Patrick Adams Shares 5 Steps to Successfully Self-Publish Children's Picture Books

Five Steps to Successfully Self-Publish 

Children's Picture Books

For new and advancing children's authors

By Patrick Adams

Creating a Children’s Picture Book is a true labor of love.  Knowing that your audience is going to be young readers your creative focus should be on the visual aspect of the book. The text will be support that artwork and it will be tailored toward the age group you are targeting.  Here are 5 steps to help you create and self-publish your perfect Children’s Picture Book:

1.     Story Length

The minimum requirements for Self-Publishing Platforms are 24 pages.  In addition to your story text, include the following pages: Copyright Page, Dedication Page, About the Author Page and About the Illustrator Page. 

2.     Story Text should be written with Illustrations in Mind!

Determine your illustration preference: Half Page Illustration, Full Page Illustration, Double Page Illustration (Half or) or Double Page Illustration (Full).  Be picky with your Illustrator.  Illustrations are THE most critical element of your children's book.  Find someone who fits your vision, style and budget.  Write detailed requirements for each illustration and give detailed feedback to your Illustrator.

3.     Take Care of the Legalities

Your books will require International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN).  These are Unique Numeric Identifiers for books.  Each bPatook variation must have a unique number (example: Paperback and eBook will have different identifiers).  You can get them at - https://www.myidentifiers.com/ or platforms such as CreateSpace can assign them for you.  Consideration:  Do you want to be listed as the Publisher?  Obtain your own ISBN. 

Obtain a Copyright for your book.  All unique literary works should be copyrighted to protect your content from illegal duplication.  You can obtain your copyright through the Electronic Copyright Office.

4.     Find Your Self-Publishing Platform

There are many options to self-publishing your books.  Here are 5 of the highest rated options: CreateSpace, Kindle Direct Publishing, Ingram Spark, Lulu and Xlibris.  All have Print Book and eBook Options.  All have different pricing and royalty options.  Research and determine what's best for YOU.

5.     Inexpensive Ways to Market

Here are some ways to market your book inexpensively while still potentially reaching large audiences:

Social Media – posts at the right time with good hashtags, live shows, links and visuals

Amazon Author Pages – create your author page, available in the USA, UK, France, Germany and Japan Amazon sites

Your Website – there are many free options to create stores where you can market and sell your book

Etsy store – only $.20 per listing per month.  A good way to offer autographed copies

Book Blog Tours – get interviewed and talk about your book!

Podcasts – seek out podcasters looking for up and coming authors to interview

MORE ABOUT PATRICK ADAMS

Patrick Adams Books is dedicated to helping aspiring children’s book authors achieve their dream of getting their book published.  Check out Patrick's website at http://www.patrickadamsbooks.com for help with all aspects of the self-publishing process, illustrations, and book trailers.

MORE ABOUT YOUR #SHARINGWITHWRITERS BLOGGER

Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter (where she talks more about choosing and the advantages of winning contests and how to use those honors)  and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is  How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com )

Kindle (KDP) for Paperbacks? My Advice!

Amazon just sent an announcement that when you publish your e-book on Kindle (KDP), you can now “automatically” make it into a paperback which means your book will be available digitally and in print.  

They point out advantages: You don’t have to pay any costs upfront or carry any inventory to do it and your royalty payments will be consolidated which saves you some bookwork, too. They automatically post the paperback to all their Amazon sites for you. You can also use the Web site in most of the languages (not yet all!) that Amazon has outlets in. 

All true enough and they are working on more improvements. But until then, they don’t have some of the benefits of Createspace which Amazon owns. 

Amazon admits you can’t yet order paperback proofs (they are working on it!) Many Amazon experts are saying it is better to wait a while to use this feature and suspect that Amazon will soon be folding Createspace with all its benefits into the KDP platform anyway. 

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER

 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and The Great First Impression Book Proposal, another booklet, helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart,and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com)