How to Publish a Children's Book in Pakistan

To publish a children's book in Pakistan you match the manuscript to an age band, commission illustrations, register an ISBN with the National Library of Pakistan, and then choose a route: a traditional children's publisher, a hybrid publisher, or self-publishing. What separates it from publishing any other book is the artwork, because illustration and full-colour printing set most of your budget and most of your schedule before a single copy is sold.

Each of those decisions narrows the next one, so the order below is the order you will meet them.

Key takeaways

• The age band comes first. Word count, page count and trim size all follow from it.
• Illustration is the largest single cost in a children's book, and it is spent long before you earn anything back.
• Full-colour printing gets cheaper per copy as the print run gets longer, so decide your quantity early rather than late.
• You own the words automatically. You only own the pictures if the illustrator's contract says so in writing.

What age is your children's book for?

Children's publishing is organised by reading age, and every production decision follows from it. A manuscript that sits between two bands is a common reason an otherwise good book gets turned down, because nobody can work out which shelf it belongs on.

• Board books, ages 0 to 3. Up to roughly 100 words on thick card pages, usually 12 to 16 pages long.
• Picture books, ages 3 to 7. Up to roughly 600 words across a standard 32 pages, with illustration on almost every spread.
• Early readers, ages 5 to 7. Up to roughly 1,500 words, short sentences, controlled vocabulary, pictures on most pages.
• Chapter books, ages 7 to 9. Roughly 4,000 to 15,000 words in short chapters, with spot illustrations rather than full spreads.
• Middle grade, ages 9 to 13. Roughly 15,000 to 35,000 words for younger readers and 35,000 to 65,000 for older ones, illustrated on the cover only.

Why picture books are almost always 32 pages

Books are printed on large sheets that fold into groups of sixteen pages, so page counts move in steps of sixteen. Thirty-two is the step that fits a picture book story with its front matter. Writing to 40 pages instead adds a whole extra sheet to every copy you print, so trim your text to the standard before you brief an illustrator.

Should you write in Urdu, English, or both?

English editions move through private schools and urban bookshops and travel more easily to readers abroad. Urdu reaches a far larger number of children inside Pakistan and opens the door to school and library purchasing that English rarely touches. Regional languages including Sindhi, Pashto and Punjabi have real readerships and very little new children's writing competing for them.

If you plan an Urdu edition, budget for proper Nastaliq composition. It is a specialist typesetting job rather than a font you switch on in a word processor, and it changes the layout underneath your pictures: Urdu reads right to left, so the page order reverses and every illustration has to be planned for the opposite side of the spread.

How do you find an illustrator for a children's book?

Pakistan has more capable illustrators than it has children's books to give them, and most of them are visible online. Look through portfolio sites and Instagram, and at the work coming out of the country's art and design schools.

Judge a portfolio on one thing above all others: can this artist draw the same character forty times and keep it recognisable? A single beautiful painting proves very little. Ask for a character turnaround showing your main character from three or four angles and in two moods, plus one finished sample spread, and pay for that trial.

What children's book illustration costs

Freelance rates published internationally run from around 50 US dollars a page at the beginner end to several hundred for established names, which puts a fully illustrated 32-page picture book anywhere between roughly 1,600 and 25,000 US dollars. Pakistani illustrators generally price well below those figures, but the shape of the quote is the same everywhere. You are charged by the piece, not by the hour, and a double-page spread costs considerably more than a spot drawing in a corner. Agree the exact count of spreads, full pages and spots before work begins.

Who owns the illustrations?

You own the words the moment you write them. The pictures are a separate copyright that belongs to the illustrator unless your agreement moves it, and paying an invoice does not move it by itself. Ask for a written assignment, or an exclusive licence that names every use you might need: print, ebook, reprints, translated editions, and the cover art used in marketing. Our guide to how copyright works for authors in Pakistan explains what you hold automatically and what needs paperwork.

What does it cost to print a children's book in Pakistan?

A children's book is the most expensive kind of book to manufacture. Colour runs across every page rather than the cover alone, the paper is heavier so small hands do not tear it, and picture books usually want a laminated hardcover to survive a classroom.

