Maureen Wright decided when she was in the third grade that she wanted to be a writer.
It took a while.
A story at stargazette.com relates that she kept the dream of writing children's books while raising three sons. The article says:
"For 20 years, I tried and was rejected," Maureen said. "My message is not to give up."
Her first book, "To Mom, Keeper of the Zoo," a collection of poignant poems about motherhood, was released in 1995.
Eventually, Maureen found the right publisher -- Marshall Cavendish Children's Books -- and her first children's story, "Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep" made it to bookshelves across the nation last year. It also won several prestigious literary awards.
Her latest book, "Sneezy the Snowman," was released Sept. 1 and she's working on a sequel to the Big Bear book called "Sneeze, Big Bear, Sneeze."
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Writing children's books is one of the harder nuts to crack. It looks easy but getting it right takes a lot of skill and awarness. I've written for children's TV and for the educational division of Disney (the kind of things generally referred to as edutainment) and from that can pass along a few tips:
1. Don't talk down to kids. A condescending tone is a sure way to get a rejection.
2. While the language should be age-appropriate, don't be afraid to include some words they may not understand. Ideally the context should give a clue as to the meaning.
3. For older kids, don't shy away from the fact that life is not all sweetness and light. You can include some darker shades into your story.
4. Don't rely on your memory of the books that you loved as a child. Read the books that are working now--including the ones that are still around from when you were a kid. Browse extensively while we still have physical book stores to go to. Analyze what the best books have in common.
5. And--of course--don't give up.
(To get my free report, "The seven things that are stopping you from writing--and how to overcome them," click here: http://goo.gl/bWjb)