Publishing Tips

Have a finished children’s story you’re ready to publish? Download our free publishing checklist to help you get started with your publishing journey.

As a writer, publishing can feel like a big process! After all, you’re going from an idea to finished book in less than a year. So what does the publishing process look like for a children’s book? Here’s the complete breakdown for you in just 10 easy steps.

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How to Publish a Children’s Book in 10 Easy Steps:

If you’re planning to publish a children’s book yourself, you might feel overwhelmed by the publishing process. How are you supposed to transform your Word Doc into a children’s book? What does that even look like?

No need to fear. We’ve broken out the process into 10 easy steps for you to follow.

1 – Choose Your Printer and Decide Your Book Size/Type

Before you can get started with the publishing process, you have to know what kind of book you’re creating. If you don’t know this, then you won’t be able to give your illustrator the correct information and might have to pay to redo the files. 😬

To avoid this, choose a printer you want to use and review their book types and size requirements. Then note their print specifications to send to an illustrator.

2 – Edit Your Story and Paginate it for an Illustrator

Another thing to do before you choose an illustrator is to have your story completely edited and ready to go. If not, it can also result in an added cost from needing to redo the art after they’ve already started because the story has changed. 😬

To avoid this, hire an editor to copyedit and paginate your story into the pages that you want it to be broken up in, then find an illustrator. (If you need help with your copyedit, we can help you! Here’s the link.)

3 – Find an Illustrator

Then it’s time to finally hire your illustrator! Finally. This is when your book starts to come together and begin to really feel like a real book. (Something our authors say is their favorite part of the publishing process!)

If you need help finding an illustrator, check out Fiverr for a large selection of freelancers for any budget.

4 – Create the Sketches

Once you’ve hired your illustrator, the next step is to create the sketches. This is a crucial part before you color, because this is where changes can be made. Feel free to give them as detailed of illustrator notes on your initial draft to help guide them with what you envision the interior sketches will look like.

Then be sure to thoroughly review them for any notes. And send your notes in a clear, bulleted format so you don’t have to go back and forth too much with your illustrator.

5 – Color and Finalize the Illustrations

Once the sketches are approved, the next step is to color them for print! (Exciting times in the publishing process for sure.) At this time, if you haven’t decided on a book designer, now’s your time. Your illustrator can put the text onto your book, you can do it, or another person can help.

Just make sure it’s clear who’s responsible for doing that before you completely finalize the illustrations.

6 – Purchase Your ISBN and Barcode

If you’re creating a printed book, you have to have a barcode in the bottom righthand corner on the backcover. And you’ll also need an ISBN for each format of your book. (So if you’re creating both a hardcover and an eBook, you’ll need 2 ISBNs.)

Depending on your printer, they might provide you with the ISBNs and Barcodes that you need. But if you need to purchase them, you can do so through Bowker.

7 – Proof the Story and Send for Book Design

Now that you have everything that’s needed to finalize your book, it’s time to send it to the designer. (Whether that’s your illustrator or someone else.) Just be sure to give your book one final read-through and make sure you’ve included your:

• Copyright information
• Dedication
• Author bio

Then get ready to proof your final files!

8 – Create the Final PDF Print Files

Before you send your book to the printer, you’ll want to review your final files with the designer. This your chance in the publishing process to catch any spelling, grammar, or formatting errors that you want changed before your book is finalized. So be sure to review them thoroughly or hire a copyeditor to help!

9 – Upload Your Files to Print

When they’re approved, it’s officially time to upload them to your printer! (Hooray!!) All that effort and time you’ve been waiting for, at last it’s here. Be sure to follow your printer’s publishing guidelines to make sure you don’t have to redo the files before you hit publish.

We also suggest getting a proof of your book whenever you’re using a new printer. That way you know what everyone else will receive and can make changes before the rest of the world gets them.

10 – Hit Publish and Celebrate

Once you’ve done all of that, you’ve reached the final step in the publishing process. It’s time to hit publish! Then go celebrate all your hard work with your family and friends at a launch party. You’ve earned it.

