Sun Edit Write - Editing Book Design & Typesetting



			\|


\|	\|	\|	\|


	Good Picture Books ...

More Articles		by Rick Walton
More Articles
Interior Book Design and Typesetting Book Cover Design Inside Scoop on Copyediting Self-publishing Helpful Hints 11 Steps of Book Production How to Maximize Book Expo America by Jerry D. Simmons How Can I Get an Agent? by Rick Walton Good Picture Books by Rick Walton Writing Tip for Children’s Books by Eileen Spinelli Tough Love: An Open Letter to Kids' Book Publishers by Diantha McBride
		Good picture books ...

			• Are about something the author is interested in.
			• Appeal to kids and adults.
			• Are unique, not cliché.
			• Have a plot.
			• Have a shape.
			• Are concise; don’t digress.
			• Have real characters.
			• Have limited description.
			• Show, don’t tell.
			• Don’t talk down to the child.
			• Aren’t dated.
			• Are unified in tone and style.
			• Don’t moralize.
			• Only use poetry if the story demands it.
			• Jump right into the story.
			• Tie things up at the end.
			• Suggest plenty of pictures.
			• Keep moving.
			• Vary sentence and paragraph length; alternate narration with dialogue.
			• Use few modifiers.
			• Use all the senses.

			These are rules of thumb. They can be and are often broken successfully. I break them all the time. But to break them successfully, you should know why they exist. And that will be the topic of future columns.



		Rick Walton is an award-winning children’s book writer with more than sixty published titles. He writes picture books, mysteries, poetry, activity books, articles and educational software. For more information about his work, visit RickWalton.com.

		Posted with permission from Rick Walton.

				more articles



	Articles \| Book Design & Typesetting \| Book Expo America (BEA) \| Book Promotion \| Book Reviewers \| Children & Family \| Children's Writing \| Contact Us Cover Design Downloads \| Editing \| Fiction \| General Writing \| Helpful Books \| Home \| I Am a Cloud \| Interior Design & Typesetting \| Interview \| Links Magazines \| MG & YA \| More Testimonials \| Nonfiction \| Pleasant Street Press \| Self-publishing Helpful Hint \| Spiritual \| 11 Steps of Book Production