things first:

- Ask yourself what age child you are writing for? If it's for babies or preschoolers, maybe rhyme will work.

- Are you a poet? There is distinction between people who write in rhyme and poets who use rhyme. I, for one, find that writing good poetry (especially in rhyme) very difficult.

- Try writing your story in prose. Compare the two versions. Which works best? Which tells the complete story?

- Read your rhyming story out loud. Or, better yet, have someone else read it out loud to you. Notice where the reader stumbles. Notice awkward sentences or rhymes that sound off.

- Have trusted writer friends read your story. Ask for a critique. What works? What doesn't?

Then, you can decide if your story works best in rhyme or in prose!

P.S. There is a difference between rhyme and rhythm. Picture books that have rhythm can be wonderful. They often bounce along with a musical-type cadence. A book does not have to rhyme to have rhythm. But, this is definitely a new blog topic.

Critique Groups

For any serious writer, a critique group is a very important part of their writing (and revising) process. Writing all alone is important at times, especially when you need to get your initial thoughts on paper or write a first draft. But, when it's time for digging deeper and revising, a good critique group is essential.

I've been with my critique group for many years. We all write for children - picture books, novels, fiction, nonfiction, poetry. There are five of us. We started out as four and later added our fifth member. When we started we were all at the beginning of our writing journey. Now, we all have at least one children's book published!

It's great to have other people who know me and my writing so well. They have seen the good, the bad, and the really bad! Plus, we are all serious about improving our writing and trying to publish.

We meet once a month at a coffee shop with ample table space. We each have a chance to read our work and receive feedback. We also save time for news and writing related updates. We have sometimes slipped into too much personal chatting, but then we re-group and use our time focused on the writing.

Our critique group meets in person, but some groups meet online. My friend, Laura, is a member of an online writing group and finds it very helpful.

So, how do you form (or find) a critique group of like-minded individuals?

- Take a children's writing class. At the end of the class, ask other class members if they would like to form a critique group. (Our original foursome met at a Loft class.)

- Look for an existing group to join. Local SCBWI chapters often post groups looking for new members.

- Join an online group through the national SCBWI website.

- Attend conferences and workshops. You're likely to meet people in the same place you are - ready to step out and join a critique group!

Who knows, maybe a few years from now you will be attending each other's book launch parties!

Two Great Events

Two great Children's Literature events are taking place on Saturday, September 12, 2009. The focus of one is meeting Minnesota children's authors and illustrators. The focus of the other is learning about writing and illustrating children's books. Both are great events that will leave you feeling inspired.

Event #1: The 10th Annual Celebration of Minnesota Children's Authors and Illustrators

This fun, free event takes place at the Anderson Center in Red Wing, Minnesota. It's held from 12:30 - 5:00 pm and is geared for children, families, and children's book enthusiasts. There will be readings by Minnesota authors and illustrators, book sales and signings, story telling, book making, face painting, ice cream and more. To learn more about this event visit http://www.andersoncenter.org/events.htm.

Event #2: MN SCBWI Fall Conference - "Chaos to Creation: The Art of Self Expression"

This event, for people interested in writing or illustrating children's books, takes place from 7:30 am - 5:00 pm at the University of Minnesota Continuing Education and Conference Center in St. Paul. The day includes a variety of workshops, keynote speakers and a luncheon. Featured speakers include Donna Jo Napoli, children's author; Priscilla Burris, illustrator; Jill Dembowski, Editor at Little Brown; and two agents, Mark McVeigh and Deborah Warren. The cost is $100 for SCBWI members and $125 for nonmembers. There are also optional manuscript and illustration reviews for an additional fee. (I will be one of the people doing manuscript reviews.) Visit http://www.minnesotascbwi.org for more information.

Both these events are wonderful opportunities to learn more about children's literature and meet some great authors and illustrators. The only problem is they are offered on the same day. So choose which one fits what you are looking for and save the date!

Picture Book Format

Most picture books have some similarities, especially in design format. Almost all picture books are 32 pages long. Why 32 pages? It has to do with the printing process, which is done on large sheets that are then folded to create the picture book.

