How to Publish a Children’s Book: A Complete Process

Have you ever thought of publishing a children’s book but confused about how to begin? Do you feel overwhelmed by writing, editing, illustrating, and publishing? Most of the new authors are facing such issues.

Publishing a children’s book can seem very confusing. Picking the most accurate idea for your ideal audience, choosing the right illustrator, and deciding on traditional or self-publishing can be tricky.

In this article, I will highlight how to publish a children’s book in a very illustrative and engaging manner. I will also mention the benefits of children’s books below. You will also get an in-depth comprehension of how to plan, edit, illustrate and filter your stories and how to publish your book by the end of this article.

With precise steps and tips, you will make interesting and captivating tales to engage children.

Let’s begin by knowing more details on the ways to children’s book publishing first.

What is a Children’s Book?

A narrative written for a young audience is a Children’s book. It is simple to understand, joyful and clear. These creative works highly engage young readers with easy words and bright illustrations.

These must be educational books, short stories, and fairy stories. While some storybooks rejoice with thrills and charming characters, others teach lessons. Children’s books come in different formats to satisfy the reading demands of varying age groups.

Infants must read board books, pre-schoolers must-read books with illustrative pictures, and older children must-read books with multiple chapters. A perfect children’s book should be fascinating and informational for young audiences.

How to Publish a Children’s Book: A Step-by-Step Guide

In this section, I am going to cover all the essential steps on how to publish a children’s book in a very crisp and clear manner. Children’s book publishing demands story making, audience targeting, editing, making character illustrations, and sharing your story with stunning, imaginative characters.

If you are a professional children’s book author or illustrator or a newbie who wants to publish his book, these below steps will guide you through your new book publishing journey and engage children highly,

Let’s keep reading;

Step 1. Identify the targeted Age Group

Identify the age group or type for whom your book is meant before you begin writing. Age groupings are applied to classify children’s literature. Infants must read board books, pre-schoolers must-read books that contain vibrant and visually appealing images, and teens must-read books that are divided into various chapters.

The passion and reading levels of each child group differ. For a three-year-old kid, a story must be simple and engaging. For an eight-year-old kid, the book should be detailed and full of words.

Search for books in your preferred genre to find out what young readers like. Your story and illustrations will be more polished if you know your target audience.

Step 2. Build the Idea of Your Story

All of the children’s book officially starts with a stunning and engaging concept. Illustrate the message that you want to convey to kids. Young readers love entertaining, thrilling, and dramatic stories. Your idea must be simple yet catchy.

Form characters that young readers will love using your creative concepts and imagination. If essential, watch the kids around you to identify what makes them joyous and engaged. Ensure your tale is both unique and easy to understand and read. Take care of the starting, middle, and happy endings of your story. Before writing the children’s story, put your imaginative ideas in writing. Your book will be recalled and highly engaging if it has a unique and captivating topic.

Step 3. Make and Edit a Manuscript

Prepare your story as soon as you have a catchy and appealing idea. Make sure to generate brief yet simple phrases. Always use easy language that can be simply comprehended and read by kids.

Avoid tough words or phrases and long details so kids don’t get bored. Read your story aloud a few times to get to know how your story sounds. Children’s books need to have a normal flow and a simple rhythm.

Once your writing is done, edit the manuscript. Check for work stuffing and grammatical errors. Seek feedback from authors, seniors, reading enthusiasts, and educators. If needed, re-do the parts or modify some. Your story will become the better version each time you modify it. The process of publishing is made simpler by the editing of the manuscript.

Step 4. Select the Right Illustrations and Find an Illustrator

In children’s books, illustrations are an integral part. Children love bright and catchy images. Pick an illustration style that fits best for your story. Look for an expert illustrator with years of illustration experience if you are not a skilled professional.

Children’s book illustrators with extraordinary talent can be spotted on websites like AnantaArt.com. An illustrator with years of expertise and mastery can bring your tales to life. Ensure that your book’s tone is shown in the catchy illustrations.

They must be entertaining, bright, and easy to get. To ensure the illustrations match your imagination and plot, engage closely with the illustrator. Parents and young readers will discover your book more captivating if it has outstanding illustrations.

Step 5. Format Children’s Book with Precision

Another key step to publishing a Children’s book is to format the book with utmost accuracy. You should make sure that your book looks polished and professionally formatted. Pick the correct size and layout of the book to be published.

Generally, books that contain pictures should be 24 to 32 pages long. Correctly organize the written content and illustrations on each page. To prevent the pages from looking disorganized, make sure there is plenty of white space. Make use of large fonts that are easily readable by kids.

