1. Creating a Children's Non-Fiction Book

'You Wouldn't Want To Be A
Victorian Schoolchild' - a
non-fiction book for children
aged 7 to 11.

What's involved in creating an illustrated children's non-fiction book? Team-work, that's what. It's a very different process from how a fiction book is made.

I work from home, but I'm not alone. For every book I write I'm in contact with many other people. That's because I'm part of a team. I may never meet the other members of the team face-to-face. We all know what we have to do, and when to do it. As long as we keep in good contact with each other (usually by email and phone), co-operate and do our jobs, the end result is a book. Think of it like this: each person in the team is one link in a chain.

The following pages describe one method of how a children's illustrated non-fiction book is created. It's a step-by-step process. You'll find out about the jobs of key members of the team:
  • the editor
  • the author
  • the designer
  • the illustrator
  • the picture researcher
As you read the pages in this section, you'll find out about the team of people who created You Wouldn't Want To Be A Victorian Schoolchild. It's a book I wrote in 2001, and it's one of my favourite books.