Simon Whaley chats to two children’s authors about their different writing businesses.
I have a huge admiration for authors who write books for children. I wrote one once. Once, being the operative word. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud Hodder Childrens commissioned me to write Puppytalk: 50 Ways To Make Friends With Your Puppy. But, there was so much to-ing and fro-ing of the manuscript between me and my brilliant editor as we strove to choose the right words that I thought we’d never finish the project.
The book was aimed at seven-to-eleven-year-olds, and I soon learned how different an eleven-year-old’s vocabulary is to that of a reader aged seven. Thanks to the skill of my editor, we created a book that was not too difficult for the younger readers, but still engaging and entertaining for those slightly older.
Of course, JK Rowling’s success with her Harry Potter books means many non-writers assume writing for children is a lucrative business. I’m still waiting for Puppytalk to earn out its advance, despite it being published nearly twenty years ago!
One book for children does not make a children’s author business, but writers who enjoy the genre may find that there’s more to being a children’s author than just writing children’s books.
Sarah Webb (https://www.sarahwebb.info/) is an award-winning Irish children’s writer and creative writing teacher, whose latest book is The Weather Girls. She was inspired to write this by the roles Irish weather forecasters played in the D-Day preparations during World War Two. At the start of her author career, she wrote for both children and adults, but later decided to specialise in writing for children.
‘My first book, Kids Can Cook, was published by a small Irish publishing house called The Children’s Press,’ she explains. ‘Next came another Irish publishing house, Poolbeg, for some adult novels because I wrote popular fiction for a time, and then I got an agent. She got me a deal with Pan Macmillan for my adult fiction. And a deal with Walker Books for a young teen series called Ask Amy Green. I then decided I wanted to concentrate on my children’s fiction, so I changed agents. I was lucky to be taken on by Philippa Milnes-Smith of The Soho Agency and I’m still with her now. She’s wonderful. Wise and kind, a great combination!’
Subjects, Not Ages
Rather than focus on a narrow age range, Sarah writes for children of all ages and writes both fiction and non-fiction.
‘I write across the ages, from nursery rhyme collections for young children to historical novels for age nine+ and non-fiction for nine+. I’ve also written books for young teens. I have a very understanding agent and publishers!’
It’s important to Sarah that the topics she writes about are ones that interest her, which is how The Weather Girls came about.
‘I chose many years ago to write books about things that fascinate and excite me. At the moment I’m loving writing historical fiction. I find the research so interesting. The Weather Girls, which was published in May, is set in Ireland in 1944 and examines the role of Irish weather forecasting during WW2 and, in particular, D-Day. The forecasts that helped save D-Day were given by a weather station in a small village called Blacksod, Co Mayo. My book is inspired by the true story of Maureen Sweeney, a young woman who did those forecasts.’
Reader Engagement
Sarah’s first book was published in the 1990s, and she’s since written over forty books, mainly for children. However, writing the books is only part of her business. She also feels it’s important to stay up-to-date with current book trends, and there are two ways in which she does this.
‘I work part-time in a children’s bookshop called Halfway up the Stairs in Greystones, Co Wicklow, where I run the events. I love this work—it brings young readers together with writers and it’s very satisfying. The team of booksellers there is so knowledgeable about children’s books. We have a great time discussing new books. I also run creative writing clubs for children and teens and I review children’s books for the Irish Independent. Schools and library visits are an important part of my work as well. In Ireland, we have the Writers in Schools scheme where the government helps fund visits.’
Darcy Pattison (https://www.darcypattison.com/) is a US-based children’s author and indie publisher. She’s written over seventy award-winning fiction and non-fiction books for children, which have been translated into ten languages. Rather than write for a specific age, she writes her books in a way that allows children of different ages to get different things from them.
Nuanced Vocabulary
‘I write books for elementary school children, not for a specific grade level,’ she says. ‘I build in levels of understanding so that a second grader might come away with this understanding about the story’s topic, while a fifth grader might have a more nuanced understanding. But it’s not targeting a certain grade.’
This means, as I found when writing Puppytalk, that word choices are important in children’s books.
‘For all grades, my goal for non-fiction stories is clarity. Is the information clear and understandable by a young audience? That affects vocabulary choices, sentence structures, repetition of information, and much more. For fiction, my goal is that heart-tug, the emotion that a good story leaves with a reader. Both goals—the clarity or the heart-tug—are targeted for young readers, but not a certain grade level.’
Unlike Sarah, who is traditionally published, Darcy chose to go down the independent route.
‘I bring my own books to market because no one cares about them as much as I do. My decisions about various publishing decisions, such as illustrator choice, directly affect the success of a book, and the market feedback informs the decisions for the next books. The cycle of publishing several books a year provides even more feedback, so over time, I’ve developed a better chance of success.’
Darcy’s hard work has paid off in many ways. ‘My publishing company consistently brings in $100K+ a year because I care. I fiercely work to write and produce great books. Then I fiercely try to put those great books into the hands of the right readers.’
Individual Business
She’s also noted that what works well for some children’s authors doesn’t always work for everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you’re traditionally published or an independently published author, it’s important you only do the things that work for you and your writing business.
‘I know that school visits are touted as essential for children’s book author businesses, but you can’t scale them up,’ explains Darcy. ‘There are only so many days in the year and the necessity of a physical presence at a school visit or event means limited effectiveness over a long period.’
‘Instead,’ she continues, ‘I prefer to look for ways to do bulk orders. That could be five thousand copies to a subscription box service, reading programs that need seventy-five copies of a certain type of book, professional development for teachers where they purchase two hundred books, one for each teacher, or five hundred copies paid for by a grant for a big school project.’
It’s a love of writing for children that ultimately has to shine through, and how that love is sparked can vary. For Sarah, it was when her parents read to her as a child.
‘I’ve always loved children’s books. I started reading late. I was almost ten before I could read fluently on my own. I was lucky. I had a mum who was a primary school teacher. She really valued books and read to me all the time, as did my dad.’
For Darcy, it was her role as a parent that helped her love for the genre to grow. ‘I have four children and as they grew, I read books to them. We checked out hundreds of books and slowly I learned what sorts of books and writing I liked. Reading to your kids gives you a deep immersion in children’s literature, which can result in a lifelong obsession.’
Both these authors are successful children’s writers, but their writing businesses are very different. This just goes to show that there’s no right or wrong way to be a children’s author, just whatever works best for you.
We shouldn’t forget that, as writers, it can take us time to work out which genre appeals to us most. Sarah also wrote adult fiction to begin with until she settled on concentrating her focus on children.
Twenty years ago, I learned a valuable lesson with Puppytalk. Writing for children is hard work, and it wasn’t what I wanted for my writing business. But as Sarah and Darcy have shown, if it fires your creativity, then it can be a rewarding life and business.
Business Directory – Top Tips
Sarah Webb’s Tip: ‘Read contemporary children’s books. Children’s books have changed a lot in the past few years. Find the age group that suits you and your ideas best. If you are writing a picture book, please do not pay anyone to illustrate your work. The editor will match-make your text with an illustrator (unless you are a talented illustrator, of course—then by all means create your own artwork!). Put thought, attention, and time into your writing. Children deserve the very best books possible.’
Darcy Pattison’s Tip: ‘Write a great book. Really, it begins with a great book. In a one-month period, read and study one hundred children’s books published within the last five years. That will give you the depth and breadth necessary to understand if your book will succeed in “today’s crowded market.” After you’ve written the book, rewrite it again! Then, contract for amazing art. Work with the illustrator, encouraging them to create a breakout book.’
(c) Simon Whaley