Happy One Year Writer-versary

My writer’s group is called ‘The Tap’. It is made up of six regulars, all glorious and wonderful women who love to write. We recently celebrated our one year anniversary since formation. We met at a picture book writing course held by the Australian Writer’s Academy. I  had signed up on a whim after deciding that enough was finally enough – I had better take action towards writing a children’s book or stop thinking about it. Safe to say, I’ve learned a few things in these past 12 months and I would like to share them with you. 

1. Writing a picture book is not easy 

You’d be forgiven for thinking that writing kids’ books is easy. There’s much fewer words and the bulk of the page is made up of pictures, but let me tell you NO! It’s far more difficult to write because every single word must have a purpose, there are strict word limits and an audience who won’t consider your feelings when telling you “it’s boring”.

You know what’s even harder? Rhyming. Everyone knows that ‘cat’ rhymes with ‘hat’, and that nothing rhymes with ‘orange’ but, rhyming in a picture book is a whole new level. There is forced rhyme, fake rhyme, near rhyme and bad rhyme (the last one was mine, as so kindly told to me by one of my editors). 

2. Surround yourself with people who better than you.

I felt like I had no business being at my very first writing class. I’d never written a story from beginning to end before and was horrified to hear that others had been writing memoirs, had brought folders of stories with them and were already part of  well established writer’s groups… I thought this was a class for beginners!  Since then, I’ve  gone to writer’s conferences, writer’s groups and events. The more time I spend immersed in the industry, the more I learn. My favourite podcast is The Happy Book presented by Tania McCarthy and this has been my go-to when it comes to preparing for manuscript assessments and seeking inspiration from her fabulous interviews. The Duck Pond Facebook group managed by Jen Storer is another place with a wealth of information and so easily accessible to everyone. I recommend joining. 

3. Write! Write! Write!

People say it all the time because it’s true! You have to keep writing if you want to get better. I often get overwhelmed with the idea of constantly having to write stories, so instead I make sure that I do some sort of writing each day. Sometimes it’s only my journal, or some white hot writing where I just dump whatever is in my head on paper or even short poems. It doesn’t have to be perfect but as they say – the purpose of the first draft is not to get it right, but to get it written. 

4. Read, Read, Read!

This is self explanatory. Read as many picture books as you can! I go to the library and borrow 10 books at a time. I try to make sure they are recent as publishing trends change all the time and see what I love. I make a pile of what I love and what I didn’t enjoy and try to figure out the common patterns. It’s also a great way to become familiar with different styles illustration. Even though I don’t have an artistic bone in my body, it’s great to know what’s out there and what styles speak to you.  

5. Kids are way smarter than you think, arguably smarter than us!

I learned this early in my work with children. Don’t try to talk down to them or over simplify things. They are keen learners and want to absorb everything but they’ll see straight through a lesson disguised as a story.  But most importantly, they just want to know that it will be all ok in the end.

6. Don’t write alone. 

It took me awhile to realise that other writers aren’t out to steal your ideas. Share your ideas, allow others to critique yours and do the same in return. I love my little writer’s group and we share all things – successes, our stories and our competition entries. 

7. You won’t get rich.

Write because you want to, not because you think you’ll become the next big thing. Creating a picture book is an expensive venture and a gamble for the publisher, so your author royalties will be about 5% of each book sale. The percentage can be higher if you also illustrate your stories.

8. Call yourself an ‘Author’. 

In a world where we are affected by Imposter Syndrome, we are often fearful to label ourselves as authors unless we have published works. As for me, I struggled with this, but being an author is my goal and what I’m working so hard towards. Think of it as telling the universe actually what you want. 

9. You’re writing your book for kids, but selling to adults.

Remember that kids have to love them, but adults have to buy them. Make your story appeal to both. 

10. Don’t cry in front of publishers. 

It only happened the one time… shhh. Bring tissues to meetings. Noted.