Between teaching picture book writing classes, editing at Bushel & Peck Books, and reviewing manuscripts through The Picture Book Doctor, I spend plenty of time looking at early versions of stories.
When you’ve just finished a draft, it’s worth stepping back and asking yourself a few bigger questions.
Here are five to start with before you dive into revisions.
1. Am I hiding the good stuff?
A writer spends the first few pages warming up, explaining the situation, or easing into the idea…then suddenly the story wakes up.
If the manuscript gets interesting around page four, there’s a good chance the book should start there.
(To be honest, if the book doesn’t grab readers at the start, they’re not reaching the good stuff on page four.)
2. Who is this really for?
Picture books are often read aloud by adults, so it’s easy to drift toward clever phrasing or jokes that mostly land with the grown-up reader. Think politics, 80s or 90s pop culture riffs, or jokes about mortgages and wine.
A little of that can be fine, but the emotional center of the story still needs to belong to the kid listening.
If the adult reader is getting the biggest payoff, the balance is probably off.
3. Where does the character make a real choice?
Look for the moment where the main character decides something that changes, transforms, or shifts the direction of the story. We’re talking about giving characters agency here.
If the resolution happens because a parent steps in, luck intervenes, or the problem simply fades away, the character is riding the plot instead of driving it.
4. Where might the story be playing it safe?
First drafts often smooth things out. Your character learns the lesson quickly and the ending wraps up neatly.
Sometimes the story becomes stronger if the character struggles a little longer or the ending trusts the reader without spelling everything out.
5. What part of this would I fight for?
Imagine an editor saying, “We like the concept, but we think this section should change.”
What would YOU defend?
That answer often points to the manuscript’s true center (some might call it the “heart” or the “core”). And if nothing feels essential yet, well, that’s useful information too. It probably means you’re still discovering what the story wants to be, and that discovery process–which I’ll talk about in future posts–is completely different than the revision process.
First drafts are messy by design. That’s fine. But your job now is figuring out where the best version of the story is hiding and letting that version take over.