I think some of the best nonfiction how-to books available today are self-published. How to Self-Publish and Market a Children’s Book: The key steps to self-publishing in print and as an eBook and how to get your story into young readers’ hands by Karen P. Inglis is one of them.

But don’t let the title fool you.

The first half of this book walks you through every step required for quality self-publishing, but the second half is packed with marketing advice that traditionally published authors need, too.

Inglis, a successful British self-published children’s book author, generously shares what she’s learned while writing, publishing, and marketing books that enjoy international recognition and sales.

Use this as your children’s book-publishing Bible

In 30 chapters and nearly 300 pages, Inglis takes on everything from selecting the best self-publishing option for your book to getting early feedback from young readers and how your target audience isn’t quite who you think it is.

While reading How to Self-Publish and Market a Children’s Book, I found myself either nodding my head in agreement, writing down a gem I wanted to flag for you, or thinking, “That’s a genius idea!”

For example, Inglis recommends that authors with several books create a free e-book with the first chapter from each of the books. Include a link to each book’s sales page, as she has done in Story Stack, her version of this strategy. (This will work for any book genre or category.)

Here’s another gem: You might already know that scheduling school visits near where you live is a smart move. But how about where you grew up? Wouldn’t you enjoy sharing your children’s book with students in the community you lived in when you were their age? School librarians and teachers will enjoy that, too.

What, exactly, will you learn?

I can’t think of a single subject Inglis has left out of this helpful resource. Topics covered that are unique to children’s book authors include:

• The true target audience for children’s books
• How to find beta readers, what to ask of them, and how to work with them
• Why you must create a book mock-up before you publish and how to do it
• Finding, working with, and compensating illustrators
• Lead magnet ideas for building an email list
• Content that children’s book authors need on their websites that other authors don’t need
• How to schedule and handle school visits*
• Publicity angles that have worked for her that will help you think through what will work for you
• The best social media networks for children’s book authors
• 21 social media content ideas unique to you and your books
• A killer tip for your Pinterest boards
• The best places for finding reviewers
• The good, the bad, and the ugly of online advertising for these books

It includes self-publishing information all types of authors need, as well. These topics range from the importance of quality to how to decide if you should enroll your book in Amazon’s KDP Select program.

As Inglis writes, “Serious children’s self-publishers follow the same steps as traditional publishers in making sure that their stories are engaging and relevant for their target readers, well-written and use appropriate language.”

I’m giving it 5 stars

Each reader brings their own questions and knowledge level to a how-to book. I’m confident that no matter where you are in the publishing or marketing process, you’ll benefit from reading this book.

How to Self-Publish and Market a Children’s Book is a comprehensive, easy-to-read guide that’s loaded with specifics wrapped in wisdom.

I can’t imagine any beginning, intermediate, or veteran children’s book author reading this and not discovering something new and helpful.

Or being disappointed.

*For an in-depth look at school visits, read “Book review: Sell Books and Get Paid Doing Author School Visits” on this site. 

Got a question for author Karen Inglis? Ask it here and I’ll invite her to respond in the comments. 

Vivian Kirkfield is my poster child for what’s possible for self-published authors. In 2010, she self-published an award-winning parent-teacher resource book, Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking; in 2016, she signed a contract with a traditional publisher for her first children’s picture book. That didn’t just “happen.” Vivian worked hard to make it happen. She is passionate about helping kids become lovers of books and reading and hopes that the stories she writes will have kids saying to their parents, “Read this one again, please!” Learn more about Vivian on her blog, Picture Books Help Kids Soar; follow her on Twitter, and connect with her on Facebook.

4 children’s book author blogging ideas

By Vivian Kirkfield

At the end of 2010, I jumped into blogging. I had just published a resource guide for parents and teachers. And I planned to write picture books for children.

I figured I should start a blog, but I knew nothing about blogging. Fortunately, I took Sandra Beckwith’s Book Marketing 101 for Nonfiction: How to Build Book Buzz e-course and I learned a lot. Sandy and the other experts I spoke to had the same advice: Blogging is a great way to connect with your audience.

But who would that audience be?

• Blogging as a children’s writer, you want to appeal to parents, teachers, and librarians . . . if you write for older kids, you might want to think about connecting with them . . . for younger kids, you can provide activities or printables (like coloring pages) that parents can download.
• You also want to connect with other writers. Writing is a solitary occupation and blogging can offer a writer the support and encouragement of a community of like-minded people.

So knowing this, what should you blog about? Here are four children’s book author blogging ideas:

1. Book reviews

Depending on the genre you write, review a book on a regular basis. Your recommendation will help parents, teachers and librarians. And reading books in your genre will help you become a better writer.

Some bloggers organize blog hops with link ups that help them connect with other bloggers while they gain new visitors to their blog. What type of blog hop would be fun for you to do?

2. Author/illustrator interviews

Who doesn’t want to get a peek inside the life of a favorite author or illustrator?

Parents, teachers, librarians, as well as fellow writers, will appreciate finding out how an author or illustrator went from idea to published book. I’ve had a series called “Will Write for Cookies” for the past several years. I reach out to friends who are published authors or illustrators.

I also connect with authors of books I love and authors I meet at conferences. I develop a relationship by leaving comments on their blog or Facebook page.

You’d be surprised at how happy authors are to appear in an interview on your blog—it’s a win-win situation because they are getting some exposure for their books.

What spin could you put on a series?

3. Writing prompts, contests, and challenges

If you are looking to connect with other writers, most of them can’t resist a writing challenge or a contest.

Several writers I know run challenges that grew out of their own needs. One writer wanted to generate more story ideas so about eight years ago, she organized Picture Book Idea Month. PiBoIdMo encourages writers to come up with a story idea (or title or character name) every day in the month of November.

Each day, she has incredible authors, illustrators, agents, and editors who write a guest post with inspiring thoughts and great writing tips. And at the end of the month, she awards prizes.

Another friend did that challenge and wanted a way to motivate herself to turn those ideas into stories. So she organized her own challenge to encourage writers to write a picture book draft every month. She started it in 2012 and called it 12×12 and now she has hundreds and hundreds of followers who register every year to participate.

What challenge could you start?

4. Book content and teasers

Most picture book writers I know don’t post their stories on their blogs because of intellectual property issues. But if you have a book coming out, you might want to post a trailer for it.

If you connect with other bloggers, you might arrange a virtual book tour, where other bloggers showcase you and your book or where you host them on your site. This helps widen your audience.

If you are a nonfiction writer, you could write about the topic of your latest story. This would appeal to other writers as well as parents and teachers. My debut picture book is about a former slave who received the first U.S. patent awarded to a black woman.

I plan to highlight an invention every month that would appeal to kids—Silly Putty, Slinky, Playdoh—the stories behind these inventions are fascinating and would appeal to parents and teachers as well.

What content are you comfortable writing about?

I think children’s writers make the best bloggers. Just keep your content fresh. Leave comments on other blogs. And most important of all, have fun.

What do you blog about on your site?