Learning to write a children’s book involves a series of steps. Successfully writing and publishing a children’s book is possible, but it’s more than just writing a story idea and drawing pictures…
And there are plenty of mistakes you can easily make that will cost you book sales, followers, and ultimately the success of your book.
You are reading: How to childrens books
- Have you written a children’s book that has been rejected by agents and publishers over and over again?
- Or do you have pages full of children’s writing tips or book ideas, but have no idea what to do with them?
- Do you have the drive or desire to earn a full-time income by publishing children’s books, but not sure where to start?
if so, we can help you.
I’ve met my fair share of authors who have been scammed by vain publishers (scam alert!) or spent years investing time, money, and energy in an industry that has given them little in return.
never fear! We are here to help you!
These are the steps to write a children’s book:
- determine your book’s audience
- learn what makes a good children’s book
- read lots of children’s books
- expand the idea of their children’s book
- outline your children’s book
- limit details
- write your book!
- read again and review your first draft
- edit your book
- find a children’s book illustrator
- celebrate by writing a children’s book!
*click to jump to that section
And if you want to jump right into the steps of writing a book without learning more important details first, click here for those tips.
what is a children’s book?
Children’s books are everything from young adults to board books for toddlers. however, a book is considered a children’s book when it is intended for an audience between 0 and 8 years old.
but there is a wide range of standards and skills between these opposite extremes with children’s books.
For example, young adult books are packed with detail, world building, plots and subplots, setting creation, and solid character development, no pictures, for thousands of words.
Picture books, on the other hand, cater to our 0-8 year old audience and have very few words, lots of pictures, simple plots but intense engagement.
For our purposes here, let’s think about the early reader until mom or dad reads it to you. everything else is essentially writing novels for an audience of older children.
why write a children’s book?
there are several reasons to write for children. The rewards and motivation for writing children’s books will often be very different than if you wanted to write a full-length novel.
These are some of the wrong reasons to write a children’s book:
- “I’m retired now and I want to make a living wage doing something easy.”
- “Children’s books are short, so I know they’re easy to write and quick for the money . ”
- “I want to write but I’m not sure what. kids don’t expect much, so I’ll write for them.”
- “there are some horrible children’s books out there. I know I can do it at least that well.”
These are some of the right reasons to publish a children’s book:
- “children are the present and future of our world, I really want to impact them.”
- “I want to make writing for children my business and I have a plan to write many books. .”
- “I love children’s books (even though I’m an adult) and I want to write them so much that I’m willing to learn to write well to exceed your expectations.”
- “There are some horrible children’s books out there. I want to improve the quality of children’s literature to give children a better reading experience.”
The reality is that children’s books are the most difficult type of literature to write and produce.
You need to engage an adult audience (the people who hand over the money and are likely to be the ones reading your book every day), but you also need to engage the kids, who will be begging for their money. father wielding to buy the book and read to them every. unique. day.
plus, you only have zero to 700 words to communicate a complete story, with an inciting incident, a climax and a final resolution, to the full satisfaction of adults and children, just like when writing stories. on repeat.
writing children’s books is becoming more and more popular
The good news is that sales of children’s books are on the rise. According to a 2017 article in Publisher’s Weekly, children’s books have become a centerpiece for many traditional publishers because the rise has outpaced all other genre counterparts.
Between 2012 and 2017, sales of children’s books doubled, with a path to continue increasing.
In 2018, 31 of the UK’s top 100 best-selling books were children’s books. that’s a huge percentage!
If I’m being honest, I didn’t get into the kids’ industry for the “right” reasons. I’ve always been a writer and I was finally ready to pursue that professionally.
so, in 2007, I started the search for publications. desktop publishing was almost unheard of and I knew enough about traditional publishing to know that who you know matters as much as the quality of your work.
Before we teach you how to write a children’s book, it’s important to understand a few key things I wish I had known when I started.
This is what I learned writing a children’s book:
- The children’s industry is highly competitive. so while sales are on the rise, so are sales. people who write and publish them. .
- The books that thrive in the industry are extremely well written and well marketed.
- It takes time to study the craft of children’s writing well and to market and sell your book well. therefore, it also takes time to make money.
- Self-publishing children’s books is a totally viable and profitable way to produce your stories. From the conversations I’ve had, I’ve learned that I make more money per book sold than my traditionally published counterparts, I have to do the same level of marketing as them, I have more creative control, and I can get my book out in three months. from one to two years. (I have many friends in the traditional industry and love their contribution to market research and high-quality value. Together, we partner to impact children.)
- Writing for children is better. fan mail for kids? nothing else like that. experiencing the giggles and gasps of children who are caught up in their words is exhilarating. and knowing that your story is a safe space, gives children permission to be unique, and passes on important life skills to our next generation is one of the highest honors.
- You can also writing a children’s book that also accompanies her non-fiction book for adults, like our coach ellaine ursuy.
