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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!
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 – Take the first step for your option of choice in order to get started publishing your children’s book.
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
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 a Children’s Book
