1. Staple together 16 plain white sheets of paper. Hold it vertically or horizontally; it's your choice.

2. Number every page, including the first and last, from 1 to 32.

3. Lay out your text. Cut up a copy of your story and paste it on the pages of your dummy, the way you think it would read well.

4. Leave pages 1-3 and pages 31-32 blank for the front and back matter. Start your text on page 4. End your text on page 30. Note that there will be no illustration on page 31.

5. Keep the story moving and flowing. There should be action on every spread.

6. Be sure you don't crowd more than one major action on a spread.

7. Distribute the text evenly throughout. If there is too much text on one page, make adjustments. Look for a natural place in the text for the page to turn.

8. Visualize the book as a movie. If you find that a scene remains the same for too long, think about what you can do in the text to add variety through action and background.

9. Look again at your text. Have you been economical in your use of language? Are there any excess words? Excising unnecessary words can help as you lay out a picture book text.

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