If you are planning to be the author of a children’s book and you are about to start your writing journey, there are a few mistakes to avoid at all costs. Without ado, let us jump into the list of mistakes to avoid so you can write a book that will actually sell and be popular with your young audience.
Keep reading to learn more.
The Mistake of Not Knowing Your Ideal Readers
Many aspiring authors of children’s books make the mistake of not knowing their target audience and understanding who exactly they are writing their book for. They don’t know the gender and age for which they are writing their book. However, these are the things you need to know so that you are able to create a book that children will feel engaged in.
You cannot write a book that is for all kids because if you are writing a book for everyone, then it is actually for no one, and you will be only setting yourself up for failure.
How can you define your ideal reader?
You must ensure that your book speaks to a particular reader. The only way you can do that is by knowing in detail who your target audience is. It is incredibly important to know the age, gender, likes, dislikes, etc., of your ideal readers.
So, take your time to take notes of who your ideal reader is before you start writing your book for them.
Explore cot mobile UK options at Baby Cot Mobile for carefully designed, safe, and stylish mobiles that create a peaceful sleep environment in any nursery.
The Mistake of Writing for Yourself
It doesn’t matter how passionate you are about a topic that you want to share with your younger audience – you must keep in mind that the book you intend to write is not for yourself but for children. Your audience is children of a certain age range.
Of course, you need passion to write and share your book because if you write without passion, your readers will pick up on that. On that note, if you only want to be a published children’s author and have a tag that you published a book, don’t worry about the audience and write whatever you have in your mind.
But – if you actually want to make money by publishing children’s books, then you need to make sure that there is a need for the type of book that you are about to release in the market. At this point, you might be wondering about how you can be sure that you are publishing the right book; the answer is by doing keyword research.
How do you know there is a need for your book?
The easiest way to know that there is a need for your book in the market is by doing research on Amazon and other platforms where you plan to sell your books. Look out for other similar books in that particular niche that are selling.
Also, be mindful that there is not a huge competition because if you choose a niche or a sub-niche with high competition, you aren’t going to get a significant amount of sales. Make sure you are writing for your audience and not for yourself.
The Mistake of Rewriting Classics – A BIG NO!
Another amateur mistake to avoid when writing a children’s book is to rewrite classics, such as Dr. Seuss’s books. There are countless amazing authors out there that you can seek inspiration from. As a matter of fact, we advise you to visit your local library and read as many books as you can that fall in the same category that you want to write for.
But you should do so to learn and seek inspiration as well as get a better understanding of the layout that is expected of you. Instead of re-writing other’s works, you should focus on something that fits you as an author. Having something unique to offer is the primary thing that will make your book stand out in the marketplace.
So, instead of investing your time and energy in recreating some epic children’s book, you should focus on other spots within your niche that are perfect for you.
The Mistake of Drawing Bland Characters
Newbie writers for children’s books also make the mistake of drawing bland characters that don’t spark an interest in young readers. Your character must be relatable to your target audience. Again, this aspect takes us back to the importance of knowing one’s target audience. If you don’t know who your target audience is, you will certainly struggle with creating great main characters.
Here is the thing: most children, whether they are four or go to high school, will relate more to a main character that is similar to them. They want to read about someone they can relate to. You want your target audience to be around the same age as the main character and also the same gender.
You certainly don’t want your main character to be younger than your target audience. Why, you might ask? The reason is that if a child is seven, they will have no relatability to a character who is three or four.
The Mistake of Not Creating An Author’s Platform
it doesn’t matter whether you are self-publishing or traditional publishing; you need to do a major part of the marketing of your book yourself. On that note, it is crucial to create enough buzz – not after the launch of your book but way before it – even before you start working on the draft of your book.
The thing is that the best time to get the words out about your book is when you are writing it. As soon as you have an idea about your children’s book, you need to share it with the world. Social media has made marketing so much easier than before. The focus is to get that buzz going ahead of time.
People get interested when they hear news about an upcoming event, product, or even a book. You can stir the interest by sharing an excerpt of your book or even the book cover. You can also have your social media followers vote for a specific cover. The goal is to create a buzz ad to get your future customers engaged in your upcoming book.
