Everything you want to know about planning a children’s book, including interior design, layout, cover, and illustrations, is in this guide to children’s book design!
Planning a children’s book is no small thing, so having a guide to children’s book design will 100% help you as you navigate through the different stages. There are a lot of steps you’ll need to take along the way when you’re designing a children’s book, and if you do some incorrectly, it could end up costing you a lot of time and money.
If you have already written a children’s book or just have an idea for creating your own children’s book and would like to self-publish it, you’re ready to take the next step in the project: children’s book design.
What do we mean by children’s book design? Designing your illustrations and planning your interior layout and design. Even if you have a professional illustrator standing by, understanding the process will help you make smarter decisions throughout the layout process, saving you a lot of time and headaches.
In the following guide to children’s book design, we’ll cover:
Planning Your Children’s Book Design
If you plan on self-publishing a kid’s book, check out Self-Publishing A Children’s Book 101. It’s full of helpful tips and information about self-publishing a children’s book that aspiring children’s book authors need to know!
Planning Your Children’s Book Design
Research is Priceless
The first step in the process is, and always should be, research. If you’re reading this article on the guide to children’s book design now, then well done.
Any time and money you have invested in researching popular children’s books in your genre and age group is always time and money well spent. You can look online at children’s books, visit bookstores, and visit libraries. There are some great free options available for conducting research.
Some of the areas you want to focus on during the research stage of planning your children’s book include:
Editorial Tone
-
-
-
-
-
- How did the author capture the reader’s attention?
- Did they consider the reading age of the intended audience?
- What sort of words did they use?
- Did they overtell the story, or did they allow the illustrations to carry some of the story?
-
-
-
-
Cover Design
-
-
-
-
-
- Did the cover design immediately catch your attention?
- Was the cover design an accurate representation of what you would find inside the book?
- Can you clearly read the title and author’s name?
- Did the fonts compliment the cover design or clash with it?
-
-
-
-
Interior Page Design, Formatting, and Layout
-
-
-
-
-
- How many pages did they have?
- Did they do full-spread (both pages as if looking at an open book) illustrations or half-page illustrations (left or right page only)?
- Did the illustrator leave enough space for the text?
- Can you clearly read the text in the background?
- Did the author choose a font that looked great but could be challenging for children to read?
-
-
-
-
Illustration Style
-
-
-
-
-
- Does the illustration style suit the tone of the story?
- Do the illustrations elevate the story?
- Has the illustrator worked with the writer when designing the illustrations, or do they feel cramped?
- Is the story easy to read in conjunction with the illustrations?
-
-
-
-
Remember, you’re writing a children’s book intended for today’s children, not ten, twenty, or thirty years ago. Times have changed a lot, and so have children’s interests and how they access and process information.
You must ensure that your children’s book will appeal to children today. However, there are always classics for a reason. So, if you’re determined to write a children’s book in a particular style, then as the author, it’s your choice, and you should stick with it.
One final thing that all aspiring children’s book authors need to remember is that most of the time, it’s parents, grandparents, and adults who purchase the book. It’s important to remember that your book needs to appeal to not only children but also the person buying the book for the child.
Creating A Storyboard
The easiest way to think about your book is to think about it like a movie or short video for children.
-
-
-
-
-
- How does your story unfold through the illustrations you’re creating, and how does your text help tell the story?
- Are you going to use a single-page illustration with corresponding text or go with a large two-page spread with text integrated into the illustrations?
-
-
-
-
Below is an example of a storyboard you can use to create your children’s book. You can also download your FREE ASA Children’s Book Storyboard here.
A storyboard allows you to create a rough draft or outline of your children’s book, complete with sketch ideas and text. A storyboard is also a great way to collaborate with your illustrator so they know how much space to leave for text and how your text will be laid out on the page.
It’s important to note that generally, children’s books are a minimum of 24 pages if you plan on uploading to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and then go up in multiples of 4. Other platforms such as IngramSpark Publishing allow you to do slightly fewer pages, but still around 20 pages total and typically in increments of 4.
So, 24-pages, 28-pages, 32-pages etc. If you have an odd number of pages, the printer will insert blank pages into the back of the book. Sometimes, even with the perfect amount of pages, some publishers or printers will still add blank pages in order to add print information.
Choosing A Trim Size
The next step is choosing a trim size. This is very important as your trim size will often be determined by where you plan on self-publishing your children’s book. The two main self-publishing platforms, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and IngramSpark Publishing, both have different trim size options, but some standard trim sizes are available for both platforms.
You’ll need to consider whether you plan on doing paperback, hardcover, or both, as trim sizes are based on the book type. Also, some trim sizes are available for both paperback and hardcover, which will allow you to use the same interior file and just create an additional cover.
