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If you’re researching how to write a children’s picture book, you’ve probably been touched by a children’s story at some point in your life. Now, you're ready to start creating a picture book of your own.
What’s the first book that you remember reading/listening to as a child? Was it a picture book?
Whether it was a soothing lullaby, a gentle adventure about a bunny named Peter Cottontail, or a rhythmic, Seuss-type play on words, it probably had colorful illustrations on almost every page.
There is a booming children’s picture book market, and for good reason. Picture books are FUN. Dare I say, they are the most fun way to learn how to read. So, why not learn how to write a children's picture book yourself? It can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
Today, we'll provide you with a step-by-step guide to learn how to write a children's picture book. But before we get started on the details of creating a picture book, let's discuss what they are and why they are so important in the world of literature.
A children’s picture book is a book written for young readers that is composed of text paired with visual illustrations, pictures, or images to tell the story.
When learning how to make a picture book, the word choice should be considered carefully. You want to text to make the age and reading level of your target audience.
Picture book authors meet a crucial need in the early literacy of children.
New mothers are urged to begin reading to their four- to six-months-olds, by “lap reading,” which is when a baby sits in a parent’s lap, learning to look and listen.
Reading aloud to children from an early age offers numerous important advantages.
Children’s picture books, however, are not simply for reading aloud to babies and preschool children.
Teachers use good picture books to teach a variety of reading and writing skills throughout elementary school…and beyond!
Children’s picture books are often used to introduce topics in science, history, social studies, and math.
Savvy authors have a specific purpose for writing each book. They also have a specific audience in mind when creating a picture book, while the actual audience may include an unexpectedly wide range of readers (which we’ll cover more on later).
Ready to learn how to write a children’s picture book of your own? Let’s go!
Here are the steps you should follow to learn how to write a children's picture book successfully:
The first step in learning how to write a children’s picture book is to zone in on your big idea.
Why are you learning how to make a picture book? You have a story that needs to be told!
Maybe you’ve jotted some preliminary ideas in a notebook; or maybe the first draft has been filed away on your laptop for 10 years.
Whatever your idea for writing a children’s picture book is, it’s time to bring it to life.
As you begin, it’s important to keep in mind that sometimes a story that you want to write is fraught with such deep, personal emotions that the story just doesn’t end up sounding like a story for a child.
My advice to you: Give your life experience to a fictional character, tone it way, way down, and make a happy ending!
If your story is likely to traumatize a child, your chances of selling it as a children’s picture book are slim.
Or, maybe you have what it takes to write a winning story, but have no idea what to write about.
Who will be reading your book? Who will be buying your book? These are important questions to work through when learning how to write a children's picture book.
Since we’re discussing writing children’s picture books, you might assume your audience is children.
And, sometimes, it will be the child who sees your brightly-colored cover or reads the catchy title, and says, “Dad! I want this book!” But it’s usually the parent, grandparent, doting aunt, or classroom teacher who is out shopping for children’s books.
Keep both shopper and reader in mind as you plan your children’s picture book.
Parents and teachers want a story that is fun to read aloud, so as you write the book, you’ll want to practice reading each line aloud, making sure the words flow without tripping up the tongue.
Teachers choose read-aloud books for one of the following reasons:
Just think about it: There are always kids at every level of reading. Babies and eager nonreaders…young children just learning how to read…older kiddos who are now reading to learn…and adults reading your book to their children and grandchildren.
You have to think of your target reader, and keep them in mind as you learn how to write a children's picture book.
The next step in learning how to write a children’s picture book is to decide on a topic that you can write about with ease.
This means you’ll want to know a lot about your topic, so that you prevent making amateur mistakes. You should know your topic well enough to teach it, or explain it, to children.
For example, when I wrote my first children's book, Grandpa's Tree, I was a new grandma, totally infatuated with my three-year-old grandson. We went on nature walks and I learned to appreciate the long-forgotten world of tiny critters.
But no one wants to read about how wonderful my grandson is to me. So I jotted down blurbs and phrases about our walk…which triggered memories of my own childhood.
Experiences from two childhoods became mingled with a bit of fiction and developed into a poem. A rhythm and cadence completed this fun, fictional tale, and my book was born!
Once you have your topic chosen, the next step in learning how to write a children’s picture book is to decide on the type of story.
Another tip is to think about why you dislike certain picture books. If you haven’t come across any children’s picture books that you don’t like yet, set out to look for some!
Check out your local library or bookstore to browse children picture books for ones you don’t like, and make a list about why you don’t like them.
When learning how to write a children’s picture book, it’s always helpful to remember what NOT to do so you can avoid making the same mistakes.
