8 Easy Steps to Write a Children’s Book
It’s no secret that children’s books are not only fun to read but have been proven to lead to success with reading and writing skills in school. Now, when it comes time to write your own children’s book, many people wonder how they can get their idea out of their head and start writing one.
Do you want to write children’s books but don’t know where to start? With the following 8 easy steps to writing a children’s book, you will be ready on your way to start writing a book.
1. Get Started with an Idea
Start with your protagonist and give him/her a name. Consider what your main character wants and why he or she wants it. You can also create an antagonist who is trying to keep the protagonist from getting what he/she wants and come up with obstacles for the protagonist to overcome.
Next, decide on the setting of your story. Where do things happen? In what time period? After that, figure out how you want to start your story. Who are some of the characters besides your protagonist, and what are their goals in the story?
2. Come up With a Book Cover Idea
The cover of your book should be eye-catching, with vibrant and colorful imagery. A good rule of thumb is if the cover doesn’t catch the children’s attention, then neither will the content inside. You want your audience to be attracted by the visuals before they even know what the story is about.
That way, you can use the blurb on the back of the book to help sell your story instead. If you don’t feel like you’re creative enough to come up with something on your own, there are many online sources that can help you with creating different designs without needing any design skills.
However, make sure that all images used on both the front and back covers are relevant to the story. If you don’t know how to design the cover of your book, you can avail the services of a children’s book designer to help you get the cover of your choice.
3. Do Your Research
There are certain things you can do your research on before starting to write a children’s book. Some of these are as follows.
- Choose your topic for the book. It is recommended to choose something you have an interest in and are passionate about or something you’re curious about and want to know more about.
- Make a list of words related to your topic. They can be jargon or any specific words that are related to your niche and what you are writing about.
- Brainstorm ideas for the story. Sit aside for some time and come up with an interactive story idea for your book that will draw readers.
- Write the story using your list of words as prompts.
4. Write a Rough Draft
Before starting to write the book, brainstorm story ideas as mentioned in the above topic. It is best to start with the niche you are interested in and choose the best idea. Now that you have chosen the best idea for your story write out an outline of what your story is going to be about.
After making the outline, create story characters with personalities and backstories. This is the portion of the story that will come in the first half of your book. For the next half, decide how you want the story to end and plan accordingly, while still keeping the ending flexible in case you need more time or inspiration.
5. Get Feedback from Beta Readers
Beta readers are people who are willing to get the one-time edited version of your story and provide feedback. They’ll also help you see any typos or grammatical errors you missed. Ask around your friends and family, or on social media, and you’ll surely find someone willing to give you feedback for free.
Make sure they can be totally honest with you because if they don’t express their opinions sincerely, then the feedback won’t do you any good. Let them know when they’re done reading your book so they don’t accidentally read too far into the draft.
And once they finish reading your work, have them fill out an online form with their thoughts on the story and what was their favorite part. This will enable you to have an overview of what is the most important part of your book from a reader’s perspective and which areas need more work.
6. Edit and Revise Your Story
Now that you have completed your story and got beta feedback, it’s time to do final edits on your work. Beta readers will provide you with an overview of your writing, but they are not professional editors. In order to thoroughly proofread your book, you will have to edit it multiple times and revise it whenever possible.
You can also share your story with others and get feedback from them about what parts they enjoyed most and if there are any areas where the plot could be improved upon. Think about how you want your readers to feel when reading this story, and try to include those emotions in the plot line.
7. Publish Your Book
Writing a book is hard work. It takes time, focus, and dedication. And when you finally complete the manuscript, editing and publishing can be an even more challenging task. But if you want your own child to be able to read your story, then it’s worth the effort.
After editing and proofreading it multiple times from the children’s perspective, it’s time to get it published. You can find a publisher online or get references from your friends’ circle.
8. Market Your Book
The last step in the creation process is marketing. There are several ways you can market your book but don’t ever underestimate the power of word-of-mouth. To ace this marketing approach, talk about your book with family and friends.
Bring copies of your story to school and share them with teachers and classmates. Offer free copies to libraries in your area. The more people who know about your work, the more likely they are to buy or borrow a copy for themselves. You can also hire a publisher to market your book or adopt other ways of marketing available out there.
