You Should Write a Children’s Book
Here are five things you should do before choosing what to write about.
Over 250 million children’s books were sold in 2022. My book, Is This Your Favorite Ice Cream?, made up a few of those sales. This year, I want some of the hundreds of millions of children’s books sold to be yours.
Occasionally, someone will ask me for advice about writing a children’s book. I’ll typically ask follow-up questions, wanting to understand how to tailor my response, but generally speaking, I often offer the same advice; you should write a children’s book.
When I was in the process of creating my book, I came across a lot of how-to tutorials. One of those how-to tutorials was something to the effect of “How to write, illustrate, and publish your own book in one week!”
I still watched, specifically for the publishing aspect, but I couldn’t help but feel the story used in the video lacked originality, personality, and heart. Out of the hundreds of millions of children’s books available to the public, I’m sure many of them do — but yours shouldn’t.
But there are books on everything. Who would want to read mine?
Plenty of people!
Show me 8 billion people, and I’ll show you 8 billion different stories. We’re talking about different perspectives, different methods of storytelling, etc. I get that many potential authors are looking for a template because a template is easy to follow and often works, but the originality you bring to the table is your superpower. Use it!
I’m an ice cream-making man from Upstate, NY, who lives in California with his wife and two kids and loves to travel and watch basketball. So I wrote a fictionalized Children’s book story about that person. I love ice cream. I love fatherhood. Why not combine those two concepts into one book?
It doesn’t matter if books about ice cream or fatherhood exist. Both do. However, nobody’s told it from my perspective, just like nobody has told a story from your perspective. That’s important.
What should you write about?
Deciding what to write about might not be easy. While everyone has a story to tell, some stories are better than others. That’s why I’d encourage you to sit down and focus on these fives areas:
Consider your own experiences.
You may be an immigrant from a country that is rarely discussed. Perhaps you’re from the most rural area of North Dakota. But no matter who you are, I would bet there are others who need to hear your story because that may inspire their own.
I think about biographies of the most famous people on earth. I’d love to read a first-hand account of the greatest athlete and their journey to becoming an iconic champion. But I resonate more with the dad who saved portions of his paycheck to take his kid to their first game, sitting in the nosebleed seats and watching that iconic athlete perform live.
All I’m saying is don’t discount your story simply because it’s not flashy, adventurous, or big. Flashy, adventurous, and big are subjective and shouldn’t be seen as more important than simple, subtle, and small.
Your experiences matter. Use it to your advantage.
Identify your target audience.
I wrote Is This Your Favorite Ice Cream? for ice cream-loving dads. Obviously, dads who love ice cream aren’t the only people reading my book.
When I created Be Ice Cream Or Be Nothing, I made it for people who loved delicious, full-fat ice cream. I didn’t make it for health-conscious eaters. I didn’t make it for people who want to try daring and exotic flavors. Of course, those people exist and deserve space just as much as anyone, but Be Ice Cream Or Be Nothing is dedicated to people who eat Ben & Jerry’s ice cream out of the container while watching Parks and Rec reruns.
Everything is not for everybody. Your book is no exception.
Pick two or three identifiers and keep that audience in mind. Maybe it’s adoptive parents with special needs children. Perhaps it’s Grandmothers who live far away from their Grandchildren.
Whatever it is, don’t be afraid to focus on that audience and write a story that they can appreciate. It will likely resonate with those outside of that demographic, too.
Look for inspiration in everyday life.
Some of the best inspiration comes from around you. I was lucky enough to attend a Matt de le Peña authors event where he spoke about his experience as a writer. He told a wonderful story about how an off-hand comment by a classmate on the soccer field turned into his best-selling book Carmela Full of Wishes.
If you spend enough time with kids, you know how kids can say some wild things. I swear, I could write a children’s book based on a daily comment one of my kids makes. But inspiration can come from anyone or anywhere. All you have to do is look around and be open to suggestions.
Whatever comes your way, there is likely a more off-the-wall idea sitting somewhere on a bookshelf around you. You deserve to at least explore that idea.
Read often.
The best writing comes from great readers. Children’s book authors should read a lot of children’s books before they write one.
When my first daughter was on her way, my wife and I picked out books to read to our daughter while she was in the womb. I picked out “I’ll Love You Forever” because it was a book I read constantly as a child.
As I read this story to my unborn daughter, I sobbed. I completely forgot that it was a story about a mother and her son throughout their life, which ended with him welcoming his own daughter to the world. The story hit very close to home.
Since then, I’ve read hundreds of stories and taken bits and pieces from each to write my own. Things like style, vocabulary, and even how to use ellipses. It’s unlikely I’ll be able to write a book as beautiful as Love, but the book can help me become a better writer over time.
Collaborate with others.
This one is simple; use other people! You don’t have to do everything alone. There are countless communities dedicated to self-publishing authors related to marketing, style, formatting, ideas, etc. For example, I frequently visited the self-publishing subreddit while writing my book to get tips and tricks from writers who’ve done this work before.
But you don’t have to only turn to professionals or experienced writers for advice. Use your friends, family, neighbors, etc. What are their favorite books? Who are their favorite authors? While experienced writers will have the majority of answers related to how to publish a book, I’ve found that the people around you are often a great resource as to what resonates with your typical reader.