7 Easy Steps To Write a Children’s Book

So, you want to write a children’s book.

First off, congratulations! You have already taken the first big step by seeking out guidance on this process.

Although children’s books are not as long or complex as chapter books, they still require quite a bit of time, effort, and creative energy.

In this guide, we will teach you the ins and outs of how to write a children’s book, from developing a writing process to getting published.

Here is a quick breakdown of what you can find in this guide:

• Getting Started: Planning Your Children’s Book
  • Determining Your Target Audience
  • Researching Current Trends
  • Finding Your Niche
• 7 Steps for a Successful Writing Process as a Children’s Book Author
  • Step 1: Create a Basic Story Map & Plot Structure
  • Step 2: Develop Your Characters
  • Step 3: Choose Your Goal Length
  • Step 4: Write a Rough Draft
  • Step 5: Edit, Edit, Edit
  • Step 6: Format Your Final Draft Properly
  • Step 7: Illustrate Your Children’s Book
    • 7a: Finding a Professional Illustrator
    • 7b: Illustrating It Yourself
  • How to Publish Your Children’s Book
    • Self Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing
    • Working with a Literary Agent
  • Final Thoughts: Tips for Submitting a Children’s Book Manuscript

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about how to write an awesome children’s book!

Getting Started: Planning Your Children’s Book

Before you even begin the process of writing a children’s book, it is crucial to take the time to thoroughly plan for your book.

This can include everything from setting key goals as an author, such as a timeframe for when you want to publish, to researching the children’s book market.

With the proper planning, you can more easily create a wonderful and well-written book that will reach the minds of children all over and ignite their imaginations.

Here are 3 key tips for getting started when planning to write a children’s book:

Determining Your Target Audience

First and foremost, you need to know who you are writing your children’s book for.

Most kids do not develop independent reading skills until around the ages of 5 to 7 years old.

However, even before these ages, parents can read books to their children, using the pictures and illustrations found in children’s books to help them learn the proper word-to-image associations.

As a result, to determine who your main audience is, you need to decide which age range you are targeting with your children’s book.

Let’s examine the different age groups and the types of books that are best for them:

• Ages 0 to 4: In this age group, most children will not yet have the reading comprehension abilities to read on their own. Most books made for kids in this age range will primarily read picture books with some light text elements, such as basic vocabulary words and alphabet letters. These types of books may have a simple story or narrative element but will typically be more focused on the educational side, helping young children to gain the most basic reading skills.
• Ages 4 to 6: As children move up in age to the 4 to 6 year age range, they are likely to begin attending pre-school and kindergarten. This schooling, along with parental guidance, allows children in this age range to read slightly more complex picture books that include a more fully-developed story plot and well-rounded characters. In general, this age range is the target audience that many children’s book authors aim to attract.
• Ages 6 to 8: Kids aged 6 to 8 will have greater expectations placed on them in school, resulting in them reading books that are of a higher reading level. While they may not be ready to read long novels or chapter books just yet, the picture books written for this age group will be much more detailed and include more complex literary elements. Additionally, kids in this age range will also have a greater interest in non-fiction educational books as well.
• Ages 8 and above: Most children begin moving on from children’s picture books to children’s chapter books — or even young adult chapter books — around the age of 8. This typically occurs in grades 2 and 3, as strong reading comprehension without the assistance of visuals becomes a more vital component of a child’s education.

Researching Current Trends

Like any author, a children’s book author should always do some research into the children’s book industry before writing a book and submitting it to a publisher.

