Come with an idea you can't quite crack.
Leave with your picture book draft.
Apply my 4-step process and take your story from idea to finished draft in a single weekend.
WHEN: July 25 & 26 (Saturday & Sunday)
TIME: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST both days
WHERE: Live, online – join from anywhere
After 30 years as an editor at major publishing houses like HarperCollins, Henry Holt, I know exactly why most picture book writers stay stuck…
You have an idea. Maybe more than one.
You've read the craft books, joined the groups, taken the workshops. You can talk about structure and pacing and emotional arc.
And yet when you sit down to actually work on your manuscript, something stalls.
You circle the idea without quite entering it.
You start, then stop because you don't know what comes next.
You lose confidence halfway through.
And then quietly, without quite meaning to, you set it aside.
Not because you don’t care or because you're not good enough.
But because you've never had access to a process built from the editor's side of the desk. A process developed from reading thousands of manuscripts across every style, voice, and level, and understanding what actually makes them work.
That's what I developed over thirty years as an editor at HarperCollins and Henry Holt. And that's what you’ve been missing:
A clear, repeatable process for taking any idea you can't quite crack and turning it into a finished draft in a single weekend.
That's what this retreat gives you.
In one weekend, you'll go from an idea to a draft of your picture book.
Here's the 4-step process that makes it possible
Uncover your real idea
Most writers come in with what they think is an idea. Often it's a premise. Sometimes it's a theme.
These aren't the same thing and confusing them is the hidden reason so many manuscripts never find their shape.
Build its structure
Once your real idea is clear, the right structure for that specific story becomes visible and the wrong structure, which is often what's been making your manuscript fall flat, falls away.
to life with your story.
Map every spread
Using my 14-spread framework, you'll map exactly what happens on each of your 32-page picture book.
For many writers, this will be the first time their entire story laid out before they write a single word of draft.
Write from a blueprint
With a clear idea, the right structure, and a complete map in hand, you’re ready to write.
And you’ll do so using a blueprint you built yourself that shows you exactly where the story is going and why every beat belongs where it does.
By the end of the weekend, you’ll have your picture book draft. Plus, you’ll have mastered the process to do it again, on your own, with your next idea.
WHEN: July 25 & 26 (Saturday & Sunday)
TIME: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST both days
WHERE: Live, online – join from anywhere
"I wrote more that weekend than I had in total for the previous six months combined."
Suzanne L.
- "I left with a draft I'm excited to refine further and a clear sense of how to develop it."
Abigail Jones
"I left with a draft I'm excited to refine further and a clear sense of how to develop it."Hi, I'm Simone Kaplan
Hi, I'm Simone KaplanI’ve spent my career doing the work I love most: helping writers turn their ideas into published picture books
I've spent over 30 years working at the heart of the picture book world as an editor at HarperCollins and Henry Holt.
And now as a coach and teacher, I get to sit across from a writer who has an idea and help them turn it into their picture book.
I know what it feels like to have an idea you can't quite crack. Over the course of my career, I've watched again and again serious, committed, and passionate writers sitting with an idea they couldn't make work.
And it’s never been due to lack of talent. Instead, I’ve discovered they've never had a process that could repeatedly turn their ideas into picture book drafts.
That gap is exactly why I created the Idea to Draft retreat.
Over 30 years of editorial work, I developed and refined a 4-step process built from what I've seen actually work across thousands of manuscripts, every kind of story, and every level of writer.
My 4-step process is the clearest, most direct path I know to get you from your idea to a draft you can build on.
And in one weekend, I'm going to walk you through every step of it.
WHEN: July 25 & 26 (Saturday & Sunday)
TIME: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST both days
WHERE: Live, online – join from anywhere
"Simone has a remarkable gift for seeing the light in even the smallest spark of an idea and helping it grow into something real. What begins as a fragment, a feeling, or the faintest glimmer of a story somehow becomes, through her guidance, something cohesive and alive."
Kathryn Brown
"This workshop reawakened my sense of possibility."
Katherine Grace Bond, published author
"Most of the workshops I completed were lecture or critique style and it was challenging for me to apply what I learned — and often led to more questions. Simone took this huge task of boiling down the elements of a picture book and made the process repeatable. And she did it in only two days."
Mandie Speese
Here's how to get your picture book draft in one weekend.
Register for the retreat
for just $297
Click the button below and save your spot for the upcoming Idea to Draft retreat.
Show up and work through
the process with me
Over two days, I'll guide you through all four phases uncovering your real idea, building its structure, mapping every spread, and writing from a blueprint.
Leave with your draft and the confidence
to do it again
By the end of Sunday, you'll have a picture book draft in hand and a clear, repeatable process you can return to every time a new idea surfaces.
No prep work required. Show up with or without a developed idea.
WHEN: July 25 & 26 (Saturday & Sunday)
TIME: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST both days
WHERE: Live, online – join from anywhere
"It felt like I walked through a significant door."
