Write the children's book only you can tell

Maybe you've had a story living in your head for years — a character that showed up one day and never really left, or a theme you keep coming back to because you know, deep down, it's exactly what a young reader somewhere needs to find on a shelf. You've picked up children's books in bookshops and thought: I could do this. And then you put the book back down and went home without writing a single word, because you didn't know where to start — or you started and got lost somewhere between a first draft and the vast, confusing world of publishing.

I know that feeling well. The children's book world is one of the most rewarding places a storyteller can work, and it's also one of the most misunderstood. There's a persistent myth that picture books are simple, that writing for children is easier than writing for adults, that you just need a cute idea and a little luck. What nobody tells you is that children's books are a precise, demanding, deeply purposeful craft — and that once you understand the craft, the doors start opening. That's what this school is built to do: give you the knowledge, the tools, and the honest industry perspective that turns a good idea into a published book and a published book into a career.

We'll start at the very beginning — understanding how the market is structured, where your best story ideas already live, and how to read the books you love the way a working author does. From there, we'll go deep into craft: how to build characters children genuinely love, how to find a voice that's unmistakably yours, and how to shape a story with exactly the right structure and pacing for your category — whether that's a 500-word picture book or a 35,000-word middle grade novel. By the time you reach your manuscript, you'll have the self-editing skills to know when it's truly ready.

Then we'll tackle the part that trips up so many talented writers: the business. I'll walk you through both traditional and self-publishing with no romanticizing and no fear-mongering — just the real picture of what each path asks of you and what it can give back. You'll write a query letter that actually gets requests. You'll build an agent and publisher list that's targeted, not just hopeful. And you'll understand how to respond to rejection and feedback in ways that make you stronger, not smaller.

And because a book is just the beginning, we'll spend real time on your author career — platform, school visits, community, multi-book strategy, and all the ways a children's author can build a sustainable creative life over the long haul. This isn't a course that ends when your manuscript does. It ends when you have everything you need to keep going.

If you have a story to tell and you're ready to learn the craft and the business to tell it properly — I'm so glad you're here. Let's get started.