Boy Books, Girl Books, or JUST PLAIN GREAT BOOKS?

The hottest non-book item in the bookstore this holiday season was probably Spikeletz. They are awesome and weird bracelets made of this spiky-looking (but actually ultra-soft) plastic, in all kinds of wild color combos. Kinda like having a neon caterpillar around your wrist.

Most people like the Spikeletz. Some adults are sort of weirded out by them, because their texture is so unexpected compared to how they look. Girls and boys seem to appreciate them fairly equally. But one parent was overheard to say to a son, "Bracelets are for girls."

I wish I had been there. Because I would have said ok first of all WHAT and second of all NO and also CALL THEM WRISTBANDS THEN and by the way YOUR KID LIKES SOMETHING WHY ARE YOU GONNA RUIN IT and also SPIKELETZ ARE FOR AWESOME PEOPLE! Actually I probably would have said none of that, but I might have slipped the kid a wink and a sticker or something at least. Ugh.

So then today I was reading my twitter feed (as one does) and I came across this innocuous tweet from @HarperChildrens (a publisher I greatly admire), about the darling new book FOXY:

I have to admit, I was irritated by that tweet. I mean - why say it is a GIRL book? Because the human child in is a girl? But Foxy himself is a boy fox. And MAGICAL FOXES seem to be totally rad regardless of gender. If I was a boy, I'd sure as hell like a book about a cool MAGICAL FOX. Why not?

The thing is, in the kids section, so many picture books scream BOY BOOK or GIRL BOOK from a hundred yards. FANCY NANCY is a "Girl Book" - it's covered in glitter and is bright pink. I STINK is a "Boy Book" - it's got a giant trash truck on it. It is very simple for adults to choose "the one that fits" without even having to read the text. It makes life easy in some ways. But it's also so, soooo irritating.

I mean, OK. If a boy loves trucks, am I gonna say "No, you can only read about Princess Barbies"? Heck no. I'll give him a truck book, and we have plenty of them. But if a boy wants to read about Barbie, I am never going to say he's wrong. And the same goes vice-versa. I'm in the business of getting kids to read and love reading, I'd not want any kid to feel shamed for what they enjoy.

Goodness knows, pink glittery books don't need my help to sell! Nor would I want them to. I know that the masses of money a publisher makes from something like PINKALICIOUS may well go to buy some less obvious texts... maybe even one of mine. And heck, I loved pink and purple and glitter* when I was little, and I know I would have adored stuff like Lego Friends: Treasure Hunt in Heartlake City even though I may find it gagworthy now. (For the record, I loved firetrucks too!)

I can't stop publishers from producing and marketing books the way they do. Hey, they are companies, they are doing what makes the most money for them, and I get it.

But what I CAN do on a day-to-day level is, make even more of a point to seek out less-discovered gems, books that reflect all kinds of experiences, and try to push THOSE as much as possible. And I can stop using language like "Boy Book" and "Girl Book", and try to get others to stop using it too. It's shorthand, and it's lazy, and if it makes any kid feel bad or NOT want to read something, then it's a terrible shame.


*full disclosure: I STILL LOVE PINK AND PURPLE AND GLITTER!

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On Board Books

Sometimes I'm asked why agents talk about Picture Books but almost never about Board Books. Maybe I can shed some light.

BOARD BOOKS, aka Baby Books, are those chunky little books generally made of thick cardboard, for about ages 0-2. They're what kids get before they have the manual dexterity to turn the thin pages of picture books, when they would still rather drool on, chew, or tear up paper than delicately peruse it.

Board books are almost always small and made of cardboard. Their covers can be flat or puffy or shaped like something. They can be stories (basically small versions of regular picture books) but they are also often concept books or novelty books.  Subspecies:

• CONCEPT BOOKS are board books that teach about things like ABC, 123, Up/Down, Colors, Animals, etc. in an extremely simple way.
• NOVELTY BOOKS have some sort of special interactive element like lift-the-flap, textured touch-and-feel, sliding panels, a spinning wheel, etc.

