AVOID THESE SPOOKY MISTAKES!

I can't believe children's book publishers they did this.

Boo! Happy Halloween!

As I look over the field of publishing children’s picture books, there are three spooky decisions that scare me.

No Familiarity with Children’s Literature?

You see this all the time: Famous Actor decides to publish a children’s book, based on their (Choose one: PET, CHILD, EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE). They know nothing about children’s literature, just that it’s a book for kids, so how hard can it be?

Actually, it can be quite hard! In less than 500 words, a children’s book requires a full story with a beginning, middle, end and an emotional heart tug. You must introduce a character with a problem, complicate the problem so it seems the character will fail, and somehow resolve it in a surprising, yet emotionally satisfying way. Try it. It’s hard.

Writing a children’s book is easier when you are familiar with the field of children’s books. I often recommend that would-be children’s book authors take the 100 Book Reading Challenge. In a month, read 100 children’s books. Choose books published within the last five years so you’re looking at what’s actually selling right now. If you can’t do this, then perhaps writing a children’s book isn’t for you.

The problem is that you can’t read everything. So, writers have a strategy: use a mentor text, that is a picture book that is similar to what you want to write in some way. Perhaps it has a circular plot structure, or perhaps, it has characters similar to yours. How did the mentor text (the one teaching you something about how to write YOUR story) handle the story element in question?

For example, my new book, FINDING COURAGE, illustrated by Agnieszka Wajda, is about a family who needs courage. Papa falls and breaks his leg. Even after it’s healed, though, he refuses to try to walk again. A neighbor tells Liana that Papa has lost his courage. So she asks neighbors, “What is courage?” The answers are about simple, everyday acts of courage.

“It’s putting sweet and sour together.”

It’s just the simple, everyday courage of trying a new food. Armed with her new ideas about courage, Liana helps Papa walk again. People need everyday types of courage—a kind word here, a slight risk there—so when the big challenges come, you will have big courage.

Click the image for more information on FINDING COURAGE.

My mentor text? Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, by Mem Fox, is about a boy who lives next door to a nursing home. His favorite person there is Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper, who has lost her memories. Wilfrid asks friends, “What is a memory?”

From the collective wisdom, he brings items to Miss Nancy—and she remembers!

The stories both deal with an abstract idea—memory and courage—and follow a character’s journey to understanding that idea.

Even if you don’t have a deep knowledge and experience with children’s literature, you can and should look for a mentor text to help you write a story that will meet the needs and expectations of today’s audience.

Ordering Before You Know Your Audience and How to Reach Them

In a recent Facebook post, one person was excited that their children’s picture book was being printed at overseas printer. “The books arrive in my warehouse in two months,” they said. “So, how do I sell these books?”

What? The person ordered books ($$$$!!!!) without having a clue of their audience and how to sell the books. How many did they order? How did they decide on how much to order?

No. This is out of order. Ridiculous.

Audience Rules

FIRST, who is your audience? The decision to publish a book means you are a business. That means you should know who is likely to purchase your book. Is it parents or teachers? If it’s teachers, does it appeal to the counselor (SEL titles), science specialists (STEM titles), or reading specialist (Easy-to-read or structured reading titles)?

BUT—you say, my book is for kids and the young at heart from 2 to 100.

No. You will fail.

Marketing means you know exactly your best audience and you reach out to them specifically. If it’s librarians, then you would participate in promotions aimed at librarians. You would NOT try for bookstores, parents, or the gift market. Marketing must be focused and disciplined, or it’s just a waste of money.

For example, I know that Mims House Books are for the school and library market. I never participate in promos for bookstores. Never. It’s pointless. That isn’t my market and where I expect the majority of my books to sell. I don’t care about bookstore sales. They are a minuscule part of my income.

How Many Books to Order

I use POD printing because I don’t know how well a title will sell. After 70 books, I still can’t predict sales for a new title. I’ve seen suggestions that a new author order 3000 books because, “I always sell 3000 titles, and besides that, the unit cost is lower and more economical.” The advisor’s advice is worthless because each book is unique, each author is unique. Your business skills may or may not match the advisor’s business skills. You may or may not be able to sell as well as they do.

Ordering 3000 books (or even 500 books) and then asking, “How do I market?” is a recipe for financial disaster.

POD (print on demand) turns the paradigm upside down. Instead of buying first, selling later, POD sells first, prints later. It makes sense for many, if not most, indie publishers. The higher unit costs (depending on the specs, it can be 5X as much) are offset by no shipping fees, no warehousing fees, no pick and pack fees, and so on. The initial investment is minimal, which means you have the possibility of making a profit when you finally find and tap into your best markets.

“Find” your market? Yes. It can take time and testing before you find the best way to sell your books to readers. Amazon’s KDP program is amazing and gives indie publishers access to a wide market. But it’s not the ONLY way to sell books. You can try gift shops, teacher conferences, school visits, reading apps, and many other venues. Try them! FIND your best market.

“My books will be in the warehouse in two months. How do I sell them?”

It makes me want to weep.

Trim Size (And Other Layout Decisions)

Another nightmare situation occurs more than it should. A new publisher will sometimes complain that their book is now fully illustrated and ready for a printer, but—oops!—they just read the specs for POD printers. They didn’t use a standard layout trim size. To print the book with the custom measurements, their only choice is offset printing.

BEFORE you start a project, you must consider where you will print! BEFORE you design a book, you must consider where you will print.

A book that is beautifully designed, but the trim size is 9.75” x 10.5” is a financial liability. You’ll have to decide if you want to offset print, or have the art redone (for a fee!) at a standard size.

Please, if you plan to use a POD printer, check out their standard trim sizes (Ingram, KDP, and Lulu.) For children’s picture books, the standard sizes are 8” x 8”, 8.5” x 8.5”, and 8.5” x 11”; notice that landscape books are not standard (11” x 8.5”). For novels, the standard sizes are 5” x 8”, 5.5” x 8.5”, and 6” x 9”. In other words, an 8.5” x 8.5” picture book is portable; it can be printed at all the reputable POD services OR at any offset printer.

Publishing a children’s picture book? Avoid these three spooky problems! If you have little experience with children’s literature, find and study a mentor text. Think about your best market and plan marketing BEFORE you print. Choose standard trim sizes.

Happy Halloween!