4 Tips for Writing Nonfiction Picture Books by Dr. Mira Reisberg

Everyone who writes for children, and for picture book-age kids in particular, wants to publish these stories so that children beyond the immediate family, or classroom, can read them. Here are some tips that will help with both writing and making sure your stories are marketable.

Know Your Audience:

Understanding your target audience is key. Picture books are typically geared toward children ages 3 to 7. Stay mindful of their reading level, interests, curiosities, and developmental needs to resonate with and engage these readers, while offering value to the adults reading the book to them. Think about writing a list of qualities that your ideal reader might have or be interested in.

 Create Memorable Characters:

Relatable and endearing characters that children can connect with are the heart of your story. Your protagonist (or main character) should have a distinct personality, preferably with quirks and flaws that guide your plot to face challenges that resonate with young readers. Memorable characters make your story more engaging leading to a stronger emotional connection. This connection is essential for marketability. Think about writing a list of qualities for your protagonist that will make them unique and that might contribute to a suspenseful plot filled with facing fears.

Craft a Compelling Storyline:

Your story should be engaging, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Create a compelling plot that maintains the reader’s interest throughout the book with fabulous compulsive page-turning elements. A strong narrative arc with a problem to solve, obstacles to overcome, and a satisfying resolution is key. It helps to have a universal underlying theme or message that appeals to both children and adults that isn’t at all obvious. Having a few of these can be helpful for marketing hooks. For example, dealing with loss, friendship, immigration, and environmental caring could be great marketing hooks or underlying themes but stick to one main one. Think about writing an outline of your story briefly describing what happens on the surface-level of the story and then what your story is really about underneath that surface story.

Visual Appeal and Read-Aloud Quality:

Picture books are a visual medium. Your text should leave room for imaginative and visually appealing illustrations. This is why your manuscript needs to be short, preferably less than 500 words unless it’s nonfiction, in which case it can be longer. Consider how the text and images will work together to enhance the storytelling. Additionally, focus on the read-aloud quality of your book where every word is essential and beautiful. Picture books are often read aloud, so do use poetic language, humor, onomatopoeia, and other literary techniques to make it fun or pleasurable for both the reader and the child. Think about writing a list of your favorite words, metaphors and similes, onomatopoeia and anything else that might improve your story’s literary qualities. Consider going through your story and removing everything that doesn’t move the story forward.

Creating a marketable fiction picture book involves delivering a fabulous page-turning story with memorable characters and either meaningful underlying themes, or hilarious plots using matching language that’s wonderful to read aloud over and over. Don’t forget to make it engaging and visually appealing while keeping the word count low.

And now for 4 Tips for Writing Nonfiction Picture Books:

 

Choose a Fascinating and Relevant Topic:

Select a nonfiction topic that is both engaging and relevant to your target audience. Consider subjects that spark curiosity and can provide valuable knowledge to young readers. Look for topics that align with educational standards or current trends in children’s nonfiction that haven’t been written before or that you can approach in a totally fresh way. Your topic should be something that both kids and adults find fascinating and can learn from.

Thoroughly Research and Verify Information:

Nonfiction picture books must be accurate and well-researched. Invest time in gathering information from credible sources and verify the accuracy of your content. Ensure that the facts, statistics, and details in your book are up-to-date and reliable. Remember that nonfiction books are often used for educational purposes, so accuracy is crucial.

Make Space for or Include Engaging Visuals and Layout:

Visual elements are a significant part of nonfiction picture books. If you’re an illustrator, create images, diagrams, maps, and other visuals to enhance the understanding of the topic. Pay attention to the book’s layout, ensuring that it is visually appealing and well-organized. The design should complement the text and engage readers. If you’re not an illustrator or photographer, no worries, the publisher will take care of this but you can include illustration notes like this: [Illustration note:….]

Tell a Compelling Narrative:

Even in nonfiction, storytelling is essential. Craft a compelling narrative structure that takes the reader on a journey through the subject matter. This could involve introducing the topic, presenting key facts and insights, and offering a conclusion or takeaway. Engage the reader by weaving a narrative that makes the information accessible and interesting. Do you want to break it into chapters or creating a plot-driven structure, especially for biographies and STEAM? Use lyrical language, poetic devices, and humor whenever you can.

Include Additional Resources:

Consider including additional resources at the end of the book, known as the back matter, such as personal connections, a glossary, further reading suggestions, or websites for additional research. This can make your book even more valuable for educators and parents looking to extend the learning experience.

Creating a marketable nonfiction picture book involves delivering accurate information about a fascinating subject or topic in an innovative way while making sure it’s engaging and visually appealing.

And then there’s Informational Fiction, which includes both fictive and fascinating informational text – but that’s a whole other story.

I hope you found this helpful ~ Mira

Dr. Mira Reisberg Bio: Helping and creativity are two of Dr. Mira Reisberg’s love languages. With a PhD in Education and Cultural Studies focused on KidLit, she runs the Children’s Book Academy. Mira is super proud that her hard-working students have published over 1,400 books and won many, many awards. Her own long-ago-published books also won awards and sold over 600,000 copies. Mira is excited to be co-teaching the Ultimate Craft and Business of Writing Children’s Picture Books interactive e-Course starting November 6^th right here: https://tinyurl.com/CBA-PBlove She lives in Portland, Oregon with her hubs and cat.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy