Being an author of children’s books is great but it requires a lot of thought. In the end you need to find out for which age group you are writing and then write within that bracket. Short stories are often faster to write than long novels, not to mention that short books are cheaper to illustrate. Longer books require little to no illustrations. However, with children’s books, you will find that with any length book there will be some illustrations inside regardless.
The variety of options are huge: you can write an up-to-date book that explains current children and history. Combine the skills of a resume writer with a scholarship holder or write a business plan to work out where you want to take your writing business. There are many different ways to become a children’s book writer, from freelance to full-time illustrator. You can also choose a traditional publisher or self-published for fiction books – but it’s easier and more economical to work with a publisher. So traditional publishing rather than self-publishing is still the most popular option for children’s book writers. Below is a guide for creative writers who want to make money on their own and pay for short stories in different genres. You can also write a series of short stories that take place in a particular scenario or adventure, such as a fantasy novel or a science fiction novel. You may want to look at Studentreasures Publishing.
Carving a niche
Just like fiction writers, writing multiple books in one field or series is a great way to build a full-time income for yourself and your children. If you succeed in carving a niche and writing a number of books in this field, you can build a flourishing career in the field of publishing non-fiction books. In children’s books, you can too create a niche and use your imagination to do so. Do you enjoy writing about characters that are completely fictitious such as dragons and unicorns or do you prefer something a little more realistic such as a little boy who goes on an adventure or a young girl who finds a secret door?
You can create a world that can still be a niche, even if it feels like it has been done before. Utilizing your own skills, you will know what sits right with you in terms of your writing. It is helpful if you have had previous practice of writing before and have had feedback on your writing. Let your friends and their children read some of your books and see if they enjoyed them. Sometimes children can be the best critics because they are likely to be the most honest ones. So get feedback and look at how you can incorporate new ideas into your stories.
To get started, you will want to aim to answer these questions:
- What do you want your books to teach kids?
- Do you want to purely entertain?
- Do you want a lot of graphics?
- What age bracket are you targeting?
- Do you want to write a series of short stories or one long one?
We hope the information in this article has helped your wheels to start spinning with ideas for your children’s book. Before you put pen to paper, be sure to spend some time planning ahead for the bigger vision and purpose of your writing. Children’s books is a crowded space but you can make yours stand out if you marry creativity and fun with helpful life lessons and facts.
Happy writing!