Familiarizing yourself with current trends in the industry is essential for many reasons, including:

• Offering Unique Perspectives: While it can be a good idea to write a book that falls within the current trends, you should also try and figure out which stories have been largely overlooked. For example, let’s imagine that children’s books about cats are all the rage right now. You research this topic and find many books that fit within the adventure genre. To make your book stand out from the competition, you could instead write a book about a cat that goes to space, giving you the opportunity to create a lovable main character while also teaching kids about outer space.
• Creating Relevant, Timely Stories: Oftentimes, both parents and school teachers will look for books that cover topics that are highly relevant to current events but framed in a way that is accessible to children. This can make it easier to introduce children to serious or complex topics (climate change, global news, etc.) in a way that is kid-friendly and includes a positive outlook to inspire hope within young audiences.
• Appealing to the General Public: More than anything, it is important to research what types of books perform well with the general public. The language and narrative devices you use should be appealing to wide audiences. One great way to do this is to choose a main moral or theme to center your story around that is relatable to children and families of many different backgrounds (for example, the moral of your story could be the importance of kindness and friendship).

Finding Your Niche

Although you do want to create a children’s book that can appeal to wide audiences, it is also important to acknowledge the power of a niche.

In the world of children’s books, a niche refers to an overarching theme or style that ties your body of work together.

If this is your first time trying your hand at writing a children’s book, you may not have a clear idea of what niche you want to be a part of just yet — some authors even choose multiple niches!

Take Dr. Seuss’s books, for example.

These books cover a vast range of different topics, characters, and themes, yet they all fall into the category of rhyming picture books.

As a result, books by Dr. Seuss are immediately recognizable and often give a sense of comfort to readers, as they know what they can expect when picking up one of these books to read.

This is especially important if you plan on publishing more than one children’s book, as having a clearly defined niche can help you to create connections between your stories and even feature recurring characters or themes.

To help you get a better idea of what niches and genres of children’s books appeal the most to today’s audiences, here are five examples of books on The New York Times Best Sellers list:

1. The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin: As a rhyming picture book from the perspective of a loving parent imagining all the things their child will grow up to be and accomplish, this book teaches young readers to have confidence and dream big.
2. The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt: A story of a box of crayons that decide to quit after being unhappy with how they are being used — this book deals with the complicated topic of a worker’s strike and the importance of treating people fairly.
3. The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! by Mo Willems: In this story, a young pigeon feels nervous about going to school for the first time and must figure out how to overcome these worries — a theme that is undoubtedly relatable to children making their debut in the classroom.
4. Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin: This fun-filled book about taco-loving dragons is not only a great introduction to the fantasy genre but also helps teach the lesson of respecting others’ personal preferences (dragons DON’T like spicy salsa!).
5. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates! by Ryan T. Higgins: As a favorite amongst teachers, this book features a T-Rex who is going to school for the first time and must learn how to get over the worries of fitting in, how to behave well, and how to follow the rules.

7 Steps for a Successful Writing Process as a Children’s Book Author

After you have determined your target audience, researched current trends, and decided upon a niche or two that interest you, the time has come to begin writing your children’s book.

The writing process can differ from author to author, as everyone has unique storytelling methods.

After all, this is what helps to set authors apart from one another!

That being said, there are some essential steps to follow that can help you along the way to keep everything organized and on track.

By going into this process with a clearly laid out plan, you can more easily bring your story to life.

Here are 7 steps for a successful writing process when writing a children’s book:

Step 1: Create a Basic Story Map & Plot Structure

To ensure your story has a strong narrative flow and a plot that makes sense for young readers, your first key step is to define your plot structure and create a basic story map.

Plot structure refers to how you arrange the events in your story.

Children’s books rarely have overly complicated plots.

However, this does not mean that you should not still pay attention to how each event in your story leads to the next, as this is what keeps readers interested and engaged.

In general, there are 4 main parts to any plot:

