The Four Steps of Writing Children’s Picture Books
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.
If you’re interested in writing children’s picture books, you’ve come to the right place. Picture books are a wonderful way to express yourself and share your creativity with the next generation of readers. They also offer a lot of opportunity in a vibrant and exciting market that has been thriving in recent years. Writing children’s picture books can be a dream come true, but it’s also important to understand the process from start to finish. This guide will provide an overview of the steps involved so that you can confidently pursue your goals.
Writing Children’s Picture Books: Developing Your Story Idea
The most important step of any creative project is coming up with a book idea that you believe will click with readers and the market at large. When you’re writing for picture book-aged readers, remember that your audience is either in preschool or just learning to read independently, meaning your sweet spot picture book age range is ages two to five (with some variation, but this is the general guideline).
Think about what life is like for kids this age, and let that guide your idea development. What’s a universal theme that you think applies to your readers at this dynamic time in their lives? Remember, though, that you don’t want to moralize. Imparting a life lesson or talking down to readers is not a best practice in the picture book industry.
Instead, you want to find an engaging concept that puts story and character first. Brainstorm ideas by asking yourself questions like, “What kind of characters would I like to write about?” or, “What kind of plot could I develop using my characters?” Speaking of which, character is very important in picture book, so you might want to spend some time and care developing yours. Once you have your main plot points down on paper in a story outline, you can start building out the manuscript in more detail.
One side note is that you might want to check in with current parents for early feedback. Parenting trends change, and you might not want to rely on experiences from your own parenting or grandparenting days, if those are decades behind you.
Writing Children’s Picture Books: Drafting Your Project
Once you have your story idea locked down, it’s time to start writing! Your goal with writing children’s picture books is a word count of about 600. That’s right, these stories tend to be quite short and impactful. That means you need to focus, and get enough substance across while also keeping the plot moving. You might also want to keep track of any illustration notes that come to mind as you write—these can be helpful when collaborating with illustrators later on in the process.
Once you’ve committed a draft to paper (or screen!), put it away for a few weeks. Return to it with fresh eyes, and maybe get some writing notes from trusted sources like a critique partner, writing groups, or even a professional editor who specializes in working with people who are writing children’s picture books.
Not every writer is ready to receive feedback or constructive criticism. While you will want to add this open-mindedness to your writing toolkit, the first few times you hear from someone about your writing might be challenging to stomach. But that’s exactly why you need an outside pair of eyes—writers are notorious for having blind spots when it comes to their own work.
Writing Children’s Picture Books: Revision
Once your draft feels complete and you’ve remembered to leave room for illustrations in your storytelling, it’s time to revise. Revision should include both content edits (e.g., making sure that all of your protagonist’s character arc is satisfying) and grammatical edits (e.g., your mechanics and syntax are correct, as well as punctuation and other elements of prose). If you’re writing rhyming picture books, you will want to keep an eye on your rhythm, as well as the rhyme, of course.
When you’re writing children’s picture books, remember how they will be read—aloud! Look for read-aloud potential for fun phrasing, noises, and funny voices. Do this by reading your work aloud. Don’t just think about it, actually do it. Most writers won’t commit to their craft to this degree, so you can really develop your skills here. This helps identify any clunky phrasing or awkward transitions between scenes that need addressing. If you really want extra credit while writing children’s picture books, ask a trusted friend or loved one to read the manuscript to you. When you read it, you are slipping into a familiar rhythm. When they read it, they might help you spot rough patches in your writing.
Writing Children’s Picture Books: Preparing for Publication
After revising your draft, it’s time to think about potential publication opportunities for your book. Familiarize yourself with current market guidelines related to writing children’s picture books. If you want to target a major publisher that doesn’t accept unsolicited submissions, you will need to send a query letter and your manuscript to a literary agent. If you want to query a smaller publisher directly, you can do that simultaneously. If you’re intending to self-publish, you will need to commission illustrations for the project yourself. This can be a huge investment. (Traditional publishers will source and pay for illustrations for the book.) You will also want to make hard copies available to your readers, either by ordering a print run or doing print on demand. (Children’s picture books are notoriously expensive and difficult to self-publish, I’m afraid, so be prepared if you want to take this route.)
Writing children’s picture books requires dedication and diligence. Armed with this guide, you’re positioned to make some positive progress toward your dreams. Enjoy the journey!
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Click here to purchase Writing Irresistible Picture Books, my book on children’s picture books. This comprehensive guide is crammed with craft advice and groundbreaking original research, including a survey of 1,000 upcoming picture book deals, a breakdown of 80 modern and marketable picture book topics, and in-depth analysis of over 150 published picture books.