4 Reasons why it would be a Bad Idea for You to Self-Publish Your Children's Book.

 You have written an amazing children's book manuscript. Your friends and family love it, your kids want you to read it every night before bed and you really want to publish it and get it into the world. Traditional publishing sounds way too difficult, you would rather self-publish. But before you do, consider why it might not be such a good idea and why going the traditional route might be a better fit for you.

1.​ You don’t have money to invest 

​When self-publishing, all the initial costs are on you. You need to hire an editor, illustrator and designer. You might have to hire a coach to help you through the process. Not to mention distribution and printing costs, marketing costs, storage costs, website costs, etc.

​There are ways around it though. If you don’t have the money up front to invest, you could run a Kickstarter to raise the funds to cover printing and illustration costs.

Traditional publishers carry all the expenses upfront, but you do not have creative control over what your book will look like at the end of it. ​

2. You want to make quick, easy money

Self-publishing is a labor of love. You can't just set it and forget it. You need to put in a lot of effort and work in order to have a successful book that will make you profit.

​Because of the high initial expenses and the relatively low costs of books, it might take you quite some time to make your money back and start earning profit. That being said, if you are patient, you will get 100% of your profits where traditional publishers will only give you around 20% of the royalties. ​

The success of your book is 50% product quality and 50% marketing. You can have the best children’s book ever, but if no one knows about it, it won’t sell.  ​

3. You don’t want to put yourself out there to market your children's book​

The success of your book is 50% product quality and 50% marketing. You can have the best children’s book ever, but if no one knows about it, it won’t sell.  

You need to be willing to market yourself and put your book out there. You will have to do school visits, book signings, sell your book online and talk about your book everywhere you go. Amazon sells about 60% of all books including more than 1.4 million self-published titles. There is a lot of competition and if you want to be heard you will have to show up and make yourself known.
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When you go with a traditional publisher, they won’t necessarily do the marketing for you, but they will be able to get your book in the bookstores. 

4. You think you can do it all yourself ​

I have seen so many authors make the mistake of thinking they can do it all themselves. They liked to draw when they were a kid so they DIY their illustrations, slap a random font on the cover and call it done. Don’t expect to get amazing sales on Amazon if your book looks unprofessional. If you truly believe in your story, invest in it with time and money!  Don’t rush it and don’t cut corners. The better your cover looks the better it will sell so it is worth it to invest in a good illustrator and graphic designer.

Tips for self-publishing success

• Get professional illustrations and graphic design. This is paramount for creating a book that looks professional and stands out from the crowd of children’s books.
• Hire an editor, and proof readers. Edit, edit, edit. Don’t rush this step! Have your story super polished, you should feel confident putting your work out there. Remember that with picture books, less is more. Let the illustrations describe the details. You do not want embarrassing mistakes in your manuscript. 

• Ask for advice from other self-published authors in the field, join groups and connect with the community for support. 
• Start a mailing list way before you hit publish. The earlier you start with marketing the better. Let everyone in on your journey. Get people on your wait list or launch team so that when you are ready to publish you have raving fans waiting to buy from you. ​

You might like this Free Self-Publishing Action Plan Workbook 

Where can I find professional freelancers to help me make my children's book amazing?

Join the Caterpillar Collective launch team to find amazing children's book illustrators, editors, graphic designers, book trailer creators, etc. When you join the launch team you will get 30 days free to browse the directory of service providers, view their profiles and contact them directly. Caterpillar Collective is launching in February 2023.  Click the sign up button to join the Launch Team

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