Formatting a children’s book for print can seem intimidating for new authors. With decisions around page layouts, word counts, image sizes and more, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But proper book formatting is essential if you want your book to look professional. In this complete guide, you’ll learn everything you need to format your children’s book for print like a pro.
Why Proper Formatting Matters
You may be tempted to skip book formatting because you want to focus purely on the writing.
But properly formatting your manuscript is hugely important for a few reasons:
1. It Prevents Rejection
Many publishers and literary agents will reject improperly formatted manuscripts without reading them.
Why?
Because an unprofessional layout signals that the writer doesn’t understand publishing standards. So the writing itself probably won’t pass muster.
Obviously you want editors assessing your story, not tossing your submission for sloppy formatting!
2. It Makes Revision Easier
A properly formatted manuscript organizes story content visually using tools like scene breaks and chapter headings.
This structure makes it much easier for you (and any editors) to study pacing, character arcs and plot holes during revision.
3. It Streamlines Collaboration
If you plan to work with an illustrator, proper formatting clearly separates text from image placement notes.
This eliminates any guesswork around what text and images should appear on each page spread.
In other words, formatting makes your children’s book production process smoother from start to finish!
Now let’s explore the key elements of professional children’s book formatting…
The 5 Must-Have Areas of a Properly Formatted Children’s Book Manuscript
To ensure proper children’s book formatting, your manuscript needs 5 key sections:
1. The Title Page
A title page introduces your book to readers. It should include:
- The book’s title (in ALL CAPS)
- Your name
- An illustrator credit, if applicable
Many children’s books also include the publisher’s logo on the title page. But for unagented submissions, leave this off until you secure a publishing contract.
2. The Copyright Page
The copyright page shares:
- Formal copyright information
- The year of first publication
- Edition numbers beyond the first printing
- Publisher location
Copyrighting your work is optional. But it does provide legal protection against unauthorized use of your creative work.
Learn more about copyrighting a book here.
3. The Dedication Page
The dedication celebrates someone who inspired you during the writing process.
This brief note of gratitude often acknowledges a friend or family member. But it can celebrate anyone you like!
Including a dedication is optional. If you do dedicate your book, keep it brief.
4. The Actual Story Content
Story content forms the bulk of your manuscript. This includes:
The text
The textual content of your story, whether a short picture book or a novel-length work.
This text should already be complete before you format for print. That way you can perfect story flow before adjusting layout or pagination.
Any Illustrations
If your story contains illustrations, insert them in your manuscript where intended to appear in print.
(We’ll talk about how to call out illustrations later on).
Chapter and Scene Breaks
Use regular formatting to distinguish scene breaks within chapters. Skip an extra line between scenes.
Then format chapter breaks by placing the word “CHAPTER” on its own line, followed by chapter number or title. Center this text and make it bold.
These breaks organize longer manuscripts visually on the page.
5. Back Matter
Back matter concludes your book. It may include:
- Appendixes with supporting content
- Acknowledgement or About the Author section
- Advertisements for other books or materials by the same author/publisher
Back matter is more common in informational children’s books than fictional works. But both can benefit readers by extending story impact beyond the last page.
How to Format Key Manuscript Elements
Now that you know what a properly formatted manuscript contains, let’s explore exact formatting for core elements.
Header
A header displays the book title and page number on every page.
- To create, open the “Header & Footer Tools” tab in Word.
- Type your book title, followed by a dash and the page number.
- Align the title at the left margin and page number at the right margin.
This helps editors, illustrators and publishers track story progress as they review.
Section Breaks
Section breaks designate the transition from front matter to story content to back matter.
These clean separations help avoid confusion around what content belongs where.
- To insert a section break in Word, navigate to the “Page Layout” tab.
- Click “Breaks” and select “Next Page” under Section Breaks.
You can also access handy templates that format section breaks automatically in word processing programs.
Illustration Placeholders
If someone else will illustrate your book, you need to provide notes on what each image should depict.
This allows the illustrator to “see” your vision without images in place.
To call out illustrations:
- Place the text “[ILLUSTRATION: ]” where you want an image to appear.
- Include a detailed description of the intended illustration after the colon.
- Italicize illustration notes so they stand out from story text.
Keep descriptions concise but vivid. And explain relevance to nearby story text.
This empowers your future illustrator to translate your vision accurately!
Standard Formatting for Children’s Book Manuscripts
Using standard formatting guidelines ensures that your manuscript looks professional.
Here are guidelines to follow:
Page Size
Set all pages in your document to 8.5”x11”, with 1-inch margins on all sides. This is standard submission format across the publishing industry.
Font Choice
Font sets the tone of your writing visually on the page.
For children’s books, classic serif font styles tend to work best. These include Times New Roman, Book Antiqua and Georgia.
Avoid elaborate script or display fonts. These make text difficult to read in paragraph form.
Font Size
Use 12 pt font for all body text across your manuscript.
You can bump key headings like Chapter titles up to 14 or 16 pt for extra visual impact. But avoid font sizes below 12 pt. These strain readability.
Line Spacing
Format all text as double spaced. Avoid 1.5 spacing or triple spacing text.
Double spacing ensures enough white space between lines for editors and publishers to make notes as needed.
Alignment
Left align all text paragraphs across your manuscript.
Centered or right-aligned body text blocks reader flow and strains readability.
Indents
Indent the first line of each new paragraph by .5 inches.
This visually signals the transition to a new thought before readers even begin the next line of text!
Italics and Underlines
Use italics only to distinguish illustration notes, as explained above.
