Guidelines for Creating a Book for Reluctant Readers

Understand Why they’re Reluctant

Reluctant readers are not all the same. Common causes:

• Low reading confidence
• Dyslexia or processing difficulty
• Boredom with traditional stories
• Preference for visual/digital media
• Limited vocabulary exposure
• Anxiety about “failing”

Your book must reduce cognitive load and emotional resistance.

Keep Text Manageable (But Not Babyish)

✔ Short chapters: 2–5 pages per chapter for ages 7–11.

✔ White space: Wide margins, shorter paragraphs, clear breaks.

✔ Simple sentences: Average 8–12 words per sentence for early reluctant readers.

✔ Controlled vocabulary: High-frequency words dominate, but include a few stretch words in context.

Font & Layout Matter more than Authors Realise

Many publishers follow principles similar to those recommended by the British Dyslexia Association:

• Sans-serif fonts (e.g., Arial, Verdana)
• 12–14pt minimum (often 14pt for KS2)
• 1.5 line spacing
• Off-white or cream paper
• Avoid italics and ALL CAPS
• Avoid justified text (ragged right edge is better)

Readable design increases success rates dramatically.

High-Interest, Low-Reading-Level (Hi-Lo)

This is the golden rule. Study publishers like:

• Barrington Stoke – market leaders in dyslexia-friendly fiction
• Orca Book Publishers – strong Hi-Lo catalogue
• Scholastic – accessible commercial series

Notice:

• Mature themes for age group
• Fast plot movement
• Strong hooks in first 2 pages
• Short total word counts (8k–20k depending on age)

Front-Load Engagement

Reluctant readers decide whether to continue within 1–2 pages, so pen with:

• Immediate action
• A problem
• A mystery
• A surprising voice

Avoid:

• Long backstory
• Slow world-building
• Too many characters introduced early

Illustration Strategy

For reluctant readers, illustration is not decoration, it is scaffolding, so use:

• Spot illustrations to break text blocks
• Visual clues to support comprehension
• Graphic-novel techniques (even in prose books)

Study the hybrid model popularised by authors like Jeff Kinney: the diary style dramatically reduces intimidation. If you’re developing illustration skills, focus on:

• Expressive character faces
• Clear action beats
• Visual humour
• Consistent character silhouettes

Chapter Rhythm Formula (Very Effective)

A strong structure for reluctant readers:

1. Hook/problem
2. Complication
3. Mini cliffhanger
4. Resolution (partial)
5. New hook

Every chapter should end with forward momentum.

Word Count Guidelines (UK Market) for Reluctant Readers

• Age 5–7: 1,000–3,000 words
• Age 7–9: 5,000–12,000 words
• Age 9–12:  8,000–20,000 words

Shorter is often better.

Themes That Work Especially Well

• Humour (embarrassment, chaos, exaggeration)
• Mystery
• Survival
• Animals
• Football / sport (especially boys 7–11)
• Slightly gross elements
• Competence fantasy (child smarter than adults)

Reluctant readers often respond strongly to agency-driven plots.

Emotional Safety

Avoid:

• Dense emotional introspection
• Ambiguous endings
• Heavy moralising

Reluctant readers need:

• Clear stakes
• Clear resolution
• Emotional clarity

Test With Real Children

Before publication:

• Read aloud and watch body language
• Time how long attention holds
• Ask what they “remember”, not what they “liked”. The memory test reveals clarity.

Commercial Positioning (Important if You Want to Sell Well)

In the UK, schools are a primary market. Position your book as:

• Dyslexia-friendly
• Hi-Lo
• Short chapter fiction
• Accessible for struggling readers

Librarians and SEN coordinators actively search for these categories.

If You’re Planning to Produce Your Own

Given the PYA CAG's interest in children’s book illustration and improving our craft, a strong strategy would be:

1. Write 8,000–10,000 words
2. Break into 20–30 short chapters
3. Add 1 illustration every 3–4 pages
4. Design with dyslexia-friendly layout
5. Print proof copies and test with 3–5 children

 Tips for the Children's Author Group Session of 19th February - Writing Magic into Children's Stories

This session of the Children's Author Group will be different and take a page out of the Writers' Support Group's methods for we'll be writing something in ten minutes to the theme of 'Writing Magic in Children's Stories'.

Here are the tips for writing a magical story if you prefer to prefer one beforehand and bring it along (you don't have to, we'll have ten minutes to write it at the session and Linda will explain the tips).

