Children’s Fiction Writer for 33-Story Bedtime Book (Ages 2–6)

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. 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 All submitted work must be original and human-written. Work may be checked using plagiarism-detection and AI-detection tools in addition to manual review. Any work containing plagiarism or materially violating the agreed no-AI requirement will need to be revised before it can be approved. 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.