Children's books, end-to-end.
Story development, age-aware writing (0-5, 6-8, 9-12), original illustration and KDP publishing — written to be read aloud, designed to be kept on a bedside shelf.
Key facts
- Service
- Children's book writing and publishing for 0-5, 6-8 and 9-12 age bands.
- Starting price
- From $1,200 per book.
- Typical turnaround
- 6 to 12 weeks from brief to published title.
- Output
- Manuscript, original illustrations, KDP-ready files and a launch dossier.
- For
- First-time picture-book authors, parents and educators.
- Revisions
- Two full revision rounds plus thirty days of corrections after sign-off.
A picture book, complete.
Manuscript, art, files, accounts, copyright — all delivered in your name. Nothing rented, nothing kept back.
- Story development. From a voice memo, a sketch, or a single line of dialogue your child gave you.
- Age-band writing. Vocabulary, sentence length and theme tuned to 0-5, 6-8 or 9-12 reading levels.
- Read-aloud pass. Every spread tested for cadence, page-turn rhythm, and the breath between sentences.
- Original illustration. 24 to 32 spreads in a style matched to your story — painterly, ink-line, or collage.
- Cover design. Two concepts, three revisions, with spine and back-jacket copy written to age-band convention.
- Typesetting & production. Print-ready PDFs, reflowable Kindle, and a paperback proof copy sent to your door.
- KDP publishing. Account set up in your name, metadata, categories and seven-keyword research included.
- Launch dossier. A short marketing plan, gift-edition photography, and a first-reviews checklist.
Five steps, signed off by you.
No surprises. Each stage closes before the next begins.
The reading.
A 30-minute conversation about the child you're writing for, then a written proposal inside 48 hours.
The shape.
Spread-by-spread outline, character notes and a one-page voice sheet — signed off before a single sentence is drafted.
First spreads.
Manuscript and three sample illustrations in your chosen style. You mark up freely; we revise inside the quoted scope.
Art & typesetting.
Full interior art, hand-set type, gutter checks, bleed and CMYK proofing for printers that care about ink.
KDP launch.
Listing, categories, A+ content, and a printed proof in your hands before the book goes live to readers.
Picture books we've made.
A selection of recent jackets — bedtime stories, early readers and middle-grade chapter books.
From parents, and from teachers.
A handful of authors who let us name them.
Three editions, round figures.
No retainer, no hidden art fees, no per-spread surcharges. Most first-time authors choose the middle edition.
- Full manuscript up to 1,500 words, age-banded
- Spread-by-spread outline & voice sheet
- Two structural revisions and one line edit
- Illustration brief for an artist of your choosing
- Word + PDF reading copy, copyright assigned
- Manuscript + 24-spread original illustration
- Cover design, two concepts, three revisions
- Print & Kindle typesetting, paperback proof
- KDP listing in your name, A+ content, keywords
- Launch dossier & first-reviews plan
- Two or three-book series with shared world & characters
- Hardback editions with dust-jacket and endpapers
- Translations into one additional language
- Audiobook narration arranged on your behalf
- Dedicated editor & illustrator across the series
Custom scopes are quoted in two paragraphs and a number — never hidden behind a sales-call funnel.
Things we put in writing.
Each of these is in your contract, in plain English, on page one.
Copyright, characters, world and merchandise rights transfer to you on final payment. We never licence, resell or reuse your story.
The number quoted in the proposal is the number on the final invoice. If the brief grows, we re-quote in writing before the work begins.
If your manuscript or files are rejected at upload for a technical reason we caused, we fix it free of charge — usually inside 24 hours.
If a picture book doesn't read cleanly at bedtime cadence, we rewrite the spread without charge until it does — children are honest editors.
How to start a children's book project with ebookwriting.ai.
Four short steps from idea to printed picture book.
- Send the seed. Share a voice memo, a sketch or a single line your child gave you. We confirm receipt within one working day.
- Receive a fixed-price proposal. Within 48 hours, you get a written quote (typically $1,200 to $4,800 depending on age band and illustration count), a timeline, and a one-page contract.
- Approve story and spreads. We deliver the story outline, then the manuscript, then spread-by-spread sketches across 6 to 12 weeks. Two revision rounds are built in.
- Publish and hand over. We typeset for KDP and IngramSpark, set up your KDP listing, and hand you the source files plus a 30-day launch plan.
More about our children's book writing work.
Our children's book writing services sit at the quieter end of the studio — a small group of editors and a picture book writer who have spent years pacing manuscripts for the bedtime read. We work with parents, teachers, debut authors and small publishers who need a story shaped to a specific age band, then carried cleanly through to a manuscript an illustrator can interpret. Picture books, early readers and chapter books are the three shapes we know best.
How a ghostwriter for kids' books actually helps
Most first drafts arrive at the right length but the wrong rhythm. A ghostwriter for kids' books spends the first week on cadence — reading the manuscript out loud, marking the lines a six-year-old will trip on, and tightening word count to the age-band conventions trade publishers acquire against. Vocabulary, sentence length and theme are matched to the reader, not to the writer.
The numbers we work to are firm. A picture book sits at 500 to 1,500 words across 12 to 14 spreads. An early reader sits at 1,500 to 5,000. Two revision rounds are written into every contract, plus a final read by a children's book editor who has worked on KDP children's books and trade lists. The schedule from brief to final manuscript runs three to five weeks for a picture book, eight to twelve for a chapter book.
Age-appropriate writing — what we check before sign-off
The most common worry we hear is that a story is sitting between two age groups and pleasing neither. We flag this in the first read. Age-appropriate writing means matching reading level, theme weight and protagonist age to a single band — and if the idea genuinely spans two, we recommend the band that gives the book the strongest commercial home rather than splitting the difference.
Copyright passes to you in full at sign-off. We deliver a clean Word manuscript with page-turn markers, a PDF reading copy and an illustration brief if the art is being commissioned alongside. The team has shipped picture books, middle-grade titles and KDP children's books for clients who needed the manuscript to read well long before any artwork was attached.
Questions we are asked.
Short, honest answers. Anything else, send to contact@ebookwriting.ai.
What does the starting figure include?
At ebookwriting.ai, the starting children's book fee of $1,200 covers a single picture-book or early-reader manuscript up to a defined word count, structural planning, two rounds of line edits, and a final proofread. Illustration, layout, and cover art are quoted separately so each part of the book is priced honestly.
How long does a children's book take to write?
A 500–1,500 word picture-book manuscript typically takes three to five weeks from brief to final draft. Chapter books for older children sit closer to eight to twelve weeks. We send a written schedule with your proposal so the milestones are visible from day one.
What if the first draft doesn't feel right?
Two full revision rounds are built into every project, plus light polish before sign-off. If the voice or pacing is off, we step back to the outline rather than push forward — children's books live or die on rhythm, and forcing a draft never fixes it.
Who owns the story when we're done?
You do, in full. We assign all copyright and moral rights to you on final payment, so the manuscript, characters, and world are entirely yours to publish, license, or adapt.
What files do I receive at the end?
A clean Word manuscript with page-turn markers for illustration, a PDF reading copy, and a brief illustration brief if you've commissioned art with us. Everything is delivered in formats your illustrator and publisher will recognise.
Will my book be suitable for the age range I'm targeting?
Yes. We work to age-band conventions on vocabulary, sentence length, theme, and word count, drawing on what trade publishers currently acquire. If your idea sits awkwardly between two age groups, we'll flag it early and recommend the band that gives the story the strongest home.
Often paired with this.
Begin your book.
A 15-minute discovery call about the child you're writing for — then a written, fixed-price proposal in 48 hours. No obligation, no follow-up sales call.