Magic in children’s stories works best when it feels wonderful, not complicated. Here are some tried-and-tested tips, sprinkled with a little storytelling pixie dust ✨

Keep the magic simple (but meaningful)

Kids don’t need a rule book. One or two clear magical ideas are usually enough, for example;

• Everyone can talk to animals only at night
• A book that changes its story when you’re brave
• Shoes that take you where you need to go, not where you want
• Simple magic sticks. Complexity can come later.

Give magic rules (even soft ones)

Magic is more fun when it has limits, which creates tension, for example:

• Magic might be tiring
• It might stop working if the character lies
• It might only work once per day, or once ever

Rules help kids understand consequences and fairness.

Tie magic to emotion

The best children’s magic responds to feelings:

• A room glows brighter when someone feels safe
• Spells fail when a character is scared
• Magic grows stronger with kindness, honesty, or courage

This helps kids feel the story, not just watch it.

Let magic solve some problems, but not all

Magic shouldn’t replace effort or growth. Bad example: “She waved her wand and everything was fixed.”

Better example: Magic helps open the door, but the child still has to walk through it.

Children love seeing characters succeed because they tried.

Make magic visible and sensory

Show magic through the senses:

• What does it smell like?
• Is it warm, does it fizz, does it tickle, is it loud, or timid?
• Does it leave glitter, footprints, bent grass or something behind?

Sensory magic makes scenes vivid and memorable.

Keep it age-appropriate

Younger children: playful, safe, reassuring magic (talking animals, friendly spells)

Older children: mystery, small dangers, moral choices, magical consequences

If a spell is scary, balance it with comfort or humour.

Let magic reflect the theme

Ask yourself: What is this story really about?

• Belonging → magic that reveals hidden similarities
• Growing up → magic that fades as the child learns
• Confidence → magic that only works when the character believes

When magic supports the theme, the story feels deeper without being heavy.

Don’t over explain

Children enjoy mystery. It’s okay if:

• No one knows where the magic came from
• Adults can’t explain it
• The magic 'just is'

A little unanswered magic keeps the sparkle alive.

 

Suggestions for 2026 for the Children's Author Group (CAG)

The CAG group met by ZOOM on 15th January 2026, primarily to discuss ideas for the programme for 2026. 

The ideas from the group are listed here and the CAG will meet again on Thursday 19th February 2026 at 2.30pm to consider producing a children's story book addressing reluctant readers, typically boys 8+. 

We're hoping that Jane Clack can give us the benefit of her experience in this area either in person or by providing notes or an audio transcript of her ideas.

Here are a list of ideas discussed, in no particular order:

• Supportive sessions for Children's writers along the lines of PYA's Writers Support Group but aimed at children's authors.
• The CAG work on a communal project, to be decided (and it could be one of the items identified in this list).
• Prepare a schedule for the year's meetings with topics for each one so that people know what is coming up.
• A session on best practices for accommodating Autistic/ADHD/Dyslexic/etc readers and perhaps broaden this to best practices to make reading accessible to all children.
• Audio books - how to produce them, possibly creating an audio version of the anthology 'I Want a Crocodile and Make it Snappy' with authors reading their and possibly other's chapters (if an author feels unable to read theirs).
• Create a blog posting to recommend resources available to children's writers (and other genres).
• A session on illustrating and illustrators.
• Create a communally produced book aimed at reluctant readers. A suggestion was made to create a 'world' (a school, village, region, sci-fi or fantasy world, magical world, etc) populated with strong characters and each chapter giving the viewpoint of a different character and written by a different CAG member.

Author Questions - Children's Author Group Session of 13th February 2025

Linda Jones hosted another Children's Author Group on 13th February 2025 and before the meeting, had put the questions to writer Craig Hallam, having them up her sleeve as she asked each of the attendees their thoughts on the question and how they'd answer it.

It was a productive and enlightening session, even if our answers didn't always match those of our invited guest.

Craig is a multi-award-winning international author. You can find more about him at Craig's Website (opens in a new window). Here are the questions Linda put to him and his answers - how would you have answered them?

1. At what point do you think someone should call themselves a writer? For me, it’s as soon as they put “pen to paper”. But that can also be fingers to keyboard, voice to text, or however else you get your writing done.
   
   
2. What difference do you see between a writer and an author? Honestly? Not much, if anything. I usually think of a writer as someone who does all kinds of writing, say for content creation, blogs, articles, or anything else. Authors tend to write things particularly for publication, but that’s about it. The skills and jobs of both overlap massively. It’s probably a matter of choice on the individual’s part. What do they feel most comfortable describing themselves as? 
   