This does not mean the actual story is 32 pages long, though. You have to leave a couple pages at the front and back (called Front Matter and Back Matter) for copyright info, title page, etc. So, that leaves about 28 pages for the story. This is important to keep in mind when writing your picture book text.

The 28 pages breaks down further into 14 full page spreads. A full page spread is the two pages together when the book is opened flat. Even if you are not the illustrator (which I'm not), you still need to think in terms of how the overall book will look.

To help yourself visualize your story, you can make a Dummy. A Dummy is a mock-up of a picture book with your text laid out over the 32 pages. (Remember to include copyright page, title page, etc.) You can add stick figures if you like. The Dummy is for your purposes only. It is to help you see how your story fits into a picture book format. (NOTE: Do not send your Dummy to an editor! If you are not an illustrator, they do not what to see anything related to art. They know how to find good illustrators and put the book together.)

Some questions to ask yourself:

Does your story fit well into 28 pages? Will some (or all) of the pages be full page spreads? Is their too much text on some pages? Where are the best places to have page turns? Is their a compelling reason to turn the page? Does the story have an arc - meaning does it build and build to some kind of conclusion? Is their room for the illustrator to add to the story?

Ultimately, the editor and book designer decide the layout of your story. But, as a writer, it's important to think about these things. It will help ensure that your story flows well and is a good fit for the picture book format.

Great Resources

Here are some valuable resources for children's writers. If you've been writing for awhile, or just starting out, these resources are very helpful. While this list is certainly not comprehensive, it's a great place to start!

1. SCBWI - Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators is a national organization that organizes conferences twice a year (LA in August, NY in January). They also publish a bi-monthly bulletin and maintain a helpful website. Most states (or regions) have a local chapter of SCBWI. There are also international SCBWI chapters. You can find out about your local chapter on the main SCBWI website.

http://www.scbwi.org

2. CLN - The Children's Literature Network is based in Minnesota but serves people from all over. The sight is not just for writers, but for anyone interested in children's literature. Some of the website features are author profiles, book lists, and upcoming events.

http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org

3. The Purple Crayon - Children's Editor, Harold Underdown, maintains this site with tons of information about writing for children.

http://www.underdown.org

4. Verla Kay's Website - Verla Kay maintains a website with lots of information for children's writers and illustrators.

http://www.verlakay.com

5. Children's Writer Newsletter - This helpful paper newsletter comes out monthly and contains trends, interviews and articles about writing for children. Visit their website for more information and to subscribe.

http://www.childrenswriter.com

Royalties, Advances and Flat Fees - How do they work?

How are children's writers paid for their work? There are two main ways - 1. Advance against Royalties, or 2. Flat Fee.

These two payment types usually correlate with what kind of publisher you are working with. Trade publishers (see previous blog) usually offer a contract with an Advance against Royalties. Educational publishers usually offer a Flat Fee.

What is the difference? Flat Fees are negotiated, one-time payments. You are hired to write a book for a specific fee. For example, you may be hired to write a biography for an educational publisher. Say they offer you a $1,000 fee. You would get $500 when you sign the contract and the other $500 when you hand in the completed manuscript. Then your payment is complete. You do not receive any additional funds. This is called Work-for-Hire or a contract with a Flat Fee.

Trade publishers usually offer writers a contract with an Advance against Royalties. For example, you are selling your book to a trade publisher. They offer you a $5,000 advance. You receive $2500 when you sign the contract and $2500 when you deliver the final manuscript. Then you wait. Royalties are payments based on the number of books that are sold. (Say you get $1.00 per book. So, if 300 books are sold, you receive $300.) But here is the part a lot of people don't understand. You must "earn out" your advance before you receive any royalties. So, if your advance was $5,000 you must sell 5,001 copies of your book before you get any additional money. Once you have sold the 5,000 copies, you will start receiving royalty checks in the mail.

We often hear about people getting big advances. This is good if you want/need more money up front. But, ultimately you will receive the same amount of money in the end. And if, by chance, your book does NOT sell out its advance (the 5,000 copies in our scenario), then the publisher may look less kindly on you when you want to sell them book #2.

