Get Writing Children's Fiction by Karen King

Author:Karen King
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472110138
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

CONTROLLING CHAPTER LENGTHS

Chapters are often around the same length but this isn’t essential; they can vary if necessary. Whilst I wouldn’t recommend varying the length too much, don’t be so obsessed about keeping to the same length that you drag a chapter out when it’s come to a natural end or bring it to an abrupt halt when the scene isn’t finished.

WRITING SERIES FICTION

Writing series-led fiction

You only have to take a look at the shelves in the children’s section of your local bookstore to see the popularity of series fiction, sometimes with over twenty books in the series. Children love to read about more and more of the adventures of their favourite characters. Many popular series such as The Secret Kingdom, Darke Academy, Dinosaur Cove and Animal Ark are written by different authors and marketed under an ‘umbrella name’ that appears on the cover. These are called ‘series-led’ books and the idea is devised by the editorial team at the packagers (a company that creates books for publishers) who contact authors to ‘put the flesh on the bones’ of the story, which is then sold on to publishers. If you get asked to write for a series, remember there are two usual ways of working:

Writing for an already established series. The important thing here is to keep to the format and be consistent with characterization. Study a few books already published in the series to get the feel of the style, voice, characters and vocabulary used. Read, read and read. Don’t start writing until you feel that you know the characters and the series format really well.

Writing for a new series. This is when the packager has an idea for a series and is looking for writers to write it up for them. Usually a few writers are approached, given details of the story and characters, and asked to write up a sample chapter each. You will probably be given a quite detailed plot, often also chapter breakdowns. The important thing here is to bring your own ‘voice’ to the series in order to breathe life into the characters in your own unique way. A writer or writers are then chosen for the series, which is sold on to a publisher.

Whether you are writing for a new or established series, you must be willing to collaborate and work closely with the editorial team, and to revise and rewrite your work as necessary.

The top two packagers in the UK are Hothouse publishing (www.hothousefiction.com) and Working Partners (www.workingpartnersltd.co.uk). I have worked for both of these packagers, writing the first book in the Teacher’s Pet series for Working Partners and books three and four in The Secret Kingdom series for Hothouse. Sarah Hawkins, Senior Editor at Hothouse Fiction, said:

We work with brilliant writers at all stages of their careers, from new writers who gain valuable experience from working with us (and often go on to have their own books published), to established authors who enjoy writing something different under a pseudonym. We’re always

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