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Children's Fiction Neil Workshops Reasons for Rejection by Publishers This is the number one reason for rejection. So, if your idea is remotely like something else that is already published, broadcast, screened etc., ask yourself if there's a way to twist your idea to such an extent that it is radically different. Having said that, publishers are notoriously risk-averse and tend to want the next of whatever has just been a huge hit. So, for example, after Harry Potter's surprise success, every publisher was looking for fantasy. Now it's all dystopian. Tomorrow, who knows? 2 Old fashioned The classics are timeless because they are terrific stories told in a masterful fashion. Nevertheless, some contemporary young readers find some of them very dated. Too many wannabe children's authors set about writing their first book without having read anything since they were kids themselves. Enid Blyton may have made an extraordinary comeback but children's fiction is constantly changing and reinventing itself. You need to be abreast of the times and au fait with what is current. Otherwise your writing will feel like something from a bygone age. Read lots of children's books. Watch children's TV and movies. Hang out with the kids. 3 Poor Writing Writing for children needs to be clear and very good. If you're writing for adults you can sometimes get away with poor clunky writing. Not for kids. Editors are aware of the need to set a good example with books for children, the books that children read are the source of their ideas, their literacy and so forth. It's a big responsibility. 4 Derivative So the publishers want you to come up with the next Hunger Games or the next Diary of a Wimpy Kid. But if your plot is eerily similar to the plot of a well known books they're probably going to spot it (editors tend to have read a lot of children's books) and they're not going to be impressed. 5 Lack of understanding of children Your story needs to deal with things that interest and concern young people. The problems that your young characters solve need to be the kind of problems that are within the scope and interest of young people. If this is an issue for you, see the solution to 2 above. 6 Not the kind of thing we publish Some publishers specialise in certain kinds of fiction. Barrington Stokes, for example, publish books for dyslexic readers. Did you check first? 7 We have something similar already You can only research what they have already published. If the similar book is in the pipeline, that's just hard luck. I don't want to make you paranoid but… we're all tuned in to the same global media these days so it's almost inevitable that someone else is working on a great original idea that is very similar to your great original idea and at the same time. Yours needs to be better because of your original voice, your unusual take on the subject and the brilliance of your writing. 8 Plot too complex, unclear, unnecessarily complicated It might seem clear to you, but you wrote it and so you have the inside story. Can other readers (in particular younger ones) follow and grasp it? Is it coherent? Is its complexity justified by an awesome denouement? 9 Not suitable for children What is deemed to be suitable for children is constantly shifting and of course this varies from age group to age group too. Not all fiction for youngsters need to be peopled just by children or by children of the target age group, but generally speaking the protagonist needs to be that age. Beyond that, the best way to know what is and is not suitable, is by keeping up to date with what is being published and broadcast. 10 Too slow/dull/boring This covers a whole bunch of the above sins. |
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