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That’s it! The complete publishing process broken down into 10 easy steps for you. If you’d like help to make the publishing process easier, apply to work with us here. We’d love to help you make your publishing dreams a reality!

Share the 10 publishing process steps with your writing friends today!

For more publishing help, check out these other articles to help you:

• The fastest way to publish your children’s book
• How to get started publishing your children’s book

Have a finished children’s story you’re ready to publish? Download our free publishing checklist to help you get started with your publishing journey.

Congrats on finishing your children’s book! We know what a big feat that is. But now you’re probably wondering, how do you get started publishing it?

Understandable! There are so many different paths you can take and no journey looks the same. We’ve broken them down for you so you can make the best decision for you!

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Starting your publishing journey for your children’s book:

Publishing is just that — a journey. It’s a winding path that doesn’t look the same for every author. How you choose to publish your children’s book is completely up to you and your goals as an author. Here’s what you need to know to help you decide.

1 – Determine your goals as an author.

What does it mean to be an author to you? Does it mean going to book signings and speaking at schools? Or does it mean getting to share your new book with your family and friends? Both?

What you want your author life to look like is completely up to you, but it will impact your publishing decisions. Before you get started on your publishing path, sit down to think about the goals you have for your children’s story. Ask yourself:

• How soon do you want to see your book in print?
• How much are you willing to invest in your book for both time and money?
• What do you want your life to look like post-book?

Take time to think about your answers to this, then move onto the next step of understanding your publishing options.

2 – Choose the publishing option based on your goals.

Most people know they can work with a traditional publisher to publish their children’s book, but they don’t always know there are other options. In fact, there are 3 options you can choose to get started publishing your children’s book with! (Yes. Three!) Here’s a quick breakdown of the 3 for you.

1 – Traditional publishing – the most common and competitive path

This publishing option has been around since books were made. It’s when an author writes a book then sends it to a publisher to handle the rest. This is awesome especially since there’s no additional investment from the author.

However, because of that great positive, it’s also highly competitive. Which means it can take years before you ever see a book in print. (Mostly because you have to learn how to write a really great children’s book that stands above the rest. If you need help getting started writing your book, check out this article here.)

If you don’t have a lot of time to commit, you may want to consider one of the other 2 options.

• Time commitment – 5 to 10 years
• Author upfront cost – $0
• Resources needed – Awesome children’s book story, computer

2 – Self-publishing – very popular but gets a bad rap for quality

While self-publishing has been around for a long time, it’s only grown in recent years in popularity due to the ease of the Internet. Instead of waiting years to get started publishing your children’s book, you know can have it published in a manner of weeks. (Yeah. That’s a big difference.)

However, because of this freedom of speed and lack of gatekeepers, self-publishing has gotten a bad reputation for being poor quality books. Because a lot of authors don’t know how to write a children’s book, so they rush the process and put out bad books. Which gives the rest of the books a poor representation of being bad.

If you’re going to choose this option, make sure you’ve taken the time to learn what it takes to create a story worth reading.

• Time commitment – <1 year
• Author upfront cost – $500-$10,000
• Resources needed – Awesome children’s book story, computer, additional help

3 – Hybrid Publishing – faster than traditional but more of an investment

Your final option has been growing in recent years because it combines the best of both options into one new option. With hybrid publishing, you get the experienced help of a traditional publisher, with the speed and control of self-publishing. (Awesome, isn’t it?)

It’s a great option for first-time authors! However, this option can be one of the higher investment choices because you are paying for both a team of experts, plus the cost to print books. So before you move forward with this one, be sure to go back to your goals and know what your max budget is so you can ask the right questions as you’re looking at publishers.

• Time commitment – <1 year
• Author upfront cost – $5000-$15,000
• Resources needed – Awesome children’s book story, computer

3 – Taking the first step to get started publishing your children’s book with.

