When it comes to what picture book publishers are looking
for, there are general please-don’ts some
editors and agents have posted over the last few years.
One I have seen a few times is “no cute cats or dogs
stories.”
Nothing wrong with the above, it’s just that the market is
saturated.
And yet, I keep seeing more picture books that are new with
feline or canine protagonists.
Another is no rhyming stories.
I keep seeing those, also. And I’m glad, because as rhyming
has gone out of fashion in “serious” poetry, its last vestige is in picture
books, and we all *love* rhyme when
done well.
Here’s a good example—
May I suggest we write the stories we most want to write and
more-or-less ignore these please-don’ts?
& Tell
great stories &
Well said.
ReplyDeleteA good book is a good book
ReplyDeleteAnd the great ones could be a rhyming cat story or a novel with a dog at its center, no doubt.
DeleteYup!
ReplyDeleteExcellent observation, Mirka!
ReplyDeleteYes. We need to write the story within us. It will touch someone, somewhere.
ReplyDeleteAnd by "someone, somewhere" you are thinking of the readers. But we have to touch an agent or an editor first.
DeleteYes! I'm sure J.K. Rowling heard the advice that witch and wizard stories were a no-no...and ignored it, thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if wizards were no-no then, but publishers did state that fantasy was "out." post HP, that's all everyone wanted. We've also lived through a half-decade of "no more picture books, please" a few years back.
DeleteNow I'm craving a seriously great cat or dog story...
Every now and again, I just HAVE to write something in rhyme - it can be incredibly frustrating, but also fun. And that's why we write, right?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely write ;)
DeleteAlways writer what you love. I don't know how some authors can write to market. I'm sure it makes them more money, but I can't do it. Have to tell the stories that come to me.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same, Kelly/Ashelyn
ReplyDeleteI'm continuously noticing all the new cute rhyming animal stories. Since all these manuscripts were purchased two or three years earlier, all the more reason to write what we want. You just can't tell what will be in vogue years down the road, and who cares anyway---a great story is a great story.
ReplyDelete