So, bottom line - expect to negotiate a flat fee for educational publishers. And when you sell a book to a trade publisher, yes try to get a good advance, but don't worry about getting a huge amount. A smaller advance up front just means receiving royalty checks in the mail that much sooner.

Trade and Educational Books

What is the difference between "trade" and "educational" books for children? I have written for both markets and will explain the difference.

Basically, TRADE books for kids are the books you usually find in bookstores. The intended buyer is the general consumer. They most often are published in hardcover with a paper jacket flap cover.

The EDUCATIONAL market publishes books for children as well. These books are most often found in school and public libraries. The intended buyer is mostly librarians. (There are, of course, exceptions. But this is the basic rule.) These books are often published with a hard cover called a Library Binding (which is very durable) with no paper jacket flap.

My book Muriel's Red Sweater is a trade book published by Dutton Children's Books. My book Saving Shadow is an educational book published by Picture Window Books, which is part of Capstone Press. Capstone is one of the big educational publishers. Saving Shadow fits into their existing line of "character education" books.

This photo (provided by Laura Purdie Salas) was taken at the Annual ALA show in Chicago last week. This is the Capstone/Picture Window booth at the ALA trade show. Saving Shadow is one of their featured books! ALA is attended by a lot of librarians, so the educational markets advertise big at this annual event.

Picture Books

What exactly is a picture book?

This may seem like a silly question. "It's a book with pictures for kids, Dummy," you might be thinking. But there is more to it than that as I have learned over the years.

First off, there is a difference between an Illustrated Story and a true Picture Book. (Although, people basically call them all picture books.) But if you go to the bookstore or library, you can see the difference for yourself.

An Illustrated Story is a book for children that tells a story and has illustrations that accompany the story. Think most fairy tale books. There's the story and every page or so, a picture of some scene from the text. This is a story with illustrations.

A true Picture Book is a pairing of story and illustration. One may be able to live without the other, but the book overall relies on both. I'll give an example.

ROSIE'S WALK by Pat Hutchins is a classic and one of my favorites. (In fact, ROSIE'S WALK, in part, inspired me to write my picture book MURIEL'S RED SWEATER.)

In ROSIE'S WALK there is a story about a chicken who goes for a walk around the farm and gets back home in time for dinner. Now, if you just read the printed page, that's all you would know. But, Hutchins' illustrations add a whole other layer to the tale. We see a fox trying to catch the chicken. At every turn, the fox is thwarted (in a humorous manner) and Rosie makes it back home. Here, the book entirely depends on the marriage of story and illustration.

ROSIE'S WALK is an "extreme" example, if you will. But, the concept is the same. Whenever the pictures add to the story, instead of just capturing a moment in the text, then you have a true picture book.

Editors know this. Librarians know this. If you are both author and illustrator, pairing the two most likely comes naturally. The challenge for an author of picture books is to leave enough room for the illustrator to do his or her thing and add to the story.

And when this happens, you can feel the affect, even if you couldn't name it before. You are reading a true picture book.

Children's Writer Gal Launches

Welcome to my blog about the craft and business of writing for children. Here I will give tips and information that are useful for anyone writing (or thinking about writing) for children.

First a little more about me:

I'm the author of three books for children.

• Muriel's Red Sweater (Dutton Children's Books, 2009)

• Saving Shadow (Picture Window Books, 2009)

• Remembering Mama (Augsburg Press, 2005)

I'm a former English and drama teacher. Now I teach and speak about Writing for Children. I'm also a bookseller and children's book buyer for Micawber's Books, a great, independent bookstore in St. Paul, Minnesota.

I would be thrilled if you join in the conversation. If you have a question, I'll try to figure out the answer. We'll talk about manuscripts, types of children's books, editors, agents, and much more. Thanks for stopping by!

Where else can you find me on the web?

My children's author website: http://www.daradokas.com

My blog about working at an independent bookstore: http://bookshopgal.blogspot.com/