Children's book editing and publishing
Picture books to middle grade, edited for the age band and illustrated so the words and pictures tell the story together.
Made to be read aloud
Nova Publishers (thenovap.com) edits children's books for their age group, from picture books for ages 3 to 7 to middle grade for ages 8 to 12. Our children's editors check vocabulary, read-aloud rhythm, page turns and themes, then we match you with an illustrator whose style fits and lay the book out for print and ebook. Paperback and hardcover editions start with Launch Pro at $1,899, and illustration is quoted by page count.
Age-band edit
Vocabulary, rhythm and themes checked for your readers.
Page plan
Page turns and illustration notes for every spread.
Illustrator match
An artist whose style suits your story, from watercolor to vector.
Picture-book layout
Print files and a fixed-layout ebook.
Hardcover for libraries
Listed where schools and libraries order their books.
How it works
Four steps, and you approve each one before the next begins.
Edit for the age band
Vocabulary, sentence length, themes and read-aloud rhythm checked for your readers.
Plan the pictures
Page breaks and illustration notes, so text and art tell the story together.
Illustrate and lay out
An illustrator matched to your style, then a picture-book layout in print and ebook.
Publish for families and schools
Paperback and hardcover from Launch Pro, orderable by bookstores and libraries.
Editing for the age of your reader
A children's book is written for two audiences: the child who listens or reads, and the adult who reads it aloud, buys it or puts it on a library shelf. Nova's children's editors check vocabulary, sentence length and themes for the age band, and read picture books aloud to hear the rhythm and the page turns.
Picture books for ages 3 to 7 usually tell their story in 500 to 1,000 words, so every word and every page turn matters. Chapter books and middle grade for ages 8 to 12 need pacing, characters and chapter endings that keep a young reader going.
Illustration and layout
Words and pictures have to tell the story together. After the edit, we plan the page breaks and write illustration notes for each spread, then match you with an illustrator whose style suits your story, from watercolor to vector.
Illustration is quoted by page count. Once the art is approved, the book is laid out for print and as a fixed-layout ebook, so each spread looks the way it was designed on paper and on screen.
Publishing for families, schools and libraries
Paperback and hardcover editions start with Launch Pro at $1,899. From Launch Pro your book is orderable through IngramSpark, where schools, libraries and independent bookstores order their books.
A hardcover edition suits a picture book, because it holds up to repeated reading and fits library collections. Your book is published in your own accounts, and you keep every right to the story and 100% of your retailer royalties.
From the Nova bookstore
A sample of books in the Nova bookstore. Each author owns their book and keeps their retailer royalties.
Questions authors ask
Don't see yours? Send it with your manuscript and we'll answer within 1 business day.
Ask us a questionYes, Nova Publishers edits children's books for their age group, from picture books (ages 3 to 7) to middle grade (ages 8 to 12), coordinates illustration so the words and pictures work together, and publishes the finished book in your own retailer accounts.
With Nova Publishers, a children's book goes through four steps: an edit for the age group, a page plan with illustration notes, illustration and layout by an illustrator matched to your story, then publication in your own retailer accounts. Paperback and hardcover editions start with Launch Pro at $1,899.
At Nova Publishers, a children's book in paperback and hardcover starts with Launch Pro at $1,899, and illustration is quoted separately by page count and complexity. You get one fixed quote for the whole book before work starts.
Yes, Nova Publishers publishes children's books on Amazon through your own KDP account, and from Launch Pro sets up a hardcover through IngramSpark so schools and libraries can order it. Self-publishing a children's book this way keeps every right and 100% of your retailer royalties with you.
Nova Publishers works across four: picture books (ages 3 to 7, usually 32 pages and 500 to 1,000 words), early readers (ages 5 to 8), chapter books (ages 7 to 10) and middle grade novels (ages 8 to 12, about 25,000 to 50,000 words).
Nova Publishers' children's editors read with the pictures in mind. They mark lines the illustration can carry, suggest page-turn moments, and flag scenes that need a stronger visual cue, so the finished book isn't wordy.
Yes, and Nova Publishers coordinates it for you. We match your book with an illustrator whose style fits, from watercolor to vector, and quote illustration separately by page count and complexity.
Most picture books Nova Publishers edits run 500 to 1,000 words over 32 pages. Longer texts lose the read-aloud rhythm that makes picture books work, and very short texts need exceptional illustration to carry them.
Yes, Nova Publishers' children's editing always checks vocabulary for the age band, themes for developmental readiness and how families and characters are shown. For specific cultural or identity content, we add a sensitivity read as a separate step.
Yes, from Launch Pro Nova Publishers sets up a paperback and a hardcover and lists them through IngramSpark, which schools and libraries order from, alongside Amazon in your own KDP account.
Yes, Nova Publishers makes animated picture-book videos and book trailers for TikTok, Reels and YouTube. A book trailer is $3,000. See our book trailer page for styles.
Send us your manuscript, or whatever part of it exists.
We reply within 1 business day with a fixed quote for what your book needs.