For the storyboard above, I went with a standard trim size, 8.5 x 8.5 (inch width x height) template, as an example. However, don’t forget the bleed. You need to add a .25-inch bleed to the outside of all pages when creating your illustrations. The bleed allows for trimming the book during printing, and no text elements are allowed to enter the bleed.
So, a single-page illustration for an 8.5 x 8.5-inch children’s book would actually be 8.625 x 8.75 with the bleed. A full-spread illustration for an 8.5 x 8.5 children’s book would be 17.3 x 8.75.
Below is an example of a full-page spread with bleed marks and a center gutter.
You can also check out all of Amazon KDP’s Trim Size options here, as well as IngramSpark’s Trim Size options here.
Illustrations or Images
Illustrations are a crucial part of your children’s book.
One thing that new authors forget (I’ve been guilty of this myself) is that your illustrations are there to tell your story. Do you really need text explaining what’s happening in the illustrations? Or can your illustrations help to tell your story?
Sometimes, less is more when you have beautiful illustrations.
One of the great things about illustrations is that there are a bunch of different styles for you to choose from for your children’s book. Remember, select your illustration style based on your intended reader’s age. If your children’s book is for very young children, then a complicated illustration style probably isn’t the best idea.
Some illustrators specialize in a very specific illustration style, while others can do multiple styles depending on what you’re looking for.
Prices for illustrations usually range from $50 up to $250 per illustration. It all depends on how complicated the illustrations are and who you choose to create them. Illustrations usually take between 1-2 months, and there is typically some back-and-forth on each draft until it’s perfect.
Most illustrators will start with a sketch to give you a basic look and outline. Once approved, the next step is to add color and details to the illustration.
If you’re ready to start your illustrations for your new kid’s book, check out Finding A Children’s Book Illustrator In Australia to learn more about discovering an illustrator for your children’s book!
Layout, Fonts, and Colours
How much text you have will determine how you lay out your children’s book. If you have a lot of text, then overlaying it over your illustration or incorporating it into your illustrations could be difficult. You may have to go with text on one page and illustrations on the other.
The other option you have is to design your illustrations, remembering to leave room for your text on the page. However, more than a few lines of text per page will start to impede your illustration size and design.
Full-page spreads allow your illustration to flow across both pages. Remember, running through the center of your full-page spread is a large gutter or fold that will impact your illustrations. You also have margins around the edges of your pages, which you can’t impede.
You can also place text on both pages, spreading it out a little bit if you have a lot of text.
Just as we mentioned, your illustrations tell your story, and your choice of font and how you display that text on your page will also tell the story. You can get really creative with text to highlight different parts of your story.
The colors you choose for your font and illustrations also tell a story.
Your font should be fun and match the tone of your story. However, it needs to be easily read by your intended audience. Script fonts and crazy silly fonts look great and are easy for most adults to read, but children may find them more difficult.
The color of your font shouldn’t clash with the background or get lost in the background, either. Some people leave a clear space for text, while others incorporate it into the background. Either way, make sure that you talk to your illustrator first. Clearly show them where you want the text to be placed and how much text you have. That way, they can leave space without covering any essential elements.
If you’re an aspiring children’s book author, check out 7 Children’s Book Illustration Tips Australian Authors!
Front and Back Cover
Despite what we would like to believe, people do judge books by their cover, including children. If your front cover isn’t immediately grabbing someone’s attention, you’re missing out.
Your front cover should include the title and sub-title (if you’re going to use a subtitle), the author’s name, and, in some cases, the illustrator.
Below are some must-haves for your children’s book cover:
-
-
-
-
-
- Target your desired reader age with your cover design.
- Ensure that the book cover is exciting and captivates readers to learn more about what’s inside the book.
- Ensure that the title stands out, is easy to read, and grabs the reader’s attention.
- Pick colors and fonts that match the style and mood of your interior illustrations.
-
-
-
-
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to your front cover design. Take your time researching popular children’s books and analyze how their cover design works with their story.
Your back cover should be simple, with a description that tells readers what’s inside. It doesn’t need to be long, so avoid trying to squash a page of information onto the back cover. Your online listing description can be much longer if required.
Complete Guide to Children’s Book Design | Conclusion
With the information above in our guide to children’s book design, you should be ready to start planning your children’s book. While jumping ahead is tempting, taking your time with children’s book design is essential. It helps you avoid going back and making costly corrections later.
If you have any questions about the self-publishing process, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
At Author Services Australia, we support Australian and New Zealand self-published authors and writers with a full range of affordable self-publishing services, including ghostwriting, copyediting, developmental editing, proofreading, ebook and paperback formatting, book cover design, children’s book illustrations, graphic design services, manuscript uploading assistance, and social media and marketing.
Have you got a lot of experience with children’s book design and would like to share some tricks and tips you’ve learned? Drop a comment below. We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to avoid missing out on any future author news and updates.