With time and practice, I’ve learned how to set my expectations correctly, develop a writing habit, and produce high-quality, professional, and engaging children’s books.
if, after reading the right reasons to write a children’s book, you realized that it’s you, stay with me a little longer and i’ll walk you through some standard first steps.
If, after reading the wrong reasons to write a children’s book, you realized that it’s you, then consider writing an adult book. we have great resources on how to figure out what to write, starting with something you’re excited about, can write quickly, and can write easily.
For the rest of you, there are a number of standards and steps to get you started writing your first children’s book.
how to write a children’s book: steps, structure + tips
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writing a children’s book has a different overall writing process than, say, writing a novel.
We’ve broken down the steps to writing children’s books with a strategy that works.
If you like to learn by listening or watching, check out the video below for some tips not in this post:
#1 – determine the audience for your children’s book
everything about how your book begins: your story idea, book layout, number of pages, number of illustrations, and depth of plot all depend on who you’re writing for.
A picture book, for example, is usually read aloud by an adult. the child is captivated by the entire illustrations and is almost entirely dependent on hearing the story.
the language can be a little more developed, poetic and nuanced since the book is as much for the adult who reads as it is for the child. early chapter books, on the other hand, are for the budding older reader who is still relying on a few works of art while building vocabulary.
If you don’t know the age and stage of the child you’re writing for, you may lose interest. the following is a guide to your book by age group.
determines what you’re writing:
The length of children’s books varies depending on the age group you want to write for and the details of the story you want to tell. You’ll also want to consider whether or not you’ll be writing a series of children’s books or just one book. series are great for kids because they often become attached to certain characters and love to see them again.
If you want to write for children ages 0-4, chances are you’re writing a short, very simple board book or concept book.
These books often teach children their colors or how to count or demonstrate a routine such as bath time or bedtime, in 0 – 100 words.
Children ages 3 to 8 love picture books. these are 0-700 word stories (1000 max) that use full page images to tell a story.
These books are usually read aloud by an adult to children. picture books depend in part on the quality of the story told through the text and the work of the illustration to communicate the story.
With so few words, picture books must be compelling and tell a complete story, which means every word must have a purpose to move the story forward.
Early Readers are short chapter books aimed at children ages 5-7 and are between 200 and 5,000 words.
This chapter book for toddlers is designed for kids who see big kids reading chapter books and really want to read them too.
However, these children are still developing reading skills and need simple language because they are reading it to themselves. the chapters are short so children can feel successful as they go through such a “big” book. these are most popular in the educational market as a bridge for younger readers between picture books and chapter books.
here is a helpful table for an easier overview:
Naturally, as the age of the target child increases, the number of words increases, and so does the depth of the plot. these books include illustrations, to a lesser extent as the word count increases, stopping around the middle grade.
This is a great resource for determining what you want to write (and for whom). this article was written primarily for traditional industry writers, but it’s a great standard for us too.
#2 – knowing what makes a good children’s book
Children’s books are unique in that their lesson and what children learn is very important, but you also need to create them in a way that grabs their attention.
Here are some criteria for writing a good children’s book:
- has an important lesson
- the story is easy to follow for the chosen age range
- the illustrations are of high quality and professional
- engages with a wide range of children
- can entertain adults at the same time
Using these criteria can help you structure your story, create a better setting for the story, and ensure you hit the milestones necessary for a good children’s book.
#3 – read a lot of books in your category
There are many different genres to choose from when writing for children and the best way to write them well is to read them often.
The following are a sample of the options:
- realistic fiction: made-up stories that could happen today in real life (but didn’t).
- historical fiction: stories invented based on real historical events.
- biography: a story like this, or a memoir, is based on the life of a real person.
- strong>fantasy: made-up stories that involve ideas that do not occur in real life.
- science fiction: made-up stories that are generally implausible and are usually set in the future involving some level of science and technology.
- poetry: writing poetry is telling stories told in verse, with or without rhyme, with the intention of communicating in such a way way to evoke emotions.
- non-fiction: true stories that are informative (to teach facts) or based on true stories from real life.
- folklore: these are the stories, often told orally first, that represent our history, our culture, our st stories, myths, legends, nursery rhymes, songs of the past, and even some fairy tales passed down. they are often retold since we don’t know the original author.
reading books in your genre can help you understand story structure that works, including how to start your story, the maturity of the content for your target audience, and more.
#4 – think of an idea for a children’s book
Children’s story ideas can be silly, insightful, inspiring, hilarious, quirky, serious, and downright weird. they can make you laugh, cry, gasp, squeal, giggle and laugh.
Ideas like these come from many places: the kids around you (eavesdrop, it’s great), the adults around you (listening is actually very helpful as a writer), nature, books, movies, newspaper articles, youtube videos, animals… be an observer and you will find ideas everywhere!
