Before you start editing your story, make sure you know your target audience.
So, when you come to edit even as something as simple as your vocabulary or grammar, you will know the level you need to be aiming for.
Have you made anything too simple? Or perhaps you need to up your game a bit and use more complicated sentence structures and vocabulary that will stretch your readers?
What about the danger level, and what your readers can cope with?
How about the length of your story and the length of your chapters… are they a good fit?
Knowing your audience is vital, so here are three tips for you:
Spend time with them
Read books they love
Try your story out on them.
If you do all these things, when you come to edit your story, you will already have a great idea as to what’s needed. 🙂
I hope you had a wonderful Easter, celebrating new life in Christ.
Unfortunately I came down with Covid at the end of Easter Sunday, so I missed writing to you last week…
But here I am again, hopefully bringing some joy! 🙂
Here’s the thought for the week:
This morning I was mulling over the story where Jesus overhears the disciples arguing about who will be the greatest.
Jesus takes a child to stand beside him, to show them that in the kingdom of God, things are different. The greatest is the servant.
Writing books for children is servant work. This side of heaven, you may not get fanfares, applause, fame or fortune… but if you given a story to your grandchild which reminds them that God is with them, you have done something amazing.
Don’t despise the small things. Jesus loves the little children. Keep serving and don’t give up. Keep writing, my friends.
Are you keeping up with your book reading? If not, now’s the time to order some books for reading over the Easter weekend!
Christian, secular, contemportary, classic – all are good for research.
Dernier Books
I read fiction for young people of all ages – I try to find a variety of books for the different age groups, because Dernier publishes books for children from 6+, but I highly recommend that you find books for the age group you are writing for.
If you’d like to read some Christian books, by all means check out www.dernierpublishing.com. (If you’re not in the UK, you can find some of our titles on Amazon worldwide. These include Year 0033, The City Kid, The Dove Stone, Oliver’s Secret and Nobody’s Dog.)
Or visit your local library, bookshop or charity shop… ebooks are equally good – it’s the story that’s important!
You can learn so much from other people’s stories.
Here are some interesting things I learned from my three latest reads:
The first had an excellent first chapter! We were introduced to all the main characters, the setting was exciting (the London Eye) and the mystery was intriguing – by the time you got to the end of chapter one, you had to read on, to find out what was going on. Great stuff!
What I learned: get all that action, intrigue and character engagement right at the beginning, and you’ll hook your readers. You can go back to explain the background later, bit by bit.
The second book was very different. It was by a famous author. Honestly, it wasn’t his best. There were story loops opened that were never closed, and it was more of a meandering story about a dog, with not the best ending ever. So I guess, once you’re famous, publishers will be happy anyway, because your name will sell the book. Hmmm.
What I learned: always do your best. Perhaps nobody challenged the author, because he is famous? Let’s remain teachable!
The third book was the longest of the three, although it was for the same age group. It had some very, very good things… but some things it was a bit long-winded in places.
What I learned: a much deeper professional edit would have honed this to make it a truly brilliant book. The ideas were phenomenal. Top marks for imagination and creativity!
What I learned? Set imagination free! But don’t skimp on editing. A fresh, professional eye can take a great book and make it sooo much better.
I hope that helps you with your own writing.
And now may I wish you a blessed Easter. May the love of our Father and sacrifice of Jesus pierce your hearts afresh, and may the glory and power of the resurrection of fill you with joy.
We have an amazing God, and we have such good news to share.
Be blessed,
Janet
P.S. Have you learned anything from a book you have read recently? I’d love to hear all about it!
I’m guessing the answer for most of you, is probably yes!
Life is a battle, and the Lord is constantly teaching us through the trials of life, so our faith can be tested and come forth as gold. 🙂
There is always a way…
One of the ways you can redeem your struggles, if you are a writer, is to use them in your stories.
So whatever trial you are facing today, stop and take the time to write about it. Just a few notes is fine. How it started, how it got worse, what/who made it get worse, how it seems impossible that it will ever end… and how you feel about all that.
Keep your notes handy, so when you need to take your characters through conflicting times, you have some experience and knowledge to hand!
The trial can be anything – financial, stress, bereavement or loss, health, family, work…
Whatever it is, use it to be a blessing to your readers. With the comfort you have received, you can comfort others. It is a truly wonderful thing, to be heard and understood. If you have been through something, you can be sure it’s not just you!
