Writing Children's Books For Dummies (eBook)

Lisa Rojany Buccieri is a publishing executive with over 15 years' experience in the industry. Lisa has also written nearly 40 children's books and co-written a New York Times-bestselling adult nonfiction hardcover, Fund Your Future (Berkley, 2002), with Julie Stav. Her books have received various accolades, such as reaching Number 1 on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list two years in a row (Make Your Own Valentines, PSS/Penguin) and winning the American Bookseller's Pick of the List (Giant Animal Fold-Outs: Kangaroo & Company, PSS/Penguin). King Arthur's Camelot (Dutton) was selected to be a Book of the Month Club selection; Child Magazine chose her Exploring the Human Body (Barron's) as one of its Best New Parenting Books; and The Magic Feather (Troll) won a Parent's Choice Silver Honor Award. Lisa is currently spearheading a new children's book packaging and publishing division at Americhip Books, focusing on integrating light, sound, animation, paper engineering, and other cuttingedge technologies with stories and art. She has been Editorial/Publishing Director for Golden Books, Price Stern Sloan/Penguin Group USA, Intervisual Books, Gateway Learning Corp (Hooked on Phonics), and others. She speaks about children's publishing, writing, and editing at U.C.L.A. Writer's Program Extension courses and other venues and is currently working on a book of fiction for grown-ups. Lisa also runs her own company, Editorial Services of Los Angeles, in which she helps other writers make their work the best it can be. You can contact her at www.editorialservicesofla.com. Peter Economy is a veteran author with nine For Dummies titles under his belt, including two second editions. Peter is coauthor of Home-Based Business For Dummies, Building Your Own Home For Dummies, Consulting For Dummies, The Management Bible, Why Aren't You Your Own Boss?, Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs, and many more books. Peter is also Associate Editor of Leader to Leader, the award-winning journal of the Leader to Leader Institute. Check out Peter's Web site at www.petereconomy.com.

Introduction.

Part I: The ABCs of Writing for Children.

Chapter 1: The Basics of Writing Children's Books.

Chapter 2: Children's Book Formats and Genres.

Chapter 3: Understanding the Children's Book Market.

Part II: Immersing Yourself in the Writing Process.

Chapter 4: Setting Up Your Workspace.

Chapter 5: Starting with a Great Idea.

Chapter 6: Researching Your Audience and Subject.

Part III: Creating a Spellbinding Story.

Chapter 7: Creating Compelling Characters.

Chapter 8: The Plot Thickens: Conflict, Climax, and
Resolution.

Chapter 9: Can We Talk? Writing Dialogue.

Chapter 10: Setting the Scene.

Chapter 11: Finding Your Voice: Point of View and Tone.

Chapter 12: Writing Creative Nonfiction and How-To Books.

Part IV: Making Your Story Shine.

Chapter 13: Editing and Formatting Your Way to a Happy
Ending.

Chapter 14: To Illustrate or Not to Illustrate.

Chapter 15: Finding Feedback and Encouragement.

Part V: Getting Published and Promoting Your Book.

Chapter 16: Getting an Agent to Represent You.

Chapter 17: Finding the Perfect Publisher and Signing a
Contract.

Chapter 18: Following the Publishing Process.

Chapter 19: Donning Your Publicity Cap.

Part VI: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 20: More than Ten Great Sources for Storylines.

Chapter 21: Ten Best Ways to Promote Your Story.

Index.