These are some of my favorite places to think about children’s books:
- Fractured Fairy Tales – Take a commonly known myth or legend and retell it in a new and creative way. think of “the true story of the three little pigs” (told by the wolf), goldilocks and the three dinosaurs, or my own book, tercules. I took the legend of hercules, combined it with a wild turkey chick and voila.
- Improbable Characters and Scenarios: Speaking of terms, another great place to get ideas is to pair two very unlikely characters and place them in an unlikely scenario. shark vs train is a great example of this.
- place characters in childlike settings and circumstances: some book ideas are life skills we want to teach our children in creative ways. the princess and the potty worked magic with my daughter. Or is your buffalo ready for kindergarten? Illustrated by my friend Daniel. Taking a unique character and putting them in a child’s position will help kids gain all sorts of great life skills. or on a more serious note, the sweater of my own hope: a child’s journey through foster care and adoption, gives children permission to experience the many conflicting feelings of adoption through the lens of the hope. Our very own SPS trainer, Jed Jurchenko, also does this with his recent release, The Stormy Secret, which helps kids navigate the safe places to share the secrets thrust upon them.
- Take the theme or message of an adult nonfiction book you’ve written and modify it to fit the needs of a child to teach the same thing, before
#5 – summarize your children’s book
once you have an idea, start presenting it in book format. yes, this is essentially an outline. Depending on the category and genre of the book, this outline will look different. for a picture book, the story will be, on average, 28 pages of story.
Create a book doll and fill in the pages with your idea. (To make a mock book, take 16 pages of plain paper and fold them in half to make a small booklet.
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this should create a 32 page “book”. the first few pages are the title page and copyright page, 28 story pages, and then any ending topics you want to include, such as “about the author” or a note from the author.
Use this fictional book to design your scenes and choose where in your story you want the page to turn.
For chapter books, be sure to summarize the entire story with the five major milestones of a strong plot, as well as the individual chapters. if you’re more of a pantsuit (writing down the seat of your pants), then at least have a framework for your story so you don’t get lost in the ways of the rabbit.
don’t get lost! your readers will too!
We go over many different tips and types of children’s books that describe methods you can use in the following video:
#6 – focus on the details of your children’s book
Choose whether you will write the book in poetry or prose, in the first or third person, in the past or present.
use other books in its genre to guide you as a standard.
If you choose to write poetry, keep in mind that if you can’t do it perfectly, you shouldn’t do it at all. writing poetry is much more than rhyming words. it’s meter swing. moment. rhythm
If one of these is wrong, it baffles your reader and discredits your book and your storytelling skills.
If you can tell just as well in prose or poetry, go for it.
#7 – write that first draft!
don’t dwell on the details, just write the story.
One of the biggest obstacles that prevents all authors from being successful is finishing a book.
if you can pull this off, you’re further along in the process than most other writers, you never get past the idea stage.
Here are some tips for finishing your draft:
- schedule time to write
- get an accountable partner for external motivation
- set a deadline
- eliminate distractions while you write
- focus only on finishing, no editing along the way
#8 – reread and revise your first draft
Do you have enough words? a lot of words? add or cut as needed.
- Does your story make sense?
- Are there any plot holes I need to address?
- Did you break any of the “rules”?
- if so, why? but because?
reinforce your draft.
This desktop publishing process can take a while, but you’ll feel better if you send a cleaner, tighter manuscript to the editor because it can only get better from there.
#9: Get a critique or an edit.
Getting a book review gives you the opportunity to get feedback from a children’s book professional on the marketing of your book, the content of your book, and to address any grammatical issues.
No matter how well you think you master grammar or understand a child’s brain, your eyes alone will never be enough for a perfect draft.
I’m an experienced writer and editor and still don’t trust myself to spot every grammatical problem or plot hole. invite a professional to give you feedback on the content, as well as other eyes on its grammar and syntax.
but not just any professional! Make sure they have solid experience in the children’s writing industry and credibility to back up their work.
Editing a children’s book is not the same as editing a book for adults.
Trust me, I do both. consider the comments of the editors and make the necessary changes. stay true to your voice and your story while honoring the tradition of literature and writing quality books.
#10 – find a children’s book illustrator
This is the funniest part! Her book will now come to life in the hands of someone amazing.
The illustrations in your book are extremely important. you have to think about what style you want and find someone who can bring it to life.
Here are some places where you can find a children’s book illustrator:
- fiverr
- upwork
- google search for “children’s book illustrator”
- society of children’s book writers and illustrators
- illustrationweb
- connect with a new illustrator and work on building your portfolio with them, usually for a reduced price
p.d. — Do you know any great illustrators of children’s books? leave your names in the comments below so we can see them!
You can also check out our article on how to find an illustrator for your children’s book.
#11 – celebrate!
this is huge! these words you have been saying are about to be read by children!
Take a minute and throw a dance party before you start book production, including formatting your book and even getting a book cover design.
You did it!