How to Write a Picture Book
three questions with author Mia Wenjen
If you’ve ever wanted to write a picture book, read on. We’ve got Mia Wenjan on the stack!
Hello, Mia!
1. Picture books can appear so simple on the surface, but they're incredibly challenging to write. Can you walk us through how a tiny idea or a single character in your head transforms into a 500-word (or less!) manuscript? What's the most difficult part of that process for you?
For me, it all starts with the structure, but that is because I struggle to write lyrically. For example, I worked on a picture book story idea for years, but it finally hit me watching a Zoom picture book talk at a library in Long Beach, California, that I needed to rework my manuscript into a Reverso Poem format {Barbed Wire Between Us, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación, published by Red Comet Press}. Boxer Baby Battles Bedtime!, illustrated by Kai Gietzen, published by Eifrig Publishing, is about a stay-at-home dad trying to get his toddler to take a nap. It’s told as if a fight announcer is calling the match. We Sing From the Heart is centered around the lyrics to a song Simon Tam wrote about his nearly 9 year battle to trademark his band’s name.
Once I find the structure that works for a picture book, it’s easier for me to find the words to fill it in.
2. The adage 'show, don't tell' is a core principle of good writing, but it's especially true for picture books, where the art does much of the storytelling. What is a concrete example from one of your books where your words created a moment that an illustrator brought to life?
In Sumo Joe, illustrated by Nat Iwata and published by Lee and Low, I had this funny moment when there was a close-up of the brother and sister who looked identical, except for their hairstyles. This spread got cut because Nat’s drawing style was full scenes, and a close-up would have been weird.
While I was sad to lose the visual joke, Nat surprised me with a visual joke of his one when the pillows used to make the sumo ring turned into a pillow fight. It was the perfect ending to the book!
3. Practical advice for writing a picture book and actually getting it published???
It’s easier to get a picture book published than to get an agent.
It’s easier to get a picture book published than have the first printing run sell through.
Creating an author platform will help with both getting an agent AND getting your book to sell. An author platform is basically the author’s influence that can include a website, newsletter, nonprofit, and social media followers.
It’s never too early to grow your audience EVEN if you are pre-published. It’s also helpful for picture book creators to have some kind of cause to champion. It can be anything from helping writers get published to promoting banned books. I think that authors feel more comfortable promoting something besides themselves and a cause helps them create a community.
Thank you, Mia!
Mia Wenjen blogs at PragmaticMom.com. She is the President and Co-Founder ReadYourWorld.org, a nonprofit that puts diverse children’s books into the hands of readers. Her picture books include The Traveling Taco, We Sing from the Heart, Sumo Joe, Food for the Future, Changing the Game (as someone who is passionate about female athletics, I’m all over this!) and the forthcoming Fortune Cookies for Everyone.
Honors for her books include: ALSC Notable Children's Book, Carter G. Woodson Book Award Honoree, Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, Massachusetts Book Award Long List, Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children's Literature Winner, California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner, Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year, and Junior Library Guild Gold Selection.
To learn more, check out Mia’s website, MiaWenjen.com, and follow her on social media @pragmaticmom.
Questions about picture books? Readers, write that book!
Amy 💖
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I think the idea of starting with structure first would work really well in my brain too.
i miss you