Children’s Bedtime Story Writer for Ages 2–6 | 33 Short Stories | Human-Written Only

I am looking for a creative native or genuinely native-level English children’s fiction writer to help me develop an illustrated bedtime story collection for children ages 2–6. This is not a general ghostwriting project. I am specifically looking for a children’s fiction writer with experience writing picture books, bedtime stories, or read-aloud fiction for preschoolers ages 2–6. The final book will contain 33 standalone short bedtime stories, approximately 350–450 words each (around 12,000–15,000 words total). I already have a detailed Book Vision and a working outline for the 33 stories, but the outline is not final. The first stage of the project will be to review and improve the existing outline: strengthen the best concepts, identify and replace repetitive or weaker ideas, improve character concepts and names, and help me create a varied and engaging final structure for the book. If I am happy with our collaboration and writing style, I would ideally like to continue with the same writer for the full manuscript and potentially future books. The stories should be warm, imaginative, emotionally safe, memorable, enjoyable to read aloud, and appropriate for children ages 2–6, especially ages 3–5. I am looking for natural storytelling, gentle humor, memorable characters, and age-appropriate emotional themes rather than repetitive or formulaic bedtime stories. What I’m looking for: - Native or genuinely native-level English - Experience writing children’s fiction, picture books, bedtime stories, or preschool fiction - Strong creative writing and storytelling skills - Ability to improve an existing outline and contribute original ideas - Excellent grammar and a natural feel for read-aloud rhythm - 100% original work — no plagiarism - Final submitted writing must be human-written and not generated by AI Generative AI may not be used for ideation, outlining, drafting, rewriting, or polishing the manuscript. I am looking for fully human-written fiction. Please do not send general fiction, YA, educational articles, book formatting, or books you only edited/published. I need 2–3 samples of children’s fiction that you personally wrote, ideally 300–600 words and aimed at ages 2–6. When applying, please include: 1. 2–3 relevant children’s fiction writing samples 2. A short description of your experience writing for young children 3. Your fixed-price quote for developing/refining the 33-story outline 4. Your estimated fixed-price quote for writing the full 12,000–15,000-word manuscript if we continue working together 5. And one small question so I know you’ve read the full post: What’s one hobby or interest you genuinely enjoy outside of writing? Please quote the outline development and full manuscript separately. I am looking for someone with genuine creativity and a strong feel for storytelling for young children, with the possibility of continued collaboration on this and future books. Writers who are new to Upwork are very welcome to apply if you have strong relevant writing samples.