Lessons from the critique pile

I’ve critiqued a lot of picture books over the last year and started a Twitter thread of advice for writers. For easy reference, I’ve turned it into a blog post for querying authors.

1. Use emotion
Don't tell readers what they should feel, write the scene so they can't help but take away the emotion instead.

2. Art notes
Ah, the endless debate about art notes. Your illustrator may not want them, but you might need them to grab an agent/editor's interest. That said, if you have a spread that has more art notes than dialogue, something isn't working.

3. Cut characters
If you have a character that only pops up once and doesn't really need to be there... cut them! I've read a few drafts with so many characters with so little to do, I've had trouble keeping them straight. If it's confusing at this stage, people will just stop reading.

4. Spreads
Your editor will decide how the spreads play out, but if you're writing in spreads and the page turns don't make you want to turn the page(!), think about where you're placing them. What could you write to propel things? Look at some pubbed work to see what works and why.

5. Pitches
Not sure if your story is working? Write a few pitches for it. If you can't write a clear pitch about your work, you don't have a grasp on the story yet. See where you're getting tripped up. That's likely where the story still needs work.

6. Lean on your critique partners
If you feel like something isn't working, ask a few people to tell you what they think your book is about. If they're taking away something completely different than what you intended, it will give you new perspective.

7. Pause before you revise
Don't make every change suggested. Please, please don't do this. Get feedback, think about it, then step away for a bit. Don't hastily change everything because someone in a critique group made a suggestion. It's your story, make the changes that make sense to you.

8. Dream agents
This is going to be an unpopular opinion but I don't believe in them. There is more than one agent that can champion your work. If you get rejected by one agent you have pinned all your hopes on, it's going to be hard to bounce back. Cast your net wider.

9. Requerying
Remember, just because an agent you like passed once, you can still query them with another MS. My amazing agent passed on the first one I sent her, so I sent another one she liked better. It's not personal, it's about the work.

10. Illustrations
You are writing half the story, the other half will be shown by the illustrator. Leave room for interpretation, and don't spend half your text describing things that will appear on the page. They'll probably look completely different from what you imagine.

11. Think with your senses
The illustrator will take care of the visuals, what other senses can you mine to evoke emotion, transcend literal description and connect with the reader?

12. Save every draft
Yes, every single one. Come up with a method for titling them that works for you, use folders, use whatever you like. But if you keep changing things and decide you want to go back and can't find that version? It's heartbreaking. Save everything.

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