Ask most first-time picture book authors when they started thinking about illustrations, and the answer is usually “after I finished the manuscript.” This feels logical. Write the story, then find someone to draw it. But picture books don't work the way novels do. The words and the art aren't separate layers stacked on top of each other; they’re a single storytelling unit, and treating them as two sequential steps is one of the most common reasons a manuscript stalls once it's time to bring in an illustrator.
Children’s book illustration planning has to start before the text is finalized, and in many cases before it's even fully drafted. This doesn't mean an author needs to sketch anything themselves. It means thinking visually while writing, so the manuscript leaves room for the art to do part of the storytelling instead of competing with it or repeating it.
This piece walks through what illustration planning actually involves, when to start it relative to writing the manuscript, and what to figure out before an illustrator ever sees a page.
What Illustration Planning Actually Means
Illustration planning is the process of deciding how a story will be visually broken into spreads, what each image needs to communicate, and how much narrative weight the text should carry versus the art, before the manuscript is treated as finished. It is not the same as commissioning artwork, choosing an art style, or hiring an illustrator, all of which come later. Planning happens at the structural level, while those decisions happen at the execution level.
A useful way to understand the difference: writing a novel means the words carry the entire story. Writing a picture book means the words carry maybe half of it, and the other half needs to exist somewhere the text doesn't need to describe, because the illustration will show it. An author who doesn't plan for this ends up with a manuscript where the text over-explains things an illustration would communicate instantly, which is one of the most common notes editors give on early picture book drafts.
A Few Assumptions Worth Correcting Early
Several assumptions tend to shape how new authors approach this process, and most of them create more work later rather than less.
| Common Assumption | What Usually Happens Instead |
| “I'll write the full story first, then figure out the pictures.” | The manuscript ends up over-written, describing things the art should show, requiring a rewrite before illustration begins. |
| "The illustrator will figure out the pacing." | Illustrators design around the page breaks the author gives them; unclear breaks lead to unclear spreads. |
| "More text means a richer story." | Longer text usually means less room for the art to breathe, since picture books balance word count against page count tightly. |
| "I need to describe what things look like in the text." | Visual description belongs to the illustrator's interpretation, not the manuscript, in most cases. |
| "I can't plan illustrations without being an artist." | Planning is about story structure and pacing, not drawing ability. |
Correcting these assumptions early changes how the manuscript gets drafted from the very first page, which is why illustration planning belongs before the writing process, not after it.
Phase One: Before Writing a Single Word
Decide the Page Count and Spread Structure
Most picture books run 24, 32, or 40 pages, and that number determines how many spreads (two-page image spreads) are available to tell the story. Deciding this early forces an author to think about pacing in terms of visual beats rather than chapters or scenes. A 32-page book typically allows for roughly 12 to 15 spreads once front matter and end pages are accounted for, which means the story needs to break cleanly into that many visual moments.
Identify the Story’s Key Visual Beats
Before drafting text, it helps to list the moments in the story that need their own illustration: an emotional turn, an action sequence, an important setting change, or a comedic beat. This list becomes a loose skeleton for how the manuscript will eventually be broken into spreads. Authors who skip this step often end up trying to force illustration breaks into a finished manuscript later, which rarely works as cleanly as planning them from the outset.
Decide What the Words Should Never Have to Do
Some information belongs entirely to the illustration: character appearance, setting details, background action, and visual humor. Deciding this before writing prevents the instinct to describe these things in the text, which keeps the manuscript lean and leaves space for the art to carry its share of the story.
Phase Two: While Drafting the Manuscript
Write in Spreads, Not Paragraphs
Rather than drafting the story as continuous prose, many experienced picture book writers draft spread by spread, noting roughly what text belongs on each page-pair and what the accompanying image should show. This keeps children's book illustration planning connected to the writing process instead of becoming a separate step done after the fact.
Leave Deliberate Gaps for the Art
A well-planned picture book manuscript often reads as slightly incomplete on its own, and that's intentional. If the text alone fully explains everything happening in a scene, the illustration has nothing left to contribute beyond decoration. Leaving a visual gap, something the text implies but doesn't spell out, gives the illustrator room to add meaning rather than just render what's already been said.
