With the weather springing into
life, I need to force myself to focus. Since I'm a procrastinator,
I will do little things on little projects to avoid doing the big things on the
big projects. That means I have to pick one (or two, I have a loose definition
of focus) picture book(s) to coddle with attentive editing and love.
Unfortunately, this feels akin to
picking a favorite child, which is generally frowned upon. As for the ones which
don't get picked, I won't make them sleep under the stairs or feed them bread
crusts (like my real children.) It just means they will have to be a little more patient and wait until
mama's ready to give them proper attention.
I have been studying picture
books and learning how to write picture books, but when the time came to pick
my favorite I was still stumped:
What factors determine a picture book's chance
of success?
There's clearly an emotional
element to the selection; each one is special in its own way (even the one who bangs his head on the seesaw when I'm busy.) The
best way I know to strip out the emotion is with a spreadsheet! Sometimes my nerdy analytical
side surprises even me.
So I created a rating system, and I will now force each manuscript
to run the gauntlet so I can rate them like the
wicked stepmother I am! Ah Ha Ha! Halve the food rations! None of you deserve so much crust! Sorry, my brain must still be a bit warped from Spring Break, which btw is only a break for the teachers as best as I can tell.
Anyhow, here is The Picture Book Rating Scale:
I need your help weighing in on
the right factors and the rating. Am I
missing something? Which one is the most important? Should all the factors be given the same
importance? Could I narrow it down to a
few key ones which really make a difference? With your help I just may be able to focus!
(Thanks to Nessa Morris for publishing this post in the Opening a Can of Bookworms April 12, 2013 edition!)
(Thanks to Nessa Morris for publishing this post in the Opening a Can of Bookworms April 12, 2013 edition!)
27 Comments
What a great tool for assessing our picture books in-progress! I must say, you are a very productive procrastinator.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very astute assessment of my mental state! I feel like today is the day I should learn how to can peaches...
DeleteThat's fantastic, Lauri. I'm going to print it off. I have a folktale type pb, maybe you could add something about the past. Also what about a line for non-fiction pbs about them being interesting, learning something, pictures helping so they are not boring. Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteGood point, Catherine! I'm wondering if non-fiction should have its own rating system? Something about tie-in to common core, presenting facts in an interesting way, great photographs. I find call out boxes always draw attention. I also like several bold subtitles per spread with small paragraphs under each rather then lengthy text, which I imagine is overwhelming for young readers.
DeleteI love how you've broken this down, Lauri - very helpful! (And also very funny :)) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCan something that isn't funny even really be helpful?!
DeleteOn a completely unrelated note, I was thinking today Phyllis would be a lovely person (in a groundhoggy way) to tell us a story about hurricanes. After the last few years, I'm already starting to think about hurricane season :(
Lauri!
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful. Have you considered jumping on board with the folks at Rate Your Story? You'd be a tremendous asset over there. Thanks for sharing this. It must have taken a lot of time and effort.
Miranda - What a lovely offer! Maybe after I prove I can score a "1" ;) Though I think it's easier to critique a story than to put those first words on that very white, very blank piece of paper.
DeleteGreat idea.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list.We did something similar when trying to judge Fiction Picture Books for the Cybils this year. I will be bookmarking this post to run through my MS. Actually I think it might work better if I have my critique partners run through this list and grade my story. Is it okay if I share/print out your scale?
ReplyDeleteDarshana - Ooh, seeing the Cybils criteria would be illuminating. Of course you can print/share - I see your email on your site, so I'll just email you the excel version which will be easier to work with.
DeleteGreat list, Lori! It must have taken a good deal of effort to put that together, it's wonderful.
ReplyDeleteOh and by the way, Spring Break is only a break for the teachers who don't happen to be moms. If you're a teacher AND a mom like me, you just don't get a break! :D
Oh, so true! You poor dear, put your feet up and take a break! At least you get a break from your kids while your teaching and a break from the other people's kids when you're on spring break. We need to invite a day called "Mommy Day Off." Mothers Day doesn't count because that might as well be let's "Cling to Mother All Day Day"
DeleteMothers Day doesn't count because that might as well be let's "Cling to Mother All Day Day"
ReplyDeleteDo you have cameras in my house?? LOL
Great chart, bravo.
Thank you! It really makes you feel like a terrible mom to say "in celebration of mothers day could you just please take the children somewhere. Far away. All day." And I do have cameras in your house. That's okay, right? ;)
DeleteLove it! You put a lot of effort into this. It is easy to use. I find the simple 1-5 scale so difficult (referring to Goodreads stars). Your scale assesses every important element and takes it into consideration so the rating will be more conistent for the individul rater. Permission to use?!
ReplyDeleteBut of course! I can send you the file so you can actually use it (or adjust it and make it better then send it back to me!)
DeleteLove the rating comments! Since I am don't purchase many, one of my own criteria questions is would I buy it - and who for.
ReplyDeleteJulie- That is such a simple question that really packs a punch! I often flippantly call a manuscript "picture book for ages 4-8," but I could learn a lot about the story by thinking of it in more specific terms: "This book is perfect for a 4-year-old girl with an active imagination."
DeleteNice and Funny, Mrs. Meyers! I LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteNice and Funny are attributes always worth striving for Erik!
DeleteOh! I like what your warped brain produces! This is awesome!
ReplyDeleteWhat if my brain is really warped? Maybe I have an unusual worm hole in my brain which allows the creative and analytical parts of my brain to party together? I hope the universe doesn't implode... And what if it's contagious?!
DeleteThis is a great way to make sure your bases are covered once you've completed a PB draft.
ReplyDeleteBut I think you chart is incomplete. Don't you need to add a "fart joke" catgory?
I could rename it "Fart Book Analysis," and it would still work for all of my stories, this is true. But most books don't hit 10s on all of these areas, right? A perfect score isn't an 80. It is probably more about having at least three areas of 10, I think. Hmm, I need to run some current books through the scale.
DeleteMaybe length and words per page? As a writer I hate to think that's important, but as a mother of a 2 1/2 year old, it's a different story. There are certain books that he will consistently sit through every time, and most have have word counts per-page that are consistent and not overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteGiraffe and a Half is a perfect example. While I love that book, he always gets bored by the middle (when the word county gets very long per page).
Just a thought! :)
Good point about words per spread. Picture Book writers talk a lot about word count, with 300-500 words being guidance. Back in the day, PB writers could have 1000-2000 words. 500 words means about 40 per spread. I'm having an A-ha moment! Great picture books are made up of 14 great images, and the writer has 40 words to bring each image to life.
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