Sue Edwards
1. Cut out 30%! Get rid of extra.
2. Make your reader know your character, through the things and places they love.
3. You only have so much space. Don’t stop the flow of the story for details.
Marisa Montes
1. Avoid stories with a message or moral!
2. Keep in mind who has to be interested in your picture book in order for it to sell. First to the editor, second to the buyer, an adult, and third, to the child.
3. Read as many books as possible on the genre in which you wish to write.
Mem Fox
1. Be original! Don’t copy the main idea of a common, or well known book.
2. Constantly read, and re-read drafts. It’s easier to find mistakes when the book is being read aloud, as it will be to the child.
3. Do NOT write an episode story, only 1 thing after another. Something needs to happen!
4. Don’t write a book that ends with a phrase like: “… and they all woke up”. What happens had to be real to the child!
