Children's Picture Book Manuscript Writer

Most picture books run 32 pages because of how they're printed. Author-illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi explains that books are made in multiples of eight pages, and a picture book is typically 32 pages, or two folded sheets called signatures¹. Some of those pages go to the title and copyright. In her example, a 32-page book has 14 full spreads plus one or two single pages.

Word counts have shrunk. Amy Wilson, writing for the editorial firm Good Story Company in 2023, says a strong place to debut is under 600 words², with 700 probably the upper limit. Mem Fox, author of Possum Magic, is stricter: over 500 words means "alarm bells should be ringing"³.

Start with a character and the trouble they're in. Fox ranks them in that order: character comes first, then trouble⁴, then the precise choice of words. She also warns against alliterative names like Kenny the Koala and wants names that reveal something of the character. A character name generator helps if you're stuck.

Let the child, or a child-like animal, solve the problem through their own action. If a parent, a wish or luck fixes it, the listener watches someone else be brave. Don't announce the lesson either. Fox's list of do's and don'ts is blunt: "Children and publishers detest heavy morals."

1. 1

   Set up the want

   By the second spread, the listener knows what the character wants or fears.

2. 2

   Try and fail three times

   Each attempt goes wrong in a bigger or funnier way, a rhythm a child can feel coming.

3. 3

   Hit the low point

   The last try fails worst, and the character seems stuck.

4. 4

   Let the character turn it

   They find a way out through something they do, often using what went wrong before.

5. 5

   Echo the opening

   The last spread mirrors the first, changed, so the listener feels how far the character came.

Draft the story straight through, then split it into about 14 spreads. Ohi paginates every picture book project and suggests you do too¹, even if you won't submit it that way. She says it helps her figure out page turns and pacing.

For each spread, note the words, what the picture might show and why a child would turn the page. A good turn hides an answer, a surprise or a jump in time. If a spread gives no reason to turn, cut it or merge it with the next one.

An adult will read your book out loud, often night after night. Fox writes that only reading aloud will show whether the rhythm is perfect³, so read every draft aloud and mark each place you stumble or lose the beat.

Use short, concrete words a child can picture, strong verbs and dialogue that sounds spoken. Fox's advice on repetition is simple: "Go for it!" Children love a line they can join in on. A refrain that comes back three or four times lands hardest when its meaning shifts at the end.

Plan on many drafts. By Fox's estimate, a 500-word picture book may take two years and 40 drafts or more. Fresh ears help: SCBWI, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, keeps a directory of critique groups⁵ that members can filter for picture books, in person or online.

Cut whatever the art will show: colors, clothes, faces, the weather. If the text says Milo is scared and the picture shows him gripping a branch, one of them is doing no work, and it shouldn't be the picture.

Do you need to find an illustrator? Children's book editor Harold Underdown answers with a flat no: the publisher selects the illustrator⁶ once it has offered the author a contract. The illustrator typically receives half the royalties. Self-publishers are the exception, since they hire and pay their own.

Keep illustration notes rare, since Underdown says publishers generally don't expect them. When a picture must show something the words don't, such as a surprise behind a page turn, a short note in brackets is enough. If the story relies on pictures that contradict the words, explain that in your cover letter instead.

Type the story as plain paragraphs, not split into pages. Underdown's manuscript format basics⁷ say to type a picture book "out as a story" unless the guidelines you're following say otherwise. Use 12-point type, double spacing and one-inch margins, with the title, your name and contact details on the first page.

The type, spacing and margins match standard manuscript format for novels; a picture book just skips the chapters. Underdown adds that almost all agents now accept email submissions, as an attachment or in the body of the email, whichever they specify.

Expect to send the whole text. The Andrea Brown Literary Agency, where most agents take only children's books, asks picture book writers for a short query letter and the full text⁸. Author-illustrators send a full dummy with one or two color samples. Write your query letter while the manuscript rests.

Have the character and the trouble but not the shape yet? The tool at the top of this page drafts a manuscript and a spread plan from your idea, so you can see the whole book laid out before you revise.