What Genre is my Children’s Book?

March 01, 2018December 04, 2018 Book Editors, Books, Creative Writing, Editing & Beyond, Uncategorized

Have you ever asked the question: What genre is my children’s book?

More than once I have had a client send me a fantastic story tucked into the wrong format…and when I ask them about it, inevitably they ask me, “So, what genre is my children’s book exactly?” It’s easy to see how this happens when we are talking about children’s books. Surprisingly they are one of the more complicated formats––with so many sub-categories and target age groups and guidelines––even seasoned writers get a little confused as to which category their story fits. Even I get confused at times with all the (ever-fluctuating) industry standards. Although the formats can feel confusing, they are manageable, and in this article we are going to look at all of the main children’s book categories in order to grasp some standards and write our own children’s books in the most effective ways possible

Additionally it’s easy to confuse the formats with genre so let’s settle that first since many times people use the words interchangeably when talking about children’s books. If you are asking about the genre of your children’s book then you are wondering if your book is fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, etc. However, when I get the question: What genre is my children’s book? more often than not people are asking in which category does their book belong––which age group will be reading it––and that is what we are going to look at here.

This is a great resource for anyone new to writing children’s books, for authors who plan to self-publish, and for educators. It’s important to remember that these are guidelines, and sometimes it’s okay to break the rules. However…

The Golden Rule

There is one kids book golden rule that is rarely broken, and it goes a little something like this:

Children want to read stories about other children who are a little bit older than themselves.

This means if your protagonist is ten-years-old your readership is likely seven- to nine-year-olds.

One of the best examples I can recall that breaks this rule and does it spectacularly is found in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy where the protagonist, Lyra, is eleven-years-old. The fantasy trilogy, however, was marketed as a young adult book series. (But fantasy is good at breaking the rules, right?)

So, keeping the golden rule in mind, let’s look at the individual formats.

Children’s Book Categories

Board Books

Target Ages: 0–5 years

Target Word Count: less than 300

Board books are those tough little things you give to the smallest of readers. Often ten or less pages, they are made from thick cardstock or cardboard, and target children 0–4 years old. These books are heavy duty, light on text and have a lot of illustration. In fact, many times a board book will contain no more than 10–20 words total. Board books are meant to be read to children who are early emerging readers, meaning they are listening to the story, but board books are also meant to be chewed on, slept with, and treated as a toy.

Board books will often cover early learning concepts such as opposites, counting, letters, feelings, or simple family dynamics. They may or may not span time, and if they do, it will be no longer than a short period, definitely less than a day. Sometimes board books will not tell a story, but rather follow a theme. For example, the pages may simply list a color and have an accompanying illustration.

Best Examples:

Picture Books

Target Ages: 2–7

Target Word Count: 400–900

Most often when people think of children’s books, they are referring to picture books. At standard, picture books are 32 pages long, including the cover pages, introductions, back flaps, and copyright information. Though the standard is 32 pages, they can technically come in page lengths that are any multiples of 8: 16, 24, 32, 40 or 48 pages. They are reliant on both text and illustration and text length can range from 100–1000 words, sometimes more. However, the best picture books are short on text and rely equally or heavily on illustration. Sometimes picture books can cross over into board books and be published in both formats. Picture books are for children aged 2–10 years (at the high end), with an average target age of 2–7 years old.

Picture books talk about universal themes and offer intriguing or kid-relatable situations while challenging the reader’s or listener’s imagination. Themes are approachable and there is usually one main character, one plot, and one story line. Picture books use rhythm and cadence to engage the young listener and they employ repetition. In the book Writing Picture Books, Anne Winford Paul explains that picture books should offer a simple question and answer. This idea holds true for most picture books out there and it’s a great rule of thumb to follow. One theme, one throughline, one main character or idea, with an answer at the end.

