Do you have a great idea for a children’s book? Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting that idea published.
Maybe you are someone who has a great idea for a children’s book. Maybe you are a children’s book author, illustrator, or editor who is always being asked for advice by people with ideas for children’s books. Maybe you are that woman who works with our mom and is always telling us we should publish her story about a vagabond flea. In any case, we hope this guide to making a picture book (illustrated, usually 32 pages long) is useful to you!
Gird yourself.
Writing a picture book is easy. Writing a good picture book is hard. Yes, they are short — the majority of picture books published today have fewer than 1,000 words. But picture books are an art form. Writing a good one requires as much attention as any serious piece of fiction. You’ll need time, talent, and patience. The path to publication is long.
Read a bunch of picture books.
The picture book has a rich history and peculiar formal conventions. Study as many great picture books as you can. See why they work and how. For instance: Subtract the illustrations from the book, and look at how the text functions. Then see how the illustrations function without text. Get beyond Sendak, Silverstein, and Seuss, all three masters who are justly famous. Read deeper. For starters: Ruth Krauss, the Provensens, Barbara Cooney, Tomi Ungerer. Don’t just spend an afternoon in the children’s section of a bookstore. Read seriously. The more you read, the more aware you’ll be of why books work or don’t work, and the better your book will be.
Write it!
You won't sell just an idea. You need to actually write the book.
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