What made you want to become a writer? For many of us, the love of words and stories began in childhood. There are certain books that will never quite lose their shine — books that inspire the writer in us even today, simply because they helped us discover the magic of truly good stories.

This is the area in which children’s literature excels: delivering stories that spark readers’ imaginations and become sealed in their memories. So whether you’ve always wanted to publish a children’s book or you’re brand-new to the idea, here are four reasons why all authors should seriously consider writing for younger generations of readers.

1. The opportunity to explore your creativity

Though all forms of creative writing allow authors to imagine new worlds and mind-boggling plots, there’s hardly a better place to go all-out than in children’s fiction. Not only do children have expansive imaginations to match yours as an author, they’re also endlessly curious and somewhat more likely than adults to be on board with your tippity-top, pie-in-the-sky ideas.

That said, children’s books are also usually straightforward when it comes to structure. The timeline is typically linear and POVs are limited (or very clearly marked) for painless reading. Given the relatively uncomplicated setup, you can easily take advantage of classic storytelling structures in your book — leaving you more creative energy to spend on characters and themes!

Indeed, if the idea of writing a 300-page novel sounds intimidating to you, a children’s book could be the key to unlocking your creativity. Despite being on the shorter side, they allow just enough room for your mind to explore (true for everything from innovative mash-up picture books like Dragons Love Tacos to classic chapter books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

And while shorter doesn’t necessarily mean easier to write, it’s undeniably less intimidating to think about writing a children’s book rather than an adult novel — which may be just the encouragement you need to get started.

2. The chance to hone your craft

In addition to setting your creative spirit free, writing a children’s book also gives you the chance to sharpen your tools as a writer. Though again, it’s less intimidating at a glance, children’s literature requires you to know exactly what you want to communicate so you don’t lose your audience’s fickle attention.

In other words, there’s no genre better at teaching you how to balance imagination with clarity. You’ll have no space to dawdle on epic worldbuilding, because your writing needs to be vivid and gripping right off the bat. Furthermore, you need to calibrate your language to make the story fit your reader, in terms of both semantic and psychological understanding.

Especially as a first-time children’s author, you’ll likely find that getting straight to the point and delivering a clear message will be your biggest challenges. So whether your long-term ambitions lie within children’s literature or not, trying your hand at it is an excellent way for you to improve your linguistic utility and command of your authorial voice.

3. An honest and dedicated readership

Though children are pretty accepting as to what can happen in a story, that doesn’t mean they’ll settle for anything — especially if it’s poorly executed. Young readers will be the first to tell you if they’re bored and when a book is lacking momentum (you can even see it in the way they become distracted from the book!).

This means that trying your hand at a children’s book will help you learn what works and what doesn’t when it comes to impressing readers. And if your book manages to dazzle your target audience? They’ll become the most dedicated readers in the world! No one gets immersed and obsessed with a story quite like young readers do — and all those glowing word-of-mouth recommendations will practically sell your book for you.

You may also come to realize that part of your audience is composed of adults who want to make reading a priority — not only for the kids in their lives, but also themselves. Often, these adults (parents, teachers, librarians, researchers, and children’s lit enthusiasts) will read your book for more than just escapism, and they’ll happily engage in discussions and promote your book widely if they like what they read.

4. The potential to make a living with your writing

The last (and possibly greatest) advantage of writing children’s books is that they can offer a stabler source of income than adult fiction. And though you don’t want to quit your day job the moment your first pitch is accepted, there are a few undeniable reasons to trust in the financial gains of writing for a younger audience.

First and foremost, children tend to read more books than adults in terms of sheer quantity. This is partly because books are often shorter and/or part of a series. But it’s also a question of consumption patterns: as a children’s book author, your main customers will be libraries and schools that tend to buy in bulk. This usually means that you’ll know roughly how many copies you will sell early on — maybe even before your release — and it will usually be quite a few!

In addition, you can supplement your income by participating in speaker’s events. While other authors may speak or teach at universities to minimal audiences, children’s authors are frequently sought out to speak at schools, libraries, and bookshops, which may bring in a pretty penny.

Of course, these are only some of the reasons that you should consider writing for children. From picture books for wee readers to exciting adventure stories for teens, children’s literature is truly a wide and exciting field. Not only can it make the world your oyster, but you’ll also get to have fun on the ascent!

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Savannah Cordova is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects self-publishing authors with the world’s best editors, designers, and marketers. In her spare time, Savannah enjoys reading contemporary fiction and writing short stories. She hasn’t yet published a children’s book of her own, but she hopes to someday.