Fun times, eh?  

Well, we've been through challenges before and we'll get through this but, in the meantime, every penny is getting squeezed that much harder.   I honestly have no idea how to solve the financial mess, but I know one thing I can do:

Give you guys a big discount so you can use the money you save on other stuff you need.   

So here's the deal -- 20% off across the board on everything at Write4Kids.com.  Subscriptions, renewals, ebooks, whatever.  

Look, if you're meant to be a writer, you're gonna keep writing.  And kids will need books as much -- or perhaps more -- than ever, so don't stop now.   For goodness sakes, keep at it people -- and keep educating yourself about the changing publishing world.  

Maybe you can't get to that conference or take that big workshop, but you can still stay on top of things for pennies a day by subscribing to Children's Book Insider (6.5 pennies a day, to be exact, with this discount) or picking up an eBook or two. 

So here you go.  Click this link:

http://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=35139&AdID=60546

You'll be brought to our product page and the 20% discount will show up in your shopping cart.  (If, for some reason it doesn't drop me an e-mail and we'll make it right.)

And don't sweat things too much.  It'll be all right in the end.  Plus, remember, the best things in life are free (or almost free after a 20% discount).   ;)

Let's continue our series which  will take us, step-by-step, from absolute beginner to published author. The topic of the previous issue: How Do You Define Success?  If you missed it, you can read it here:  http://write4kids.com/update92408.html

This month, we'll work to nail down just who our audience really is.

Too often, when we think of "writing for children", we imagine we're doing exactly that:  writing for all children.  Or perhaps we've narrowed it down to an age group.  But, if you say you're writing for middle schoolers, are you really writing for all middle schoolers?   Pretty unlikely.  

Consider this:  The best advice for creating a character for your book is to have a full dossier on that character crafted in your head, or perhaps even on paper.  How old is she?  What kind of clothes does she wear?  Does she live in a particular part of the world?  What does she like?  Dislike?  What's her favorite school subject?  What does she like on her pizza? and so on.

Now the character is more than an abstraction, she starts to become real flesh and blood.

So here's the trick to finding your target reader:

DO THE EXACT SAME THING.

Before you start your manuscript, create two "characters" to represent your potential readership.  One boy, one girl.  Give each one a name.  Imagine their age, their physical appearance, the way they speak and how they dress.  Think about what they do with themselves in the hours not spent reading your book.  Who are their friends?  Who are their antagonists?   What else do they read?  In what kind of house or apartment do they live?  And, most importantly, what are they looking for when they pick up your book?  To be entertained?  Enlightened?  Scared? Tickled pink with laughter?  

Don't start writing your book until these two youngsters truly become real to you.  Now, start writing your book for them.  Forget the publisher, forget the editor, forget the (hopefully) millions of other kids that will ultimately read your book.  Write this book for those two kids.  

Not only will the task ahead seem less daunting, you'll start feeling -- almost immediately -- a new connection with your readership.  And that translates into something every good editor will pick up on immediately:   a writer who can reach across space and time and connect with young readers on a one to one basis.

Want to discuss your target audience and your children's writing journey?  Visit our message board at http://write4kids.com/wwwboard and chat with other writers.  I've created a special section just for Updaters to share their thoughts about this article.  Registration to use the forum is free and takes just a few seconds. 

I really love Jacketflap, a social networking site for children's lit folks.  It's a fun place to hang out and connect with all sorts of people, and it offers an astonishing freebie:  a massive user-maintained database of children's book publishers that you can access immediately.

Now, it's not a replacement for the absolutely essential and fully-researched Children's Writers & Illustrator's Market guide, but it's a heck of a complement.

Thousands of publishers are included, and a typical listing includes contact info, some description of the company, editorial policies and top editorial staff, as well as charts and graphs that break down the publisher's output by genre and age group.  if you scroll down in each listing, you'll see direct links to another free database that describes recently published books by that company, so you can get a real feel for exactly the types of books they're seeking.

Let's be clear -- for accurate, up to date info, you should be using Children's Market, but this works beautifully hand in-hand with that book.  And, boy, is the price right.

http://jacketflap.com

In the past couple of years, there's been an explosion in wonderful blogs about children's books and the writing process.  Now, in each issue of the Update, we'll profile a unique and helpful blog.

This issue, we highlight Cynsations, the blog of author Cynthia Leitich-Smith.  Cynsations is one of kidlit's most widely read and respected blogs, and with good reason.  It's chock full of interviews, publishing news, links and recaps of the best of the blogosphere and lots, lots more.  It's a wonder to behold and an absolute must-read.

Here's the link: http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/

PS:  If you have or know of a blog that should be featured in the Update, drop Jon a line at jon@write4kids.com   Also, if you happen to come across a children's writing blog or site that doesn't list the Children's Writing Update, The Children's Writing Web Journal (http://write4kids.com/blog) or Write4Kids.com among its links or resources, why not send a friendly note telling them about us?  We'd really appreciate it!

If you haven't visited our blog recently, it's time to catch up on all the good stuff we have posted there.  Just click the links to go directly to the posting:

Wise Words About Description - really great advice I picked up from my son's social studies teacher.

A Simple & Fun Writing Exercise - something really helpful for voice, point of view or just to have a good time.

Cybils Awards Now Open for Nominations - the kidslit blogosphere now has a buzzworthy awards program.  Learn how to nominate your book for a Cybil Award.

All Together Now: How Group Blogs are Changing the Writing Scene - Band together with other authors to cut through the promotional fog!

and.....

We're Podcasting!  Yes, the Write4Kids Podcast has finally arrived.  The first one is up for your listening and dancing pleasure.  It's entitled 5 Reasons Why You Can’t Become a Writer….and Why None of Them are True   Go lend an ear....

The Children's Writing Web Journal Blog is found at http://write4kids.com/blog  Please visit and subscribe so you can keep up with all the posts.