How to Write a Children’s Book: 9 Steps and a Planner

A children’s picture book looks like the easiest thing in the world to write. It’s short, the sentences are simple, and you’ve read hundreds of them. Then you try, and the story either runs to six pages of explanation or stops after four lines.

To write a children’s book, choose your reader’s age and format first, then give one character a clear want and a problem in the way. Let them try and fail, usually three times, before a satisfying ending. Write short, read it aloud, and plan it across the standard 32-page picture book so every page turn earns its place. You don’t need an illustrator.

Plan your picture book

Nine short steps, one at a time. Answer in a line or two; you’ll end up with a one-page plan you can copy or download. Nothing you type is stored or sent.

Step 1 of 9 · Reader

Who is this book for? Picture one child, their age and the moment the book gets read.

Bedtime with a three-year-old reads very differently from a seven-year-old reading alone.

Nothing you write here is stored or sent. Copy or download it before you close the page.

Quick takeaways

Decide the format first. A picture book, an early reader and a chapter book are different jobs.
Picture books are usually 32 pages, because printers fold paper into eight-page sections.
Your character needs a want, a problem and a few failed attempts. Adults shouldn’t solve it for them.
Leave room for the pictures. Don’t describe what the illustrator will draw.
You don’t need to find an illustrator before submitting to a traditional publisher; the publisher chooses one.

What kind of children’s book should you write?

Pick the format before you write a word, because it sets the length, the reading level and who reads it aloud. Picture books are mostly read aloud by an adult, early readers are read alone by new readers, and chapter books and middle grade novels are longer stories children read on their own.

Format	Who reads it	What it looks like
Board book	An adult, to a baby or toddler	A few sturdy pages, a word or line per page
Picture book	An adult, aloud, to a young child	Usually 32 pages, art on every spread, short text
Early reader	A child learning to read, alone	Short sentences, controlled vocabulary, some pictures
Chapter book	A newly confident reader	Short chapters, occasional illustrations
Middle grade	Older children	A full-length novel

This guide is about picture books, which is what most people mean when they say they want to write a children’s book. The story skills carry across to the other formats; the page planning doesn’t.

How long is a children’s picture book?

A standard picture book is 32 pages, because books are printed in multiples of eight pages, and two eight-page sections make 32. Some of those pages go to the title and copyright pages, which leaves about 14 spreads for the story. Keep the text short and rhythmic, and let the pictures carry everything they can.

Author and illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi explains the printing side in her guide to picture book format: a large printed sheet folds into a section called a signature, and a typical picture book is two of them. A 32-page book with separate endpapers gives you “14 full spreads plus 1–2 extra single pages” for the story. Her advice to new writers is to stick to the 32-page standard in a submission, since unusual formats cost publishers more to print.

On length, the editor behind the Dear Editor column told one writer that 4,000 words is “quite long” for a 32-page book, and that the current style is “short and rhythmical.” Count your words after the first draft, not during it. Then cut anything the pictures can show.

Fourteen spreads, give or take. Plan the page turns before you polish a single sentence.

How do you write a children’s book step by step?

Write a children’s book in nine steps: pick a reader, create a character, give them a want, put a problem in the way, plan three failed tries, find the turning point, write the ending, add a refrain, then revise aloud. The planner at the top of this page walks through each one.

Choose one reader. Picture a specific child at a specific moment, like bedtime or a library story time.
Create a character children will root for. Children, animals and objects all work. One clear trait is enough.
Give them a want. Small, concrete and urgent to a child.
Put a problem in the way. Something the character has to deal with themselves.
Plan three tries. The rule of three gives the middle a rhythm children can predict and enjoy. Each try escalates.
Find the turn. The low point, then the idea or change that comes from the character.
Write a satisfying ending. Often a callback to the opening, or a final page-turn surprise.
Add a refrain. A repeated line gives children something to say along with you.
Revise aloud. Read the whole thing out, slowly, at least once per draft. Anything you stumble on, a parent will too.

If you need a starting idea, the story ideas page has premises by genre that adapt well for young readers, and the random writing prompt generator gives you a fresh character and setting on every click.

