How easy is it to write books for children? From my experience early on, I have heard people tell me various opinions on this. In fact, at one writer’s meeting, a fellow author scoffed and said he could write a children’s book in one night. There was nothing to it. I was so stunned I did not have a comeback remark. Of course, as I was driving home, I came up with a lot. Unfortunately, this is not the only time other writers have told me this genre was easy peasy.

That ticks me off. According to reports, this genre is one of the hardest to write. You have to write it in a language that is not above their hands or beneath them. The dialogue has to be just right.

Ask a kid to read your book. If they don’t like it by page two, they drop it and look for another book. Most adults will at least carry on to the end of the chapter.

In my first children’s book, I had kids from a daycare look it over, and the reviews were hard to hear, but I welcomed them because they gave me what I needed to fix it. Have an adult write a children’s book, and you can critique it but not through the eyes of a child.

A children’s book is like any other book. You have to have plots, characters, and a timeline that works together and does not fall apart. You still need to revise, edit and revise again. You still need to have a cover that shines on your work. You still need to send it through your beta and critique groups.

But aft all this, it finally hit me on how to reply the next time I hear this.
If you think writing a book for children is easy, go for it. Seriously. Go for it. After that, we will talk. But only after.