Editorial Guidance in a Self-Published World

Anna Grossnickle Hines is an author illustrator with more than 60 children’s books under her belt, and has recently started a company (appropo) who is creating storybook titles as apps. In this post she shares writing tips for those entering the world of original storytelling. While it’s true that apps have broken down barriers-to-entry in traditional publishing, what about the guidance those traditional publishers provided? Let’s investigate…

Will e-books and apps on tablets replace traditional picture books? That question is being bandied about in a lot of circles with strong arguments on both sides, and while I hope traditional picture books are never replaced, I think there is always room for another good story and even a new way to tell it. For me, and for our most important audience (kids), the question is not as much about the form of delivery as it is about the content.

The essence of a picture book is story; story told in words and pictures, an experience of sights and sounds for the young reader.  It is often a social experience as well, either in a group, or snuggled up next to a special grown-up who reads the words aloud.  The book has pages to be turned, giving it a rhythm and unfolding quality.  Turning the pages and discovering details in the illustrations involve the child in an “interactive” experience with the book.

The picture book app is essentially the same, a story told in pictures and words, unfolding in a sequence of pages.  While the app may be shared with a friend or experienced on the lap of a grown-up, it can also be used alone, which can be both a benefit and drawback.  Children often look at their picture books alone, too, but the full experience requires a shared storytime, something we don’t want to lose just because an app can “read itself”.  Apps allow a great deal more interaction, which can either help draw the child in as a participant or, if they are extraneous, detract from the full story experience.

Whatever the means of delivery, book or tablet, story is key.  Stories introduce children to new ideas, reinforce their sense of identity, help develop language and listening skills, curiosity, and imagination. Stories can be entertaining, reassuring and inspiring, reinforce values, suggest ways of handling problems, or let the child know he isn’t the only one to feel a certain way.  They can help a child figure out some of the biggest questions of all… Who am I? Why am I here? What can I be?

Good pictures books have a simplicity that makes them look easy, but that is deceptive. Traditionally, publishing companies have provided a service, not just of printing books, but of guiding the creators to shape and craft their stories, so that what they print is the best it can be.

Without that editorial guidance it is more important than ever, as we write stories for our self-published apps, to think carefully about what we are doing, and work even harder to hone and craft those stories, making sure they are what our very special audience deserves.

The first thing we may want to consider is the appropriateness of the story to the age of the child. It may be tempting to be super-clever or sentimental, but that’s for grown-ups, not kids.  Things that may be adorable to us are serious business to the child. The picture book creator should be in the child’s world, not looking at it.

The main character needs to be someone or something with whom the child can relate; child, animal, or perhaps an adult with child-like qualities.

The story needs tension. In some books the tension is simply a suspenseful unfolding; what happens next? More often though, it is created by the main character having a problem, either a conflict or a desire to accomplish something.  The problem doesn’t need to be huge to us as adults, but it should be important to the child.  Remember that everything is bigger and more difficult for little ones. The tension may build and dip a time or two, but it shouldn’t meander. There isn’t room in a picture book for meandering.  The story begins, builds to a climax, and is resolved.

To be truly satisfying the character should play a major role in solving the problem or accomplishing the goal, hopefully overcoming obstacles to do so.  The bigger the obstacles, in child terms, the bigger the triumph.

A good story has a satisfying conclusion, at best one that is both exactly right and a bit of a surprise.  The kind that makes you say, “Ahh! Of course,” with a satisfied smile.

While most stories do have a moral message, or expand the child’s experience in some way, that message must be integral to the story. The story should be first and foremost an enjoyable experience.  If teaching a lesson is more important to you than story, consider writing a non-fiction book instead, a perfectly valid thing to do.

For a picture book, the writer has to consider a given number of pages dictated by the process of printing and binding, but for the app this is no longer a limitation.  Paging is still important, however, and once you have the basic story it is a good idea to think about how it will fit onto the pages of your app. How will it flow? Where will a page change add a moment of suspense? Often the art director or illustrator makes these decisions, but it can help the story if the writer is aware of them, too.

Whether you are creating your own illustrations or someone else will, consider the picture possibilities.  Are there actions that can be illustrated? Do the actions or scenes change to give variety as the pages turn?

How do the words work with the pages? Are they fairly evenly spaced?  Are some pages too dense with text and not visually interesting enough?  Can some words be cut out and left for the pictures to tell?

Since picture books will be read aloud the sound of the words is important. Read your text aloud. Do the words flow? Is the sound appropriate to the mood of the story, lyrical perhaps, or fun and playful? Are the words appropriate to the age level?  Building a child’s vocabulary is valuable, but it shouldn’t be a struggle for him or her to understand the story. If a simple word will work as well as a difficult one, use the simpler one.

Good rhymes are fun to read, but difficult to do really well.  If you do rhyme make sure the meter is regular and won’t trip the reader up.  Since you know it so well, it may be easy for you to accommodate little glitches. Have someone unfamiliar with your text read it aloud.  Do they stumble in places?   Remember that you want this story to read over and over. It should be fun and easy for the reader.

Once the storyline is set, real work on the visuals can begin, which is a whole other, but related topic.  The illustrator may add elements the writer didn’t even think of, a different setting perhaps, or an unmentioned pet whose antics parallel the story in the text. Such details add to the child’s experience without detracting from the storyline.

With the app, even more possibilities for enhancing the child’s experience open up to us as creators.  The child can help move the action along by making the scene come to life, assist the main character on his quest, or discover hidden objects relevant to the story.  Hopefully, we will keep all such interactions pertinent and not get carried away by all the clever possibilities, losing sight of our goal, which is to tell a good story.

As we move forward in this technological age, picture book apps may well be the main form of introducing and sharing stories with children. If that is the case, it is even more important that as we create book apps, we provide stories that are thoughtfully considered, well-crafted, satisfying tales, written for our specific and most important audience.

As well-known author Jane Yolen has said, “Children’s books change lives. Stories pour into the hearts of children and help make them what they become.”  This is true whether those stories are presented in the form of books or apps. As creators of picture book apps, we are doing important work.  Hopefully, we will do it well.