E. B. White on writing for children (1969) This is it. https://t.co/a1Kj9TwfJN

1. The aim of my writing is never to make money. If there are opportunities, I will pay attention, but it is never the direct aim. I obsessively focus on other funding mechanisms such that I don't have to worry much about how to monetize writing.

2. I write for readers like me. I dislike a lot of the current trends in books. I think they dumb down... See more

Taste requires originality. It invokes an aspirational authenticity. Writer George Saunders calls this “achieving the iconic space,” and it’s what he’s after when he meets his creative writing students. “They arrive already wonderful. What we try to do over the next three years is help them achieve what I call their “iconic space” — the place from... See more

In summary: You are not just writing a kids' book; you are building a framework of wonder, hope, and moral imagination in the soul of a child.

"You are writing for yourself. Don’t try to visualize the great mass audience. There is no such audience— every reader is a different person. Don’t try to guess what sort of thing editors want to publish or what you think the country is in a mood to read. Editors and readers don’t know what they want to read until they read it. Besides, they’re... See more