Best Examples:

Early Readers

Target Ages: 5–8 years

Target Word Count: 1000–2500

Early readers are books with slightly more text than found in your average picture book. They have 32 to 64 pages, with simple, repetitive text. Usually every page or every other page has an illustration. These books are targeted towards new and emerging readers and often repeat a particular sight word or phrase for these early readers to memorize. They have a simple sentence structure, can be read aloud or silently, and often come in series form.

Topics and themes are lighthearted and books usually explore one idea, subject or theme. Many times books are character based, as seen in the examples below. The word count doesn’t rise above 3500 words on the high end. Sometimes easy readers will have a couple of chapters or sections making it easy for a child to set the book aside for a break if they need to take one. You can find a wide variety of well done non-fiction books in this category as well, such as the National Geographic Little Kids First Big Books series.

Best Examples:

Chapter Books

Target Ages: 7–10 years

Target Word Count: 4000–12000

Some of my favorite children’s books are found in the chapter book format. I like this category because for the first time we start to see subplots and more complex story lines. Before middle grade came along as a category, chapter books were the only bridge to close the gap between picture books and young adult. Many of our classic favorites as adults today are found in this format: Charlotte’s Web, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and basically anything by Roald Dahl. This format is also home to some of those timeless classic series like the Magic Tree House books.

Chapter books will have few to no illustrations and are typically not much longer than 100 pages. They are for young advancing readers, typically for elementary school aged children. These books can range in difficulty with some offering simple language as one might find in Catwings or Flat Stanley, to more complex sentence structures and plot lines as found in the examples below. Many chapter books are single character or subject based and they may contain a simple subplot or two.

Chapter books span a wide audience and reading levels vary. For this reason, there really is no average word count within the range. Following the simple idea that should your book be for a younger reader, you will have fewer words, is a good loose guideline to follow. For this category definitely take time to read some comp books before writing your manuscript so you get a feel for the language and length.

Best Examples:

Middle Grade

Target Ages: 8–12 years

Target Word Count: 30,000–50,000

Middle Grade novels can be divided into two subcategories: books for middle grade school children and books for upper elementary school children. They contain longer chapters than found in chapter books, often no illustrations, and can have over 100 pages. Sometimes they can mingle with either chapter books or young adult, but they absolutely deserve a format of their own. The readership is voracious at this age, so series are popular.

It’s hard to say exactly when middle grade novels became ‘a thing’ but it is worth noting it was about the same time as the Harry Potter series emerged; with Harry Potter, for the first time ever, we saw readers growing up with their main character. I’m not attributing the emergence of the middle grade category to the publication of the Harry Potter books, but I do think at that time publishers realized there was a need for a whole new set of books that would reach this since underdeveloped and under-explored market.

Let’s look at the two subcategories in more detail.

Lower Middle Grade

Target Ages: 7–10 years

Target Word Count: 20,000–35,000

Lower Middle Grade is a really fun format to read and explore. The themes will be complex but approachable: no kissing, no gory violence, subtle politics, if any. The stories will have a subplot or two. Oftentimes lower middle grade employees elements like humor or explores factual, science-based ideas or historical events. They are also great candidates for fantasy or magic realism since the readership is in that magical place between childhood and ability to “believe” before teetering into the pre-teen years.

The lower middle grade format is typically under 35,000 words with more like 25,000 as an average.

Best Examples:

Upper Middle Grade, or Tween

Target Ages: 10–13 years

Target Word Count: 45,000–55,000

Upper Middle Grade might be my favorite children’s book format of all. I love that the readership is able to follow complex plots and storylines plus explore more mature themes without getting into quite as much teen angst as we find in young adult. Relationships may hint at romance, but it is still innocent…probably still no kissing. Violence may be present but it does not dominate the story.

The books are a bit longer, up to about 70,000 words max with an average around 50,000. Sometimes this sub-catgory is referred to as ‘tween’ especially when the themes of the book explicitly explore pre-teen related issues.

Best Examples:

Young Adult

Target Ages: 13–adult

Target Word Count: 40,000–70,000

Young Adult books are read by teens ages 13 to as many years as 25 and adults. In fact, the books can cross over into adult literature, especially if they are fantasy or sci-fi based. They have complex stories, plots, and characters and read like an adult novel, but explore issues and topics that teens can relate to. Themes can employee really complex or even difficult subjects such as sex, violence, drugs, abuse, suicide…the list goes on. Not all young adult books will focus on these ideas, but often at least one of them is present since these are real-world issues that teens come face-to-face with on a daily basis.

Word count can go as high as 90,000 but keeping it around 70,000 is a safe bet. Some coming of age classics emerge from this category as well as really fantastic examples of fantasy series.

Best Examples:

Still confused?

It’s important to remember that these are just guidelines. If you plan to stray, have good reason. If you’re still asking the question, what genre is my children’s book? and want a little more guidance, contact me below. I’m happy to help! Sometimes authors have a great idea, a great start…heck, they might even be great writers already, but they just can’t seem to make it work. That’s what an editor is for; let’s talk.

My Top 4 Favorite How-to-Write Books by Female Masters (and why they’re so wonderful)

October 10, 2017December 04, 2018 Books, Creative Writing, Editing & Beyond, Uncategorized

Whether you are putting the proverbial pen to paper for the first time, or you’re a seasoned author, this list of My Top 4 Favorite How-to-Write Books by Female Masters (and why they’re so wonderful) has a little something for anyone who wants to write a children’s book. Even after writing for nearly twenty years on my own, and writing and editing professionally for nearly ten, I still find myself turning back to these four how-to-write books again and again, always discovering something new among their pages.

I’ve categorized each book by which writers I think may benefit the most from picking up each copy. But, like I mentioned above, there is information in all of these books that will help writers of all experience and practice levels who are learning how to write a children’s book. For the serious children’s book writer out there, I would suggest reading them all.

Wonderful for Newbies:

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, by Natalie Goldberg

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within is a perfect guide for anyone who is writing for the first time, or for seasoned writers who are a little out of practice and want to jumpstart or improve their own daily writing habits. In Bones, Goldberg is focused on gathering the free-flowing creative nectar that all writers need to tap into before they even begin to craft a book or story of any length.

Goldberg’s book is filled with nearly 200 pages of short, one to five page chapters that give readers something to think about—a scenario, a short story, an idea—and each chapter leads to a writing prompt. This means you can sit down with Goldberg’s book, a cup of coffee, your notebook or computer and twenty minutes, and walk away with something substantial in the books.

I have always appreciated Writing Down the Bones for that reason. When I have just a little bit of time each day to write creatively, Goldberg’s book is perfect because the chapters are so succinct. And on days when I just can’t get going, I still turn to Bones. If I have hours of dull content writing ahead of me, a jaunt through Bones lifts my writing spirit and gets me in the mood to play with language, no matter the task ahead.

I will guarantee that if you do take time for Writing Down the Bones, you’ll be drawn into Goldberg’s stories—as if you’re sitting across the table at a quaint wine shop while she tells you everything you need to know about writing while seemingly not telling you anything at all—and that, as we know, is the making of a good writer.

Wonderful for Children’s Book Newbies:

The Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children, by Nancy Lamb

Nancy Lamb’s book, The Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children, is 100% a must-have, invaluable investment for anyone who plans to write a children’s book. And for anyone who takes their writing seriously. Ten years ago it was—and today it still is—my go-to for everything kids-book-craft-related. The book is divided into five main sections that play on the metaphor of building a house, and each section is devoted to a crucial step in writing your first children’s book. For example, Lamb’s third section entitled ‘Structural Supports’ explores topics like character, story, and point of view while the beginning of her book starts with a section entitled ‘Building Plans’ where readers take time to discover what story they plan to tell.

The Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children has often been compared to taking a 101 course on how to write a children’s book…but from the comfort of your own home and at your own pace (and for a fraction of the cost!). Because Nancy pulls from classics like Where the Wild Things Are or Bridge to Terabithia, even writers new to the craft will be familiar with her examples, making her instruction all the more relevant. With a stable and strong plan, from there you’ll be able to craft your book, from beginning to end, as you read the guide coming at last to the chapter entitled ‘Finishing Touches: The Care and Feeding of Your Creative Spirit’ where you learn how to hold onto all you’ve learned so you can develop overtime as a writer.

I personally find Lamb’s book a crucial addition to my own bookshelf because of her attention to detail during each step of the book writing process; from conception to final proof. Writing a book—short or long—is a dedicated and time consuming endeavor with lots of little ins and outs that no one but the author can see. Lamb helps authors to stay on track and hit all those fine details that, if missed, will leave a manuscript lacking. Her book is like an author’s project plan for seeing their own book through, from start to finish.

Wonderful for Honing Your Craft:

Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story, by Ursula K LeGuin

Ursula K LeGuin–my hero–I have a sneaking suspicion she is actually magic incarnate…but I digress.

The original version of Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story is the book that guided me from a technical understanding of my writing to a deeper relationship with my own creativity and my own abilities as a writer and an editor. Both versions of LeGuin’s guides flow seamlessly while teaching skills that on the surface seem dull, but come to life under her pen and ink spells. Before they know it, readers have learned how to vary their sentences to make them really long to slow a scene down. And then shorten them. Like all things LeGuin, her book is equally detailed and sensory. And succinct.

LeGuin takes topics like ‘Pronoun and Verb’ and turns them into a chapter, and somehow makes these otherwise textbook topics—*gasp*—actually interesting! So interesting, in fact, that you find yourself turning to chapter seven with a newfound, underlying understanding of how to make your verbs skip, hop and jump from the page, and you do so leaving your passive voice shriveling the drafts behind, too timid to show its shameful face until you’ve purposely given him reason to rise again.

LeGuin once said, “A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight.” In Steering the Craft, LeGuin teaches us how to care about our words—how to write them with understanding—only then can we tell our own stories with conviction.

Wonderful for Mastering Visual Writing for Children:

Picture Writing: A New Approach to Writing for Children and Teens, by Anastasia Suen

Picture Writing is a fantastic book for getting a grasp on how to write visually for children. As Anastasia Suen explains, children tend to be visual thinkers, so expressing stories and creating worlds and characters for them through visual text is key in producing strong children’s manuscripts.

Chapters in Picture Writing are divided up by the different components of a story such as plot, character, or setting, and each part is explored from three different angles: Fiction, Non-fiction, or Poetry. This means you’ll be reading the sections that apply to your genre only, whether you’re writing a board book or a young adult fantasy novel.

‘Seeing Fiction’ is one of my favorite chapters on how to write a children’s book. In it she lays out a picture book storyboard template that I still use today with my clients. The storyboard gives authors and editors a feel for where certain elements of a story, like “the big story problem” or “the second try to solve” should fall in a manuscript. Since understanding pacing, page turns, and pauses in picture book writing is so crucial, even as a seasoned editor, I find her template a perfect go-to reminder of how to craft a manuscript. In the same chapter, she also has a comparable layout for chapter books.

Though a little hard to come by, Picture Writing is a reference worth owning if you plan to write a children’s book.

Now that you’re ready to write a children’s book, and you’ve got some leads on finding the right guide to your writing endeavors, I hope you’ll take time to explore them.

And just because I love books so much, here are my Top 4 Recommended Other Books by the same authors we looked at above. Happy Reading and Joyous Writing to You!

