My first children’s book is coming out today in paperback!!! And ebook!! and Kindle!! YAY!
*dances from living room to kitchen and back*
WARNING: There are root vegetables involved. And princesses. And a dessert sluice with cream puffs. But the nameless princess of Cochem has it, um, under control.
Because I’m shy and retiring, you can read about it over at The Winged Pen.
If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up for my Reader’s List. Once a month, I share new middle grade fiction, story-related freebies, and/or related blog posts. If it’s not your thing, you can unsubscribe at any time.
This is almost guaranteed to be obvious to everyone else. Why was this such an eyeopener for me? Once I saw the difference, I could break down the process into smaller tasks.
A few years in the query trenches makes the difference between writing and publishing crystal clear. My idea of publishing was fuzzy: it included everything from literary agents and editors to book reviews and book signings.
Marketing decides who the likeliest readers are and sets out to win them over. When you pick out comp titles for your book, you are choosing an audience with particular tastes.
Publishing MAKES the packaging (including some baked-in marketing):
edits the story
chooses the right categories and keywords.
writes a book description that ticks all the right notes.
designs a book cover that appeals to readers and matches what your story delivers.
chooses formats (audio, e-book, print) and distributors that reach the story’s audience.
tinkers with packaging later on if the book doesn’t find its audience
Marketing USES the packaging to attract readers with:
So now that we’ve gotten the difference between Writing, Publishing, and Marketing straight, we can go back to writing the next book. 😉 Because that’s the strongest Marketing* technique of all.
*If you want your work to be clear cut, take up something heroic, like logging with drafthorses.
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This is the question that moves me forward when I get stuck. I’m not sure why it helps. Maybe it’s what my friend and writing mentor Susan Graham calls “making a decision.” Friends are a gift.
With this question, I move forward with the information I’ve already got. Information gathering stops. I try something out.
Do you have a question that helps you move forward when you get stuck? Share it in the comments below.
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If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up for my Reader’s List. Once a month, I share new middle grade fiction, story-related freebies, and/or related blog posts. If it’s not your thing, you can unsubscribe at any time.
Self-publishing gurus abound these days, but many of them don’t mention children’s books. Since it’s worth learning self-publishing skills no matter how we publish, I’ve collected the best resources I can find for children’s authors. If I’ve missed good ones, please feel free to mention them in the comments. Thanks!
Does self-publishing children’s books make any sen$e?
Sales in Germany. “Middle Grade Fiction Sales in Germany in 2015” by bilingual German writer and translator, Anja Bauermeister. (January 12, 2016) She’s also on Episode 136 of the Rocking Self-Publishing Podcast: “Self-Publishing in the German Market with Anja Bauermeister.”
Sales in the UK. UK author, Karen Inglis reports her sales numbers on her Self-Publishing Adventures blog. Here’s her post on marketing tips. She has lots of tips about formatting e-books in Word if that’s your thing. Scrivener’s done a great job for me creating e-book files, so I don’t do the Word conversion for Smashwords.
Where can I find a simple plan to see what’s involved?
Susan Kaye Quinn’s free e-book Quick-Start Guide to Self-publishing and the blog version of her Indie Author Survival Guide. She’s updating the Guide (3rd edition) on her blog. The first chapter is here. You can get her free e-book, Quick-Start Guide to Self-publishing, at the same link and sign up for her For Love or Money Facebook group.
Both Susan Kaye Quinn and Anja Bauermeister have rocket-science backgrounds. Self-publishing children’s books is an experimental world, so maybe that helps.
How can I get involved in a community of self-published children’s book authors?
The Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) has a new moderated discussion forum on self-publishing on their Blueboard. You need to register(free) for the Blueboard or login as an SCBWI member to see the discussion forum.
Have you self-published a children’s book? What challenges did you face? Do you have tips to reach older middle grade readers? Please comment below.
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If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up for my Reader’s List. Once a month, I share new middle grade fiction, story-related freebies, and/or related blog posts. If it’s not your thing, you can unsubscribe at any time.
