So, you've got an idea for a children's book...

What next?

You’ve had a brilliant idea for a children’s book - what should you do now?

How do you to turn an idea into a fully formed story ready to submit to an agent or publisher, or self-publish yourself?

This is exactly why we set up words and pictures, to break it down for you so it doesn’t feel quite so daunting.

So, here’s what to do when you’ve had an idea for a children’s story…

Make time to write and/or illustrate

First we need to address the elephant in the room. Everyone is busy with work and families and life.

You will need to make time to write/illustrate on a regular basis in order to turn your idea into a story. This doesn’t just have to be putting pen to paper - thinking about your story when you’re walking the dog or doing the dishes counts.

It might be that you wake up early when the house is quiet, work on the train, or grab half an hour when your kids are playing.

Some people thrive on a routine. Some just use whatever snatches of time they can find. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do make time to write and draw.

This post by Jojo Moyes brilliantly addresses the fact that everyone can find space to write a book but you may have to consciously choose to do less of other things like watching TV or scrolling on social media.

Most writers and illustrators will juggle making books alongside a full time job even after publication.

This is because creating books doesn’t always pay very well.

Controversial we know, but a truth nonetheless.

It can be very lucrative, and some people do make a full time living from it, but not many, and certainly not at the start of their careers. (More about how royalties and advances etc work in a future post.)

There will never be a perfect time to begin working on your story. Now is all the time you ever really have. You don’t need to wait until you have a new notebook, or for a new year.

Now is good.

Now is great.

So in the words of William Wordsworth, ‘To begin, begin.’

What tools do you actually need to make your dream come true?