Becoming A Children's Author

If your inner child is looking for an outlet... be an inspiration to reading, writing, creating, imagining and to dream.

Inspiring the author in you...

Think of your favorite book as a child, now think about how it made you feel. What is the feeling you have right now going back to that memory in your childhood? If someone would ask me these questions I would be able to answer without hesitation. As a child I read many books, but the one that stood out to me as my favorite was Meet Addy: An American Girl by Connie Porter. A story about a slave girl and her family and the different trials and tribulations they went through and how they overcame them. Being able to open this book and explore into a world and era that I never had been in or experienced was magical to me. I remember imagining myself as Addy and thinking what would I do if this was me in a particular situation or even better using my imagination and going beyond what the writer wrote and adding myself in the story.

Now imagine if you could give a child this same feeling, you can!

You are probably wondering what possibly could she be talking about and how do I get this awesome opportunity to stimulate children’s minds and expand their understanding of the world better. Easy, become a children’s author! I know you might think that I don’t have anything to write about or nobody wants to listen to what I have to say, but that is false. Everyone comes from different walks of life and have different experiences that can turn into wonderful children’s book. What might seem completely crazy, boring, or just unbelievable and unrealistic can make the best children’s literature. You have something that everyone wants to hear, you just have to figure out what it is, how you want to portray it, and your audience.

Where do I start...

Trying to figure out where to start can be overwhelming, I get it. I have read and talked to so many different people about this topic on becoming a children’s author and I hear the same questions. How and where do I start? What is the correct process? Do I need a degree in education? The list of questions goes on, but what I have realized there is no exact formula to do so. Personally the best piece of advice I have been given is to just WRITE. Anytime you get a good idea or something comes to your

mind, write it down, and revisit it later when you have time and elaborate on it. Another thing is read tons and tons of books in the same genre and topic that you want to write about. The last piece of advice I have for you is to not be discouraged and just start, maybe you have great ideas and just don’t know how to put them on paper. You can always find ghost authors who can take your ideas and create a book for you. There are endless possibilities and opportunities in becoming a children’s author.

What to consider...

So here are a couple things to think about that you should consider when you think about becoming a children’s author: Do you love to write, feel like you were born to write, or you can not NOT write. Your inner child is looking for an outlet to get out and explore. You love children’s literature and want to contribute worthy stories to the genre. You want to be an inspiration for children to read, write, create, imagine and dream. If this sounds like you, pick up your pen, laptop, or whatever you use and let your imagination go.