|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
Product Description
Buccieri and Economy begin by explaining the basics of the children's book business, from the nuts and bolts of the various formats and genres—with helpful illustrations to aid you—to the intricacies of the book publishing market, a list of recent award-winning books, and a first peek into the particular mind set that writing children's books requires. (Hint: Throw out the adult rules, and think like a kid!)
Then the authors dive into the actual writing process itself, with tips on setting up a workspace, brainstorming great book ideas, researching the subject you decide on, even speaking with the sorts of kids you hope will eventually read the book. They show you how to create compelling characters and develop them in the manuscript; how to outline and write a plot "arc" of conflict, change, and resolution; how to master the difficult art of writing dialogue; and how to use active (rather than passive) language to keep your story moving along and interesting to young minds.
Or, if you're planning to write a creative nonfiction children's book—on a topic such as science, nature, or a historical figure, for example—the authors include a chapter on this, too. Ready, set, go… it's time to sit down and write!
Once you've finished your book, however, the process has only begun. Now you will refine, submit, and hopefully sell your manuscript. Here again, the authors of Writing Children's Books For Dummies come through for you. They deliver solid advice on hiring an illustrator—or not; participating in workshops and conferences to learn the business and hone a story; finding an agent; and, finally, submitting the manuscript to publishers and—if you are successful—signing a contract.
Along the way, the authors also include tips on handling rejection; a quick primer on the various editors in publishing houses (and how they work to make your book its best); and making a plan to publicize the book, including hiring a publicist if necessary.
Like all For Dummies® books, Writing Children's Books For Dummies highlights "The Part of Tens," which includes the Ten Best Ways to Promote Your Story and More Than Ten Great Sources for Storylines. And the ever-helpful Cheat Sheet includes Tips for Editing your Children's Book Manuscript, Children's Book No-No's, Twelve Commandments for Writing Younger Children's Books, and Tips on Promotion.
From setting down that first word on paper to doing a successful publicity tour, Writing Children's Books For Dummies gives you the confidence and the insiders' know-how to write and sell the story you've always wanted to write.
From the Back Cover
Get the inside scoop on writing and selling your children's book!
Want to write a great children's book and make it stand out from the crowd? This easy-to-follow guide provides step-by-step instruction in everything you need to know, from crafting a unique manuscript to finding an agent. You get savvy advice and tips on navigating the entire publishing process and turning your dream into a well-written, saleable book!
Discover how to
- Brainstorm great ideas
- Rhyme & use humor
- Write a great story
- Polish & edit your words
- Find a great agent
- Sell to publishers
- Promote & publicize your book
For many, dreams of writing a children's book remain just that - dreams - because they soon find out that writing a really good children's book is hard. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Guide,
By Shades (Regina, Sk, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Writing Children's Books For Dummies (Paperback)
This is a great guide for new writers and is filled with tricks and tips.I believe that the Idiot's Guide is only slightly better as it is better laid out.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Midwest Book Review -- Mayra Calvani,
By Mayra Calvani (Belgium) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Writing Children's Books For Dummies (Paperback)
Writing Children’s Books for Dummies is one of those complete, easy-to-use guides that should be on the shelf of any writer who is serious about writing and publishing children’s books. Having read most of the reference books on this subject on the market today, I can say this is right there among the best and well worth its price.The structure of the book is clear and easy to handle, the language straight forward and to the point. No matter which aspect of children’s writing or publishing you’re interested in, you only have to look in the table of contents to find it. The authors use interviews and illustrations to present their ideas in a more engaging manner. They also utilize icons to stress important ideas or points. For example, special icons are used for “Tips” (expert advice), “Remember” (important information to store in your brain for later recall), “Warning” (avoiding mistakes), and “Ahead of the Pack” (new and innovative topic). At the end of the book there are five lined pages for note taking, quite practical for those readers who like to take notes as they read. Everything from formats and genres, understanding the market, setting up your workspace, coming up with ideas, researching, creating compelling characters, the mechanics of writing (conflict, climax, dialogue, setting, point of view, tone, theme, etc.) to editing and formatting, illustrating, finding agents and publishers, the publishing process and much, much more. You’ll even find more than ten great sources for compelling storylines, as well as helpful tips on promoting your work. In short, all the information you’ll need to succeed as a children’s book author. Whether you choose to read from cover to cover or jump straight to the topic of your choice, Writing Children’s Books for Dummies will prove to be an indispensable reference and amalgam of helpful information for your writing career, as well as a fecund source of ideas for articles. Highly recommended for both fiction and non-fiction writers, students of children’s literature, and writing teachers.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (54 customer reviews) 130 of 132 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended reading for children's writers,
By Peggy Tibbetts - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Writing Children's Books For Dummies (Paperback)