How do you leave room for the illustrations?

Leave room for the illustrations by writing only what the pictures can’t show: dialogue, sound, timing and what characters think. Cut descriptions of color, clothes and setting. Use a short bracketed art note only when the joke or twist depends on the picture contradicting the words.

Editor and author Harold Underdown puts it plainly in his article on picture book illustrations: publishers “generally do not expect or need illustration notes,” and “the illustrator does not need descriptions of a setting or a person.” He makes two exceptions. If the words say one thing and the picture should show another (visual irony), explain it in your cover letter. If a page turn holds a surprise, a short bracketed note is enough.

A good test is to read a page and ask what a child would see. If the answer is already in your sentence, the illustrator has nothing to add, and one of you is wasting the page.

Do you need an illustrator to write a children’s book?

No. If you’re aiming at a traditional publisher, you submit the text alone, and the publisher chooses and pays the illustrator, usually after offering you a contract. Pairing an unpublished writer with an unpublished illustrator tends to lower the chances of acceptance. If you plan to self-publish, you’ll need to hire an illustrator yourself.

Underdown’s article explains why: the publisher selects the illustrator, and if both of you are new, a joint package makes the submission harder to say yes to. His advice for writer-illustrator pairs who could imagine working with others is to submit separately. Illustrators who also write are the exception; they can submit their own words and pictures together.

Self-publishing changes the picture. You become the publisher, so the illustrator, the layout and the printing are yours to arrange and pay for. Agree on fees, deadlines and rights in writing before any artwork starts.

Words first. The pictures come later, and usually from someone else.

How do you make a picture book dummy?

Make a picture book dummy by folding eight sheets of paper in half to make a 32-page booklet, then cutting your text up and placing it page by page. Mark the title and copyright pages, sketch stick-figure pictures, and read it while turning pages. It shows you where the story drags and where the page turns fall flat.

You don’t need to draw well. A dummy is for pacing, not art. Things to look for:

Text on every spread. If a spread is empty, the story probably jumps.
Page turns. The best ones fall on a question or a cliffhanger: “And behind the door was…”
Variety. A quiet page, then a busy one. A single word, then a few lines.
The ending spread. It should feel like the last page, not the place you ran out of paper.

When the dummy works, type the text up plainly for submission. Editors read manuscripts, not mock-ups, from writers who don’t illustrate.

How do you get a children’s book published?

Children’s books reach print two ways: traditional publishing, where you submit a manuscript to literary agents or to publishers that accept unagented submissions and the publisher pays for illustration and printing, or self-publishing, where you pay for everything and keep control. Either way, finish and revise the manuscript first.

For traditional publishing, read each agent’s or publisher’s submission guidelines and follow them exactly; they say what to send and how. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a membership community for children’s book writers and illustrators, with regional chapters, critique groups and conferences that include one-on-one manuscript critiques.

Before you send anything, read your manuscript aloud to a child who isn’t yours, if you can. Watch where they fidget. That’s the page to cut.

For more ways in, the creative writing hub has prompts and guides for every kind of story. If your book is drawn from your own childhood, the memoir guide helps you collect the memories first.

Children’s book questions

How many words should a children’s picture book be?

Short. There’s no fixed rule, but editors favor tight, rhythmic text, and one editor called 4,000 words “quite long” for a 32-page book. Write the full draft, then cut everything the pictures can carry.

Should a children’s book rhyme?

Only if you’re very good at it. Rhyme that forces odd word order or a weak word to fit is easy to spot when read aloud. Rhythm matters more than rhyme; a prose story with a strong beat reads beautifully.

Can I write a children’s book about my own child?

Yes, but write it for every child. The story needs a want, a problem and an ending that works for a reader who has never met your child. Personal details can stay as small touches.

Do I need to copyright my manuscript before submitting it?

In the US, a work is protected the moment it’s created and fixed in a tangible form, and registration is voluntary, though it’s required before suing over a US work. The US Copyright Office FAQ has the details. This isn’t legal advice; check the rules where you live.