Writers have to consider what children, or more usually their parents, will buy. Purchase preferences will depend to a large degree on a child’s age. Even one year can make a big difference with very young children. For example, 4-5 year olds would not ordinarily read books aimed at 6-7 year olds. As a writer of children's books it is better to aim your writing at a particular age group rather than to try and please all age groups.
A younger child may be more attracted to picture books, short stories or rhyming stories which don’t contain too many words. They may also prefer a paper book that an adult can read to them whilst showing them the pictures. This can, of course, also be done in an e-book format where the story and pictures are shown to the child on an e-book device, computer or tablet - but whilst some of these options are more portable than others, it still remains far easier and safer for a young child to handle a book. When writing for children you must decide whether you are writing something that a child can read unassisted for themselves, or whether it is largely intended to be an interactive book which an adult reads to the child.
At the simplest level, board books are targeted at infants. These are sometimes called baby books or toddler books. They usually depict simple pictures sometimes with just one word indicating a particular item, and sometimes they have no text. Early picture books are aimed at the under-five age group. At the older age in this range the books may have stories told in simple rhymes. Sometimes they are fairy tales. A typical word count would be no more than 500 words. Generally, those books which contain a greater number of illustrations are aimed at a younger readership, and the amount of illustrations drops as the target audience age increases, so that story books written for older children have no illustrations.
Standard picture story books aimed at 4-8 year olds are very often of the same size - 32 pages. Although they used to be mostly published as hardback editions, these days many are first published as paperbacks due to prohibitive costs associated with full colour printing. Also, the typical page count has often been reduced to 24 pages. A typical word count is nearer the 1,000 word mark. Whilst these books are small in terms of written content, they can be very difficult to write. Many writers set out believing that writing children's books is easier than writing adult fiction because the themes and language are simple, but it can be very challenging to write well in such a concise style. More often than not, the final product is the result of many drafts.
Easy reader books are aimed at young children who are just starting to read by themselves. These books still often contain illustrations and lengths can range to over 2,000 words. The simpler ones aimed at 4-5 year olds may have just one sentence per page. Those aimed at the upper age range of 7-8 years will usually have several sentences to a few paragraphs on a page. There are also early chapter books aimed at a slightly older age range of around 6-9 years which are intended to serve as a transition from easy readers to chapter books. They still contain the odd illustrations and may have several pages in each chapter. Each book is typically about 30 pages long.
The next type is the chapter book proper, which is aimed at the 7-10 year olds. A typical length is 60 pages and chapters are slightly longer, at 4-5 pages. From here, the next age group is the 8-12 year olds and book lengths increase to up to 150 pages. The plots become more complicated and successful books like Enid Blyton's 'Famous Five' or the 'Biggles' series by Captain W.E. Johns can often be found, with many different books containing new adventures using the same characters. This is because at this age children begin to identify with the characters and want to read more about them.
As children grow older, they are likely to read young adult fiction as well as a wider range of written work using a broader range of sources. They may look at paper comics, fictional books, non-fiction books, textbooks, and other sources. They are also likely to consult many of these online and in electronic formats.
It is not quite as easy these days to delineate “children’s fiction” and “adult fiction” because there is an overlap in this area with the emergence of “teen fiction”. Teen fiction is also referred to as young adult fiction in many countries. In recent years, books such as Stephenie Meyer’s 'Twilight' series, or John Green’s 'The Fault in our Stars', as well as many others, have appealed to some adult readers along with teen readers and therefore bridged the gap between these age groups. Nevertheless, whilst some adults may read these books, most do not. Books written for this readership have produced a whole new market for the teenage or young adult reader.
As a writer, you need to work out what age group your target market is, and in what format they are more likely to buy your products. This will help you better decide what to write and how to have it published. What a two year old is able to understand is quite different to what a five year old can fathom. Also, a two year old has a much shorter attention span than a five year old. They might also find something amusing which a five year old does not. Similarly, what an eight year old enjoys may be too difficult for a five year old to comprehend. You need to target your writing at a particular age group and to make sure you are writing in an age-appropriate way.
Getting your e-book or paper book sold in the first place is often the most difficult thing a writer must face. But once you have a reader, it can also be a challenge not to lose them. The appearance and content of what you write makes the first sale, but the experience of that purchase will sell second and subsequent books. If you plan to write more than one book, you need to make sure that the first book is a good experience for your readers.
This article is based on an extract from our ebook "Writing for Children"
Click here for more about the book and how to write for children