The Kidillus Learning Hub

No — but you do need to be willing to learn the craft and revise your work seriously. Most published children's book authors are not professional writers by training. What separates successful self-published authors from unsuccessful ones is not natural talent — it's the willingness to revise thoroughly, learn what works for the specific format they're writing in, and invest in professional illustration and design. Our writing guide covers everything you need to know about the craft, regardless of your experience level.

A professionally self-published picture book typically costs between £3,000 and £10,000 total — covering illustration (the largest cost, usually £2,000–£6,000 for a 32-page picture book), cover design, interior formatting, ISBN, and basic marketing. You can spend less by working with emerging illustrators, but the illustration is not a place to cut corners — it is the book's most visible quality signal. Our self-publishing guide has a full cost breakdown with realistic ranges for each category.

From completed manuscript to published book, most self-publishing authors should plan for 6–12 months. Illustration alone takes 3–6 months for a full picture book. Add time for finding and contracting an illustrator (4–8 weeks), interior formatting and cover design (2–4 weeks), KDP upload and review (1 week), and the revision process before any of this begins. Authors who rush this process almost always produce a book that looks and reads rushed. Invest the time — your book will be on sale for years.

For most self-published children's book authors, the best strategy is both — using Amazon KDP for your eBook and using IngramSpark for your print edition. KDP gives you access to Amazon's enormous audience. IngramSpark connects your book to 40,000+ retailers, libraries, and bookstores globally through Ingram's distribution network. You don't have to choose one — and going "wide" rather than exclusive to Amazon protects you from depending on a single platform's policies. Our KDP guide and self-publishing guide both cover this in detail.

A standard picture book (ages 3–8) should be 500–1,000 words. This is the most commonly violated rule by first-time authors, who typically write 1,500–4,000 words and wonder why publishers and illustrators don't respond. The 32-page format, shared equally between text and full illustrations, simply does not have space for more than roughly 1,000 words without sacrificing the visual storytelling that makes picture books work. Our writing guide explains the word count rules for every format — board books, picture books, early readers, chapter books, and middle grade.

Yes — if you are a trained illustrator with a professional portfolio demonstrating character consistency, sequential storytelling, and print-ready technical skills. If you are not, the honest answer is that self-illustrating is a common path to a book that looks self-illustrated — and in children's publishing, that is immediately visible to parents, librarians, and booksellers. The illustration is not a cost to eliminate — it is the product. Our illustration hiring guide and illustration process guide explain what professional illustration looks like and why it matters commercially.

Kidillus is a professional book design and publishing studio specialising in children's books. We work with self-publishing authors on illustration, cover design, interior formatting, and print-ready file preparation for Amazon KDP and global distribution. All of our learning guides are free — no sign-up required. When you're ready to take your book from manuscript to publication, you can request a free quote and we'll walk you through exactly what your project needs and what it will cost.