Do you dream of getting your children’s book published? Don’t know where to start, what to do? Here is a list of things you can keep in mind that go into publishing your very own children’s book.
- Research your topic of choice – Are you passionate about it enough to talk about it non stop? 75% of writing books is marketing these days. You are going to have to be talking about this topic, a lot. Are you ready for it? Is your why clearly in place?
- Understand your target reader – Your target reader and buyer are two different things. What age is your reader? What are their likes, dislikes? What are they looking for? What are their parents looking for?
- Write your draft – Write it! Just put the stuff onto paper without thinking. A great book for this is the one shown here to understand what goes into writing children’s books.
- Hire an editor – There are three kinds of editing your book can and ideally should go through. Developmental, Line Editing and Proof reading. The first two are ones I can help with and I have comprehensive packages that help you with multiple rounds of this. After all, no one really needs just one round of editing! (starting from $75 for 600 words and below)
- Refine Your Manuscript – Use your editor’s feedback and go at it multiple times with them. Keep an open mind and work at your book. Do not take feedback to heart. Understand that your editor is now your team mate.
- Complete your Manuscript – Last round of proof reading
- Submit Your Manuscript to Publishers and wait… – THIS is for people looking to be traditionally published. It can take months and months or even years but it is worth it because the publisher takes care of all expenses.
- IF Indie – publishing, take stock of your finances and how much you are willing to invest in your publishing journey and marketing your book
- Find an illustrator – I have a list of things to keep in mind before hiring an illustrator here.
- Purchase an ISBN number – Your ISBN number is the number which tells the world your book is unique and ties up all the sources of sale into one (in laymen’s terms).
- Get your files formatted – Your illustrator may also be your formatter, but this is not necessary and could depend on how you are using for illustrations.
- Upload your files – Most self published authors upload paperback books to Amazon and hardback to Ingramspark to fully utilize both their extensive distribution channels.
- Plan your launch – THIS should ideally start as soon as you plan your book. (I have a free workbook for this on the site.)
- Copyright Your Book – Technically anything is copyrighted the moment you hit publish. It is however recommended to register your copyright in case you run into any infringement issues in the future. It’s cheap and relatively easy to do so at copyright.gov.
Feel free to email me at contact@raisingworldchildren.com or follow me on -> Instagram here for daily tips and inspiration through this lonesome but exciting journey you are about to embark on.
MORE tips on how to write a multicultural childrens book here.
GET YOUR – WRITE YOUR CHILDREN’S BOOK WORKBOOK HERE