A picture book is not a short story with pictures added. A well-constructed picture book has closer to thirty-two pages and roughly fourteen spreads and an element of surprise or “wow” factor on every page turn. The writing also needs to be concise because the illustrator needs to fill a lot of space. Description can actually get in the way of telling the story because the illustrator will be prompted to draw the thing that is being described.
A tired parent will notice sentences that are too complicated for bedtime reading, and these problem sentences will be rewritten way before someone else sees the draft. Sentences get read twice aloud, sentence by sentence, at the appropriate reading level of the audience, to find bedtime reading compliant vocabulary.
Children can tell when they are being talked down to, and it is not easy to determine what that line should be. It comes from someone who has lost a five-year-old’s interest on the wrong page and figured out why. It also comes from someone who can tell what is too scary to be fun for the story, but is not too scary to end the story for the night.
Children’s writing is often moralistic. It ends with the lesson stated in the last line. In one page, words range from 4-year-olds to 9-year-olds. It writes the illustration into the text, so you tell the artist to do nothing.
How voice is established is dependent on the relationship between narrator and child, which in this case falls along the lines of conspiratorial, matter of fact, or gently unreliable. The writer settles on one and runs with it. Concepts are probed against a blunt question first. Can a four-year-old state what happens in a single sentence? If not, then the plot is over elaborate for the designated age.
A final review checks three things. First, does it require an adult to define the vocabulary. Second, is there a tacked on moral to the ending of the story. Finally, are the words used to describe text that simply cannot be used to describe the image. You get the story broken down spread by spread and detailed illustration notes.
One rate, whatever the format: $10 per 100 words. You are paying for the writer’s time and judgement, so the price scales with the words rather than with a package tier.
| Typical children's story | Words | Writing | Fee (1%) | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture book text | 600 | $60 | $0.60 | $60.60 |
| Early reader | 1,800 | $180 | $1.80 | $181.80 |
| Chapter book | 9,000 | $900 | $9 | $909 |
The writer receives 100% of the writing price. Our 1% fee is added on top of it, and 0.5% is donated to tree planting. Full pricing breakdown.
Every draft goes through an editor, then through several AI detectors and a plagiarism check. Anything that does not come back clean is revised or reassigned. You get the reports with the delivery email.
What the piece is for, who reads it, roughly how long it should be, and anything it must include or avoid. Links to your existing material help. If you are unsure, send what you have and the writer will come back with questions.
Yes. Just provide your child’s band name, the book your child is happy to read, or the name of the scheme. The writer will then match the vocabulary and sentence length of your example. In case the brief requires a title that cannot be used for the suggested level, we will inform you before taking it on.
No. We write the script and provide illustration notes spread by spread for your artist to work from. Since we use no generative tools for anything, we’d rather direct you to a human illustrator than give you generated images.
Completely. Copyright transfers to you on delivery, with no attribution requirement and no licence back to us. Nothing written for you is resold, repurposed or republished.
Reviews from completed, paid orders in this category.
Project it to fifty people in a barn with terrible acoustics. Short. One idea each. It reached the back. I’ve since learned this was done with intention and was not just a matter of luck.
The tribute was heartfelt, but came close to ten minutes when I delivered it (I was supposed to stick to six). I removed it a night before because there wasn’t time to edit. Undoubtedly, it was my fault for putting it off. The words, however, were just right.
For my dad’s eightieth, I wanted him to have a short story written based on an old famliy vacation from 1974. I was not expecting a literary masterpiece since I just needed something to read to the family after dinner. However, there is a part where he breaks a deckchair and I didn’t even include that and it is just perfect.
We do not ask you to take the no-AI promise on trust. Each draft is run through these platforms and the reports are attached to your delivery email.
Originality.aiAI detection + plagiarism
GPTZeroAI detection
TurnitinAI detection + similarity
CopyleaksAI detection + plagiarism
Winston AIAI detection
ZeroGPTAI detection
SaplingAI detection
Content at ScaleAI detection
Send the brief, get a human draft back within 3 days. No account, no subscription, no AI.
$10 per 100 words · all of it to the writer · 0.5% to trees