1. The Exposition: The exposition is the beginning of your story in which you describe the setting and introduce your characters to the reader. This part is also where you will determine the narrative voice you want to use throughout the story. A narrative voice is the point of view from which a story can be told. Though there are many different types of narration styles, most can be categorized as either first-person, second-person, or third-person (we will discuss these more in Step 2: Develop Your Characters).
2. The Rising Action: After you have introduced your characters and setting, the next part of your plot to deal with is the introduction of the conflict. The rising action refers to the start of the conflict, which is typically a specific event that sets the conflict into motion. In this part of your plot, your main character(s) should feel conflicted about what path to take and demonstrate a need for personal growth. This part of the plot is also where you will suggest what goal or outcome your characters are working towards, which will later help you to carry out the climax.
3. The Climax: The climax of your story is when the conflict reaches its peak. There should be one dramatic scene that stands out from the rest, serving as the high point after you have built up suspense and anticipation in the rising action. Your characters should reach the conclusion of the conflict, be it a success, a failure, or a neutral outcome.
4. The Resolution: Though you have reached the climax of your story, it is not yet complete. To finish your plot off strong, you need a clear resolution (also known as the falling action). This resolution is the resulting event(s) after your characters have overcome the climax of the story. For children’s books, this should almost always include a happy ending and a reiteration of the central theme or lesson you are trying to teach.

With these four plot components in mind, you can then move on to using them to create your story map.

A story map is essentially an outline in which you can define the events that will occur for each part of the plot.

Most authors use story maps to work out the kinks in their writing, as a story map can help you identify plot holes or weak narrative elements, such as cliches or an ineffective character arc.

Additionally, creating a story map helps you to ensure that your story contains all the necessary parts of a strong plot structure.

For instance, you may map out your story only to realize you have not included a resolution.

Since you have realized this before writing an actual first draft, you can avoid having to do extra editing and rewriting down the road.

To illustrate this step further, let’s look at an example of an effective story map.

In this example, your main character is a young boy named Charlie who is attending a summer camp when his camp counselor goes missing. You want this to be a mysterious detective story, with a central message of the importance of asking others for help.

For this plot, your story map may look similar to this:

• Event One (Exposition): Charlie is a very observant young boy who loves solving riddles and puzzles. He arrives at summer camp and meets his camp counselor, Sally, who is highly independent and wants to be a good role model for her campers.
• Event Two (Rising Action): After Charlie’s first night at camp, he awakes to find Sally has gone missing. Since Charlie is highly observant, he notices footprints that match Sally’s shoe size leading into the woods and chooses to go looking for her.
• Event Three (Climax): From a distance, Charlie discovers Sally hiding from a bear high up in a tree. Knowing he is too little to scare off the bear, Charlie runs back to camp to get the older counselors to help.
• Event Four (Resolution): The older counselors come to the rescue and Sally is saved. She explains that she heard a funny noise and went to investigate on her own, only to end up stranded too far in the woods for anyone to hear. Sally praises Charlie for his quick thinking and remarks on how sometimes the bravest thing to do is to ask for help. The rest of the summer goes by smoothly and no one wanders off in the woods by themselves again.

Step 2: Develop Your Characters

Aside from having a well-designed plot structure, you also need to make sure you give your main characters strong and believable character arcs.

A character arc is a transformation that a character undergoes throughout the course of the story. By the end of the story, your main character(s) should not only overcome an external challenge but also some form of internal turmoil that helps them grow as a person.

To develop a character arc, it is crucial to pay attention to how you characterize each of the main players in your story in the exposition.

As you write about these characters, your goal should be to show their strengths and weaknesses by describing their main personality traits and behavioural tendencies.

By thoroughly fleshing out each character, not only will your story be more interesting but it will also make more sense as to why they make certain decisions that lead them towards the climax.

Moreover, strong character arcs are necessary for successfully conveying a central moral or message.

Returning to the example of the summer camp story we mapped out in step one, our two main characters are Charlie and Sally.

As we wrote in the exposition of our story map, Charlie is a highly observant child who likes riddles and puzzles, while Sally has an independent spirit with the goal of being a great role model for her campers.

While these are good starting characterizations, we can definitely take them a step further.

To do this, we are going to write short biographies for both Charlie and Sally.

These biographies will serve as our jumping-off point from which we can write the story to be more accurate to our characters’ personalities.

Let’s start with Charlie:

Charlie’s Bio: Charlie is a highly observant but quiet young boy. His high intellect has given him a love for riddles and puzzles. However, it has also made him wary of the world around him and he often finds himself scared to go outside of his comfort zone. To help him get over this, his mom sends him to summer camp to learn better social skills and to gain more confidence.