   
3. Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym, and why or why not? Oh yes! And I have on a few occasions. I currently split my work between darker books under Craig Hallam and lighter stories under C B Hallam. I’ve also written some fairly spicy stuff under another name that I definitely won’t be sharing.
   
   
4. What do the words “writer’s block” mean to you?  Usually that I need a break. I either need to change project for a bit (I’m usually working on a few things at once) or draw/paint to rest my brain, or get out of the house for a walk. I think Writer’s Block is just letting you know that you need something.
   
   
5. How do you process and deal with negative book reviews? Honestly, I don’t read my reviews very often.  Only if someone says “Hey, I left you a review”. I do most of my sales face-to-face at conventions and signings, so I often get people coming back the next year and we chat about the book there. It’s one of the best parts of the job for me. Except for when someone asks a question about a character and I don’t have a clue what to answer.
   
   
6. Are there therapeutic benefits to modelling a character after someone you know? I’ve never actually done it. Is that weird? But I’m sure there are tons. The first one that comes to mind is people you don't like as fodder in a murder mystery 
   
   
7. What is the most difficult part of your writing process?  Focusing on one job at once. I’m usually writing one, editing another, and researching the next one. It helps me to make sure I’m working on something at all times.
   
   
8. How long have you been writing or when did you start?  I’ve written ever since I was a kid but I only started submitting for publication about 14 years ago. I guess that’s when I started being serious about it. It feels like five minutes and forever at the same time. 
   
   
9. What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book? Just get writing. I’ve spoken to hundreds of people who have a great idea but never actually write anything. They have vast worlds in their heads but I see them year after year and they still haven’t written anything. Just start with a single scene. Start with the ending, if you like. But the only way you’ll ever get better at the craft is to start writing. 
   
   
10. What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing? Oh wow. That’s a tough one. Maybe connecting to your reader. If you’re not connecting through a character, an interesting plot, or an intriguing world, then no one is going to want to turn the page. Other than that, everyone has their own style, influences, and ideas, and it’s all so subjective. 

 

 

February's Children's Author Group featured our guest, Crime Writer David Gatward who gave us the benefit of his experience.

Thank you author David Gatward who gave an inspiring talk to the PYA Children's Author Group in February by Zoom. Thanks also to John Clewarth for inviting David.

David self publishes his work and makes monthly sales that would be envied by many in the group. The lessons for me from the talk were:

1. Write, write, write. 4 books a year isn't an unachievable target. Make time, don't procastinate.

2. Choose a genre that has lots of readers - crime, fantasy, sci-fi.

3. Write a series and keep it going.

4. Build a following of avid readers and give them what they want. Someone who reads book 1 in the series is likely to read all of the books.

5. Focus, focus, focus. You need to want to be successful & take steps to make the dream come true. The harder you try, the luckier you become.

6. Focus on eBooks. David's sales are 80% eBooks, all on Amazon.

It was clear that David is a driven man and I think everyone was wowed by what he's achieved. It has certainly put a rocket up me!

David sent us some notes after the session and they're reproduced below.

Notes for indie authors

If you want to be really strategic about writing before you write your book: Write to market – Easier to market a book if it is targeted at a specific market rather than a mish/mash of genres. Obviously this is personal choice but if you want the biggest chance of earning, then doing research into the genre/subgenre you want to write in will pay off. What are common tropes? What are the best-selling books in the genre/subgenre do? Etc. This doesn’t mean you have to target the biggest audience. Targeting a niche audience can be very successful as long as you write what they want to read. (e.g. romance is a huge, highly competitive market so drilling down a bit into subgenres and writing something that those audiences love could be the best way to go).

Have your book edited and proofed

This goes without saying, doesn’t need any further explanation. Employ professionals and you’ll get a professional job. Don’t just ask your mate to do it …

Blurb

Make sure your blurb is catchy and appropriate – this will probably require some research because people who can write novels, can’t necessarily write short, snappy copy (especially not about their own books, which they may know too well). Look at top 100 in your genre and read their blurb, ask for feedback on relevant author Facebook groups – a neutral observer will be able to tell you if your blurb is enticing and makes them want to find out more about your book (and if not, why not). It’s something that writers often overlook or misjudge (e.g. it’s not about giving a synopsis of what your book’s about, it’s about creating suspense, intrigue, curiosity that makes potential readers want to find out more). Bryan Cohen (who runs the Author Ad School for indie authors) has written a book on writing blurbs. How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis: A Step-by-Step System for Enticing New Readers, Selling More Fiction, and Making Your Books Sound Good. I haven’t read this though but he and his team know a lot about writing blurbs.

