{"id":4478,"date":"2023-06-24T02:20:04","date_gmt":"2023-06-24T02:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/melindamartin.me\/?p=4478"},"modified":"2023-06-27T15:29:14","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T15:29:14","slug":"childrens-book-authors-guide-to-getting-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melindamartin.me\/publishing-advice-resources\/childrens-book-authors-guide-to-getting-started\/","title":{"rendered":"Children’s Book Authors Guide to Getting Started"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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I’ve designed hundreds of book in the last 12 years, and children’s picture books are hands down the most difficult type of project.<\/p>\n\n

To clarify, a children’s picture book that puts the children first is the most difficult.<\/p>\n\n

Creating a picture book (or any product) for children should not be taken lightly. I believe the children are our future and that we should indeed teach them WELL. We want to teach them art appreciation, storytelling principles, rhythm through rhyming, vocabulary, sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation.<\/p>\n\n

Our children deserve our collective best, which is why publishing a quality children’s book is impossible to do all by yourself. Even the best editors know better than to be solely responsible for editing their own work\u2014and that’s one reason why they are the best.<\/p>\n\n

While it’s impossible to cover every single thing that a self-publishing author of children’s books needs to know, I’m going to hit the high points for you\u2014and for our children.<\/p>\n

Publishing Models<\/h1>\n

Self-Publishing<\/h3>\n

When an author chooses to self-publish, THEY ARE THE PUBLISHER. This does not mean they have to do everything all by themselves. Self-publishing is an author-subsidized model of publishing. This means the author as the publisher is funding all of the expenses and taking responsibility for all of the many, many aspects of publishing a book.<\/p>\n\n

Authors who hire me are self-publishing. The author is the publisher, and I am a member of their publishing team. I own none of the content, and the author has the final decision-making power on all things. My goal is to present the author with her options and then accept the decisions she decides are best for her business goals.<\/p>\n\n

The author owns their own ISBN and all accounts are setup in the author’s name with the author’s email address and password they opt for. All profits are the author’s.<\/p>\n

Traditional Publishing<\/h3>\n

A traditional publisher invests their capital into producing your book, which means they are the owners of your content. They have purchased it from you via contract and by way of investing their capital into the project, then they pay you royalties on the sale of books. Some traditional publishers will pay the author upfront, as well as distribute royalties, and some will only work from a royalty distribution model.<\/p>\n\n

Traditional publishing relies on agents to find authors with manuscripts worth investing in.<\/p>\n

Hybrid Publishing<\/h3>\n

Hybrid publishing is also an author-subsidized model but the hybrid press often retains ownership and account control. The author is somewhat in the driver’s seat, which is great if your hybrid publisher isn’t afraid to speak up to prevent you from making bad decisions. Hybrid publishers who are only concerned with money have no problem letting an author to make bad decisions. Heck, they may not even know what good is themselves!<\/p>\n\n

Like most popular business models, the owners of hybrid publishing companies often look for the cheapest labor in order to retain as much of the profit for themselves. This results in a hot mess. Buyer beware! Read up on the Independent Book Publisher’s Association (IBPA)\u00a0Hybrid Publisher Criteria<\/a>\u00a0to make sure you have the data at-hand to help you select a quality hybrid publisher.<\/p>\n\n

“Hybrid publishing companies behave just like traditional publishing companies in all respects, except that they publish books using an author-subsidized business model, as opposed to financing all costs themselves and, in exchange, return a higher-than-industry-standard share of sales proceeds to the author. A hybrid publisher makes income from a combination of publishing services and book sales.<\/blockquote>\n\n
“Although hybrid publishing companies are author-subsidized, they are different from other author-subsidized models (i.e., self-publishing service providers) in that hybrid publishers adhere\u2014without exception<\/em>\u2014to IBPA’s Hybrid Publisher Criteria. Regardless of who pays for editorial, design, and production fees, it is always the publisher that bears responsibility for producing, distributing, and ultimately selling professional-quality books.” \u2014IBPA<\/blockquote>\n\n

Vanity Press<\/h3>\n\n

If your hybrid publisher does not meet the hybrid publisher criteria, then they are likely a vanity press. Vanity presses exist because people are vain.<\/p>\n\n

You know you’re a vanity children’s picture book author when…<\/p>\n

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  1. You only want to give the least amount of credit possible to your illustrator. For example: Asking “Can you make the illustrator’s name as small as possible on the front cover, take their name off of the spine, and remove their bio?” all while telling me how amazing your illustrator is and that you couldn’t have done it without them.<\/li>\n \t
  2. You will spend thousands on printing but none on editing, none on educating yourself about the business, and only the bare minimum on illustrations and file preparation.<\/li>\n \t
  3. You think your book is going to be picked up for mass distribution by Barnes and Noble because “it’s just that good.”<\/li>\n \t
  4. You don’t respect anyone else’s time or experience. You know best, even though you’ve never published a children’s picture book before. You’re breaking all the rules and you think that’s a good thing.<\/li>\n \t
  5. When you haven’t read a children’s book in decades but you think you can write an out-of-the-park book because “it’s just 500 words” (credit:\u00a0ShaylaRaquel.com<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Books are a tactile experience.\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\n

    You can provide a cheap experience or a quality experience.<\/p>\n\n

    The physical components (paper quality, paper coating, ink saturation, binding options, trim size) of the book are all a part of the experience.<\/p>\n

    Publishing books is a product-based business. <\/b><\/h1>\n

    In order to get the best product at the best price per unit, the business owner has to work with a manufacturer of books (a printer and bindery).<\/p>\n

    Types of Printing<\/b><\/h3>\n

    There are two core ways to get a book printed: offset printing or print-on-demand.<\/p>\n\n

    Offset printing<\/b> allows the author to customize their book’s tactile experience. However, books have to be ordered in bulk and shipped over from China (in most cases). This is the only model that allows you to charge a competitive retail price while still making enough profit to operate a publishing company that sells quality\u00a0physical books.<\/p>\n\n

    Print-on-demand<\/b> allows the author to print one book at a time (no inventory) and utilize the POD’s built-in marketing platform to get to market in a super short amount of time. The whole reason POD exists is to be a convenience model for the author. As such, it’s not the best quality\u2014and they aren’t changing it any time soon. They rely on the author’s vanity and impatience, which put millions of dollars into their pocket’s each year.<\/p>\n\n

    Print-on-demand companies like KDP and IngramSpark charge you the highest rate for a not-the-highest-quality book. Your options are extremely limited when compared to offset printing. Print-on-demand is more like “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit,” whereas offset printing is there to tickle your every book-printing fancy.<\/p>\n\n

    Print-on-demand is the chilled single-serving cold coffee from the gas station.<\/p>\n\n

    Offset printing is the barista-made espresso at your favorite coffee shop made just the way you like it. Yes, it’s more expensive. No, it’s not as convenient. But, man, is it worth the wait!<\/p>\n\n

    Costs of Printing<\/h4>\n\n
    Offset<\/h5>\n\n

    There are many, many offset printers to choose from. I recommend the Indie Author’s Publishing Collecting (IAPC) owned by Jay Miletsky, author of the Patrick Picklebottom children’s book series, as well as other stand-alone titles. Email\u00a0jmartin@iapcbooks.com<\/a>\u00a0for a quote.<\/p>\n\n

    As of today (June 23, 2023), a 32-page hardcover 8.5 x 8.5 full-color picture book on 105# (thick!) paper is:<\/p>\n