Writing a good novel for children takes lots of practice. Here at Chicken Scratch Books, we want you to be successful. We also want you to submit to us once you have it figured out. Like all publishers, we’re pretty picky about what books we accept for publication, and we have specific writing techniques and styles we are looking for.
Please take the time to learn all you can about writing. Practice a lot. Embrace the writing process. Read books. Take classes. Go to conferences. Join a writers group. Critique other people’s writing. Call yourself a writer.
We want to help you.
One of our favorite things to do is teach. We’ve had many years of experience teaching writing to kids and adults alike. We’ve created ONLINE WRITING COURSES in Chicken Scratch Writing School to help you in your process of writing the publishable Middle Grade Novel. Some of our classes are free. Some cost a bit. Some cost a bit more. We suggest starting with the free ones. If you like them, try the paid ones too. Each class has writing elements that when applied, will make your story shine and stand out from the rest of the pile.
If you choose to submit your manuscript for consideration for publication at Chicken Scratch Books, you’ll use our online submission form. On this form, there is a place to enter a “Learning Code”. Each class you take from us – free or otherwise – includes a code at the end. A Learning Code is not required to submit, but it does indicate that you are serious about your writing, and want to produce the level of storytelling we are looking for. Submissions with these codes attached help us identify authors willing to work, willing to listen, willing to grow.
These courses are our way to help you become a better writer, while at the same time giving us a tool to fish out the serious authors from the pool.