Children’s Book Manuscript Format
Designing The Inside Pages Of A Professional Looking Self-Published Book
Once you’ve done all the hard work of writing your book manuscript, you’ll need expert assistance in getting the right cover designed, and then, making sure the design of the pages inside the book marries well with the book’s purpose.
Once you've done all the hard work of writing your book manuscript, you'll need expert assistance in getting the right cover designed, and then, making sure the design of the pages inside the book marries well with the book's purpose. I am a book lover in my heart and I have been since I was just learning how to read. I love to go into a book store. I love the first smell of the paper and glue that fills their air space. I love to see the variations of design on the sales tables, and then I love to go into my special places where the things I'm most interested in live and see all the new and wonderful inside pages designs that have been published since my last trip. I a continuously delighted with the cleverness used in book design, an area where you might think there's not a lot of room for innovation. In my article "Key Elements of Book Cover Design for Self-Published Authors" you will find the technological pieces that make your book work well and get sold. In this new article, I am going to address the inner appeal your self-published book should have.
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If it’s just for your own amusement, format it however you want. If you want to submit it to an agent or publisher, as far as I know, it’s the same as manuscripts for adults. That is:
– Plain white paper, A4 (in Europe) or 8.5″ x 11″ (in America).
– Print on one side of the paper only.
– One-inch margins all round.
– Double-spaced.
– 12-point Times New Roman or Courier – maybe not exactly those fonts, but something simple and readable.
– Header is your surname, a one-word version of your title, and the page number. For instance, Dickens / Expectations / 75
– No footer, because there’s nothing to put in it.
That’s if the person you’re submitting to doesn’t say how they want it formatted. If they do say, obviously you should follow their instructions instead.
Help with children’s book publishing?
I’ve never submitted a book before and i was wondering how you format your manuscript?
Do you put a space between each part you want as a page?
Or do you just indent each time you want to switch pages?
Is there anywhere where I can see an example?
What if the book consists of sentences that all start with the same words? What then? Do you put it in paragraph form, or just start a new paragraph when you want a new page to start?
How would you go about publishing a children’s book?
I have written a short 26 page alphabet book entitled “An Anemone’s Adventure” and it’s about a sea anemone that encounters the various ocean creatures and plant life of the ocean. I haven’t illustrated it because I figured most publishers would want to choose their own illustrator.
I mainly need to know how to format the manuscript and then actually go about sending it to agents/publishers in hopes of getting my book published.
Any help you can provide is much appreciated!
When I say ‘format’ I mean would I write each page of the book on a separate page of the manuscript or would it just be in paragraph form?
I cannot help with this question, but you can visit many web sites about writing children’s books. Purple Crayon web site, for example, has suggested books on the subject in its online bookstore.
Formatting for children’s novel manuscript?
Hi people,
I’m thinking about writing a children’s novel/illustrated book but am wondering if there’s a standard format for writing one, eg layout, font, structure etc. I’m familiar with screenplay formatting, but was wondering if there’s a difference between the two. Any helpful websites with formatting layouts would be a great help. Thanks.
Proper Manuscript Format for a Children’s Picture Book?
Hello to all children’s book writers and writers in general,
I’m a newbie who has a question about the proper manuscript format for a children’s picture book. The format seems a lot different from one for a novel. I know that the name and address goes on top left side of page, approximately word count on right, and the whole thing is double-spaced.
However, since a children’s book is a lot shorter, and it’s illustrated, would I, on the actual manuscript, write page 1, page 2, page 3, etc. and separate it out or should the whole manuscript just essentially be one big, double-spaced paragraph?
1.) How do I format my manuscript so as to make it clear that, for example, sentences A and B would be on the first page in an actual children’s book, sentences C and D would be on the second page, etc.
2.) Or should I just not do that?
3.) Should I indent and start a new, double-spaced paragraph for my manuscript
Answers are greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!
Publishing children’s books?
I have written several children’s books throughout the years. I never tried to publish them because of lack of self confidence. Well, I was laid off about three weeks ago and it seems like it’s now time to start. Plus, I have another dream I need to help fund. I have been up and down with the “Writers Market” and frankly it’s too much information. A complete concise book on all the steps would be great. From format, query letter, submission, to acceptance and contractual agreements. I am not interested in ebooks or self publishing ,as I can’t afford that. So what are my alternatives? Is there a publishing house that’s more likely to accept them or do you think selling them in magazines such as Highlights would be a good idea? I have a book called “Formatting your Manuscript” but it’s not very helpful for childrens writing. Thanks everyone.
This is the most difficult area of publishing to break into. I just finished ghostwriting two children’s books for a very major publisher (one of the giants) and a celebrity who shall go unnamed.
This is how the children’s book market breaks down right now.
1) About 40% of the market is controlled by celebrities like Madonna, Jamie Lee Curtis etc. Celebrity kids books sell.
2) Another 40% is controlled by tried and true kids authors like Eric Carle etc. They sell too.
3) Another 15 – 20% is controlled by reprints of classic kids books like Curious George etc. They sell also.
That leaves at best 5% for new authors. And lately adult authors like Carl Hiaasen and one of those Higgins Clark women have entered the kids market – reducing your 5% and practically slamming the door on new authors.
In addition, major publishers like the one I write for have huge backlogs of books they have contracted with but haven’t gotten out yet. Kids books take a LONG time to come out.
Therefore, many major publishers including the one I write for have stopped even reading kids books. As a result, agents don’t want to read it either. Not if they can’t sell it.
Unless it is a very exceptional book, it doesn’t have much of a chance in the current market. Spend an hour in Barnes and Noble’s kids dept. and note what books are there. It will confirm this information. You will see almost exactly the breakdown I have described here. I got that info from an exec at the publisher I write for.
The best you can hope for is to go to the library and get a copy of LIterary Marketplace from the research section and start studying it. Search for smaller publishers who are still looking for kids books. Make notes – you cannot check the book out. Then go online and google the heck out of the names and make sure you don’t find any bad info about them. Visit Preditors and Editors and Absolute Write Water Cooler Bewares and Background Checks for info on the baddies out there. There are many.
Make sure you do not send any material to anybody until you are sure they are legit. Otherwise it is lost to you. Then follow submission guidelines and go for it. It is a terribly hard market to break into. A couple books with a small company may help open the doors a little bit for you later on.
Authors have to do research. You have to go to a bookstore and learn your market. Find out what sells and what doesn’t. One more hint … forget about holiday type books all together. They have too short a selling time and publishers are flooded with them. They get declined first.
Hope that helps. Even though it is not great news. Pax – C
It wholly depends on what age you’re aiming at.
For a picture book:
Even though the text will be broken up over many pages, don’t do so in your manuscript. Simply type it up as you would a short story. The editor, art director, and layout crew will take care of breaking the text up and putting the book together.
For any other book, format it in Standard Manuscript Format.
http://www.underdown.org/basics.htm
start with this article on publishing children’s books. there is a wealth of information links in it.
Also, get a copy of the Children’s Writer’s Market. Most of what you need to know is in there.