Covers

Make sure you have a professional looking cover: Don’t do your own cover unless you are REALLY good at Photoshop/graphic design. You can usually spot a homemade cover from a mile off and they don’t look good. Back in the early days of self publishing, readers may have been drawn by homespun covers as it indicated something different from trad published books. That doesn’t work nowadays. You only have a couple of seconds to attract a reader’s attention. They are scrolling through Amazon and you only have a very short space of time to grab their attention. And you have to do this with a professional-looking cover that fits in with your genre. You don’t have to spend hundreds of £s to do this. There are websites out there that do very cost-effective covers e.g. getcovers.com, you can get an ebook cover for as little as $10, ebook and print cover for as little as $20 (there are varying price packages with different service levels). Or 100covers.com, their packages start from $100. If you have more money to spend, then you can look at more specialist design agencies e.g. www.derangeddoctordesign.com There are lots of agencies and freelance designers out there, so makes sense to do your research, ask for recommendations in online forums etc. You can also look inside the front covers of best-selling books in your genre and see if the author has credited the designer/artist and contact them. But make sure you do this good time and don’t leave to the last minute as most agencies and designers will have lead times.

BUT you do have to do research on your covers – your cover has to fit seamlessly into your genre. It has to look like all the others in the top 100. This is because readers judge books by their covers. They want to know that your book tells the kind of story they want to read. So if it looks like the stuff they like, they are more likely to click on it. This means you have to look at the following factors that are most common in the top 100 books in your genre:

What images are used, how big are they (what 5-age of the cover do they take up)

What are the dominant colours used in the images

Type, colour and size of font (for the title and the author name)

Where is the title positioned?

Where is the author name positioned?

When looking at the top 100 in your genre on Amazon, drill down into your specific subgenre. You can use the menu in Amazon or just Google the relevant e.g. ‘best seller paranormal werewolves shifter romance amazon uk’. When looking at top 100 make sure you discount any non-relevant books e.g. Amazon crime fiction in the US used to contain loads of dark mafia romance books (lots of broody, bare-chested males draped in scantily clad women), which isn’t what you want on a crime fiction book. Being as accurate as possible helps – e.g. drill down to police procedurals, tradition detective stories, scandi noir, cosy culinary etc. whatever genre fits your book best.

The more information you can provide a book cover designer with, the easier the design process will be (with fewer revisions necessary).

Join good online forums – there are lots of Facebook groups for authors. Lots of them are free. They are great places to post cover and blurb drafts and ask for feedback. Be open to constructive criticism – try not to be offended if your blurb or cover is critiqued.

Advertising:

Amazon and Facebook ads are the most common platforms for advertising. Both can be very effective if done right. I would recommend doing some research here as they can be a bit overwhelming and confusing. There are various courses and books out there that teach indie authors how to navigate Amazon and Facebook ads. Mark Dawson’s Self Publishing courses are probably among the best known? They’re fairly all encompassing and cover most aspects of writing and self publishing. It is costly, though. I haven’t done much of his stuff so can’t say much either way, but could be interesting for people to look at.

Amazon ads

The Author Ad School’s Selling for Authors course is another well-known course. It is also a paid-for course that covers most aspects of marketing and advertising a book via amazon (does not cover Facebook ads). They run a free 5-day Author Ad Challenge on Facebook several times a year. It’s a good free introduction to Amazon ads and guides you to creating your first amazon ads. Also something that they might want to check out. The next one will be in January (search for The 5-Day Author Ad Profit Challenge on Facebook and join the group). The instructor, Bryan Cohen has also written a book: Self-Publishing with Amazon Ads: The Author's Guide to Lower Costs, Higher Royalties, and Greater Peace of Mind. I haven’t read this though.