Reserve underlines only for hyperlinks in digital manuscripts.
Otherwise, rely on bolding for proper text emphasis in print.
Additional Formatting Tips for Picture Books
Picture books aimed at very young readers have special formatting needs.
Specifically, you must consider layout along with word count and image sizing.
Covering these key bases helps editors instantly recognize you as an author who understands the distinctive nature of visual storytelling geared to children.
Aim for Less Than 500 Words
Picture books keep children engaged through a thoughtful blend of text and illustrations.
If passages grow too long, young readers become overwhelmed. So limit picture books to around 500 words total.
The most successful examples stick to 300 words or fewer over 32 pages.
Mind Page Layout
Picture book layout standards dictate that narrative text and illustrations carry equal storytelling weight.
So you must strategically break up your text using formatting to complementary illustrations.
The goal is conveying maximum narrative impact per page through ideal text/image balance.
Careful page design draws in young readers while maintaining story flow across spreads.
Design at Publication Scale
Finally, consider your book’s final published size as you format text and illustration notes.
Will your trim size be standard at 8×10? Or a more squat width oriented for small hands at 6×9?
Knowing these specifications allows you to visualize your formatted manuscript at realistic scale.
This helps tremendously in spacing text, sizing images and validating overall layout.
How Print Formatting for Children’s Books Is Evolving
The rise of digital publishing opened exciting format possibilities for children’s book creators.
For instance, multimedia elements like animation and sound can now augment story texts in amazing interactive ways.
At the same time, shifting expectations now pressure authors to deliver these enhanced experiences readers crave as standard.
Fortunately, professional formatting helps books engage digitally while remaining distinctively print-centric.
Enhanced Ebooks
Ebook editions of children’s books gain tremendous added dimension through embedded multimedia.
Enhanced ebook formats preserve original layout and pagination from print editions while layering in supplemental content.
For example, animated versions of print illustrations give visual scenes motion and sound. Users can toggle these on and off depending on their desired reading experience.
Such innovations dazzle young readers in a native digital environment. Yet print integrity stands, available at the touch of a button for traditionalists.
This bridges our transitioning expectations as print and digital publishing converge.
And professional formatting sets foundational style to make that possible through intentional planning for both formats.
Audiobook Capability
Audiobooks bring children’s stories to life through dramatized performance. And their surging popularity shows no signs of slowing.
In fact, revenue from audiobook downloads and streaming grew by 30% from just 2019 to 2020 alone!
Readers still crave printed books. But they’re increasingly consuming stories across multiple formats thanks to electronic versatility.
That’s why standard print formatting principles now factor in dynamic oral interpretation during manuscript stage.
For example, italicized illustration notes won’t translate verbally. Instead, authors now set them off in brackets to guide narration.
Maximizing melodic delivery helps future-proof children’s content for this key growth market as technology reshapes reading habits.
And again, initial print formatting decisions lay the groundwork for this flexible innovation.
How to Format Illustration Notes Like a Pro
One mistake newcomers often make with picture book illustration notes is providing too little detail.
But sparse descriptions leave illustrators guessing about how to best realize your vision visually.
The solution? Structure illustration notes as “mini scenes” themselves using vivid sensory language.
Here’s an example from my recent picture book about a young robot’s first day at school:
This note places readers directly into Axon’s perspective using specific visual details:
- His awe conveying the new experience
- Identifying sensory details like the grip gesture and brick texture
- Exact text appearing on the school banners
With description this crisp, my eventual illustrator will translate the scene flawlessly without ongoing back-and-forth.
That level of clarity up front is the goal with illustration notes!
Readying Your Manuscript for Submission
You did it! With properly formatted text, section breaks and illustration notes, your manuscript meets professional children’s book standards.
Now it’s ready for that all-important next step: submission to publishers, agents and design partners.
As you venture out, keep these tips in mind…
Double Check Format Consistency
Carefully review the entire document before submitting your work anywhere.
Formatting mistakes that slip through the cracks undercut your publisher-ready presentation.
Plus, catching errors now prevents revisions down the line should your work get picked up.
So scan every last page and header to validate flawless formatting!
Research Submission Guidelines
Many publishers, agencies and design firms post formatting guidelines on their websites.
Look over these before sending any submissions. And tweak your document to match any provided specifications.
Keep in mind that industry standard alignment matters most here. So don’t distort your formatting radically to suit quirky outlier preferences.
If guidelines seem unreasonable, it’s okay to query respectfully about flexibility or seek opportunities elsewhere. Publishing thrives on individual creative vision!
Back Up Your Manuscript
Save copies of your pristine manuscript to multiple devices and cloud servers.
Accidental deletions or corrupt files happen more often than anyone likes to admit! Don’t lose months of work to a technical glitch as exciting prospect responses (hopefully) pour in.
Next Steps: Writing Your Story!
With the children’s book formatting foundation set, the fun part lies ahead – bringing imaginary people and worlds to life through words and pictures!
It all starts with an idea worth sharing. Maybe subtle observations from everyday moments…
Perhaps poignant memories just waiting for fresh perspective…
However inspiration sparks your creative mind, stoke that inner fire and write from an authentic place.
Stay open, imaginative and above all remember that children SEE magic in simplicity that jaded adult perspectives overlook.
This special connection makes writing for young readers profoundly rewarding.
I can’t wait for you to experience that joy as readers encounter whimsical characters stepping from formatted pages into reality!
Until then, may the writing process nourish your spirit as dream becomes printed book.