Writing Children’s Books and Getting Published
Dallas, TX – Being a self-published writer of children’s books has a number of advantages. Many children’s writers have very specific ideas on what the illustrations should look like as well as how the story unfolds. Self-publishing allows the author to control of all aspects of their book and thus realize their vision. A traditional publisher may not share the author’s vision and decide to make significant changes. But when self-publishing, it’s up to the author to decide the style of the illustrations, the size, look and feel of the book, how and where it is printed and when it is released.
Most children’s books contain color illustrations as an integral part of the story. Printing in color, particularly a book’s contents, can get quite expensive. The advent of digital color has kept these costs manageable however. With digital color, a self-publishing author can expect to pay between 10 and 25 cents per page of color illustrations, per book. For example, a book with 20 color illustrations at 15 cents each would add an additional three dollars to the printing cost of each< book (as the 15 cents per page is a per-book printing fee and not a one-time setup fee).
Preparing a children’s book for publication can be a challenge, especially if there are illustrations throughout. Care must be taken when changes in the text are made so the associated illustrations stay in line with the story. When preparing a book for printing and publishing it’s a good idea to have others read the manuscript from beginning to end. (This is a realistic task as most children’s book are not lengthy.) This will ensure that the proper illustrations accompany the text in every instance. It’s also a great idea to have a child from the appropriate age group read the manuscript as well. The are, after all, the book’s audience and may provide insights the author is not aware of.
When self-publishing, it’s important to hire a professional who specializes in children’s books to design the cover. More so than any other genre, a children’s book’s cover is it’s best sales tool. Children respond to cover illustrations much more readily than adults and may choose to read or buy a book based solely on its cover.
Children’s books are very age-specific and this is an important factor when it comes to marketing as it’s important to target a specific age group. If the self-publishing author can afford to provide sample copies of their book, elementary schools and children’s libraries are a great place to generate interest in certain titles. Also, there are number of children’s books conferences and trade shows throughout the year in different locations around the world. In the U.S., local communities often sponsor book fairs and reading programs for ages six through twelve. Another great marketing tool is for the book’s author to provide a reading of their book for groups of children at local libraries or summer camps.
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Phillip Crum is the Chief Idea Officer of Sir Speedy Walnut Hill located at 2414 Arbuckle Court Dallas, TX 75229, and is committed to the idea of helping small business owners do a better job of finding their next customer or client. Phillip can be reached at 214-213-7445, or via email.
Copyright © 2006-2010 Phillip Crum
