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The Carolina Kidlit ReviewWriting and illustrating for children in the Carolinas
A childrens picture book lies open on a worn reading rug beside a low shelf of spines and a scattering of coloured pencils.

Writing and illustrating for children in the Carolinas

Writing and drawing for children, explained a step at a time

What a dummy is. What a revision pass changes. What an agent does and does not do. Written for people in the Carolinas who are making a childrens book and want the vocabulary before the advice.

Independent since 2026 · Explain · Compare · Check · Practise

01-06The six sections of the Review

Six ways in, from the first draft to the shelf it ends up on.

  1. A marked up double spaced manuscript covered in pencil notes lies beside a mug and a pair of reading glasses on a wooden desk.

    01

    Craft & Revision

    Why does the rebuild take three to five times longer than the draft? A working agent's numbers, what actually changes between versions, and where cutting fits into the work.

  2. An illustrator thumbnails a picture book across a folded paper dummy with a pencil, brushes and gouache tubes to one side.

    02

    Illustration

    Picture books sell either as text alone or as a package where one creator supplies both words and pictures, and the author illustrator route calls for a vocabulary all its own, from dummy to portfolio.

  3. A printed query letter, a stamped envelope and a submission log notebook laid out on a kitchen table in morning light.

    03

    Getting Published

    A query letter is one page with one job: getting an agent or publisher to read your manuscript. This guide covers timing, length, and the real cost of going indie so you can pick the right door.

  4. Four chairs pulled around a low table in a library meeting room with printed chapters, sticky notes and half full coffee cups.

    04

    Critique Groups

    Writers swap pages and honest commentary on a schedule they keep, and this page covers what the exchange is for, whether a draft must be complete, how beta readers differ, and where Carolinas writers find each other.

  5. A independent bookshop window in a small southern town displays childrens picture books on a wooden stand behind old glass.

    05

    The Carolinas

    A volunteer-run chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators serves both states, and independent bookshops selling children's books round out the regional picture.

  6. A stack of childrens novels and picture books beside a fresh notebook and a sharpened pencil on a window seat in daylight.

    06

    Starting Out

    You have an idea you cannot stop thinking about. Here is why execution matters more, how long your book should be, and when to let other readers in.

LEDGERThe tickmark

Every guide we publish, dated, from all six sections of the Review.

  1. A double spaced manuscript page in a plain serif face sits in a printer tray with a ruler laid along its left margin.

    · Craft

    Formatting a childrens book manuscript, line by line

    You do not need a test, just a convention: here is how to format a picture book manuscript, handle illustration notes, write titles and send a query letter so readers focus on your story.

  2. An editor reads the first page of a printed manuscript at a desk stacked with submission folders and a red pencil.

    · Craft

    What editors and agents look for in a childrens manuscript

    Many writers can polish a strong opening, but the rest of the manuscript falls apart. Here is what agents see when they read past your first ten pages, and how to check your draft for that drop.

  3. Three printed drafts of the same chapter fanned across a table, each marked in a different colour of ink.

    · Craft

    Revision in passes: one problem at a time

    How to run a revision pass: pick one problem, such as dialogue, read the whole manuscript for it alone, and leave the rest untouched until the bigger structural work is done.

  4. Childrens books of four different formats stacked from thin picture book to thick novel beside a small notepad.

    · Craft

    Word counts by age band, and why they exist

    Word counts range from about 100 words for a board book to 95,000 for a fantasy YA, and reader attention spans plus the cost of paper, printing and shipping explain why those ceilings exist.

  5. A hand folded paper dummy open at a spread with rough pencil thumbnails and page numbers written in the corners.

    · Illustration

    What a picture book dummy is, and who makes one

    If you both write and illustrate, a dummy can carry your whole book to an agent: here is what goes into one, who should make it, and what it says when your package lands on a desk.

  6. An illustration portfolio lies open on a table showing a character drawn in four different poses on facing pages.

    · Illustration

    Building an illustration portfolio for childrens books

    Six to eight finished pieces, a live link instead of attachments, and clear range in subject, tone and palette: what an online children's illustration portfolio needs before you query.

  7. Two people lean over a spread of illustration prints on a long table, one pointing at a detail with a pencil.

    · Illustration

    How to take a portfolio review without wasting it

    Twenty minutes with a reviewer can tell you where your portfolio shows range, finish, and emotional storytelling, and where the gaps still are, if you prepare before you sit down.

  8. A single page query letter printed and lying on a desk next to a laptop showing an empty email compose window.

    · Getting Published

    Writing a query letter for a childrens book

    One page, 250 to 450 words: the query letter that introduces your children's book to an agent is short, has no single correct format, and matters less than the manuscript behind it.

  9. A printed list of publishers and agents with several lines highlighted lies beside a phone and a cup on a desk.

    · Getting Published

    Do you need a literary agent for childrens books?

    Whether you need one depends on the road your book takes: here is what an agent actually does, how that work changes with small presses or self-publishing, and how to judge a fit when an agent wants you.

  10. A handwritten agenda on a flip chart in a community room with five empty chairs arranged in a loose circle.

    · Critique Groups

    Starting a critique group that lasts past meeting three

    A lasting critique group gives writers other eyes on their work, regular swaps of pages and comments, and partners who know your strengths, weaknesses and goals across many projects.

  11. A printed chapter covered in margin notes in two different hands sits between two coffee cups on a shared table.

    · Critique Groups

    Giving and taking critique without breaking a group

    Critique groups rarely break over a blunt note; they break over lopsided exchanges, fading meetings, and feedback aimed at the writer, and the repair is habit.

  12. A meeting room with folding chairs and a projector screen set up for a talk, name badges laid out on a side table.

    · The Carolinas

    How a regional childrens writing chapter works

    SCBWI Carolinas serves writers, illustrators, and translators of children's books in both North and South Carolina, run by volunteers who coordinate communications, activities, and events for the regional creative community.

  13. A bookseller reshelves picture books on a low childrens display in a small independent shop with a reading rug.

    · The Carolinas

    Independent bookshops and the childrens shelf

    A national association stands behind the independent bookshop with the train table in the corner, and its work touches the children's book you are still trying to finish.

  14. An early morning kitchen table with a notebook open at a half filled page, a pen across it and a cooling cup of tea.

    · Starting Out

    Finding a writing routine that survives a normal week

    You can build a writing routine that survives sick days, holidays and work crunches by planning around the publishing calendar's quiet stretches, and resume it on the days you miss.

  15. A wall calendar with a few days circled hangs above a desk holding a library stack and a printed manuscript.

    · Starting Out

    Your first year: what to do, and what to skip

    Where to put your hours when everything feels urgent: which habits earn their keep in year one, what can safely wait, and how to tell a revision pass from a manuscript you should set aside.

  1. Start here: what a picture book dummy is, and who makes one

    If you both write and illustrate, a dummy can carry your whole book to an agent: here is what goes into one, who should make it, and what it says when your package lands on a desk.

    Section 02 · Illustration

The Carolina Kidlit Review explains the working vocabulary of childrens publishing before it hands out advice, and it says where each answer comes from. How the desk sources and dates a claim is set out in the editorial policy. Corrections reach us through the contact page, and the questions that come up first are gathered on the questions page. Where to look beyond this site is listed on the resources page.