© 2025 Amy Hinerman

Are you looking for an enjoyable, creative endeavor?

Searching for something fun and easy to make, I researched low- and medium-content books. The Amazon market for low-content books, such as lined journals, was saturated, and the idea seemed rather dull to me anyway. Instead, I went with medium content, which includes activity books, puzzle books of all kinds, coloring books, and much more.

After watching many videos and making lots of mistakes, I conquered it. It became such a blast, I couldn’t stop! I now have fifteen word-search, activity, and coloring books on Amazon.

So, how did I do it?

I started by purchasing a program for word search puzzles that stood out above the rest. This is how it works.

Come up with a category like “Snacks from the 60s” and a corresponding word list. I use eight to twenty-two words per puzzle, depending on the book’s reading age. Plug in your list with your chosen parameters like puzzle size, font, margins, and word directions, and voilà! Your word search is produced. Take your time to make the book unique. Mine include humor, so I came up with some off-the-wall categories like “What not to put on a hamburger,” which had me laughing. Nothing like entertaining oneself.

I also created several coloring books. I bought the coloring images through the same company as the word searches. The purchases I made came with licenses, but always be sure to check copyright laws when it comes to images.

I used Canva for all other designs. If you’re not familiar with Canva, it’s a site with endless illustration options. I use the “Pro” version at a worthwhile $13/month. It comes in handy when you’re like me and can’t even draw a stick figure.

I included some funny small pictures throughout each book as well as entertaining front and back matter. In my activity book for kids, I added silly word games, find the hidden object, word unscramble, dot-to-dot, and other challenges.

I spent a lot of time on the covers. It’s important to layer the illustrations with many images so it’s your own distinctive work. For example, one of my coloring book covers is a Christmas scene that pieces together a tree, presents, children with hats, Santa, layered stars, icicles, and a blended background color.

Give it a try. You just might get hooked!
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Amy Hinerman started out volunteering to write a monthly humorous column for her city’s newspaper. After a short time, it became a paid gig and went on for nine years. Since moving from that area, she’s worked as a freelance copywriter/editor and has had clients from all corners of the globe. In 2021, with Tracy’s gracious help, she was published in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. Since then, she’s been published with them twice more and has a story coming out soon in Guideposts. Her Carrot Stick activity books can be found on Amazon.