I considered two routes for publishing a children’s book (1) Traditional Publication, and (2) Self Publication. I found each option has benefits and detriments. Neither option is easy, and neither option comes with guaranteed success. Ultimately, I chose to form my own independent publishing company, and publish through Distributor/Printer Ingram Spark for distribution to all major online retailers. The book is also available to brick and mortar stores, though, additional marketing efforts will be needed to convince them to pick up the book to sell on bookshelves.
Whole books are written on this topic. My notes for my own option analysis and procedures for each are listed below. Feel free to reach out if you have more specific questions.
Traditional Publication
Benefits:
Wider audience reach.
The publisher’s expertise in editing, book design, and marketing may increase the likelihood that the book is without error, well designed, attractive, and sells better with customers.
The publisher will take control of the design of the book and cover, invest in the illustrator and designers so you don’t have to learn those skills and/or pay for those services. This also means publishers will often not allow you to use an illustrator you’ve already chosen.
The publisher already has relationships with the printer/distributor of their choice, so you won’t have to research or learn that aspect of the publishing business
The publisher will guide the marketing strategy somewhat, though you will still have to be the boots on the ground for the actual marketing processes.
Easier access to brick and mortar book stores.
You will earn significantly less on each book sold than if you self publish, but you might sell more books.
Detriments:
It will likely take up to two years to take the book from the email inbox of your agent through publication and distribution on the shelves.
You will have less control over the design and illustration.
Many publishers ask you to assign your copyright ownership to them.
You will still be required to do most of the marketing work, but the publisher will pay for more of the advertising, book signing fees in venues, etc.
You will earn significantly less on each book sold than if you self publish, but you might sell more books.
Sometimes, an agent/publisher will enter into a contract with an author to publish the book “at the time and manner chosen by the publisher” and then the book will sit in the pile of things to do for months or years, then never actually get published. You cannot self publish at that point because you sold the rights to do so to the publisher.
Procedures for Breaking In:
(1) Write the manuscript. If you are also the illustrator, illustrate the manuscript. If you are not both the writer and the illustrator, do not bother searching out an illustrator.
(2) Search agency databases by purchasing a current agency listing or search the internet to find agents in your genre whose publication history and style match yours.
(3) Review any information you can find on your targeted agents/agencies to determine exactly what they want from you to consider your work.
(4) Prepare a packet of information that matches exactly what they have requested from you. Usually, it requires a well written cover letter explaining (a) why you chose to target them as a proposed agent; (b) why your book will appeal to them and to the readership market you are targeting; and (c) why you are the author best fitted to write this particular book. You must know and understand your target market, target readers, and the target agent well. They usually want you to Include a copy of your manuscript, and if you are the illustrator, a sample illustration.
(5) Wait for them to call you. Don’t bother them over and over again. This can take months. The only exception to this is if you get an offer from a different agent to represent your book, you will need to reach out to the other agents to whom you submitted your book to either pull the submission back or let them know that you are considering the offer from the other agent and give them a chance to offer representation at a better deal.
(6) If you receive an offer from an agent to represent you, read the contract proposal very carefully and consider hiring an attorney to assist you in ensuring the terms are fair and equitable, and you know what you are getting into. Get a good idea of the timeline the agent expects to peddle your book to publishers and make sure you build in a way to get the rights to your book back if success is not achieved within a reasonable period of time.
(7) Work with the agent in the manner he or she requests to help get your book accepted by and in front of a traditional publisher.
(8) If you receive an offer for publication from a publisher, read the contract proposal carefully and consider hiring an attorney to assist you again. Publishing contracts have numerous pitfalls that can reduce your profit margin, take away your copyrights, and allow the publisher to let your book sit on the shelf waiting for publication.
Self Publication
Benefits:
You are the business owner of this book enterprise. You are not just an author, but a book designer, cover artist, editor, publisher, marketer, etc. unless you decide to hire out these tasks. This means you will have more control over illustration, design, and the timelines for publication.
You will make more profit per book sold.
You will own all copyrights associated with the book (unless the illustrator demands to keep copyrights on the illustrations and you agree to those terms.)
Detriments:
Unless you have the same level of expertise as a traditional publisher, there is the risk that your book will not appear as error free, well designed, and professional as it might look if a traditional publisher guides it to publication.
You will have to plan and execute a serious marketing plan to extend the outreach of the book beyond close family and friends.
All investments in design, editing, printing, and marketing will be out of your pocket, up front.
If you and/or your illustrator do not understand Photoshop and InDesign (or other design software) quite well, you will spend a bunch of time tearing your hair out. (But you can learn anything given enough interest.)
Procedures:
(1) Determine how much of the process you want to handle yourself v. hire someone else to do, including: Illustration, Cover Art Design, Editing, Book Design, and Marketing. Remember, the more you hire out, the higher your upfront costs are going to be. For any of these services, make sure you get written contracts that reflect the agreement between both parties. It is always a good idea to have a lawyer look at your contracts, so you don’t give away more than you intended.
(2) Determine whether you want a printer to Print on Demand or just print in bulk on your request.
(3) There are companies that will help you design cover art, design and lay out the book, edit and market the book - even as a “self published” author. (Blurb, Bookbaby, and Lulu are examples). They will do this work for a large upfront investment on your part (thousands of dollars), and they also take a cut of royalties.
(4) Alternatively, you can go straight to the printer/distributor most traditional publishers and Blurb, BookBaby and Lulu use. Ingram is the printing company most traditional publishers use to print and distribute books. IngramSpark (www.ingramspark.com) is Ingram’s Independent Publisher arm. KDP Select (formerly Create Space) is Amazon’s printing company. KDP has more limited options in formatting, and it will not distribute to other retailers besides Amazon.
(5) Pull whatever information you can get on the printer/distributor’s print and design parameters. Confirm bleed size, gutter requirements, and cover design requirements to make sure your book will fit on the printing equipment reliably and consistently.
(6) Prepare illustrations, edit manuscript, design book, edit design, upload test copies. (If using Ingram Spark, check “not for distribution” during this upload phase so you can get test copies and edit the book without the book being offered to online retailers until you are ready.)
(7) Send test copies to beta readers to get feedback.
(8) Design your marketing plan.
(9) Revise as needed and get the print looking perfect.
(10) Begin pre-marketing your launch plan to create the buzz.
(11) Launch with a pre-order procedure so booksellers can get an idea of demand.