If God has put a children's book on your heart, that means there is a child who needs to read it. Period!
The reason many don't publish the children's book God gave them is because they believe they can't do it. It has literally never been easier to get a book to market. You are living in the glory days of publishing.
I've self-published children's books and traditionally published and know the publishing industry is not an easy one to break into.
My recommendation is that you self-publish your children's book. You'll get it up and in the world faster and then, if you market it well, will have a track record that you can show publishers in the future.
You can even start your own publishing company.
If that sounds like too much work, there are indie boutiques that publish books from start to finish for you. Companies like Kingdom Copy Publishing help you get your book published so you're not formatting for Amazon and things like that. If you have the money for it, you can save some time and stress.
If you don't, learn how to do it yourself.
The most important thing is that the child who needs the book gets it and God is pleased with your efforts. When that's your focus, everything becomes clear. The stress is taken out of it because it's not about you, it's about the kids who will curl up with your book and making Jesus proud of you.
Ready to begin? Ok!
The key to getting your children's book- or any book-published is breaking down the bigger steps into smaller ones. Don't get intimidated. Most likely, this is the first of many books you'll write. Let the process be fun and it will be.
Here are all the steps required:
Planning your book. What is the main message? Find Bible verses that support the message- they'll light a fire under you and keep you focused. What age group is the audience for your book? Write the book's objective and message down in 1-2 sentences.
Write the book. If it's a picture book for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, it can be written fairly quickly. For older children, you may need to take some time and to plot an outline with an introduction, main problem, climax, resolution. Read similar books to get a sense of tone, appropriate vocabulary for your target age group, and flow. Don't rush it. Remember, this is supposed to be fun.
Decide on visuals. Check out children's books you like. Get inspired. Is your book going to be very colorful or just have a few images here and there? Don't get caught up in how you think it should be but rather think, "Would I buy this book?" Sometimes authors try so hard to be impressive they lose the vision. The goal isn't to copy other books, but to stay true to your book's vision as God gave it to you.
Have someone proofread your text. Hire an editor. You can Google editors or search for one on Fiverr. Fiverr.com is a website with a ton of freelancers. Upwork is also a good website to use. The skill level of editors in the world varies so read your editor's good and bad reviews. I've used these sites many times.
Hire an illustrator. You can hire an illustrator on Fiverr/Upwork as well or search for graphic designers/illustrators in your area. This is where the bulk of your cost will be. If you don't have a budget for illustration though, that's ok. You can use royalty-free stock illustrations for your book. Make sure all the images state they are free to use for commercial use. Do your research. Some sites for this include: FreePik, Pixabay, and Dreamstime. You always want to make sure you have a print, commercial, royalty-free license for your images. Yes, hiring an illustrator is ideal, but if you can't, don't let it halt your project. Find an image set that is visually appealing and consistent. Your illustrator can design your cover or you can make it in Canva.
If you're using Canva or stock image site for images, less is more. You don't need pages full of scenes. It will be harder to stay consistent as you aren't comissioning art. Use images sparingly. It can get ugly fast if you crowd the page with stock art.
Format your book for Amazon's Print-on-Demand platform or hire someone on Fiverr/Upwork to do it. Search "Format KDP book."
Upload your book to Amazon KDP or hire someone to do it for you.
Your children's book is done.
Make a calendar and a plot out which steps you'd like to take over a couple of months. If you take one small action every day, your book will be up before you know it. In a future post I'll cover marketing, but for now, know that your personal circle is where you will start when it comes to talking about your book.
If you're excited about your book and the vision God gave you, there's no reason not to tell the people closest to you about it once it's done. Don't be shy. Too many authors write books, tell people about it for a week and then crickets.
Some writers get resentful when their friends and family don't buy 100 copies of their book. They stop writing or marketing. Your friends and family owe you nothing. God didn't give them a vision for the book, He gave it to you. This isn't a group project. Yes, sometimes the people closest to you can be silent haters or jealous, but keep going. Imagine if the Apostle Paul had let his crusty haters stop him.
Sometimes friends or familly don't support for other reasons. Sometimes people don't have money to buy your book or it doesn't speak to them. Just keep going.
Market your book. Post about it once a week or more if you're up for it. Buy some ad space. Collab with other writers. Don't be scared. Do it for Jesus.
At the same time, start thinking about and planning your next book. That's what authors do and you're an author.
Notes:
-You'll need an ISBN, a permanent number attached to your book. Amazon can assign you one for free, but if you're publishing under your own publishing company, I suggest getting them from Bowker so that you own it for life.
-You'll want to decide what size your book will be. This is called the "trim size." Children's book author and editor Brooke Vitale has broken that down very well here: Choose Your Children's Book Size
Don't make your book super huge for no reason. Go to a library or bookstore and hold some books. Pray and ask God about every step of your book's process- including how big it should be. Is this a book for a diaper bag? A backpack? A children's hands? How big are similar books?
-Book Covers: Make it good. Use a Canva template or hire someone. Christian things don't have to be crappy, ok? If you hire someone and it's not good, tell them. Then if they can't fix it, move on and hire someone else. Put the effort you'd put into your child's birthday party. God knows about your budget, but the Holy Spirit can guide you. This is a Kingdom book and should look like it. Simple, minimalist covers can be created for the price of a Canva pro account.
Writing and publishing your children's book is something you can do. Don't make it difficult in your mind. Little steps every day are how you'll get it done and have fun with it. Children's books are a delight. Imagine the children who will be edified, encouraged, and loved by you and Jesus through the pages of your book.
Books made a huge impression on me as a child. You never know how many little hearts you're going to touch. Keep moving forward. You got this. I believe in you.
love, Bunmi
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