Using details from this bio, we can better demonstrate why it is so monumental for Charlie to go looking for his missing camp counselor.

Since he tends to be nervous about both the world and the people around him, he must overcome this fear to find his counselor and go back for help.

Simultaneously, his ability to find Sally using his observational and riddle-solving skills (i.e. matching the footprints to Sally’s shoe size) gives him a much-needed confidence boost.

Next up is Sally:

Sally’s Bio: Sally is a spontaneous, adventurous, and independent teenager. Her dream job is to be a teacher, making her role as a camp counselor one that she cherishes. She always stresses to her campers that they must embrace their inner bravery. However, Sally’s independent spirit often results in a big ego and a weak sense of danger, ultimately resulting in her constantly finding herself in tricky situations.

With this bio as our guide, we can more thoroughly explain why Sally would recklessly follow a strange noise in the woods on her own. We can characterize her further by describing other situations in the rising action in which Sally was not cautious enough of her surroundings, making this one of Charlie’s key observations about her.

Finally, her love of teaching allows her to overcome her ego and recognize that there is no shame in asking for help — and that she should be more careful in the future.

Editor’s note: If you want to learn how to write dialogue, read HERE

Step 3: Choose Your Goal Length

It’s incredibly easy to go overboard when writing a story.

As you develop your plot and characters, you are likely to grow a deep fondness for the story you are creating. In turn, you may find yourself with pages upon pages of experimental story maps, character bios, notes, and more.

Yet, one of the most important elements of a children’s book is keeping the story as concise as it is compelling. Most children’s books are typically between 20 to 40 pages in total length, or roughly 300 to 1,000 words — this averages out to around 30 pages or 650 to 700 words.

Additionally, the rising action of a story tends to be the lengthiest part of any children’s book plot, while the resolution is often the shortest.

Another important consideration when deciding what length to aim for is how many words you should include on each page.

In general, most pages in a children’s book will only have between one to three lines of text on each. Assuming your target readers are fairly young, these lines of text should also be made up of simple sentences.

Step 4: Write a Rough Draft of your Children’s Book

Using the estimated word counts and the number of pages discussed in step three — as well as your story map and character bios from steps one and two — you can finally begin crafting your rough draft.

As you begin this writing process, you should once again create a story map but rather than describing the events of the plot, you should instead detail how many words and how much space in your book you want to dedicate to each part.

Below is an example for you to practice with. In this example, your goal is to have a total of around 30 pages and roughly 700 total words.

Rough Draft Story Map Example:

• Event One (Exposition): Aim for 5 to 7 pages / 120 to 160 words
• Event Two (Rising Action): Aim for 10 to 12 pages / 230 to 280 words
• Event Three (Climax): Aim for 5 to 7 pages / 120 to 160 words
• Event Four (Resolution): Aim for 4 to 6 pages / 90 to 140 words

Step 5: Edit, Edit, Edit Your Children’s Book

What step do you think is the biggest part of the writing process?

If you said the editing step, you would be correct.

Editing is a major part of writing a children’s book, especially once you move into the publishing stage.

It is incredibly important when writing a children’s book to keep an open mind to suggestions and feedback, as your final draft is likely to differ fairly drastically from your original rough draft.

One of the most helpful things you can do for yourself in this step is to work with professional editors.

If you plan on going the traditional publishing route, then your publisher will assign you an editor from their professional team.

On the other hand, if you self-publish, you will need to seek out freelance editors on your own.

Additionally, if you have any youngsters in your life (your own kids, a relative’s kids, a friend’s kids, etc.), some of the most valuable feedback can come from them.

After all, you are writing this story for children, so who better to tell you whether or not it appeals to a young mind than a child?

This can also help you identify parts of your story that may be too complex or serious for a young audience, making it easier to determine which elements of your story need the biggest adjustments.