Remember how you pre-planned your writing in elementary school? Your teacher provided all kinds of nifty “spiderwebs,” bubble charts, and a variety of other graphic organizers.
You wondered why the teacher demanded that extra pre-writing step. Well, it’s because graphic organizers allow you to visualize the thinking sequence that’s happening as your brain flits from one possibility to the next.
As a children’s book author, you’ll find that these pre-planning techniques can be very useful!
It doesn’t have to be perfect but, when learning how to write a children's picture book, you should use a graphic organizer to brainstorm your picture book’s outline and sequence.
You can mindmap, use a graphic organizer of your choice, or create a storyboard, like the one in the image below:
A book writing coach can also help you create – and stick to – your plan. Here at SelfPublishing, we pair our aspiring children's book authors with experienced authors who have completed the book writing and self-publishing journey. That way, you're getting advice from someone who's truly been in your shoes.
You know what kind of story you’re going to write and you have it all mapped out – now it’s time for the next step in learning how to write a children’s picture book.
You'll want to set some writing goals and stick to them every day. This will help you stay organized and make actual headway as you write.
It’s time to actually write that book!
So, the million dollar question is: How long should your children’s picture book be?
The average length for a children’s picture book is 32 pages, but depending on the age range your book is targeted at, it may be even shorter.
The word count should be no more than 500-600 words, but this will depend upon your purpose for writing. For children’s picture books, it’s important to let the illustrations tell most of the story.
If you’re struggling to write your book, do some market research. See how successful authors have put together their children’s picture books. Read picture books that have already been published. This will help you get a better feel for how to write a children’s picture book of your own.
As always, be sure to lean on your own creativity to write your story. Only you can tell it the way you want to!
Related: How to Write a Children’s Book (10 Stress-Free Steps)
Along with the colorful illustrations, a children’s book title is what grabs the attention of a potential reader.
Make your title short and catchy! Use wordplay or simple literary elements, but don’t choose a title that confuses the reader.
Create a list of possible titles. If you're not sure where to begin, you can use our free book title generator for inspiration!
Once you have your shortlist, take a poll that consists of both kids and adults to see which titles catch their attention most. This can help you decide on which one to use, but you still have the final say!
You can even draw inspiration from other published children’s book titles by doing some online research.
When your story text is typed the way you want it, another graphic organizer used by authors is a “picture book dummy,” or a mock-up of your children’s book using thumbnails.
This cut-and-tape procedure with paper allows you to turn real pages to see how your book layout will look and feel in the reader’s hands.
Playing with a full 32-page layout template on the computer is great, but always make a paper dummy picture book first!
You can more easily visualize left/right pages and keep illustrations with the correct text as you play around with your book layout.
A dummy can keep you from making a costly and frustrating mistake! For example, if your illustration or photo is supposed to be spread across two pages, the book dummy will keep you from placing those two pages back-to-back.
Yes, you need to edit, even when writing children's books.
Even if you’re a writing pro who knows all about grammar, syntax, punctuation, and style – you still need an editor.
You’d be surprised at how many errors or improvements a professional editor might find in your text.
If you're wondering how to find a book editor, you can check your local area for children’s book editors or search online job markets such as Thumbtack, Problogger, or Upwork.
Once your story is written and polished, the next step of learning how to write a children's picture book is to pair your crafty words with engaging illustrations.
Who is going to illustrate your children’s picture book? Are you a professional illustrator? Are you willing to pay a professional artist for approximately 16 colorful and cute illustrations?
If you choose the traditional publishing route for your picture book, most publishing companies do not want you to submit illustrations with your book manuscript.
Children's book publishers often match their in-house artists to the few book manuscripts they choose to publish each year. This means you might have a say-so in the book’s illustrations, but you might not.
If you self-publish your children’s picture book, you’re completely in charge of finding an illustrator, and you have total creative say-so. You can find illustrators to work with in your local area, or online.
Don't skimp on quality when it comes to your illustrations. Invest in a professional illustrator, and it will show!
When I finally decided to create and publish my first children's picture book, I connected with a talented artist who happened to be my friend’s daughter. We worked out an arrangement where she was compensated per book sold, rather than upfront. We worked together successfully, even though it was long distance, and developed a trusting professional relationship.
For my next children’s picture books, my sister (a budding artist) and I published Grandma’s Lullaby, Grandpa's Hidden Gold Farm, and several supplementary children’s publications about bees and pollination.
Shop around! There are professional artists in the most unexpected places. Just make sure the person is professional, talented, and trustworthy before approaching them about illustrating your book.
You’ve reached the last step in learning how to write a children’s picture book – hooray!
Your book is written, illustrated, and ready to go. What now? It’s time to get it published!
