Writer Wednesday: Literature Review – 5 Questions to Ask

A part of writing is doing your research.  I have been working on a manuscript about a child whose mother has a chronic illness.  The manuscript is geared towards children ages 3-6.  There is surprisingly little out there that addresses this topic, and yet the number of women with children who also suffer from a chronic illness dictates a large need in this area.

There are books about Mommy has a cold and books about Mommy has cancer, and even books about when Mommy died.  All needed, no doubt!  And yet, there is a hole that needs filling.

When a writer is working on a manuscript, there is a lot of research to be done in order to make it the best manuscript the writer can.

Literature Review Questions:

1. Are there already books out there on the topic?
   1. What are they?
   2. Who wrote them?
   3. Who published them?
   4. For what age range?
   5. Are they different from what you are going to write?
   6. How?
2. Is there a need for a book on the topic for which you are writing?
   1. Is there an audience?
   2. Is the potential audience large enough to interest publishers?  They don’t want to waste their time and resources publishing a book no one will buy.  And, if you are self-publishing, neither should you!
   3. Where will the book likely be for sale?
   4. Can you partner with anyone in the distribution of your book?
3. Do you have a grasp on the issues that the book is addressing?
4. Will the reader benefit if you provided additional resources on the topic?
   1. What resources?
   2. Have you read them?  Should you?
5. Is this a topic that child psychologists might be concerned about?
   1. Have you considered what it might mean to address the topic?
   2. Are you providing tools to the reader with your story?
   3. Have you consulted with any child psychologists?  Should you?

I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching various websites about chronic illness and parenting with a chronic illness.  I’ve also researched books geared toward young children an books geared to parents. Here is the current list.  I will be providing brief reviews of these as I go along.  The list may grow!

Children’s Books About a Parent with Chronic or Serious Illness

• The Paper Chain by Claire Blake, Eliza Blanchard, and Kathy Parkinson
• When Someone Has A Very Serious Illness by Marge Heegaard
• The Invisible String by Patrice Karst
• You Are the Best Medicine by Julie Aigner Clark
• What Does Super Johnny Do When Mom Gets Sick?  by Simone Colwill
• Why Does Mommy Hurt?: Helping Children Cope with the Challenges of Having a Caregiver with Chronic Pain, Fibromyalgia, or Autoimmune Disease by Elizabeth M. Christy