Offset printing carries a fixed setup cost spread across the whole run, so the price per copy drops sharply as quantity rises and offset only makes sense above a few hundred copies. Digital colour printing has almost no setup cost and suits runs in the dozens, but the per-copy price stays high. The real question is not what one copy costs. It is how many copies you are willing to store and sell. Our article on what self-publishing costs in Pakistan breaks the wider budget down stage by stage.

Pricing at TWS is tailored to the manuscript and quoted after a free editorial review, with a general ballpark of PKR 50,000 to 500,000 or more across all packages. Our four packages run from a paperback first edition to nationwide bookstore distribution, with author royalties up to 80% of profit. Our publishing process page sets out each stage.

Do children's books need an ISBN in Pakistan?

Yes, and the rules are the same as for any other book. The National Library of Pakistan is the national ISBN agency, the number itself carries no charge, and you register as a publisher before requesting numbers for individual titles. Each format and each language edition needs its own ISBN, so an Urdu paperback, an English paperback and an ebook of the same story are three numbers. Legal deposit applies too. Our guide to getting an ISBN in Pakistan covers the application and the deposit rule in full.

Which publishing route is open to you?

Pakistan's children's list is dominated by educational publishers whose main business is school material, alongside a small number of trade houses that take on picture books. Between them and full self-publishing sit hybrid and author-services publishers, TWS Publications among them. The three routes differ in who pays, who decides, and who owns what.

Traditional children's publishers

The publisher pays for editing, illustration and printing, and keeps most of the revenue. They also choose the illustrator, the format and often the ending. Lists are short and decisions are slow. Submit the text alone unless you are an illustrator yourself, because publishers prefer to pair a story with an artist they already work with.

Self-publishing

You commission and pay for everything, and you keep the rights and the revenue. For a children's book this means carrying the illustration cost personally, which is the reason many first-time picture book authors stop here. The upside is full control over the art and no waiting list.

Hybrid and author-services publishing

You share the cost and the work with a publisher who supplies editing, design, ISBN registration, printing and distribution while you keep copyright. This is where a first children's book most often becomes possible in Pakistan, because the publisher already has illustrators, printers and retail relationships in place. Our author services page lists what is handled for you at each stage.

How do children's books reach readers in Pakistan?

Schools are the most important buyer in this category, and a title that fits a reading level and a curriculum theme will outsell a better book that fits neither. Reading weeks, library purchases and classroom sets move more copies than shop displays do. Bookshop children's sections are worth pursuing next, though shelf space is limited and retailers stock what parents already recognise. Book fairs put your title in front of teachers and librarians in one room. Our guide to getting your book into bookstores in Pakistan explains how retail buying works here.

One test costs nothing and predicts more than any of it. Read the manuscript aloud to a child in the age band you are writing for, without showing them the pictures, and watch where their attention goes.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to publish a children's book in Pakistan?

Most of the budget goes on illustration and colour printing rather than on editing. Illustration is quoted per spread and printing per copy, so the total swings with your page count and your print run. At TWS, pricing is tailored to the manuscript and quoted after a free editorial review.

Do I need to find my own illustrator?

Not always. Traditional publishers pair your text with an artist they already work with, and hybrid publishers including TWS Publications commission illustration as part of the package. If you self-publish, finding, briefing and paying the illustrator is your job, and so is securing the artwork rights in writing.

Who publishes children's books in Pakistan?

Educational publishers produce most children's material in Pakistan, alongside a small number of trade houses that take on picture books, and hybrid publishers including TWS Publications. Which one suits you depends on whether you want a publisher to fund and control the book, or to share the work while you keep copyright.

How many words should a children's picture book be?

A picture book for ages three to seven runs to about 600 words across 32 pages. Board books stay under 100 words, early readers under 1,500 words, and chapter books for ages seven to nine sit between 4,000 and 15,000. Match the band before you brief an illustrator.

Can I publish a children's book in Urdu and English together?

Yes, though they are two production jobs rather than one. Urdu reads right to left, so the page order reverses and every illustration has to be laid out for the opposite side of the spread. Nastaliq composition is specialist typesetting, and each language edition needs its own ISBN.

If your children's manuscript is ready for someone to read, send it through our submit your manuscript page.