Right, must press on. We have a new training in a couple of weeks via Zoom – I hope you will join me. We are going to look at the subject of Compelling Settings. I have a few tips and tricks for you, that will help you make the very most of your setting to engage your readers.
I will give more details next week, so make sure you don’t miss the email. 🙂
In the meantime, happy writing and may the Lord strengthen you in your trials,
This week, on Thursday, people all over the world will be celebrating International Women’s Day.
This isn’t the place to discuss women’s rights, but it is definitely a place to think about writing books for our girls!
It has long been noted that books with strong female characters are lacking for teens and pre-teens.
Many books for girls have, in the past, been filled with princesses and pink unicorns. They have featured unreasonably thin and impossibly attractive white girls…
Things are changing, phew!
Christian books need to be part of this change. We need to encourage and inspire our girls, so they know they are fearfully and wonderfully made (whatever they might think of their appearance); that God has given them all gifts to share with the world (whatever they might think about their lack of abilities); that they are beautiful and precious (whatever they might think about their value); that God loved them so much, he sent his only Son to die for them.
In some cultures, women are still regarded as less than men, but the Bible is clear that God loves us all. Jesus died for us all. Under God, we are all equal – just different.
Could you write a book to inspire your girls? Why not stop for a minute right now and pray for the girls in your life. What do they need? Could you write a novel that will address this issue?
And if in the meantime you need a book for your girls to celebrate International Women’s Day on Thursday, how about these?
For 6-8s: Oliver’s Secret. Claire, who has recently moved to the UK from China, learns about friendship, prayer and trust.
For 7-11s: Deepest Darkness. Abi’s life is filled with fear, until, on holiday in Canada, she begins to find the true light that shines even in the deepest darkness.
For 14+: Year 0033. Chella belongs to the underground church. After her best friend disappears and her fiancé is arrested, a new chapter in her life begins.
Just a quick tip for you today, but an important one.
When sending your book proposal to a publisher, agent, or to your printer (if self-publishing):
Go through your manuscript with a fine tooth comb. Look out for:
Spelling mistakes
Names that should be capitalised that aren’t
Words that shouldn’t be capitalised that are
Correct use of punctuation (especially correct use of apostrophes!)
Poor grammar
Clunky sentence structures
When you’ve done that, make sure your presentation:
Is neat
Has page numbers
Contains your contact information
When you’ve been through all these things very carefully yourself, get an eagle-eyed friend or family member (who knows what they are looking for) to do the same.
There’s no excuse for skipping these steps. Of course, if your story is accepted, an editor will correct spelling, grammar and poor sentence structures… but publishers won’t want to pay an editor to do what you should have done in the first place.
And anyway, why would you submit anything that’s not absolutely your best?
Hope that helps! You may be thinking, well of course! But believe me, I have seen the whole spectrum from excellent to eyebrow-raisingly terrible.
So before you send that manuscript, make it as tight as you possibly can.
Lecture over! 🙂
On a completely different subject, I’m looking forward to seeing some of you next week at our Zoom training!
Who are you writing your book for? If you’re not 100% sure who your target readers are (age, gender, nationality, reading ability etc), I have an online Zoom training for you at the end of the month, that will help you get total clarity.
I’m sometimes asked to read a new author’s story, to see who best to market it to. This is kind of the wrong way round – you need to write your story to fit your readers.
The aim is that after the training you will know exactly who you are writing for, and will know how to delight and thrill every single one. 🙂
Not being quite sure who you are writing for is an issue that comes up time and again, and it’s a really serious problem, so I thought this would be a good topic to cover.
We will be looking at 5 ways to ensure your book exactly matches your target audience.
Book your place here. I may record it – I’m not sure yet. Or I may turn it into a mini course so everyone can have access in their own time… but the best thing is to book and come in person if you possibly can (you will also be able to ask questions if you attend live).
This really is essential stuff – don’t wave it away, thinking it doesn’t matter, because it does. Hugely. If you get it wrong, your chances of your book being successful are decreased. If you get it right, you greatly increase your chances of having readers desperate for the sequel!
Whatever you do, don’t go on writing vaguely, hoping that anyone/everyone will enjoy your story. It just doesn’t work like that.