Natalie Goldberg

Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life

Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir

The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language

Top of My Lungs

Nancy Lamb

One April Morning: Children Remember the Oklahoma City Bombing

The Art And Craft Of Storytelling: A Comprehensive Guide To Classic Writing Techniques

The World’s Greatest Toe Show

The Great Mosquito, Bull, and Coffin Caper

Ursula K. LeGuin

The Wind’s Twelve Quarters: Stories by Le Guin, Ursula K.

Catwings Words Are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books

A Wizard of Earthsea

The Tombs of Atuan

The Farthest Shore

Anastasia Suen

Up! Up! Up! Skyscraper

Wired

Baby Born

The Tooth Fairy

Tell me about your book!

If you are ready to write a children’s book, or have a manuscript you would like me to edit, contact me below. I look forward to reading your story!

Understanding Editorial Services

August 19, 2017December 04, 2018 Book Editors, Creative Writing, Editing & Beyond, Uncategorized

So you’ve written your first book. You know you want to publish it. You are dreaming of big success! But you also know your manuscript needs a little work. Understanding editorial services and what is available to you is your first step in knowing who to hire before getting your book published. Obviously, you want to hire an editor who has worked on books in your genre before. The services you need will depend on where you are in your manuscript and how much editing has already been done, and you will need different types of editing at different points in the process. Let’s start with the basics of book editing and break it down from there.

What is editing?

Definition: Book editing the process of preparing written material for publication or presentation by
correcting, revising or adapting text.

Navigating the many book editing services available can be difficult, especially if you are new to the writing industry, on a budget, self-publishing or requiring a variety of services. In addition, a wealth of misconceptions accompany the seemingly complicated industry of editing, proofreading and publishing. In order to find the right kind of editor it’s imperative that you know what type of services you’re after.

What do Editors do?

Editors complete a variety of tasks for authors, but as a general rule, they help you to polish and clean up your manuscript in order to submit it for publication and sometimes to self publish. Understanding editorial services can feel complicated. But here is a breakdown of all the different kinds of editing services you can use that will clarify some of your concerns and help you to find the right children’s book editor for your book.

The Breakdown — Understanding Editorial Services

Developmental Editing (or Content Editing)

Definition: Developmental Editing (Content Editing) involves a significant structuring or restructuring of a manuscript’s discourse.

Developmental Editors and Content Editors are one and the same and they are your go-to people during the early drafts of your manuscript. You’re a writer, so you likely question your own work: write – rewrite – go back – write again. And still you wonder if what you’re on target with your manuscript.

Developmental editors will evaluate your manuscript as a whole and will quickly become your best buddy, offering great advice, constructive criticism and if they’re good, words of encouragement. Don’t skimp here! This person is trained to ensure your plot is fluid, your characters are popping from the page, and your story flows. Plus, your developmental editor will enhance your narrative voice and tone while keeping true to the delivery of your syntax.

Look for someone who is willing to offer a fluid working relationship and who will communicate openly on major changes. Interview this person ahead of time. Get a feel for who they are and what they do to ensure they are the right fit. Out of all the editors you may hire – you will spend the most time working with your developmental editor. Although these editors by nature do check for grammar and spelling mistakes, remember, that’s not why you hired them!

Here is a breakdown of the types of things your Developmental Editor will evaluate:

The core intentions and goals of your book
The underlying premise and the story
Your character development
The use of dialogue and sensory language and descriptions
Your narrative voice
The overall pacing, style and language

Your developmental editor will likely be able to give you some advice on industry and genre standards, can help with writing if needed, and provide you with creative insight and clear solutions for problems or holes in your manuscript.

Copy Editing

Definition: Copy Editing involves the improvement of the formatting, style and accuracy of a text, including grammar and punctuation.

Often confused with proofreading, Copy Editing is rather a revision process like developmental editing, and not a correction process like proofreading. Copy Editing is an important step to bridge the work of your developmental editor and prepare you for hiring your proofreader.