Step 6: Format Your Final Draft Properly

Your final draft should always reflect the formatting that you intend the text to have in the finished book.

While you do not need to put each part of your book on a separate page, it is a good idea to separate lines of text into paragraphs according to which lines will go together on the same page.

This helps you (and your editors and publishers) to gain a sense of the overall flow of the story.

In addition to organizing your final draft in this way, you can also use this as an editing technique to identify any unnecessary parts of the story that can be omitted.

Ultimately, you want your final draft to be as complete as possible.

Though it may go through some minor changes after this point, the final draft serves as the basis from which you or a professional artist will create the illustrations for your book.

Step 7: Illustrating Your Children’s Book

The illustration step in your writing process is a bit different from the rest.

Generally, most publishers or literary agents are not interested in seeing illustrations alongside a manuscript, as they first want to assess the value and quality of the story on its own.

As such, many children’s book authors leave the illustration step until their book has been picked up by a publisher.

Of course, this is not always the case.

For example, if you choose to self-publish (see Self Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing below), then you will forego the process of working with a literary agent or publisher altogether.

If this is the publishing route you opt for, then figuring out how you want your book illustrated is entirely your responsibility and should be included in your creative process.

Regardless of whether you choose self-publishing or traditional publishing, you will have two main options to choose from when it comes to your illustrations:

1. Find and hire a professional illustrator for your children’s book
2. Use your own illustrations for your children’s book

Let’s examine each of these two options in greater detail:

7a. Finding an Illustrator

For anyone who is not a professional or skilled artist, fret not — you can still write an awesome children’s book with the assistance of a professional illustrator.

If you have chosen to go the traditional publishing route, your publisher will more than likely select an illustrator for you.

Depending on the terms of your contract, you may or may not have a say in who this illustrator is. Thus, if having a say in the illustrations is important to you, make sure to negotiate that into your final contract.

As for writers who opt for self-publishing, there are several ways you can find a professional illustrator to work with.

Your best bet is to look for a lesser-known freelance artist, as these artists often offer quality work at lower overall prices — though you should always compensate your artists fairly!

Here are some great places to look for professional illustrators for your children’s book:

• The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators — This site is great not just for finding an artist but also for building industry connections.
• Children’s Illustrators — On this site, you can find an entire directory of artists available for hire, including a showcase of each artist’s portfolio and style.
• Fiverr — Fiverr is one of the most popular platforms for freelancers. Not only can you find illustrators here but you can also find editors, translators, and any other professional you may need.

7b. Illustrating It Yourself

If you plan on illustrating your children’s book yourself, there are many factors to keep in mind.

First and foremost, if you plan to work with a traditional publisher, you are going to have to indicate in your manuscript that you plan on doing the illustrations. For a publisher to agree to this, you will need a portfolio of work to show your skills and that you are capable of creating print-friendly designs.

As for self-publishing, there is a lot that goes into illustration beyond simply drawing pictures.

You will need some form of computer software (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, etc.) that allows you to digitize your work and add your text to the page.

Additionally, you must ensure that your images are the correct size and colour model for printing.

Most printed materials will use either the CMYK or the RGB colour model.

As for the sizing, this will depend on how you are having your book printed and what sizes the printing company offers.

Always do a test print before printing all of your books to make sure the colours and formatting look the way you want them to!

Other considerations for illustrating a self-published children’s book include:

• Image Resolution: Your image resolution for a printed book should be at least 300 pixels per inch (ppi). If you plan on releasing a digital-only book, then you can reduce this to 72 ppi.
• Image File Format: To upload your images to be printed, your image files will typically need to be in .jpeg/.jpg format. However, some printers may ask you for raw or .tiff files as well, so always check with your selected printer about file formatting before uploading your images.
• Image Size: While your images may need to be resized to fit specific printing dimensions, your base images should be at least 2,500 pixels on each side.

How to Publish Your Children’s Book

At long last, you have finally made it to the publishing stage. Hurray!

Publishing a children’s book can be a difficult process, regardless of which publishing route you opt for.

