5 Interesting Things About Indie Children's Publishing
June 2024
This is a quick note because I wanted to give you some things to think about before I do a longer post later this week.
Income. In case you missed it, here’s a post by Laurie Purdie Salas about what a typical traditionally published, children’s book author earns. I’m glad I own my own publishing company!
Book launch. My June book, MAGNET: How Gilbert Sullivan Discovered that Earth is a Great Magnet is a Hot Off the Presses from the Children’s Book Council. Because Mims House is a member of the CBC, I have access to the awards that they administer, and ongoing promos like the monthly Hot Off the Press (HOTP) lists. Submitting for the HOTP is a standard practice for my book launches.
Do you need statistics on kids reading? Scholastic does a biennial survey of kids and parents. Here’s information from the lastest Kids and Family Reading report. Or, here’s the latest from Renaissance Learning/Accelerated Reader on what kids actually read (and tested on through their platform) for 2024. Since it pulls from proprietary information, it leaves out a lot of books. Still, it’s a good overview of what kids are reading. It’s always great to go through major statistical surveys, looking for trends, surprises, and opportunities.
For example, here’s a question about Kindergarten titles:
Q: What common themes do the top kindergarten titles share?
A: The books share a common theme of exploration and discovery,
while individually they explore a variety of topics, including school
experiences, consequences, friendship and sharing, as well as animals
and nature.Facebook group. If you’re on Facebook, come over to the Wide for the Win Kids group. We often have interesting conversations about indie publishing of children’s books.
What not to do. Read this funny article, Why Do So Many Celebs Write Children’s Books? While it’s poking fun at celebrities, we can also learn what not to do from their examples.