Track Pacing Against Page Turns
Picture books rely heavily on the page turn as a storytelling tool, especially for surprises, jokes, or reveals. While drafting, it helps to mark where a page turn should create anticipation, meaning the text on one spread sets up something the next spread pays off visually. This is difficult to retrofit once a manuscript is finished, which is another reason this phase happens during drafting rather than after.
Phase Three: After the Manuscript Draft Is Done
Create a Simple Spread-by-Spread Breakdown
Once a full draft exists, breaking it into a spread-by-spread outline, even as a plain list, gives an illustrator (or the author, if self-illustrating) a clear map of what needs to appear on each page. This breakdown typically includes the text for that spread and a short note on what the image should show, without dictating exact artistic choices.
Check for Text-Image Redundancy
At this stage, it's worth rereading the manuscript specifically looking for sentences that describe something an illustration would already show, such as describing a character's clothing or a room's appearance in detail. Trimming this redundancy is one of the most valuable edits an author can make before moving into illustration or book cover design conversations.
Decide on Art Style Direction Before Hiring
Before approaching an illustrator, it helps to gather 5 to 10 reference images that reflect the tone the book needs, whimsical, realistic, minimalist, richly detailed, and so on. This doesn't require design expertise, just a clear sense of the emotional register the art should match. Illustrators work far more efficiently with a visual reference point than with a verbal description alone.
Questions to Answer Before Bringing in an Illustrator
- How many spreads does the story need, based on the page count decided earlier?
- Which moments absolutely require their own illustration, and which can be combined or implied?
- Does the manuscript leave visual gaps, or does the text over-explain scenes the art should carry?
- What tone and art style best match the story's audience and emotional arc?
- Is the manuscript's pacing built around page turns, or does it read as continuous prose that hasn't been broken into spreads yet?
Answering these before contacting an illustrator saves revision rounds later and gives the collaboration a clearer starting point.
If you've drafted a story but aren't sure how it breaks into spreads or where the art should carry the weight, book writing services team can help map the manuscript into an illustration-ready structure before design work begins. Contact Fleck Publisher to talk through where your manuscript currently stands.
Final Thoughts
Children's book illustration planning works best as a habit built into the writing process, not a task saved for after the manuscript feels finished. Deciding page count, identifying key visual beats, and leaving deliberate gaps for the art to fill all shape how the story should be written in the first place, which is why this planning has to happen early rather than as an afterthought once an illustrator is already involved.
Authors who approach picture books this way tend to end up with manuscripts that collaborate naturally with the art rather than compete with it, and illustrators who receive a clear spread-by-spread structure can usually work more efficiently and produce a more cohesive final book. Planning the visual structure alongside the story, rather than after it, is often the difference between a manuscript that needs significant rework before illustration and one that's genuinely ready for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does illustration planning mean for a children's book?
It means deciding how a story will break into visual spreads, what each image needs to communicate, and how much of the story the text versus the art will carry, done before or during the writing process rather than after the manuscript is finished.
Do I need to know how to draw to plan illustrations?
No. Illustration planning is a structural and storytelling skill, not an artistic one. It involves pacing, spread breakdowns, and deciding what belongs to the text versus the art, all of which can be done without drawing ability.
How many pages does a typical children's picture book have?
Most picture books run 24, 32, or 40 pages, with 32 being the most common length, which typically allows for around 12 to 15 illustrated spreads once front and end matter are accounted for.
Should I write the full manuscript before thinking about illustrations?
Generally, no. Starting to think visually before or during the writing process, rather than after a full draft is finished, usually produces a manuscript that leaves appropriate room for the art rather than over-explaining scenes the illustrations should carry.
What is text-image redundancy and why does it matter?
It refers to text that describes something an illustration will already show, such as a character's appearance or a room's details. Reducing this redundancy keeps the manuscript lean and gives the illustrations something meaningful to add rather than repeat.
How do I communicate art style to an illustrator without design experience?
Gathering 5 to 10 reference images that reflect the tone you're aiming for, whimsical, realistic, minimalist, and so on, gives an illustrator a concrete visual starting point without requiring you to describe style in technical terms.
Can illustration planning happen after the manuscript is already written?
It can, but it typically requires more revision, since gaps for the art and spread pacing are harder to add retroactively. Planning during the writing process usually produces a more illustration-ready manuscript with less rework.