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The Manuscript Arrives

Join me in this series for a tour of the creation of a children’s book from conception to bookstore shelf. Wendy Tugwood’s story I Love You Too, I Love You Three landed in my email inbox in the spring of 2014. There was something magical about her gentle rhyming story.

Over time we emailed and got to know each other long-distance, and I gave her story another read. While the feel of the story appealed to me, I had some issues with the pacing and order of events, as well as a few beefs with the timing of the rhyming.

For example, I Love You Too, I Love You Three started with the mom putting the child to bed, then it went on to describe their counting game, leading up to bedtime. So, talk about turning the manuscript on its head, I suggested the author take the start of the book and move it to the end where falling asleep was a logical closing for the book and the child.

When the changes were made I forwarded the manuscript to my publisher and it was accepted for publication.

By the way… For you hyper-typers out there who write for kids, it behooves the author to be open to making changes, the right changes… to not be handcuffed to your precious words. As for illustrators… you need to notice these things: the inconsistencies, the messes, the grammar! You are your author’s new best friend, so be meticulous because you’re their second set of eyes… eyes not only for your drawings but for all things book-worthy.

Click below to read more about the creation of a children’s book from conception to bookstore shelf!

• Part 1: The Manuscript
• Part 2: The Storyboarding
• Part 3: The Style
• Part 4: Slinging Paint
• Part 5: Slinging Paint Pt. 2
• Part 6: The Cover Story

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The opinions expressed in this blog are mine alone