Breaking the Rules for Picture Book Manuscripts

This question came from a visitor to Harold Underdown's site: www.underdown.org. She/he said that she's experimenting with a structural device that bends or breaks "the rules." When writing a Picture Book, there are certain "rules" used by authors, including having a single protagonist.

Rather than having a single protagonist, the story has two parallel protagonists that are connected by an inanimate object. It's a bit like the film "The Red Violin" in that the narrative thread is maintained by an object that various characters encounter...but the conflicts are definitely for the two protagonists. [The questioner is a screenwriter and draws the analogy of certain films that tended to break the rules, such as "Adaptation" and "Momento".

The precise question: Do you think that most publishers would dismiss out of hand a story that bends the rules in this way? Many production companies pedantically dismiss otherwise well-crafted manuscripts that don't follow an extremely narrow set of rules.

Harold responsds:

"What you describe reminds me of David Macaulay's Black and White, which you should read if you haven't already--and which, incidentally, won a Caldecott."

Children's books that bend or break the rules DO get published, as that book demonstrates (there are others). but it certainly helps to have the resume of a David Macaulay when submitting one.

Harold adds: "To carry your film analogy a bit further, a screenwriter with a name is far more likely to get a green light for an unconventional approach than an unknown is, or so I would assume (I vaguely remember reading the story behind the screenplay for 'Adaptation,' which I think was written by a very well-known screenwriter.)"

Finally, Harold recommends: "I won't say that you shouldn't do it, but you may find that you've made your chances of interest in your manuscript even slimmer than usual."

The bottom line is this: book editors are very busy people. If you want to be seen as a first-time author or unknown author, then you'd be better off following the rules for Picture Books and Children's Books, rather than taking the chance that your "unusual" approach to writing a children's book or picture book will be published.

For more great articles and information from Harold Underdown, visit his site at: www.underdown.org

Information from this article used with the permission of the original author, Harold Underdown.