I was lucky enough to attend a talk run by the New Zealand Society of Authors last week, in which Joy Cowley gave a talk discussing how to get in to the market of Writing for Children. She has written many stories and has plenty of knowledge to share, having lost count of the amount of books she has published!
She has spent much time over the years reading manuscripts for various publishing houses and shared some valuable insights into what not to include in your story! Although there are other writing tips on her website, I didn’t find this info, so I hope she won’t mind me briefly sharing with you her advice, which is predominantly focused on what to do before you submit your manuscript.
Think about your story
She talked about it being child-centred and age appropriate for your audience, with an affirming story that your reader can relate to and finishing with a satisfying ending that doesn’t leave young readers confused.
Editing your story
She spoke of the importance of your reader’s ability and to keep them feeling confident as a reader, don’t over complicate. Visualising how your story will flow on each page and what parts can be illustrated is useful be sure to include dialogue, kids look for the talking parts.
Most importantly, have fun with your story, write what you enjoy and don’t forget to entertain!
The event was attended by a some of New Zealand’s movers and shakers in the Children’s Writing scene. Although, I’m new to this networking thing so I’m not yet sure who’s who and to be quite honest, I’m not so great at working a room! But I did take lots of notes and retained plenty of info to share with all of you 
It was also mentioned that Wellington is emerging as a centre for Children’s Publishing in New Zealand, with Scholastic expanding their branch, Penguin having moved in on the scene, Gecko Press going strong and a few newcomers to the market as well. It looks promising for the Children’s market here, with around 40% of New Zealand published books being in the the Children’s & Educational area.
More writing related help and information will be added to my writing page over the coming month.
Filed under: General | Tagged: Children's Books, Joy Cowley, Manuscripts, Publishing, Submitting, Writing for Children