Even if you think you know, come along and maybe you’ll pick up a little nugget of useful information… or just enjoy fellowship with other writers of children’s fiction – it’s lovely being part of the Write for a Reason community! Either way, you are very welcome.
Hope you’ve had a great weekend and are ready for a new writing week.
What are you writing at the moment? Do take a moment to let me know – I always love to hear from you. 🙂
Apologies that last week some of you weren’t able to find the podcast on the website (Essential ingredients for author websites with Sonja Anderson). Something weird was going on – it kept disappearing! I think it’s decided to stick around now 🙂 – this is the link. Do share it in your writing groups, because author websites are definitely the way forward.
And here’s your writing tip for this week:
How can you thrill your readers with your ending?
Have it turn out even better than they could have imagined!
Here’s a very simple example:
It was Cinderella’s dearest wish to go to the ball. Everything was against her, but finally, she made it…
Yaayyy, we are all thinking!
The story could have stopped there. She could have had a fabulous time and come home tired and happy.
BUT the prince fell in love with her and it ends with a wedding! Wow!
Which was waaaayyyyyy more than Cinderella was expecting/hoping for.
Could you do something like that with your ending?
I know Cinderella is a fairytale, and you will probably want a real (though hopeful) ending to your story, but still, is there some beautiful twist you could introduce to delight and thrill your readers?
Have a think and see what you can come up with!
Until next time,
Janet
P.S. I am running a new Zoom training free for anyone interested. It is a topic that keeps on coming up over and over again. It’s all about making sure your story is perfect for your intended readers. Click here to read all the details and sign up. All are welcome. Even if you think you’ve got it all sorted, why not come along anyway? You might find a useful nugget – after all, we’re all on a learning curve. And do bring your friends! The more the merrier. 🙂
Closing story arcs is a vital part of our stories.
What do I mean by that?
Here’s an example:
A girl moves with her dad to a new town after her mum dies. She has an adventure in her new town, and the adventure is resolved by the end of the story. The main story arc is therefore neatly closed…
BUT: do we find out why her mum died? Do we find out why she moved to a new town in the first place? If mini story arcs have been opened, they also need to be closed. Because there’s a story behind these two elements, for sure, and readers will be wondering about them.
You may have chosen to have the girl move to a new town with her dad because it suited the story. But you have to give your readers a good reason, or it will seem odd.
Don’t leave your readers guessing – they will want to know!
You may say, I’m planning on telling them in a sequel. If you are, make sure they’re not so frustrated at not finding out, and cross with you for not ending the story properly, that they don’t even want to read the sequel!
Usually, it’s just that you’ve been so engrossed in the new adventure, that you’ve forgotten that you have raised questions in your readers’ minds, that need resolving.
So make sure you tie up all your loose ends. Sometimes it’s difficult to see these things yourself (we all have blind spots!), so get yourself a writing buddy, or get a professional manuscript criticism, or join us in Writers for a Reason Unite.
Quick caveat: If you are planning to write a sequel, and want to leave on a note of intrigue at the very end of your novel about the next move, that’s different. Simply tie up the old ends before you start on a new adventure. 🙂
Here’s a quick tip to help you to stick to your goals, once you’ve set them…
Give yourself a reward!
Aren’t rewards for dogs? you might be asking. 🙂 Well yes, but listen to this:
Apparently, positive affirmation is also hugely helpful when WE want to stick to a new routine or goal.
So what we should do, when we do what we say we will do, every time, we should reward ourself.
Nice!
You then start to look forward to doing what you said you would do, because you get a reward. That can be a cup of delicious coffee, a phone call with a friend, a game, an evening of watching your favourite TV series, a glass of something nice, your favourite takeaway sandwich, a luxury shower, reading time at the weekend…. or whatever does it for you.
And that means you’re more likely to stick to your goals.
Maybe we’re not so different from dogs! Anyway, I think you deserve a reward for pressing on. Many people think about writing, but just by reading this, you have already made a big step forward.
Which is great!
So keep writing and rewarding yourself, because, as you know because I’m always telling you, if you have been called to write, someone, somewhere, is waiting for your story.
Love to you all,
Janet
P.S. We had a fab online book launch for five Dernier books in Kenya last week. If you’d like to watch the replay, where three other authors and myself talk about our books and the writing process, you can do so here . I think you’ll enjoy it. 🙂