Because they are brightly colored, printed on thick cardboard, and often have special elements to them, board books are very expensive to produce compared to their retail price. This means there is a very small profit margin. Which means publishers really need to both keep costs down and sell a lot for these books to be successful. They are unlikely to take big risks in acquisitions for this market. For these reasons, you will typically find books that are either:

1. Written by the artist (so they only have to pay one person)
2.  Written in-house with an artist hired on a work-for-hire basis (so they only have to pay one person, and that, usually for much less than for regular picture books), or better yet, written AND designed in-house, AND/OR
   
3.  Branded "spin offs" of existing popular picture book characters (like OLIVIA COUNTS or CURIOUS GEORGE COLOR FUN kind of thing), OR
4. Board book versions of existing picture books (in other words, the SAME ALREADY SUCCESSFUL BOOK, just shrunk).

There are a few artists who produce simple and bright board book originals, like Sandra Boynton and Leslie Patricelli. There are fewer still who are masters of the novelty board book. Salina Yoon and Matthew van Fleet come to mind. But it's much less likely that you'd find a non-artist author of these types of books. In fact, I can't think of ANY text-onlys bought specifically to be board books*. I'm totally willing to be corrected about this, but every board book I can think of off the top of my head was either written by the artist or editor, or is a spin-off or shrunken version of an existing picture book property.

If you are a terrific artist/designer, and you have an awesome idea for a fun baby book or set of novelty books, there is a (slim) possibility you might break in this way. As an author who is NOT an artist, though, I'd think it would be VERY DIFFICULT INDEED to sell your text as a board book.

Not impossible, I suppose. Almost nothing is impossible, and there may be exceptions to every rule. But as the dear departed Editorial Anonymous said in her post on the subject (which explains what I just explained but in an even clearer way):

"Take my advice and don't present a manuscript as a board book just because you think it'd be cuter that way. Starting a book off as a hardcover picture book is always more profitable for the publisher, which means the acquisition pulls more weight for the editor, the book gets more attention, and it's more profitable for you."



* ETA: I stand corrected! I couldn't think of any board book originals, but the lovely Emily Jenkins reminds me that she wrote an original board book series, "Bea and Haha", illustrated by Tomek Bogacki - sadly out of print, though. And Laurel Snyder wrote one "Nosh Schlep Schluff" - but there were special circumstances. And Lawrence Schimel has a series called "Little Pirate" from Innovative Kids. But I still say these are highly unusual in the board book realm.

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A whole lot of info about Picture Books

Q: My question is about children's picture books. Some say you need an agent for them and others say that you don't. I would like to find an agent but understand the market is quite competitive now. What can a children's picture book writer do to help their submission stand out from the rest?

 This seems like a few different questions to me, so I am going to separate them out if you don't mind.

1) Is the market for picture books quite competitive?  YES, it absolutely is. That is not to say that publishers are "not buying" picture books - they are! But the picture books they are buying look different from what was popular 5, 10, 20 years ago. And of course, in a bad economy, $17.00 for a 32 page book can seem a bit steep for many parents, and we all know that library budgets are being slashed - so publishers are being rightly conservative about what they choose to acquire.

2) Do I need an agent for picture books?  Yes! Or No! Yes, an agent will absolutely help you get in front of the eyes of the larger publishers. But many agents do not represent picture book authors, and picture books are one of the few categories in which some publishers, particularly smaller publishers, still accept unsolicited material "over the transom." So get yourself a book like the Children's Writers & Illustrators Market, or prepare to roll up your sleeves and do some online research, to figure out which route is right for you.  And note the following:


* Author-Illustrators:  This is not a must, of course... but if you are a superb illustrator, brush up on your storytelling skills. You'll just open yourself up to more opportunities if you are able to do both with ease. Most people cannot. Maybe you can. Great author-illustrators can be more appealing to agents than straight pb authors, because (to be frank) they tend to make more money.

* PB + Novels = Yay!: If you are not an illustrator - don't freak out! But you might consider trying your hand at chapter books or middle grade writing, too. Nothing wrong with being well-rounded. I myself only rep author-illustrators, and picture book text authors who also write novels - I have no authors who are text-only pb-only.

* Multiple texts: If you ARE text-only, pb-only - I would suggest querying when you have three polished texts. It will just give an interested agent a much better idea of your style and capabilities, since pbs are so very short. 

