What does the children's book Book Coach do?

It talks you from a character or an image to a story that works for a specific age group, then offers two or three directions with a first step for each. It is free and needs no account.

Is this the same as Your Book Pro Kids?

No. This route is for adults writing books for children. Your Book Pro also has a separate child-safe experience designed for children writing their own books.

Do I need an illustrator first?

No. The coach works on the story and the moments that need to be shown. Illustration decisions come later and are easier once the story sentence is settled.

Can it help me choose the age group?

Yes, and it usually asks about it early because so much else depends on it.

Does it write in rhyme for me?

No. It does not produce your text. It will help you decide whether rhyme, repetition or plain prose suits the story and the age.

How long should a picture book be?

The coach discusses length in relation to your age band and format rather than applying one rule, since a bedtime picture book and a first chapter book are very different lengths.

Can I dictate a children's book?

Yes, and it is particularly suited to it. Telling the story out loud is close to how it will be read out loud.

What if my story is based on my own child?

That is extremely common and the coach handles it as ordinary material. It may ask who the book is finally for, since a book for one child and a book for many children differ.

Is the conversation private?

Yes. It is stored privately so you can return to it, and nothing is published. If you do not create an account, it is deleted after 90 days. Saving happens only if you create a free account and start a plan.

How long does it take?

Usually five to eight exchanges, about ten minutes. There is no set length: you can stop when you have what you need, or keep going.

Can it help with a series of books about one character?

It will focus on one book, but if your answers point at a character who can carry more, the directions will usually reflect that.

What do I get at the end?

Named directions with what is promising, what is open and a small experiment, plus a starter brief you can turn into a plan.

Your Book Pro Book Coach

Book Coach for children's books

This route of Your Book Pro's Book Coach helps you turn a character or a funny moment into a children's book that works when read aloud. It asks one question at a time about the age of the reader, who is at the centre, what happens in one sentence, and what makes a child laugh or ask for it again. It is free to talk to and you do not need an account.

Talk to the Book Coach about children's book

Who this suits

Parents and grandparents who tell the same made-up story every bedtime
Teachers and librarians who know what children actually respond to
Illustrators with a character and no story
Anyone who wants to write for children and is unsure which age to aim at

What it can help you uncover

The age band and whether an adult is reading it with them
Who is at the centre of the story and what they want
The story in one simple sentence, which is the hardest and most useful line
What produces the laugh, the gasp, the joining in or the request to read it again
How pictures, page turns, rhyme and repetition should carry the telling
The page or moment you can already see, which is where to start

What you get

Two or three directions for the book, with a small first experiment for each
A starter brief with a working title and provisional spreads or chapters
A clearer sense of length and format for the age you are writing for
The option to turn the brief into a working plan in your workspace

What it does not do

It does not write your book for you, and it does not produce prose in your voice during the conversation.
It does not decide that your idea is good or bad, and it never scores you.
It does not promise publication, sales, an agent or a deal.
It does not need an account to talk to, and it does not publish anything you say.

Guidance for children's books

Age changes everything

A book for four year olds read at bedtime and a book for eight year olds reading alone differ in length, vocabulary, sentence rhythm and what can be frightening. Settling the age early prevents the common outcome of a story that is too long for the younger reader and too simple for the older one.

One sentence, one problem

If the story cannot be said in a sentence, it is usually two stories. A hedgehog who cannot hibernate. A girl who has to give back the sounds she collected. That sentence becomes the spine, and everything else is decoration you can add or cut.

Write for the reader out loud

Picture books are performed. Rhythm, repetition and a line the child can join in with matter more than clever description. Reading your draft aloud, or dictating it in the first place, exposes the places where the performance stumbles.

Leave room for the pictures

In an illustrated book, roughly half the storytelling is not yours. If the words already describe the room, the illustration has nothing to do. The coach will often ask which moment must be shown rather than said.

End on the child, not the lesson

Children notice being taught. The strongest endings leave a feeling, a calm, a laugh or a small piece of courage, rather than a stated moral. Knowing the feeling you want at the last page shapes the whole book.

Example conversations

These are real Book Coach conversations, run with fictional starting ideas written for illustration. They are examples of how the conversation goes, not real authors and not real books. Expand any example to see the coach's first question, the directions it offered and a screenshot of the run.

Questions people ask

What does the children's book Book Coach do?: It talks you from a character or an image to a story that works for a specific age group, then offers two or three directions with a first step for each. It is free and needs no account.
Is this the same as Your Book Pro Kids?: No. This route is for adults writing books for children. Your Book Pro also has a separate child-safe experience designed for children writing their own books.
Do I need an illustrator first?: No. The coach works on the story and the moments that need to be shown. Illustration decisions come later and are easier once the story sentence is settled.
Can it help me choose the age group?: Yes, and it usually asks about it early because so much else depends on it.
Does it write in rhyme for me?: No. It does not produce your text. It will help you decide whether rhyme, repetition or plain prose suits the story and the age.
How long should a picture book be?: The coach discusses length in relation to your age band and format rather than applying one rule, since a bedtime picture book and a first chapter book are very different lengths.
Can I dictate a children's book?: Yes, and it is particularly suited to it. Telling the story out loud is close to how it will be read out loud.
What if my story is based on my own child?: That is extremely common and the coach handles it as ordinary material. It may ask who the book is finally for, since a book for one child and a book for many children differ.
Is the conversation private?: Yes. It is stored privately so you can return to it, and nothing is published. If you do not create an account, it is deleted after 90 days. Saving happens only if you create a free account and start a plan.
How long does it take?: Usually five to eight exchanges, about ten minutes. There is no set length: you can stop when you have what you need, or keep going.
Can it help with a series of books about one character?: It will focus on one book, but if your answers point at a character who can carry more, the directions will usually reflect that.
What do I get at the end?: Named directions with what is promising, what is open and a small experiment, plus a starter brief you can turn into a plan.