Simplicity is the hardest thing to write.

When writing for a young audience, simplicity is important. Long words and flowery sentences are not easily understood. Similes and metaphors can go over your readers’ heads.

One of the hardest exercises in writing is to reduce the word count and simplify the text:

• without losing meaning
• without changing the flow of the story
• without “dumbing it down”

We can write this for you.

The very first question we ask a new children’s book client is the age of the target audience. Six to 16 is not a good answer. Your ghostwriter can write to only one specific age. Some children read well above or well below their age level. Nevertheless, we have to write to a specific age level, up to the young adult level.

Your story might be amazing, but not your writing.

There is a huge difference between an author and a writer. An author creates a story. That requires an imagination and a vision of characters, settings, relationships, tension, growth and action.

A writer manipulates words to hold a reader’s attention, to change a reader’s point of view or to trigger an emotional response. Find a writer who can help you with the words, and you can touch a child’s heart.

Imagination and writing are two separate skills. Sometimes, they flow together in the same person, but nobody says the author and the writer need be the same person.

If you have the imagination and come up with the story, you are the author. Bring us your imagination, and we’ll match you with a writer.

Your idea might be amazing, but you need help organizing it.

Many authors have great ideas for their stories. They have the plot and the characters, and they have solid writing skills. But they can’t quite organize the story. Writing cshildren’s stories isn’t always as easy as it looks.

A well-written text does not necessarily hold suspense or draw the reader in. Appropriate use of flashbacks and suspense, of introspection – depending on the age of the reader – makes the difference between potential and success – between an interesting story and a great book.

The beginning or ending might prove to be a struggle.

One of the most common problems that budding authors have is starting or ending their stories.

You want to capture a child’s interest from the start, or you’ll lose your audience. And you want them leaving the book at the end thrilled to have read it (because they will read it over and over if they are). A professional writer can help you fine-tune those critical entry and exit points.

In the case of a chapter book, what goes for the beginning and end also applies to each chapter. Start a chapter off strong, and the next reading session will likely be a success. End a chapter with the child or teen hungry for more…and they will actually get to that next reading session.

How to find a Children’s book writer for hire

We can help you prepare your manuscript for children, teens, tweens and young adults. Our writing agency focuses on your reader; that’s our priority. When your reader is happy, you are happy, and so are we. For a free quote on writing your next chapter book or picture book, tap or click the red button to the right.

List all the places in your book.

One of the first things you need is a list of where things take place. For a picture book, this won’t be hard. For a chapter book, it’s worth investing the time it takes.

For chapter books, it is also important to describe each place. Young readers want to be able to picture the scene. They have less experience than adults, so describing the setting is even more important than for regular novels.

Write down a timeline of all the events in the story.

A story is, by definition, a series of events taking place through time. Even if much of the timeline gets twisted with flashbacks, your writer needs to know what happens when.

If you haven’t defined all the events, your writer can add to the timeline as she writes, or even before she starts to write. Make sure to list all the events you want included in your manuscript in chronological order.

Describe all your characters.

Your characters are what people pay attention to as they move through the timeline. Character development might be less deep for picture storybooks than for young adult fiction, but it is no less important.

For chapter books, character details include looks and bearing, fears and hopes, habits and personality quirks, strengths and weaknesses. Remember that teen and preteen characters need to be described in terms of how teenagers view the world. Your audience has to relate especially to them. The relationships among young characters and between young and older characters is especially important to define for your writer.

• FREE CRIB SHEET: How to describe characters in a children’s book

Set the tone for your book.

The ideal tone depends on many factors, such as who your audience is and how advanced their reading skills are. It also depends on the type of story; the tone for a pirate adventure should be very different for a tale of bullying in the suburbs.

Tone is even something to consider in picture books, because little kids read basic emotions very well. They react differently if you tell a story in a light, funny manner than if you tell it in a warm, touching manner.

A good writer can write your manuscript to whatever specs you wish, setting the tone you ask for and growing the characters the way you want them grown. Make sure she fully understands the tone you want to set.

Set the point of view.

Every story can be told from a variety of points of view (POV). Some are told from multiple points of view, but that is risky with a young audience.

We empathize with and root for the character through whose eyes the story is told. In the case of fiction for young audiences, that is almost always the good guy. POV is one of the most important things to establish from the start, before even finalizing the outline. Imagine what the Harry Potter series would be like if every event was written from Malfoy’s perspective. Or Snape’s. Or Ginny’s.

What’s the moral of the story?

Children and teens want a moral to the story as much as adults do. They grow up on fairy tales and nursery rhymes full of morals and warnings.

• Listen to your parents.
• Don’t talk to strangers.
• Don’t wander off alone.
• Curiosity will get you in trouble.

Your readers learn about themselves, their world and how to make the best lives for themselves through the stories they read. So make sure to tell a great story with a lesson that doesn’t sound like a lesson.

You have the chance to change lives at an early age, when you can really make a difference. As with everything in life, your story will teach your readers something. What is it you want them to learn?

How to hire a writer to write your book for children or young adults

For a free quote on ghostwriting your children’s or young adult book, tap or click the red button to the right.