Krista Thornburg
"If you ever have the 'blank page scaries', this is the perfect way to get your mind and your pen moving."
Paulette Bogan, award-winning author/illustrator
I know you want to turn your idea into a picture book…
To do that, you need a clear, repeatable process for moving from idea to draft.
The problem is that general guidance, even the best of it, can only take you so far when it hasn't been applied directly to your specific story. And that makes you feel like the problem is you, when it never was.
I believe that any writer who is serious and willing to do the work deserves guidance that can actually get them there. That's why I spent years developing a process built from the editor's side of the desk. Over time I've refined it across thousands of manuscripts and hundreds of writers at every level.
So here's how it works: you register for the retreat for just $297, spend the weekend working through my 4-step process, and leave Sunday with a picture book draft you can build on.
If you've been sitting with an idea you can't make work, Idea to Draft is the right next step.
WHEN: July 25 & 26 (Saturday & Sunday)
TIME: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST both days
WHERE: Live, online – join from anywhere
At this point, you have two options.
You can keep doing what you've been doing… carving out time when you can, working through the idea alone, hoping something clicks. Maybe it will.
But if it hasn't yet, it's probably not a question of time or effort. In my experience, it’s the lack of process.
Or you can spend one weekend with me, work through a process developed over 30 years of editorial experience, and leave with a draft you can actually build on.
The retreat is just $297. And it only happens four times a year.
I'd love to have you there.
WHEN: July 25 & 26 (Saturday & Sunday)
TIME: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST both days
WHERE: Live, online – join from anywhere
If you have questions, most likely the answer is here…
Do I need to have a story idea before I join?
No. You can arrive with a developed idea, a rough fragment, four competing ideas, or nothing at all. The first phase of the retreat is specifically designed to help you find and commit to the one idea worth developing. Wherever you're starting from, the process meets you there.
I've taken picture book workshops before and they didn't help me move forward. How is this different?
Most picture book instruction, however good, comes from the experience of writing. What makes this retreat different is that it comes from the experience of editing – reading thousands of manuscripts across every style, voice, and level, and developing a process from that breadth. That's a different kind of knowledge, and it produces a different kind of result: a process applied directly to your specific manuscript in real time, not general guidance you have to figure out how to use on your own.
Can I really produce a draft in just two days?
Writers who've been stuck for months, sometimes years, regularly leave the weekend with a working draft. Not because the retreat works some kind of magic, but because for the first time they have a clear, sequential process to follow instead of a blank page to stare at. As one participant put it: "I wrote more that weekend than I had in total for the previous six months combined."
Is this a course?
No. This is a live, guided experience. You'll be learning, applying, and developing your work in real time – alongside other writers and with direct guidance throughout both days. There are no pre-recorded lessons and no solo homework. Everything happens together, live.
What does a typical day look like?
Each day includes a mix of:
- Teaching
- Guided exercises
- Focused writing time
- Optional opportunities for feedback
The structure is designed to help you stay engaged, apply what you’re learning, and make steady progress throughout the day.
Is this suitable for beginners?
Yes. The retreat is designed for writers at every level: from complete beginners to published authors. The process works regardless of where you're starting because it's built around your specific idea, not a one-size-fits-all formula. What matters is your willingness to show up and do the work.
Is this retreat suitable for illustrators?
While the retreat doesn’t focus on illustration techniques, it is highly relevant for illustrators who want to develop their storytelling skills and understand how picture books actually work. You’ll learn how to shape a manuscript with structure, pacing, and emotional movement, insights that directly influence how a story unfolds visually across spreads. If you’re both writing and illustrating your work, this will help you strengthen the foundation of your ideas so the text and visuals can work together more effectively.
If your primary goal is to focus solely on illustration (style, medium, or technique), this is not the right fit.
What's included in the optional private critique add-on?
The private critique gives you personalised editorial feedback on the draft you develop during the retreat. You'll receive a close read of your work, clear insight into what's working and what to strengthen, and specific next steps for continuing to develop your manuscript. It's available at a special retreat-only rate of $250 (normally $300) and is the fastest way to leave the weekend with both a draft and a clear editorial direction.
Will the sessions be recorded?
No. Because this is a live, interactive experience, sessions are not recorded. The retreat is designed to be experienced in real time. You'll get the most from it by showing up fully for both days.
What if I can't make it to the upcoming retreat?
The retreat runs four times a year – in January, April, July, and October. If the upcoming retreat doesn't work, you're welcome to join the waitlist for the next one.
Your picture book draft is one weekend away.
You have an idea that matters to you. You have the commitment to do the work. What you've been missing is a process that can actually get you there and an editor with 30 years of experience to walk you through every step of it.
That's what this weekend is.
WHEN: July 25 & 26 (Saturday & Sunday)
TIME: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST both days
WHERE: Live, online – join from anywhere