For almost 5 years, I've doled out advice in my monthly column for children's writers, Advice from a Caterpillar at Writing-World.com. I must confess I cringe a little as I hit the send button whenever I am advising a reader to read a book with "dummies" in the title. But then, that's the whole point. "Writing Children's Books for Dummies" has only been out a few months and I'm already recommending it to my readers! Of course it is never my intention to insult anyone, but the truth is, over the years, I've been asked some pretty dumb questions. The great thing is this book has the answers.Much more than a how-to manual, "Writing Children's Books for Dummies" is comprehensive; covering everything from what motivates you to write for children to genres to the children's book market. Yet readers will find plenty of advice such as, how to craft your story, write nonfiction, find a publisher, and market your book. With the help of the thorough table of contents and index, information on a specific topic is easy to find. As a columnist for children's writers I am particularly impressed with Chapter 2: Children's Book Formats and Genres, and Chapter 3: Understanding the Children's Book Market. The biggest mistake prospective children's writers make is that they simply do not know enough about the age group or market they're writing for. Until now, I lacked a single resource to refer my readers to -- but this is definitely it. Lisa Buccieri is a publishing executive with over 15 years' experience in the business, so readers can take her word for it. But wait -- there's more! Experienced authors will find plenty to sink their teeth into. Authors Buccieri and Economy dish up the real meat of children's writing by including chapters on plot, dialogue, point of view, and the awesome task of editing your own work. Authors will love the chapters on agents, contracts, and Ten Best Ways to Promote Your Story. A reader once wrote to me: "I'd like to write for children but I can't think of any story ideas. Where can I find story ideas?" Well, guess what -- Chapter 20 offers More than Ten Great Sources for Storylines, which is more like 12 full pages of story ideas. Rich Tennant's "The 5th Wave" cartoons, plus interviews with authors, editors, and agents generously sprinkled throughout contribute to the excellence of this book and catapults it to the top of my list of recommended reading for children's writers. 55 of 55 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Incredibly helpful, but a little bit dense for a "for dummies" book,
By H. Grove "Errant Dreams Reviews" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Writing Children's Books For Dummies (Paperback)
This book is so full of utterly indispensible advice that it's a wonder it doesn't explode in a shower of confetti and punctuation. On every single page you'll find information that could help you plan, write, publish, or publicize your children's book. The book covers every single aspect of the process that I can imagine, from brainstorming to editing, finding an agent to signing contracts, self-publishing to promoting your book.The advice found here is positive yet realistic, honest about what you need to do to succeed without being harsh. It gives you the tools you need to improve your work, develop your skills, and polish your professionalism. One of the most useful features is the scattered collection of interviews with professional publishers, editors, and writers, all of whom give you straight-up helpful information about what to do (and what to avoid) when trying to get published. If you're totally unfamiliar with the professional publishing world you'll find plenty here to introduce you, but even if you're an experienced writer just looking for childrens'-book-specific advice this book is worth your time. My one concern is that the legal information isn't as consistently basic as the rest of the information, and if they're aiming this book at beginners then I'd think that'd be one of the scarier and more alien sections, in need of extra hand-holding help. Legal information in particular tends to make starry-eyed beginners curl up in the fetal position, and I think this material could have used a bit more work to make it accessible. As fantastically useful as the information is, I did find it harder to stay focused on this book than I do with some others. It gets rather dense with material, and although there are definitely some bright spots of humor, they're a little scarce for a book of this type. Humor is such an invaluable tool for getting frightened beginners to loosen up and absorb information. Other than that, however, the writing is clear and thorough. So if you don't need that kind of help to get through the information you need then this book will be a fantastic aid to you. 37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Primer on Writing for Children from Newborn to Teens,
By An aspiring children's writer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Writing Children's Books For Dummies (Paperback)
This is a great primer on writing for children from newborn to teens. I've had a children's book roughed out for the past decade, but never quite knew what age to gear it for, or what language to use. Now I know and am ready to shape up my manuscript with confidence.The tear-out cheat sheet by itself (in front of Writing Children's Books for Dummies) justifies buying this book. It lays out the bare-bones of writing for children - things I could never have figured out by myself, such as Children's Book No-No's, and the Twelve Commandments of writing for Children - these will save me lots of time and effortin the rewrite stage. Highly recommended - Not just as a writing primer, but as a way to understand young children's minds in general. |
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Children's Books > Literature > Children's Literature Guides
- Books > For Dummies Store > Education > General
- Books > For Dummies Store > Writing
- Books > Literature & Fiction
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > Literature > Creative Writing & Composition
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Reference > Writing Skills
- Books > Nonfiction > Education > Reference > Encyclopedias
- Books > Reference > Encyclopedias
- Books > Reference > Publishing & Books > Authorship
- Books > Reference > Writing > Writing Skills
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
|