There are two options: Try to pursue a traditional publisher or self-publish your book. This detailed report on self publishing vs traditional publishing will help you decide which route is best for you.
The basic difference is that traditional publishing is extremely competitive and time consuming. It requires you to send your manuscript to agents. If a literary agent for children's books accepts you, your manuscript will then be sent to publishers.
Once your manuscript is accepted by a publisher, you will be offered a book contract and the publishing company will take care of the production process, However, you’ll most likely be in charge of marketing your book yourself.
On the other hand, you can self-publish your children’s picture book – which means it’s all up to you. You determine when you want to publish your book, and are in charge of the entire production process.
This means that you have to hire professionals to do the things you may not be able to do yourself – like editing and illustrating. You’ll also need to learn which self-publishing companies are best to publish and market your book.
Because there are multiple steps involved in self-publishing your book, it requires a whole new article on the topic. You can use this detailed guide on how to publish a book to learn the exact steps you’ll need to take.
We also recommend investing in a self-publishing course, which is extremely helpful for first-time self-published authors.
Regardless of how you choose to publish your book – the bulk of the work of how to make a picture book is done by this point!
You’ve learned how to write a children’s picture book, and have successfully brought your vision to life.
Picture books can appear deceivingly simple to create. But in reality, are some of the trickiest books to write. With the word count being so low, every passage and illustration needs to be absolutely perfect so a child will want to read it over, and over again.
Kickstart your children's picture book writing with advice and insight from our teams at Ladybird and Puffin.
Story-based or fiction picture books are usually 32 pages long and vary between 500 to 1000 words. They are designed for pre-schoolers and children in the first few years of primary school, and are usually intended to be read aloud as a shared experience between an adult and child. Becky Brown, editor at Ladybird explains, "At the younger end of this range, children will love to follow pictures as someone reads to them, joining in with any repeated phrases and spotting things on the page that relate to the story.
'Children love to share stories with other people'
"Once a child begins to read for themselves, these books are a great way to build confidence and language development. At any age though, children love to share stories with other people, so will enjoy revisiting their favourite books and having them read to them."
Non-fiction picture books tend to be longer in both page and word count because they are usually designed for older children who are reading for themselves. It’s not unusual for non-fiction picture books to go up to 96 pages due to their more complex subject matter, and because they are enjoyed by children of all ages through primary school.
A common misconception about picture books is that it’s necessary to be both an author and illustrator – you don’t need to be both, and you also don’t need to worry about finding an illustrator before approaching a publisher.
'The text and the pictures will add something to the other to create something truly magical'
Sometimes authors will add a few illustration notes to the manuscript if they feel it will help position the story, but your publisher will work with you to find the best partner for your words. Ygrain Cadlock, editorial director at Puffin says, "In a good picture book, the text and the pictures will add something to the other to create something truly magical. Picture book writers don’t need to show everything in the story, but should also not rely on the illustrations to do all of the storytelling work."
Want to read more about the author illustrator relationship?
Getting published
Read more
Just because picture books are short, doesn't mean they will be published quickly. It's not unusual for the entire process to take anywhere between 18 and 24 months, given all the intricacies of perfecting the text and illustration.
And of course, the biggest misconception of them all – just because picture books are short and full of pictures, doesn’t mean writing one is an easy thing to do. Both Becky and Ygraine agree that children are often the harshest critics, and it takes a really good story to capture their attention. "Picture books are actually tricker to write because of the short length," says Becky. "It’s a real skill, as each word has to count and the stories require visual imagination."
'Good picture books come in all shapes and sizes – they can be heart-warming and moving, funny and silly, or all of these things at once!'
Becky and Ygraine emphasise that strong characters are integral to a successful picture book. According to Becky, "There are exceptions to the rules, but most good picture books have a central character (or characters), with lots of personality, a compelling story and there’s often a problem to overcome or solve.
"Good picture books come in all shapes and sizes – they can be heart-warming and moving, funny and silly, or all of these things at once! Lastly, endings are really important. A good picture book is wrapped up with a satisfying resolution or a twist. Read lots of other picture books for your research and don’t be afraid to be silly!"
'They need to be something you want to read time and time again'
Similarly, Ygraine looks for standout characters and a strong story. "The best characteristic of a good picture book is the story or characters – the same as you would think for any adult story.
"Remember that just because picture books are shorter in length, doesn’t mean that a reader doesn’t want the same story arc as you see in any book, tv show or film – a beginning, middle and end are always important! They also need to be something you want to read time and time again, without boring the reader, or the child being read to."
Feeling ready to start writing your own children's picture book, or finesse work you've already started? Head over to WriteNow to submit your book before midnight on Sunday 11 July.
Illustration: Mike Ellis for Penguin
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