A Copy Editor will check your manuscript making sure the syntax is smooth and the writing adheres to the conventions of grammar. They’ll also make sure that your wording is proper and precise and punctuation is appropriate and correctly placed. The copy editor is important for evaluating industry and genre standards as well and will make sure that your intentions for your book are being conveyed correctly. These are the people to hire before you submit your manuscript to a publisher or agent. They will bring your rough manuscript to a professional level.

Here is a breakdown of the services your Copy Editor will offer:

Correct syntax and overall readability of your manuscript
Ensure grammatical conventions are used correctly
Fix punctuation
Look for consistency in content layout and delivery
Make sure chapters or sections are consistent

In addition your Copy Editor will globally check your headings and chapter sections making sure the wording is correct and the formatting is fluid throughout, and they will just check overall to make sure that your content as a whole is consistent.

Proofreading

Definition: Proofreading is a galley proof or electronic copy of a manuscript in order to detect and correct production errors of the text. This is the last step before publication.

A proofreader is the nit-picky, detail oriented, ‘fan of the red-pen’ person whose job it is to make sure your manuscript is error free. Often proofreading is too much for not only you as the author to undertake, but also too much for your developmental and/or copy editor. You can have the same person do your copy and developmental editing – but hire a new proofreader. Both you and your editor will know your manuscript inside and out. This means errors such as simple grammar, formatting and spelling mistakes can easily be overlooked! Proofreading is particularly important for authors wishing to self publish.

That’s why hiring a separate proofreader to sweep your manuscript immediately before you self publish, is key. Don’t hire your proofreader until you are completely satisfied with your content. You don’t want to make any major changes once your proofreader gets your manuscript – their proofreading services will take your manuscript to completion. In addition, for this reason, authors who self publish often have more than one separate proofreader review their manuscript.

Here is a breakdown of what your Proofreader will do for you:

Correct all grammar mistakes
Find and correct all typos
Correct all punctuation mistakes
Ensure formatting is in place and you are ready for print (in some cases you may need a Layout Designer to do this)

Your proofreader will likely offer you very straightforward services. Often proofreaders can help with formatting for publication as well. But if you are self publishing, consider hiring a Layout Designer to get your book into print. Expect to have a thorough job and completed manuscript, one that is ready for print, when your proofreader is finished.

Hiring the Right Editor

The type of editor you need depends on where you are in your project. Don’t skimp; rather pay for the right services. Remember, you are working on ‘your baby’, something near and dear to your heart. Hire someone who will treat your book with care and respect. When you are interviewing for the right kind of book editing services, don’t be afraid to ask for proof of experience, a Skype or phone call, or an interview as part of the process.

In addition, many editors have no problem looking your first few pages to ensure they are the right fit. This goes both ways! Editors want a good read and writers want a good editor. If they are willing to take the time, you should be too. Editors can also offer a wealth of other services such as book coaching, advice for formatting or publishing options, query and synopsis development, and even ghostwriting services. Make sure you talk to your potential editors about all your needs and learn about all they can offer.

Wise Words: Self Publishing and Editing

But remember, with an influx of self publishing today many authors are looking for an ‘all-in-one’ editing
package. Be wary of editors who claim they can do it all! You absolutely do not want the same person who helped you with your developmental editing to do your proofreading. Editors should be specialized. With a rising need to find editing services on the cheap, people who self publish are finding they put out shoddy work only to have to republish their books after receiving bad reviews on Amazon or B&N. If you are self-publishing you won’t have a publishing house to back you up or pay for your mistakes. You’ll have to put in the time and money up front to have a solid (and sellable) book at the end of the day.

Just a tidbit of cool information: When you sign with a publishing house you and your book will go through, at minimum, 20 sets of revisions and rounds of edits before a final proof. So, as you are getting ready to hire your editor(s), keep this in mind.

It pays to pay for quality work. Give your book the time it deserves.

Need Help with your Book?

If you are interested in chatting with me about your project, please feel free to Contact Me for additional information. And Happy Writing to You!