But back to writing after my digression yesterday.
The act of writing is one thing; but then as I said you have to get what you have written accepted by different people and hopefully get it published. When I started I never realized how difficult it is to get the public to read what you write. In academia I wrote for a specific market. They all read my work when they heard about it. And I think the difference is the fact that in academia you are always looking for a new take, new research, new theories that you can reflect on in your own publications.
That is not the case when you are writing for the open market. People read what interests them and this is mostly fiction and non-fiction novels. I write fact and not fiction.
Writing for children has a special appeal and presents a particular challenge of its own. You will notice that there are categories in terms of age and content. Naturally so, as a 3 year old is not attracted to the same content/format as an 8 year old. My preference is material which targets the preschooler. So far I have been able to maintain this.
But how do you write for children? I think I will take a two-pronged approach.
On one hand I will write books that preschoolers can read. They must be attractive, colorful, use images that they identify with and teach them something important about life.
On the other hand I will write for the parents of these wonderful children. Parents and caregivers have a task that is not easy in this troublesome world. They have to keep their heads well screwed on, as the saying goes, and keep focused on what kind of a caring and learning environment they want for their child(ren). So I will write for the parents and caregivers in a way that will help them to achieve their personal goals.
To be a grandmother carries a certain responsibility. You care in a new way while you learn how to share the wisdom you have gained over the years. But then that knowledge comes from parenting, studying and researching. A complex mix.
So writing for parents and caregievrs means I will lean very much towards my real life expereinces. A new approach.
How to make it pay is a whole other story
To be cont’d one fine day