Turn your child's imagination into a real book on Amazon
Guide your child or grandchild from a single idea to a real, published book on Amazon — no writing experience required. A joyful, step-by-step process that turns family storytelling into a keepsake kids will treasure forever.
"Your child's story is already in there — my job is simply to help you bring it out and give it a cover."— Nina Hershberger
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Spark and shape a child's original story idea using simple guided prompts any adult can run at home
- Structure a complete children's book manuscript with a clear beginning, middle, and end
- Create or coordinate illustrations — whether hand-drawn, painted, or sourced — and format them for print
- Design a professional-looking book cover and interior layout using beginner-friendly free tools
- Upload and publish a finished paperback and e-book to Amazon KDP so it's available for anyone to buy
- Host a fun 'book launch' moment with the child and order author copies to celebrate their achievement
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
6 modules · 17 lessons
Spark the Story
Before a single word is written, children need a story worth telling. This module gives adults simple, playful tools to draw out a child's genuine ideas, build a character they'll love, and choose a story scope that's realistic and age-appropriate — laying the creative foundation for everything that follows.
- 1.1Finding Your Child's Big IdeaIncluded
- 1.2Building a Character Kids Care AboutIncluded
- 1.3Choosing the Right Story for the Right AgeIncluded
Write the Manuscript
With a solid idea in hand, this module walks adults through helping the child structure and draft a complete manuscript — from plotting a clear beginning, middle, and end, to capturing the child's authentic voice, to doing a light, confidence-building edit that makes the text print-ready.
- 2.1Mapping the Story Arc — Beginning, Middle, and EndIncluded
- 2.2Drafting the Text — Capturing Your Child's VoiceIncluded
- 2.3Polishing the Manuscript — Simple Editing for Non-WritersIncluded
Create the Illustrations
Illustrations transform a manuscript into a real children's book. This module prepares adults for every illustration path — hand-drawing, painting, photography, or commissioning an artist — and covers the technical steps to get artwork digital, correctly sized, and print-ready before layout begins. A critical prerequisite lesson on KDP's print specifications is added here so artwork is created to the right dimensions from the start.
- 3.1Understanding Print Specs Before You Draw a Single LineIncluded
- 3.2Choosing Your Illustration Style and MethodIncluded
- 3.3Creating and Digitising Your IllustrationsIncluded
Design the Book
With a polished manuscript and print-ready illustrations in hand, adults now assemble the complete book — interior page-by-page layout, a compelling cover, and an e-book version — using free, beginner-friendly tools and KDP's own templates. Sequencing cover design before e-book formatting ensures adults have all assets ready before tackling the digital version.
- 4.1Designing the Interior LayoutIncluded
- 4.2Designing the Book CoverIncluded
- 4.3Formatting the E-Book VersionIncluded
Publish on Amazon KDP
Every technical piece is now ready. This module walks adults step-by-step through the KDP publishing dashboard — account setup, metadata, file upload, print options, pricing strategy, and ordering the all-important author copies — with no assumed knowledge of self-publishing.
- 5.1Setting Up Your KDP Account and Book DetailsIncluded
- 5.2Uploading Files and Setting Up Print OptionsIncluded
- 5.3Pricing, Publishing, and Ordering Author CopiesIncluded
Celebrate — The Book Launch
Publishing is a milestone that deserves a real celebration. This final module helps adults plan a joyful, memorable book launch moment that honours the child's achievement, shares the book with loved ones, and opens the door to future creative adventures — giving the child a lasting identity as an author.
- 6.1Planning the Perfect Book Launch PartyIncluded
- 6.2Sharing, Celebrating, and What Comes NextIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
The proud grandparent
Wants to create a one-of-a-kind keepsake with a grandchild that the whole family will treasure for generations.
The encouraging mum
Her child is bursting with imaginative ideas and she's looking for a meaningful project to nurture that creativity at home.
The hands-on dad
Wants a structured, practical project to do with his kids on weekends — something with a real, satisfying finish line.
The homeschool parent
Looking for a rich, cross-curriculum project that weaves literacy, art, and design into one deeply rewarding experience.
The gift-giver grandma
Hopes to give a grandchild the most personal gift imaginable — a real published book they wrote and made together.
The first-time author parent
Has always loved the idea of writing a children's book and sees this as the perfect excuse to finally make it happen — with their child as co-creator.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Nina Hershberger
If you've ever sat with a child while they chattered about a story — a funny character they invented, a world they made up at bedtime — and thought "someone should write this down," then you already understand why Young Story Press exists. That spark is real. That story deserves to live somewhere other than the back of a school notebook or a memory that slowly fades. I created this course because I believe families shouldn't need a publishing contract or a design agency to make something beautiful and lasting together.
I know what you might be thinking right now: "I'm not a writer. I'm not an artist. I wouldn't even know where to start." I hear that all the time — and honestly, it's exactly the right starting point. You don't need to be any of those things. What you need is a process, and that's precisely what I've built here. Every lesson is the kind of plain, practical guidance I wish someone had handed me the first time I tried to navigate the world of children's publishing — told in the language of a friend who's already figured it out, not a textbook full of industry terms.
What we do together in this course is real and tangible from the very first module. We find the idea, we shape it into a proper story with a beginning, a middle, and an end, and we make sure your child's voice — their actual way of seeing the world — is the beating heart of every page. Then we move through illustrations, layout, cover design, and finally the publish button on Amazon KDP. Each step is broken down so that no single moment feels overwhelming. You'll be amazed how quickly "we have an idea" becomes "we have a book."
The part I love most — the part I want you to hold onto when it feels like a lot of work — is the book launch. Planning that little celebration, watching a child cradle their author copy and show it to everyone they love: that's the moment all the polishing and formatting and uploading is really for. It's not just a keepsake. It's a message to that child that their creativity matters, that their story was worth the effort, and that they are, genuinely, a published author.
You've got this. Let's make the book.
— Nina Hershberger
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- 6 modules, 17 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
- Learn on any device, at your pace
- Full access for as long as you're subscribed