The biggest tip we can give you is to have patience — if things do not immediately go your way, keep trying a persevering. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, you will accomplish your goals.

That being said, let’s jump into some of the specifics of publishing a children’s book — starting with the difference between traditional publishing and self-publishing.

Self Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing

Your very first decision to make in your publishing journey is whether you would prefer to go through a traditional publisher or if you would rather self-publish.

There are pros and cons to both options, and oftentimes children’s book authors will test out both methods to see which is a better fit for them.

Traditional publishing involves working with a publishing house or company, such as Scholastic or Charlesbridge Publishing. The main advantage to working with a traditional publisher is that they will handle all of the more technical aspects of publishing a children’s book for you, including:

• Formatting and printing
• Finding and hiring an illustrator
• Marketing and gaining exposure for your children’s book
• Distributing your book to book-selling businesses

However, the main drawback to this option is trying to find a publisher that is willing to enter a business contract with you.

The children’s book market is highly competitive, meaning that even if your book is selected by a publisher, it may take months or even years for them to make that decision.

Additionally, you lose some creative control when you work with a traditional publisher. At the end of the day, these publishers are running a business, so they will edit your book as they see fit for what will sell in current book markets.

Comparatively, self-publishing gives you much more creative freedom and control. Some of the main benefits of self-publishing include:

• Selecting your own illustrator or creating your own illustrations
• Not having to share profits with a traditional publisher
• Maintaining full rights and control of your intellectual property

On the other hand, self-publishing means you will miss out on all of the advantages of traditional publishing. You must not only raise and invest the funds to print your books but also do all of the marketing yourself, as well as hire your own editing and/or illustration team.

Working with a Literary Agent For Your Children’s Book

If you do opt for the traditional publishing route, one alternative method you can opt-in to is to work with a literary agent.

A literary agent is essentially a talent agent that takes you on as a client and represents you to publishers.

Rather than you having to reach out to a publisher on your own, your literary agent will act on your behalf, ensuring that all of your needs and best interests are met.

The tough part with this is finding a trustworthy literary agent who is currently accepting new clients.

You will need to do some thorough research on literary agents who are actively seeking new authors and have a proven track record of making great deals and sales.

One site that is excellent for this type of research is Publishers Marketplace.

Alternatively, if you decide to self-publish and end up achieving significant sales and success, literary agents may end up reaching out to you.

The key is to always look into who you are working with and to be wary of bad characters, as there are many literary agent scams out there nowadays to watch out for.

Final Thoughts: Tips for Submitting a Children’s Book Manuscript

It’s official — you have made it to the end of our guide on how to write a children’s book.

Using the tips and steps listed in this guide, you can not only write a wonderful children’s book that delights young readers but also make sense of the confusing world of publishing.

As a final send-off, here are 3 tips to keep in mind when submitting a manuscript for your children’s book to publishers or literary agents:

• Be Wary of Including Illustrations: Most publishers or literary agents are not going to be interested in illustrations until they have decided your work is something they would like to add to their repertoire. If you have a professional illustration portfolio or already have a professional illustrator you want to work with, your best bet is to mention this in your query letter that you will send along with your manuscript. Make sure to include links to any online portfolios!
• Don’t be Discouraged by Rejections: Let’s face it — the competition in the children’s book industry is fierce. If you are opting for the traditional publishing route, you will more than likely face a few rejections before your book is taken on by a publisher. Just remember to have confidence in your work and don’t give up.
• Listen to Feedback & Revise Accordingly: Though your work may be rejected, oftentimes, publishers or literary agents will offer some form of feedback on why they have chosen to reject your work. This feedback can sometimes be fairly harsh but it is also incredibly valuable. By listening to the feedback you receive and revising accordingly, you greatly increase your chances of landing a book deal with the next publisher you reach out to.

With all that said and done, we wish you the best of luck on your journey to becoming a children’s book author!

Additional Resources

How To Write a Memoir

How To Plot A Non-Fiction Book

How To Write a Business Book