Just because you’re not a gourmet chef in your own restaurant, doesn’t mean you can’t cook. There are countless numbers of successful cooks working in a wide variety of venues. Think of Mrs. Fields® Cookies, Cinnabon, your favorite hot dog stand, and perhaps even your very own aunt’s catering business.
Just because you’re not a bestselling children’s book author, doesn’t mean you can’t write. There are countless numbers of successful children’s writers working in a variety of markets. Think of National Geographic Kids magazine, school textbooks, craft books, puzzle books, and even cookbooks for kids.
Yes! You can experience success as a children’s writer even if you don’t yet know how to craft a great story. While you’re learning the storytelling tricks of the trade, you can start getting published right away. While you’re polishing your skills at creating unforgettable characters and believable dialogue, you can start earning income as a children’s writer. I’ll show you how as you read through the pages of this book.
Reality Check #1
This industry is full of huge publishers that are hard to break into. The good news? There are lots of smaller publishers practically begging for manuscripts from first-time authors. I’ll teach you where to look and how to connect with them.
Reality Check #2
It can take years to get published. The good news? Just like someone needs to work at your favorite hot dog stand around the corner, there are plenty of opportunities to get published in today’s market. You can start getting published right away. I’ll show you how.
Reality Check #3
This industry is filled with frustrated writers who can’t earn a living writing for children. The good news? There are actually lots of people who maintain a successful part-time or full-time career as a children’s writer. I do and I know others who do, too. In these chapters, I’ll share strategies on how you can join the ranks.
Yes! You can get published, learn how to be successful, and earn a decent income as a children’s writer. Not overnight…not for quick cash…and not in a haphazard way. Whether it’s to create your own line of cookies or to help with your aunt’s catering business, you can make it happen. And with a careful strategy, determined mindset, and strong self-motivation, you can build the successful children’s writing career of your dreams. In this book, I’ll show you how to start.
The advice you’ll find here comes from practical experience in the real world of children’s publishing. I’m sharing the strategies and techniques that work for me. If you implement these into your own journey, I’m confident that you can have a solid foundation for building a successful career as a children’s writer.
Today, when I speak to other writers about the strategies I use, someone always says, “This works for you because you’re an established writer.”
But these methods worked for me when I wasn’t.
Someone inevitably suggests, “You sign so many contracts today because you’ve written so many books already.”
But I followed many of these same techniques when I published my very first book…and my second.
Someone else might say, “You experience success because you’re a talented writer.”
But I experienced success as a beginning writer when I didn’t even know what I was doing. The majority of manuscripts I worked on underwent heavy revisions during the editorial process. Since revision is a natural part of every manuscript’s journey, the editors were used to it.
The tips and advice you read about in this book will probably be different from everything you’ve heard about writing for children. How do I know? I’ve got most of the leading “how to write for children” books on my bookshelves. The majority of these books spend the greatest portion of the book explaining how to be a master storyteller and polish your manuscript until it shines. Then these books tell you to begin your search for the perfect publisher. I’ve attended writer’s conferences and networked with editors and sat in writing classes. The majority focus on how to write fiction for children and revise your manuscript to perfection. Then they send you off to research for the right publisher or agent. That works for some, but it wasn’t the right path for me.
Here, in my book, I will show you a different way.
I will teach you how to find a publisher first before you ever write one single word of your manuscript. I will teach you how to earn income while you’re learning how to write a story because you’re writing an article or book as an assignment or under a signed contract. I will teach you the strategies many career writers use to earn money that increases their income and pays their bills. I will teach you how to build a successful career as a children’s writer.
Just a word of caution, however. You may read something in this book and gulp, “That’s not what my writing instructor told me!”
Has your writing instructor helped you land a book contract yet? Or two or three?
Perhaps you’ll read a technique here within these pages and gasp, “That’s not what the top editor at the writer’s conference said!”
Did that editor accept your book manuscript and publish it even after you followed her step-by-step instructions to submit your manuscript to her?
Maybe you’ll read my advice in this book and argue, “That’s not what the writers in my critique group tell me!”
Are any of them earning between $20,000 and $70,000 a year as a children’s writer?
If you answered “No” to any of these questions, what have you got to lose? Go ahead! Try my advice and see what happens. I did this, and it worked for me. You can try it, too. Yes, you can!
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