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Earn Money by Child Book Writing ...
... And publish your book! Everyone has a story to tell. Child book writing requires a little hard work and perseverance but it can also be rewarding financially and emotionally.
Benefits of Child Book Writing
Yes. You can make money and earn a living through child book writing. Beyond the money you can help:
- Bring happiness to a child
- Shape a child's fertile mind
- Promote literacy
- Provide a child with healthy creative escape from reality
- Inspire creativity & imagination
- Entertain
- Develop listening skills
- Develop understanding of the realities of the world like death, pregnancy, values etc.
What Do You Write?
There are two types of children's books. Fiction and Non-Fiction. You can write to many age groups. Most People think of picture books when they hear the term children's books. Child books are made up of many categories. Child book writing can be all text or have illustrations. It depends on the age you are writing for. For now we will focus on picture books since they are the most popular.
For writing tips see our article on how to write a child book.
How Much to Write?
Most children's picture books are between 24-32 pages long and have a word count of 200-1000 words. Picture books are usually short because of a child's short attention span and because parents get tired of reading long books aloud.
How to Find a Publisher for your Child Book Writing
The best place to search when looking for a publisher is to purchase a copy of Children's Writer and Illustrator's Market. Don't forget to review our 5 Essential Tips to Publish a Child Book.
It contains requirements for making submissions and proposals to prospective publishers. It is better to own the most recent copy because contact info gets out of date quickly. Check Child Book Writing Publisher web sites to further check contact info. I've also compiled a list of child book writing publishers looking for new manuscripts.
Each publisher has slightly different submission requirements. Some require query letters or only take proposals from literary agents.
Do You Need an Illustrator?
If you are not a trained artist or illustrator DO NOT submit art with your manuscript. It is the publisher's responsibility to provide illustrations.
It may actually hurt your chances of being accepted if your illustrations are amateurish.
Many Child Book Writing publishers have artists they work with. They will match up the suitable illustrator with your style of work. See our article on child book illustrators.
Rejection, Rejection, Rejection...
Since it's your first exposure to child book writing expect to receive plenty of rejection letters. This is normal. Learn from any feedback provided by editor responses to your query letter. Use the opportunity to improve your writing by taking writing courses.
Related Article
The Categories of Child Book Publishing