Facebook ads

For those on a limited budget, a good, no-nonsense book on how to set up and run your first Facebook Ads is: Help! My Facebook Ads Suck: Second Edition by Mall and Jil Cooper. £7.99 Kindle and £8.99 paperback. It’s an easy-to-follow, step-by-step book, and I found it very useful. I’d suggest getting the paperback as it’s easier to flick backwards and forwards through while setting up ads. Mal and Jil also run a facebook page called The Writing Wives Ads & Marketing Group (search in FB) and have a regular live chat called Lunch with Mal where Mal talks about Facebook ads and trends in FB advertising. They also run a free 5-Day Facebook Ads Challenge Group periodically in the year, but I’m not sure when the next is (search 5-Day Facebook Ads Challenge Group in Facebook)

One thing to note is that whereas it can be a challenge to get amazon to spend your budget on ads but Facebook will burn through your money in no time at all. So be careful there. Always set yourself a budget you can afford and keep an eye on ad performance and how much you’re spending. Some people find that one platform works better for them than another. E.g. Facebook didn’t seem to be having a big impact on sales, so I stopped the ads there.

It definitely helps to take a strategic approach here – testing different types of ads for x amount of time, stopping ones that don’t work and spending more on ads that do work… it pays to be strategic and analytical here (something that I am not!)

General rule of thumb = only run ads to your first in series (if you write a series). You can run time-limited campaigns to new releases, but you want to funnel

Newsletters:

It’s generally regarded as good practice to send out regular newsletters to your readers. This is because it gives you a direct means of communicating with your ‘superfans’. Even if you have an active author Facebook page where you engage with fans, if your account get blocked by Facebook, or if anything should happen to Facebook, then you lose access to these people. A mailing list is yours and yours alone.

There are lots of different email providers out there, but as far as I know, Mailerlite is the best one (it’s not perfect, but better than a lot of others). There is a free version (without customer support) that you can use until you reach a certain number of subscribers. Once you exceed 1000 subscribers, you have to switch to a paid-for account.

To get people to sign up for your newsletter, you will need a cookie, e.g. a free short story related to your book (or the world in which your books are set). There are lots of different things you can offer here. A useful resource for creating newsletters is the book Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert by Tammi L. Labrecque. It’s another no-nonsense, easy-to-follow guide on all things newslettery. She has also done a follow-up called: Newsletter Ninja 2: If You Give a Reader a Cookie: Supercharge Your Author Mailing List With the Perfect Reader Magnet, which I found useful. She also runs a Facebook page called Newsletter Ninja: Author Think Tank, where you can post questions.

General comments:

You can spend A LOT of money on really in-depth courses that will teach you every aspect of self publishing from planning a book for a specific genre to marketing it to readers. But if you’re on a budget, there are also plenty of free resources out there. Lots and lots of podcasts, for example Dave Chesson at kidlepreneur.com., The Self Publishing Show Podcast with Mark Dawson, Sell More Books Show with Bryan Cohen and H. Claire Taylor. Free courses and resources (5-day challenges on Facebook). I would suggest that people looks at the low-cost of free stuff before spending £100s or even £1000s on courses. There is so much you can learn from other authors and industry experts for free.

Useful resources for indie authors

This is by no means a definitive list. These resources may not even be the best options out there for your genre but they are all resources I have either used myself or heard good things about from other authors and industry experts.

Blurbs

Book: How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis: A Step-by-Step System for Enticing New Readers, Selling More Fiction, and Making Your Books Sound Good by Bryan Cohen

Cover design

Low cost options:

www.getcovers.com

www.100covers.com

Advertising

Amazon ads and self publishing in general

Free:

The 5-Day Author Ad Profit Challenge on Facebook run by Bryan Cohen (the next course starts in January)

Paid-for: https://selling-for-authors.teachable.com/p/amazon-ads-made-easy (Bryan Cohen)

Facebook ads

Book: Help! My Facebook Ads Suck: Second Edition by Mall and Jil Cooper.

Facebook groups:

The Writing Wives Ads & Marketing Group

5-Day Facebook Ads Challenge Group

Amazon and Facebook ads (and all aspects of self publishing)

Mark Dawson’s Self-Publishing Formula

https://selfpublishingformula.com/

Newsletters:

Free email service provider:

www.mailerlite.com

Book: Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert by Tammi L. Labrecque

Book: Newsletter Ninja 2: If You Give a Reader a Cookie: Supercharge Your Author Mailing List With the Perfect Reader Magnet

Facebook group: Newsletter Ninja: Author Think Tank

Self publishing in general:

Dave Chesson – not read much of his stuff but he’s highly respected in the indie author community and offers a lot of free resources (and a podcast) on his website. Worth checking out.

https://kindlepreneur.com/

Podcasts:

The Book Marketing Show with Dave Chesson

The Self Publishing Show Podcast with Mark Dawson

SELL MORE BOOKS SHOW with Bryan Cohen and H. Claire Taylor