What does it take to write a children's book?

For me it looked like this:

Have 3 kids

Wait for them to get old enough to read my favourite childhood books to them (Roald Dahl, CS Lewis, AA Milne, etc.)

Get inspired by reading said books

Decide to have a go at writing some of my own

Sit down and wrestle with writer’s block, self doubt, and imposter syndrome every day

Finally complete a first draft (after 20 years of failed attempts to get past a few chapters in various genres)

Edit it with love, care, and attention

Publish it (to the sound of crickets)

Repeat from step 5.

In all seriousness, it’s harder than you think to write a good kid’s book.

But it’s also infinitely more rewarding than you might think.

My inner child thanks me every day.

My inner critic and outer adult gets annoyed and think we’re wasting our time. “Come on Dan — this isn’t paying the bills. What is the point? It’s rubbish anyway.”

I let my inner child win, because he’s more important to nurture.

And win he has!

I’m about to hit publish on my second children’s book next week and I’ve got a series of short stories and poems lined up to release before chrimbo.

So, yeah — it is possible and anyone can do it.

You don’t have to be the world’s best writer. Just write for fun. Do it to get in touch with your playful, child-like side. Then the results don’t really matter. You’re just doing it to enjoy the process.

Best of luck!