3) So what IS sparking editor and agent interest in terms of picture books nowadays?

This list is by no means exhaustive, but I have certainly noticed that books that have the following attributes tend to have a better shot at publication:

* Short. - NOTHING over 1,000 words. Under 650 is better. Under 450, better still. Some of the most popular current picture books are also among the shortest and most spare. (Think QUIET BOOK, etc.) Remember - a picture book is a very small, very well-lit stage. Absolutely every word must count. This is pretty much required.

* Reread power!  As I mentioned - $17 is pretty steep. So nobody wants a one-shot deal. This should be a book that adults won't mind reading over and over, and kids won't mind hearing over and over. It is terrific if the book works on different levels for different age kids, so that it is something whole families can read together. This is pretty much required.

* Character driven - a funny, cute, winsome character like Fancy Nancy, Pigeon, Ladybug Girl, Buglette, etc - either a child, or a proxy for a child, that the child reader will relate to - who can have many adventures in the future (not to mention lunchboxes, costumes, plush...) - this is appealing to publishers and agents, no doubt.  Not required, but appealing.


* Interactive - PRESS HERE is a perfect example of what I mean by an interactive picture book. If you haven't seen it, get thee to a bookstore!  SHARK vs TRAIN and CAT SECRETS, and yes, our friend Pigeon, are other great examples of picture books that invite the child listener to participate in the reading. Not required, it's just something that is popping up a lot, that I think is cool.

4) And what is sort of a turn-off, picture book wise:  Again, anything too long is a no-go. Also traditional folk tales are faring badly nowadays - not to say that they won't ever be bought, but... unless you are an established folklorist, I probably wouldn't go there if I were you. And there is quite a glut of books on topics like "Bedtime," so if that is where you are going with your book, you had better either be an illustrator with the CUTEST illustrations ever - or else be bringing something fresh to the topic (which at this point is pretty difficult, but can be done.)

TIP: I'd suggest that all folks who are really interested in writing picture books go spend a few hours every week at the library or bookstore. Look at a hundred or so picture books published in the past three years. Make a note of your favorites. Do they fit into any of the categories above? Ask the librarian or bookseller which ones are most popular and what their favorites are. Can you see similarities? Who published your favorites? Are those publishers open to unagented submissions?

ETA: To be perfectly clear - I am not suggesting you COPY anyone or "write to a trend" - you just need to know the basic parameters, what works and what doesn't and how picture books are put together, before you can create your own piece of amazing. At the end of the day, commenter DP below is quite correct: 

"Ignore what's been selling, make what appeals to you--and make it so good it can't be ignored." 

Any other PB tips I am missing or questions I didn't address?  Feel free to add in comments.

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Namedropping in Picture Books

Q: What is the general rule regarding naming movies, song titles, book titles in a manuscript? For example, in a PB manuscript, mentioning that the MC loves to pretend she's Fancy Nancy or reads Madeline?

It can be OK to namedrop characters, movies, songs (provided you aren't quoting directly from songs, or if you are, you have the proper permission) in a middle grade or YA. I can think of dozens of examples of main characters who are bookworms, for example, and who reference real books that they've read.

Picture books are a different story.

I assume you'd be using these examples as a sort of shorthand way to show the sort of kid your character is.  To me, this shorthand of referencing somebody else's character almost feels like cheating; you've let the other author do the heavy lifting on characterization. Plus, what if the actual young readers enjoying your book haven't gotten to Fancy Nancy or Madeline yet? The shorthand won't work for those kids, and you'll have lost them.

Even more importantly, though, picture books are just... sooo... short. Most that sell nowadays are less than 500 words long. The picture book is like a very small, very well lit stage. Every single word has to mean something and be there for a reason, because every single word will be measured and judged and tweaked and pondered over. There is no room for anything extra, any word that is not moving the book forward or in some way doing work.

You are creating your very own tiny world here, and you have so very little room to spare... why drag somebody else's world into it?

That's my opinion. Doubtless I am forgetting some big huge example that will prove me wrong. Readers, can you think of any examples of picture books that have referenced real movies, songs or picture books by other authors (in the text, not in the illustrations) successfully?

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