Help me write a story. Please?

@ossobuco,

I may sound nutso paranoic, but we had a screenplay idea/premise/the word is treatment, with full script (was that the error?) - literally swiped not just once, but twice, by a major player and by a wannabe presenting it anew to another studio... almost funny if you weren't us.

I don't mean to inculcate Seed with paranoia. Just watch your ass.

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@Green Witch,

Well, do you think I don't know that? It kept USPS busy.

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

Ages 4 to 10?

That's a huge age difference. I'd work on narrowing down the category you want to appeal to.

I was going to make the same statement as well. These are the age categories provided by Barnes and Noble [bn.com] for children's books:
Ages 3-5
Ages 6-8
Ages 9-12

You must consider levels of language comprehension and conceptual understanding will be different per age group as well. Length is also a key factor to take into account when regarding the age group. The younger the child, the more likely the story needs less words and more pictures. Vice versa with books aimed at the older set.

The best thing to do is to goto the library and get a variety of books aimed at several different age groups then compare it to your story. This research will help you market the book (age wise) when you're trying to get it published.

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@ossobuco,

I wasn't so much aiming my statement at you, Osso, but at anyone who might read it and think it was true. You didn't clearly state that it's the oldest "alligator in the sewer" story of copyright law.

1 Reply

@parados,

parados wrote:

I can't imagine a child of 9 or 10 reading a picture book.

There are some exceptions like the recent Invention of Hugo Cabret the Winner of the 2008 Caldecott Medal.

Quote:

The New York Times - John Schwartz
It is wonderful.
Take that overused word literally: Hugo Cabret evokes wonder. At more than 500 pages, its proportions seem Potteresque, yet it makes for quick reading because Selznick’s amazing drawings take up most of the book. While they may lack the virtuosity of Chris Van Allsburg’s work or David Wiesner’s, their slight roughness gives them urgency. The result is a captivating work of fiction that young readers with a taste for complex plots and a touch of magic " think Harry H., not Harry P. " can love.

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@ossobuco,

My ass is nice, thought not worth watching Smile

Thank you everyone for the advice! Heading to the book store tomorrow

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@Green Witch,

You're right. I remember many around me counting on that. There are sharks out there. Alternately, there seem to be a few good people around. I'm sorry, but don't trust them.

I have a better experience with publishing, but I never acted it out.. architectural historian friends clued me into a boutique but well regarded publisher, and they accepted my outline. I failed to show up with a book, all my own fault. Because of substantiation from the friends that clued me into that publisher in the first place, the last thing I'd think would be that it was any kind of rip off.

So, I'm mostly wary, but every human is not horrible.

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@ossobuco,

I guess I should mention that we had another one dismissed by (was it Guber Peters? after making it through complexity of hoops) for having too low a budget. Too low a budget? Don't get me going. I'm the one who earned the money to keep us going for these efforts in all those years of trying and thus had/have no savings.

So, Seed, do all this, work your creativity. But don't be stupid in several ways -
re users, and yourself (you need to maintain).

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@Seed,

Take advantage of the public library system - talk to librarians - they know about kids and books - what gets checked out a lot.

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@ehBeth,

And they could recommend a few books on the anatomy of writing children's books as well so you can polish up the contents of your book according to whatever age group you end up marketing to.

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@Seed,

Seed wrote:

I often liked my mother reading stories to me up until I was 12 or even 13. But I guess that is just me.

In the 1970s, I had a tenant with defective eyesight; legally blind. Reading was slow and troublesome for him.
He was a friend. I read him some novels (e.g., Arthur Clarke's 2001). He was in his 20s. He LOVED IT.

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The age distribution - kind of depends on the book/story itself. I look at a book like the Giving Tree and it is appropriate for a wide variety of ages. It is also an example of a longer book with a good amount of words that appeal to young children and a bit older. I've read it to my daugher when she 5ish and older. This sort of book is also enjoyable for the parents. Not like a millionith reading of Go dog Go, or the Foot Book both of which I still remember without looking at the book.

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Well after looking around in Books a Million and Barnes and Nobles and then talking with some friends who were Elementary School teachers I have figured that the book is best suited for kids around the age of 4 to 7.

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Help me write a story. Please?

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