How to Write Books
for Early Readers
By Mary Kole
Mary Kole is a former literary agent, freelance editor, writing teacher, author of Writing Irresistible Kidlit, and IP developer for major publishers, with over a decade in the publishing industry.
This article is all about how to write books for early readers, including advice on the generally accepted early reader age group, early reader word count, early reader page count, how to write an early reader query letter, and how to find literary agents and publishers who work with books for early readers.
How to Write Books for Early Readers
Writing books for early readers is a calling for some creators, but this can be a tricky market. The wrong reason to write books for early readers is that you have a picture book that’s too long, or a chapter book that’s too short. Writing books for early readers is actually a very specific skill set, as you are targeting very specific levels of reading experience. (In fact, these are sometimes called “leveled readers” or “step readers,” as they are often broken down further into several levels or steps, each with its own criteria.)
Since books for early readers target readers who are just starting to read independently (hence the name of this category), the vocabulary level is actually simpler than is expected of most picture books, which are read by adults. Sentences and storylines are shorter and easier to follow.
Most books for early readers are broken into several sub-categories (this varies by publisher) that are based on reading levels like the Lexile score. While you don’t have to be 100% accurate to these levels when writing books for early readers, you do have to pay attention to them like you wouldn’t in other children’s book categories.
Some publishers will also have lists of words and vocabulary levels that they want you to use. In no other categories do houses dictate a writer’s language and syntax choices like this. For this reason, among others, I don’t recommend that beginning or even most experienced writers start out writing books for early readers. The biggest issue is that the market for them is really quite limited.
Books for Early Readers: Early Reader Target Age
Smart children’s book writers know that children’s book publishing is very segmented by category, age, and reading level. Nowhere is that more true than in the early reader book market. The general books for early readers age group covers ages four to six, placing books for early readers on the upper range of picture book ages and on the lower end of chapter book ages. But reading skill and aptitude varies by child, so here you do start to see some segmentation of the market. Some five-year-olds breeze through these books and demand a challenge, while other kids at the top of the books for early readers age group are just starting out reading.
Books for Early Readers: Early Reader Word Count
When it comes to early reader word count, you can have as few as 300 words, and as many as about 1,200, though this can vary at the higher levels of books for early readers. By and large, books for early readers top out at 1,500 words. But this is not an excuse to get wordy, or to try and pitch your too-long picture book in another category. Early readers have a lot of their own considerations, and word count is just one of them. Vocabulary level, sentence length, and complexity of storytelling all tie into the various considerations of books for early readers.
Books for Early Readers: Early Reader Page Count
Early reader page count doesn’t need to be a mystery. For the most part, the younger early reader page count is set to 32, just like the standard picture book word count. This page count can go up to 48 or even 64 pages as the reader level and text length increase.
Keep in mind that early readers are published in a different format and trim size than picture books, so text placement and layout are different. This means that books for early readers can have a slightly longer or even shorter word count than some picture books.
Books for Early Readers: How to Publish an Early Reader
The books for early readers market is a tough one for writers to break into because a lot of these projects are developed in-house by early reader publishers. For example, a publisher will have a license to a popular property, and they’ll issue a series of early readers for, say, Dora the Explorer.
The resulting books for early readers manuscripts are usually written by editors, interns, or writers-for-hire. There isn’t a lot of original content being purchased outside of these series. Early readers have a low price point, and their spines are so narrow that it’s hard for a standalone book to catch attention on bookstore or library shelves.
At the same time, publishers of books for early readers are reluctant to go “all in” on a series by a debut creator. To really get work writing early readers, writers usually form connections with a publisher in other ways (such as selling a picture book or novel) and then get hired to write an installment of an existing series. Or they’re connected to a publisher in need by their literary agent.
You’ll notice that there are only a few literary agents out there who are actively seeking books for early readers. Still, if you’d like to try your hand at publishing an early reader, or writing an early reader query letter, you can always pitch your idea around. Books for early readers are a small part of the children’s book market, but they make a huge difference to kids and can inspire a lifelong love of reading.
Click here to purchase Writing Irresistible Kidlit, my book on fiction craft for MG and YA novels, out from Writer's Digest Books. This will show you my writing craft philosophy and give you lots of valuable advice, including tips for the novel revision process and self-editing. There are over 35 example novels cited and discussed throughout. It’s a valuable resource for any writer’s toolkit.