How children can get published

For young, budding authors getting published is a dream come true. If you want to encourage your child to write, seeing their work in print is a great motivator. Alternatively, if your child has written a story and they would like to see it in print – they can!

Here we share how children can get published and the skills they will learn along the way.

For young children

Here are some ways young children can see their stories in print. These ideas are a brilliant for motivating a reluctant writer too.

Tell a story with photos

Can your child tell a story with their toys? For example, if they have a dragon, can they invent a story starring their dragon? Your child could start by planning the story on paper as a story map or just tell the story verbally. When they are happy with the plot, they can physically create the scenes with their toys and take photographs of each scene.

Photographs can be uploaded onto Photobox and text added to create their very own book.

Create a comic

Children can create their own comics with Make Beliefs Comics . We also recommend the Cat Kid comic creator from Scholastic.

If your child has read the story Charlotte’s Web, they might like to create their own version of the story using this comic creator tool.

For older children

Self-publish a book

Over the years many children have successfully seen their books in print. Just have a look at this list of child authors as inspiration!

Self-publishing a book is a brilliant learning experience because it requires a whole host of skills: organization, perseverance and problem-solving as well as the English skills needed to write a book in the first place. There are plenty of free self-publishing companies you can use.

When it comes to self-publishing, it is important to do your homework first. The best starting place for advice is Derek Haines article, Just Publishing Advice.  If your child wants to self-publish their book you will need to work in partnership with them as a child cannot enter into a legal or financial contract with a publisher in their own right.

Submit to BBC Upload

BBC Upload is a chance to upload content and share it with a local BBC radio station. Only children over the age of 16 can upload content, and they must have permission from their parent of guardian.

Content such as stories, poems, reviews, diaries, blogs and podcasts can be uploaded and shared. The BBC watches everything that is uploaded, and they choose the very best to be broadcast on air or on their digital platforms.

Publish a book review

Although we have included this in the ‘older children’ category, children of all ages can publish a book review. When an older child writes a book review it is helpful to encourage them to use the thesaurus to search for descriptive words they may need.

There are plenty of websites online that publish book reviews written by children. The Storyroom is a popular UK website and reviews can be sent to helena@storyroom.co.uk. Make sure your child reads reviews on the website first, so they know what to do.

Write a blog

If your child is 13 years old or over, they could start their own blog. However, it is very important to be aware of internet safety and to know how to keep your child safe. As a starting point we recommend reading this fantastic article Kids Who Blog by Reading Rockets.

The best thing about writing a blog is that your child can share their passion for anything they like with other people. They can dip in and out of blogging as they feel like it, but if they want to build an audience, they will find that posting interesting content regularly is the key. Perseverance and quality are very important.

Write for your favourite magazine

Many children’s magazines publish letters, reviews and stories written by children. A child – of any age – could submit a contribution to their favourite magazine.

An older child who writes to a high standard (a strong A Level English student, for example) might consider submitting a standard article to their favourite magazine. The children’s magazine Aquila,, for instance, publishes articles on animals, historical figures and science topics and your child might feel they could contribute. It is important to study the articles in the magazine first by carefully analysing the style of writing, how articles are structured and the tone of writing. It is also essential to follow a magazine’s submission guidelines.

English tuition with TutorMyKids

TutorMyKids English tutors are qualified English teachers who are passionate about their subject. They love reading, writing, film and theatre and they are dedicated to inspiring children.

Whether your child is at primary school and needs a boost with their reading or writing, or they are studying GCSE or A Level English and would benefit from extra support, we have the right tutor to help them succeed.

Please contact us today on 01223 858 421 or hello@tutormykids.co.uk