By BookBaby author Philip Kinsher

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Children’s books are beloved and inspirational, which makes them a compelling option for writers. They also represent a healthy chunk of the book market — hundreds of millions of children’s books sell every year. At its best, the right kids’ book — one that’s well-structured, engaging, and has a compelling theme or message — can even change a young person’s life for the better.

If you’re interested in publishing a children’s picture book but don’t know where to start, here’s a five-step guide to lay the path for taking your story from initial inspiration to worldwide book sales.

1. Craft your story

Stories for kids’ books can be grand or intimate, epic or microscopic. Whether it’s a board book, chapter book, or picture book, it has to carry a meaningful message. The most important thing is that the story shares something true and relatable and does so in a way that children can understand and appreciate. A few tips:

• Create characters that are different and interesting. It’s fine to use your own favorite children’s books as inspiration, but don’t mold your characters strictly after those you’ve read about. Try pulling qualities you like from five of your favorite kids’ book characters and see how those traits come together in your own narrative; or wait until you see a striking person, animal, vehicle, plant, or anything else in your day-to-day life and ask yourself what kind of story that animal/mineral/vegetable might have to tell.
• Be clear on your audience. It’s important, and sometimes challenging, to write something appropriate for the age you’re targeting. Spend time in a bookstore reading other books published for specific ages to get a sense of what kids of that age can absorb. Then, make your book as simple, complex, or nuanced as you feel it needs to be.
• Don’t make your plot convoluted. Some of the best and most memorable kids’ books have extremely simple plots: kids get stuck in a rainstorm and find joy within the wetness, a grandmother reads a goodnight story to her grandchild, two friends spend a holiday together. For many children’s books, how you tell a story is often more important than the twists and turns of the story itself.
• Have fun. When you write something that delights the child in you, chances are it will grab the attention of your young readers as well. Get inspired by some common themes in children’s literature to start the creative writing process.

2. Polish your manuscript

Finishing a strong draft doesn’t mean you’re ready to run to BookBaby and print your book. Take a few breaths, then make a plan of action to refine your manuscript before sharing it with the world.

• Show it to test audiences. Find parents of children who are your target age group and see what they think. Similarly, find opportunities to share your draft with young readers themselves; perhaps there are local schools or daycares that would welcome a guest reader. Pay attention to what young readers/listeners react positively to and what falls flat, and edit accordingly.
• Work with a professional editor. There’s nothing like another set of experienced eyes to catch problems you had never noticed or make suggestions that can take your writing to the next level.

3. Choose the publishing route that’s right for you

There’s no single right way to share your new children’s book with the world, but there are two paths that most new children’s book authors choose between.

• Submit your book to literary agents. There are plenty of advantages to going the traditional path of finding an agent and landing a deal with a traditional publisher. You get an industry insider on your side and, hopefully, an on-ramp to what could be a sustainable career as a children’s book writer, with your book being placed in physical and online stores.
   
  On the downside, there are zero guarantees of finding the right agent and publishing deal, and traditional publishing can be a long and labor-intensive process. You’ll also have to share a significant amount of your profits as well as a good amount of control over aspects of how your book is edited, designed, marketed, and distributed.
   
• Consider self-publishing. When you take advantage of BookBaby’s Children’s Book Self-Publishing Packages, you have total control of every aspect of your book’s publication and marketing — plus you have BookBaby’s roster of seasoned self-publishing professionals to advise and guide you along the way.

4. Finalize your children’s book design

For children’s books, visuals are vital. Children of different ages can often learn more from visuals than words, and even the shape, feel, and texture of your book can make a difference. Here are a few tips for your book layout:

• Choose an illustration style that fits your age group — and your story. Younger children may react better to illustrations that are simple, striking, and colorful, while illustrations that look more like Where’s Waldo? are better suited for older kids. Do your homework, see what visual styles and level of complexities accompany books for certain age groups, and work with an artist who can deliver.
• Illustrations tell the story as much (or more) than the text. For many of the best children’s books, the text and the illustrations play together like two instruments in beautiful harmony, each supporting the other. If your text says something is happening, instead of repeating that visually in your illustrations, what can your pictures add to the narrative that’s not in the text?
• Use space. Great children’s books are rarely packed to the gills with text or images. Give your story space to breathe by not cramming too much on any single page.
• Bring pro skills to the table. Even if you’re a talented and experienced illustrator yourself, it can still be a huge help to enlist the aid of another dedicated professional.

5. Get marketing!

Even the greatest children’s book in the world won’t make a splash unless people know about it. Here are a few ways to get started.

• Know your audience. The people who buy children’s books will most often be parents, caregivers, educators, and extended family members. When you’re putting your marketing materials together, keep these audiences in mind, as opposed to trying to market directly to kids themselves.
• Home in on what’s unique about your book. Does your book tell a story that isn’t represented elsewhere? Is your character’s point of view on a certain subject particularly unique? Does your book cover a historical event or vision of the future that’s relevant in the current cultural climate? Focus on whatever nuggets of info make your book stand out and seem the most interesting to potential purchasers.
• Harness social media. Targeted promoted posts are a great way of reaching your ideal audience. If you don’t know where to start, BookBaby’s Ads For Authors can help.
• Do direct outreach. Do you have relationships with local schools, libraries, day care centers, after-school programs, or other organizations that work with kids? If not, introduce yourself as a children’s book author with a great new book coming out. It’s never a bad idea to offer a few copies of your new book for free if you think it has the potential to spread the word to a larger community. Similarly, it never hurts to check in with local bookstores, libraries, community centers, and other institutions and offer to do readings and signings of your new book.

Related Posts
How to Create a Children’s Picture Book
How to Get a Book Published
Write Your Query Letter Before You Write Your Next Book
12 Character Archetypes to Know Before You Start Writing
How to Publish a Graphic Novel

This BookBaby blog article How to Publish a Children’s Book appeared first on and was stolen from BookBaby Blog .