How to Write and Publish a Children's Picture Book
Decide on a story idea., Create a storyboard., Write for your audience., Plan your illustrations., Pick a design for your pages.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Decide on a story idea.
You will want to have between 24 and 34 pages that tell your story.
Select a theme that will be enjoyed by preschoolers through the age of 7 years old (and that parents and teachers will enjoy reading aloud to children.) Set a working title that matches your story.
In creating a story use themes of family, adventure, confidence, creativity, imagination, and any others that will interest the target audience of small children, and those that care for them or teach them. -
Step 2: Create a storyboard.
It should walk you through each page of the story, and takes into account the needed text, illustrations, and artwork.
The storyboard is a working , flexible document and you will change it as needed as you write and create the story.
Storyboards are vital in planning out the pages and flow of your story, as well as noting what illustrations, text, and backgrounds are needed.
Your storyboard can be one large sheet of paper divided into book pages, or it can be a binder, or flip chart.
DO NOT SKIP the storyboard process, it's the map of you story-telling destination! , If you tackle sensitive issues, such as loss, sorrow, bullying, etc., make efforts to keep the story from being too dark.
You can show bullying or sorrow and still create a picture book suitable for reading to a very young child.
Make bright, colorful books, with overall happy messages, while still addressing the central themes.
Write like an adult, think like a child! Read your story to a child, it's the best way to see if you've done a good story-telling job.
Add humor! A touch of humor is always a great idea! , Once you have written all the text needed to tell the story, you will note on the storyboard what illustrations are needed to show your story.
Begin drawing the needed sketches, drawings, doodles for each page., Decide if you are going to have a background color or pattern on your picture book pages, or if you will leave the pages white.
If you decide to use backgrounds, you will need to create a background for each page.
Again the storyboard is a great place to organize notes on the kind of background needed for each illustrated or text only page. -
Step 3: Write for your audience.
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Step 4: Plan your illustrations.
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Step 5: Pick a design for your pages.
Detailed Guide
You will want to have between 24 and 34 pages that tell your story.
Select a theme that will be enjoyed by preschoolers through the age of 7 years old (and that parents and teachers will enjoy reading aloud to children.) Set a working title that matches your story.
In creating a story use themes of family, adventure, confidence, creativity, imagination, and any others that will interest the target audience of small children, and those that care for them or teach them.
It should walk you through each page of the story, and takes into account the needed text, illustrations, and artwork.
The storyboard is a working , flexible document and you will change it as needed as you write and create the story.
Storyboards are vital in planning out the pages and flow of your story, as well as noting what illustrations, text, and backgrounds are needed.
Your storyboard can be one large sheet of paper divided into book pages, or it can be a binder, or flip chart.
DO NOT SKIP the storyboard process, it's the map of you story-telling destination! , If you tackle sensitive issues, such as loss, sorrow, bullying, etc., make efforts to keep the story from being too dark.
You can show bullying or sorrow and still create a picture book suitable for reading to a very young child.
Make bright, colorful books, with overall happy messages, while still addressing the central themes.
Write like an adult, think like a child! Read your story to a child, it's the best way to see if you've done a good story-telling job.
Add humor! A touch of humor is always a great idea! , Once you have written all the text needed to tell the story, you will note on the storyboard what illustrations are needed to show your story.
Begin drawing the needed sketches, drawings, doodles for each page., Decide if you are going to have a background color or pattern on your picture book pages, or if you will leave the pages white.
If you decide to use backgrounds, you will need to create a background for each page.
Again the storyboard is a great place to organize notes on the kind of background needed for each illustrated or text only page.
About the Author
Kathryn Harris
Writer and educator with a focus on practical cooking knowledge.
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