Indie Kids Books

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Are Children's Books Profitable?

www.indiekidsbooks.com

Are Children's Books Profitable?

If you self-publish a kids' book will you make money or lose money?

Darcy Pattison
Jan 10
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Are Children's Books Profitable?

www.indiekidsbooks.com

There’s one burning question when you start the journey toward indie-publishing children’s books: will it be profitable?

It depends.

Yes. I am earning a six-figure income with my children’s publishing program and after eight years, I have published 60+ books. It’s my career and passion.

No. If you only want to publish one book, um, it’s hard, if not impossible to be profitable.

A One-Off Children’s Book is Difficult

Some people approach this question casually, coming to the genre of children’s books thinking it’s easy because, after all, it’s only for kids. Oh, you won’t be profitable.

A one-off book is incredibly hard to pull off because there are so many ways it can go wrong: poorly written story, poor illustrations, poor layout and design, poor launch strategy, poor understanding of your audience of teachers, parents, and kids. Did you notice the repetition of the word, “poor”? It is used deliberately to emphasize that children’s books aren’t going to earn a profit unless it’s approached respectfully and with great thought and effort.

Let’s go through some elements of a successful children’s picture book to see what’s needed.

WRITING. Children’s picture books are usually 32-pages and can be written for ages 0-12. It’s important to know the target age range so the writing will be appropriate. One important consideration is word count.

  • Preschool, ages 0-5. Word count is zero to 500 words, and shorter is better.

  • K-2nd, ages 5-8. Word count is zero to 600 words, and shorter is better.

  • 3rd - 5th, ages 7-12. Word count is zero to 1000 words, and shorter is better.

In those few words you must tell a compelling story with a beginning, middle, and end which introduces a larger-than-life character. Seldom will a beloved pet—no matter how wonderful they are/were—become a good picture book character.

The story must read aloud easily. One mistake is to think that a children’s book must be poetry, because seldom does the poetry work. If you don’t know what “an iambic pentameter line” means, you shouldn’t be writing poetry. Instead, the story must contain language appropriate to the story that is easy or even fun for adults to read and reread. Learn more about writing a children’s picture book here.

ART. Children’s picture books are illustrated, which means there’s an image or piece of art on every page. If you aren’t an artist, don’t even attempt it! Don’t ask your neighbor or your niece or any family member to attempt it, because they aren’t professional artists either. Don’t shortcut this and grab art from an online market such as Fiverr.com, because the art is mediocre, at best.

The bane of self-published children’s books—and this directly affects profitability—is mediocre digital art.

If you attempt publishing a children’s books, you need an appreciation for great art and the ability to recognize art that tells a story well. While digital art is often cheaper to acquire, in the hands of a mediocre artist, it has a distinctive look that cheapens a children’s book. Look for great art, whether it’s digital or not. Be prepared to pay a reasonable fee (there’s a balance between paying too little and too much!) for art, and you’ll increase your chances of profitability. Read this for more on contacting an illustrator.

How to Become Profitable With a Children’s Book

There are clear paths to profitability for children’s books, and the Indie Kids Books blog is devoted to discussing options for becoming profitable with children’s books.

Here’s some posts to get you started. For each, there’s a short synopsis and a link to Read More.

What will you publish?

Indie Kids Books
What Will You Publish?
Early on, every indie or self-publisher must answer a crucial question: what's the scope of your publishing program. Will you publish only one book? Will you publish every book you write? Or will you…
Read more
7 years ago

8 Types of Indie-Publishers

Indie Kids Books
8 Types of Indie-Publishers
The number one question people ask—rightly so—is “How do I market my book?” To answer that, we have to start with the foundations of your business. Is your publishing program focused in such a way th…
Read more
2 years ago · 6 likes · Darcy Pattison

Respecting Your Copyright

Indie Kids Books
Respecting Your Copyright
Here’s what I knew about copyright as a traditionally published author: I sold my book to a publisher. I signed a contract that gave them permission to sell my book for the lifetime of the copyright…
Read more
2 years ago · 2 likes · Darcy Pattison

Building a Lucrative Career

Indie Kids Books
Build a Lucrative Career
Indie publishers have taken on the challenge for the purpose of making money. What things can you do to increase your chances of profitability? A couple years ago, Ricci Wolman of Written Word media, …
Read more
2 years ago · 2 likes · Darcy Pattison

A 5-Year Publishing Plan

Indie Kids Books
A 5-Year Publishing Plan
Let’s talk about a reasonable five year plan for your publishing empire! WRITE This may be the shortest recommendation, but it’s the most important! You must write a good book. And do it again. And ag…
Read more
2 years ago · 5 likes · 2 comments · Darcy Pattison

Printing Overseas v POD

Indie Kids Books
Printing Overseas v POD
Should you print your full color picture books overseas or print-on-demand (POD). Let’s take a hard look at numbers. Yes, math. As a small business, you must keep track of your cost-of-goods! In the e…
Read more
2 years ago · 3 likes · 2 comments · Darcy Pattison

Marketing to Schools

Indie Kids Books
Marketing to Schools
Do you want to market your books to schools? It’s a very different market from Amazon.com and educator’s needs are specific. Reviews - A Deliberate Choice First, the school and library market still car…
Read more
2 years ago · 3 likes · 3 comments · Darcy Pattison

Marketing Self Published Children’s Books

Indie Kids Books
Marketing Self Published Children's Books
Marketing. It’s a buzz word; it’s a word that evokes strong emotions, both positive and negative. We all know that publishing a great children’s book is just the beginning of the process of putting ou…
Read more
a year ago · 5 likes · Darcy Pattison

Grassroots Marketing

Indie Kids Books
Grassroots Marketing
Who is the audience for your books? Who should be reading them? Buying them? I often do what I call grassroots marketing, marketing aimed at the audience I think should be reading my books. My stronges…
Read more
10 months ago · 7 likes · 3 comments · Darcy Pattison

Do Children’s Books License Rights?

Indie Kids Books
Do Children's Books License Rights?
I am just back from Licensing Expo 2022, where I walked twelve miles in two days, ate tapas, and marveled at the ingenuity of creatives. The annual convention in Las Vegas is where folks from many di…
Read more
8 months ago · 12 likes · 10 comments · Darcy Pattison

Questions or Comments? Glad to discuss!

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Are Children's Books Profitable?

www.indiekidsbooks.com
2 Comments
Tricia Gardella
Jan 10

As usual, so much to absorb. You always tell it like it is, and I appreciate that, and that you continually point us in learning directions. But one thing I'd like to ask, how much of your income comes from your books? How much comes from your teaching and other creatives? All I want is to at least break even. Something I've noticed is how many authors (not only in childrens books) write how-tos and such if they have had any success and I can't help but wonder if they don't make more here than in their chosen genre? Not for me. I love the picture book. But picture books also seem to be the most expensive genre to produce. I managed to get five books published before the holidays and had big plans for marketing them; a couple books signings, a couple small craft fairs. Then life stepped in. So here I sit wondering if I have missed the boat? Is it ever too late in indie?

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