Write a Book for Your Grandchild

(I was given a copy of this book to review but all opinions are my own.)

Does thinking about writing a book give you the heebie-jeebies? Do you quake in your boots when you compare your writing to Shakespeare’s or William Faulkner’s?

Well, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Your writing will be far better than the writing of those 2 gentlemen when you write a book for your grandchild. Why? Because your grandchild knows you and loves you and will love any book you write about them. (And probably because she has absolutely no idea who Shakespeare of Faulkner is!)

If you think writing a book for your grandchild is difficult, overwhelming, and even scary, it isn’t. Trust me. It’s simple. It’s enjoyable. It’s not complicated.

How can that be? you ask.

If you do what Diane Kruger Cohen says, it’s a breeze!

Cohen wrote You Can Write a Book For Your Grandchild to help grandparents in that writing process. And when following her directions, any grandparent — and I repeat ANY grandparent — can write a book.

She suggests using photos of your grandchild to create the plot of your story. I really like this idea. I’ve never heard of this approach before. And it’s a marvelous one. Grandparents probably have a gazillion photos on their phone of their adorable grandchildren. So all you have to do is select one, and you’re on your way to creating your story line.

Think about what could have happened before the photo and what would happen after it. If you have several similar pictures (say pictures all taken at the same place or activity), they can help add to the story line. And those pictures can be used in your book as illustrations.

Cohen steps you through the writing process. She provides guidelines for the number of words per page and topics of interest (grouped by age). She gives tips on editing, proofreading, selecting a title, and choosing the binding, She also recommends including a dedication in the book. (Something I wouldn’t have thought to do!)

She also suggested that you make a recording of you reading the book. That recording is saved online (on your Google drive or on iCloud). Then you make a QR code that you give to your grandchild who can then listen to you read the book as she turns the pages. Sweet! (Here is an awesome QR code generator that you can use.)

She gives the URL where you can get copyright free photos if you need additional pictures for your book. (Pixabay is also a great site for copyright free photos and images.)

But the thing that I liked best was that she included 2 of her books in their entirety. It’s so helpful to see the books that she created.

Of course there’s more information in her book. Much more.

I hope this helps you overcome any trepidation you might have about writing a book for a grandchild. When you follow Cohen’s suggestions, it will be easy. And I bet that you’ll want to write more than one!

So, pardon me now. I’m off. Off to write a plethora of books for my grandchildren!

You can get You Can Write a Book for Your Grandchild on Amazon for $19.95.