What Is a Chapter Book?
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.
Writing and publishing a children’s chapter book is an exciting opportunity for any writer, but first, what is a chapter book? In order to write this very specific category of children’s book, you need to be very clear on the parameters. Children’s book publishing is full of guidelines, and it’s very easy to come across as not being knowledgeable if you don’t know what you’re doing. (For example, there is not one category called a “children’s book.” There are technically six main categories under that broad umbrella.) So what is a chapter book? Read on to find out.
What Is a Chapter Book?: Your Target Audience
A chapter book is typically aimed at young readers between the ages of seven and nine, and the primary purpose of this type of book is to help kids learn to read longer works of fiction confidently and independently. The category below chapter book is early reader, easy reader, or stepped reader (all variations on the same thing, but there is very little debut writing opportunity here). The category above chapter book is middle grade.
Of course, there are certain guidelines to follow when writing a chapter book—but if you can get your idea off the ground, you may have the potential to create a popular series with spot illustrations. In this blog post, we will cover all the steps necessary to write and publish your own children’s chapter book. So now that I’ve answered the “What is a chapter book?” question in broad terms, I’ll task you with remembering what life was like when you were seven or eight or nine, and what mattered to you. This is where you’ll start to get ideas for your chapter book.
What Is a Chapter Book?: Writing the Manuscript
Chapter books have specific characteristics that should be followed in order for them to truly engage young readers at the correct reading level. For starters, they should be no more than 15,000 words, but a chapter book word count of 5,000 to 10,000 words is more standard. The biggest clue of what is a chapter book and how to write one also lies in the name: chapter books have chapters, which give young readers a sense of accomplishment. Each chapter should be about 500 words long, though chapter length sometimes varies.
The plot should move along at a quick pace with interesting characters and plenty of action—this will keep young readers engaged and turning pages. The language should be simple enough that younger readers can easily comprehend it while still being compelling enough to keep them interested. (And if your primary goal in investigating “What is a chapter book?” is to impart morals on young readers, forget about it. Moralizing is a cardinal sin in most children’s books.)
Consider introducing some mystery into the plot early on, as this will give readers something new to wonder about as they progress through each chapter. Make sure each chapter ends with some sort of cliffhanger or surprise.
Finally, and most importantly, when you’re writing your story, make sure you focus on creating strong characters that your young readers can relate to. Important universal themes for chapter books are family relationships, friendships, and figuring out what makes a character tick—each chapter book character should have a spark that glows brighter and brighter throughout the story.
What Is a Chapter Book?: Publishing Opportunities
Once you have finished writing your story, it’s time to revise. I strongly suggest getting a writing group or beta reader, or investing in a freelance editor. Make sure that your writing notes are coming from a person who’s very familiar with what is a chapter book, otherwise, their feedback may not be as worthwhile.
Once you’ve done all the revision you can and you think your work is strong, you can research literary agents and publishers that work with chapter books. Most publishers won’t take unagented submissions, but a lot of agents don’t work in the chapter book category.
The truth is, few publishers have open slots for chapter books because these tend to become long-running series. The potential reward is great if you happen to place a chapter book with a publisher. But while a house might take on 30 new picture books and middle grade novels a year, they might only take three or four new chapter books (if that). What is a chapter book? A rare unicorn of the publishing world to get a contract for as a debut. But that shouldn’t dissuade you from trying if this is where your heart is.
By following this broad chapter book overview—from creating an idea all the way through to submission—you’ll put yourself on track to an exciting chapter book journey.
For those eagle-eyed readers who are wondering just what kind of editor would write an article with the clunky phrasing of “what is a chapter book” over and over on her website, I applaud you for noticing that this reads awkwardly. Please note that I picked this keyword phrase on purpose, as part of my SEO (search engine optimization) strategy. If you’re curious about writer marketing techniques, check out Good Story Marketing.
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.