Now that you know your options to publish a children’s book, it’s time to get started. Here’s how you can do that based on each of your choices:

1 – Steps to find a traditional publisher:

• Have your story reviewed
• Write a solid pitch/query
• Research a list of publishers that are open to submissions
• Send your queries

2 – Steps to start self-publishing:

• Pick a publication date
• Research a list of printers and choose the one for you
• Decide the book size/type
• Hire illustrators/designers/editors to help

3 – Steps to find a hybrid publisher:

• Decide what you need help with
• Set a budget and timeline
• Research a list of publishers to look into
• Set up a call before deciding who to move forward with

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That’s it! That’s all you need to know to get started publishing your children’s book. If you’d like to work with an experienced team to help you publish your book, apply to work with us here. We’re excited to help make your publishing dreams a reality!

Go get started publishing your children’s book today!

For more publishing help, check out these other articles to help you:

• The fastest way to publish your children’s book
• The complete publishing process in 10 easy steps

Have a finished children’s story you’re ready to publish? Download our free publishing checklist to help you get started with your publishing journey.

When you come up with a children’s book, you immediately begin to think about how to publish it. Where can you get started? What do you need to do first? You want it to happen like yesterday, right?

We get it. However, if you start looking a traditional publishing methods, you’ll find that it can take YEARS before you ever see your book in print. We don’t want you to have to wait that long to publish a children’s book, though. So here’s how you can make it happen faster.

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How to publish a children’s book in a year or less.

Children’s book publishing has changed a lot in the past decade, especially with the speed and accessibility of the internet. Which is great news for authors, because now you no longer have to wait to publish your children’s story. Now, you can see it in print in less than a year.

How can you make that happen?

Alternative ways to publish a children’s book besides using a traditional publisher.

Most authors are familiar with traditional publishing. (The use of using a publisher to help you make your book.) It’s been around since the existence of books after all! But it this super competitive market, it’s making it harder and harder for authors to get a publishing contract is less than 5 years. Something some authors don’t want to wait for.

Which is why we’re glad you have options.

1 – You can publish your book yourself.

Self-publishing has soared in popularity over the past decade and it’s never been easier. If you have print-files ready, you can upload them to a service like Amazon KDP today and have a book within the week. It’s that fast.

However, for a lot of authors, it can be really intimidating to publish your own book. How can you make it happen and do it right without making a bunch of mistakes along the way?

Because of this fear, a lot of authors can quit without even trying. Which is why we’re glad there’s another option that can help make it a lot easier, especially for first-time authors.

2 – You can work with a publisher to help you.

Also known as hybrid publishers, authors can contract with one of these providers for help with their book. The great part about this option over self-publishing is you get guidance along the way, which helps eliminate the fear of trying to learn everything yourself.

How do you find publishers to work with?

For a lot of authors, it’s not that they don’t want to work with a hybrid publisher, they just can’t find one. But hybrid publishing has increased in popularity over the past few years, which is great to help you find the best hybrid for you.

1 – Know what you’re looking for.

Hybrids range from vanity presses to full-service options. Meaning, you need to know what you’re looking for help with before you start to reach out to them.

Make sure to know:

• The assistance you require (Book design, print and distribution, etc.)
• Your timeline
• Your budget

This will help you as you’re reviewing their service options on their websites.

2 – Know they’ll be able to provide what you need.

Whenever you decide to publish a children’s book, you have to know what your goals are for getting that book published. Do you want to be an Amazon best-seller? Do you want it to be available in schools? Or do you simply want to get it printed so you can share it with your family?

What your goals are doesn’t matter. Knowing if your publisher can make them happen does. Be sure to know what your goals are before reaching out to publishers so you can ask questions about whether they can assist with your goals.

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That’s it! The fastest way to publish a book this year is to self-publish it or work with a hybrid publisher. If you’re interested in working with one, apply to work with us! We have self-publishing and hybrid publishing services to help you no matter what your goals are.

Publish your children’s book faster this year!

For more publishing help, check out these other articles to help you:

• How to get started publishing your children’s book
• The complete publishing process broken into 10 easy steps