In August of 2022, I published my first children’s picture book and 2023 Selah Award Finalist, “I’m Getting New Glasses!” I had always wanted to write a book, but somehow, until this, I always got stuck.
Unlike writing non-fiction books for adults, writing and publishing children’s books came very easily to me. In the next few months, I published “When I Take Care of Me” and “I’m Getting New Bifocals!” My next project, a picture book and complementary coloring book for my son’s First Communion, came out shortly after. I had no idea writing children’s books could be so fun and easy!
But as I share about my books, I hear the same thing. People have ideas for their own books and children’s books, but they get stuck. They think it’s too hard or too expensive. They don’t have time. Technology gets in the way. And while I understand all that, I also secretly lament the creativity and beauty that could be brought into the world if all those things weren’t in the way. And so, I wrote this post, How to Write and Publish Your Children’s Book in 7 Easy Steps to demystify the process!
It All Starts with an Idea…
The step that comes before all else is having an idea. I’m betting you already do since you’re reading this post. The idea is the fun part. It’s sparkly, enticing, and full of potential. You have that idea because you need to do something with it. Here’s how I get started. I hope you’ll give these steps a try with your book idea!
1. Write the Words
The first thing I do before starting a picture book project is write my words. I wrote the rhythmic words to “I’m Getting New Glasses!” on a car drive between Parents’ Day Out and home. The words were sticky, so I made notes on my phone and played around with them in my head throughout the day. By dinner time, I had a story I could share with my family. It may or may not come this easy for you, but words provide a structure. I recommend starting here.
2. Create a Mock Layout
Creating a mock layout requires that you have a page size and page count in mind. Children’s books are typically 32 pages because of how print and trim processes work. These details can change, but it’s helpful to have a template and structure in mind as your children’s picture book comes together.
For my first book, I created a mock layout with post-its on the kitchen floor. (Really! And it was helpful!) Now, I create a document in Adobe InDesign as soon as I have the words for my story. I check to make sure the flow of my story makes sense and whether or not my content should be further developed or cut back. For most of my books, I create text on the left-hand page and a picture on the right. (My book “When I Take Care of Me” has illustrations on every page, which I love. But that book is meant to be heavier on illustration than text, as the words are very simple.)
3. Design Your Images
If you don’t consider yourself an artist, this step can be outsourced. I tried that initially but was discouraged when people I reached out to didn’t respond or said they could start my project in six months for $10,000. (Yikes!) Instead, I taught myself Adobe Illustrator to create crisp and clean images that didn’t need to be scanned or cleaned up before printing. You’ll have to decide what’s right for you. But think creatively. Lean into your strengths. A friend recently created a picture book for her business using photographs! Brilliant! You can also find an illustrator to help. If I had it to do again and weren’t illustrating myself, I would reach out to the graphic design departments at local colleges and universities to see if a student could help as a work-study. I would also contact the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) for artists with styles that appealed to me. You can also look at favorite children’s books for leads, as the illustrator is often named on the cover or in the book interior.
4. Place Your Images
I like seeing my books come together as I go. It’s fun to see the progress I’m making. So as illustrations are completed, I stick them in my Adobe InDesign file where they go. This also helps me keep an eye on flow and things like color pallets to make sure the distribution of illustrations is what I like.
5. Design Your Cover
When I finish my book (all my text and illustrations are complete and placed where I like them), I create my cover. The cover is a separate file I create in Adobe InDesign using the template provided by Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or Ingram Spark. Most often, I use an interior illustration that reflects my book’s overall message on the front cover. I overlay the title information and my name at the bottom. On the back cover, I add my book description and a little about myself. Because children’s books are small, the book’s spine cannot have text. (You need 100 pages for that.) But that makes creating your cover that much easier!
6. Give Your Book a Final Review
When all is done, I like to give space between myself and my book. This helps me come back with a fresh perspective. I run a spell check. I check to see if anything gets flagged by Grammarly. I read my book out loud and look closely at the illustrations for inconsistencies. (For instance, my characters, Olive and Andy, were brand new when I wrote “I’m Getting New Glasses!” I had to ensure their mouth was always the same color when they smiled or laughed. Did I use black? Did I use brown? It all needed to be the same. In “I’m Getting New Bifocals!” Emma’s shoes and purse were one color, but I changed them later. Did I make that change throughout the book? I needed to check.) It’s even a good idea to pull in a friend or relative with an eye for detail. Engage an editor if it feels like there’s a lot to review. Worst case, in my opinion? You make a mistake that’s easily corrected by uploading a new file when you catch it. Do your best, get another set of eyes on your book. But please don’t let fear or perfectionism keep you from holding your book back from the world!
7. Publish Your Children’s Book!
All that work you’ve done has led up to this point! It’s time to publish your book! Hooray! Amazon makes this SO easy with their KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) platform. If you are an Amazon user, you will already have a username and password to log in to KDP. Just add some profile information about yourself or your business entity so royalty payments can be sent your way. Then, you’ll go to the “Bookshelf” tab, where you can add and upload new books. Here, you’ll enter your book title, description, keywords, and categories. (I use Publisher Rocket to help me choose the best ones.) You’ll also upload your cover and interior files, depending on whether you’ve created an ebook, paperback, hardcover, or all of the above! When you’ve followed all the prompts, you’ll get to the publish screen, and once everything is reviewed and approved by Amazon, you’ve done it! Congratulations! Your book is live and ready to go out into the world!
What do you think? Are you ready to get started on your children’s picture book?
Feeling encouraged but want to know more? I created an online course on this very thing! Learn more at your convenience in my self-paced course, Write, Illustrate, and Publish Your Children’s Book!
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