Check that the graphics and vibrant colours print accurately. You can hire a design professional or use advanced tools like Adobe InDesign or Adobe Illustrator. An accurately formatted book is both aesthetically appealing and simple to read, as well as child-friendly.

Step 6. Cover Creation

Parents and kids first judge the cover of the book. It should be colourful, vibrant, and stunning. For the title, you must make use of bold type fonts. An idea of the story plot must be presented through the cover art or illustrations.

A carefully designed cover catches the attention of young readers and makes your book stand out from other books. To make a stunning and catchy cover, contact a graphic designer or find your illustrator. Try out different designs and get feedback. Details about the author and a crisp story summary must be on the back cover. A neatly-designed book cover helps you to get your book promoted and higher sales.

Step 7. Decide Which Publishing Path to Choose

The next stage is determining between different publishing paths, whether to choose self-publishing or traditional publishing. These two mediums are common and significant when publishing a children’s book. Submitting your book to the right publisher is known as traditional publishing.

They handle distribution, printing process, and modification. Getting approved can be time-consuming.

On the other hand, In Self-publishing you have entire control over publishing. Some of the publishing houses that are open to publish are Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), and IngramSpark.

You earn more money on each book when you do self-publishing, but this may take lots of time and mental work. Depending on your level of patience, budget, and objectives, choose the best option.

Step 8. Get Copyright Protection and ISBN

Make use of copyright protection for your book just before releasing it. No one can modify, or duplicate your creative work without your permission with the help of copyright protection. Authorized government websites permit you to register for copyright online.

Along with these, ISBN or International Standard Book Number is also essential. It makes your book easily accessible for bookstores and libraries to get discovered. Official institutions in your country sell ISBNs. Copyright and ISBN protect your author rights and offer your work a professional and credible look.

Step 9. Print and Publish the Book

The next step in how to publish a Children’s book is associated with printing and publishing the book. Make the right decision on whether to offer printed hard copies or sell digital versions.

Make use of reliable printing media for book printing. In order to ensure a higher quality, check the print samples first.

If you are doing self-publish online, send your creative e-book to sites such as Amazon KDP, Apple Books, and IngramSpark. Depending on market demands, prices and the book’s length, define the price of your creative piece. Your book’s publication is an outstanding achievement. Be proud of your creative work and celebrate!

Step 10. Book Distribution

You should market and share your book once it is published in offline and online media. Advertise your children’s book on local bookstores and online sellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. To promote your children’s book, connect with libraries and schools. Book publishing events and social media can attract the attention of readers.

Consider offering free copies for feedback to bloggers, school students, and educationalists. Your creative book will sell a large number of copies the more people are aware about it. Keep advertising and capturing more young readers. A stunning and interesting book promotion plan is highly required.

Benefits of Publishing a Children’s Book

Sharing Your Story: The most important benefit of children’s book publishing is sharing your story. Expressing your thoughts and views becomes easier through book publishing. It allows you to offer young minds vital lessons. Kids can be instructed, motivated and engaged by your stories in a joyous and catchy manner.

Highest Recognition and Visibility: Getting a Children’s book published can assist you in getting huge recognition. It leads you to become a highly credible writer. Libraries, publishers, retailers, and websites will all know your name. By doing so, you can grow your audience of a specific age group and readership.

Creative Fulfillment: The method of writing, editing, illustrating and publishing a children’s book is a creative process. It gives you the joy of executing and expressing your innovative ideas. It is extremely satisfying to have your book published and know that young readers love it.

Improves Critical Thinking Skills: Writing a children’s book assists in cognitive organization and problem-solving. It boosts your storytelling skills. Writing uplifts your thinking skills and communication skills by teaching you the ways to express your creative thoughts clearly.

Enhance Imagination and Creativity: Narrating a children’s book enables you to use your artistic skills. It allows you to think out of the box. Young readers love reading as imaginative ideas are translated to life via storytelling and catchy illustrations.

Boosts Confidence: You think you have achieved something when publishing a children’s book. It defines your skills to complete a big assignment creatively. Children’s appreciation and love towards your book enhance your self-esteem, motivate you, and make you extremely proud of your innovative creations.

Final Words

Finally, make creative stories to engage young readers with your catchy illustrations. Publishing your own book is very joyous and prideful as an author or illustrator.

Hoping, I have illustrated all the essential stages of how to publish a Children’s book in this blog post. I have also mentioned some benefits of children’s books in the above sections in very simple and clear terms.

If you are an author or publisher looking to create a stunning story for young readers and make them engrossed in your book, get connected to Anantaart.com and make vibrant illustrations to make learning interesting.

Happy reading.