The Four P's of Picture Books

If I could sum up the whole children’s book process and what’s absolutely necessary to make it happen, I think I could in just 4 words.

Publicity, Production, Pictures, and Pricing.

Turn your idea into a book now: SERVICES

Publicity. While you’re working though your drafts and making the decision to make a new book, you need to drive your audience. Talk about it, write about it, post on social media platforms about it. The publicity starts very early on, the earlier the better. Consistently keep your audience up to date as you make progress and what your dreams are for this book. Let them know what is going on behind the scenes. Tell them about yourself and why you’re doing this. Share what inspires you while writing. Publicity is essential for success. I cannot stress this enough. Make a marketing plan. Capture people’s attention so that when your book comes out lots of people are ready and pumped up for it. Get a marketing professional to help you! This is an amazing investment and will pay off when you do it right.

Production. This is a big one to discuss. Figuring out how you’re going to market your book will influence how you want to print it and how much you want to invest in the book itself. Print costs vary wildly depending on how many copies you print, how many pages your book is, whether you’re printing a hardcover or softcover book, and how you plan on selling and distributing your book. Do you want to have a hands off approach and just sell through a distributor? Do you want to push sales on the fly and have copies on hand to offer? Are you going to invest in a non profit and need extra copies to deliver to them?

There are so many ways to spread your story around, it’s not just a linear approach to list it on Amazon and watch it take off. It just doesn’t work like that. People have invested in websites, storage space for physical copies, time off and trips out of state to spread the news and share their book to a larger audience. The ideas are endless on how you’re going to sell your book, so it’s good to know these things as you navigate how to print and produce your book.

What size and colors will your book have? Who’s going to get it to the printer? Are you savvy enough to design it and create print files? It’s okay if you’re not, there are lots of professionals out there with lots of experience (like me!). I can handle all the details of what ever format you want your book and whatever printer you’re looking to work with to help reduce the stress and the information dump required for this essential step.

Pictures. This one can feel the most straight forward of the list. A children’s picture books needs pictures. How many, and how big do you want them? Are they full page illustrations, are there small highlight drawings (we call these spot illustrations)? Are they bright and high contrast, or softer and more gentle colors? Is it every page, or only a few to mix up the blocks of text? This all generally depends on your age group and audience. It can also blow up your budget, but is as critical as the words you put into the book. These are important decisions, and again, I’m happy to help you navigate these questions. It’s a lot to apply and trusting someone professional with experience can make a good book great.

And finally, but not any less important, is pricing. Be honest with yourself in this step. You’re going to have to invest in your book if you want it to succeed. You’ll need an editor, illustrator/designer, printer, and lots of time to write, edit, and publish your book. Along with the marketing and traveling to locations to share your book! So consider the value of your book and what you’re looking to invest in your book. The beauty of publishing is that it is a lifetime investment. Once you’ve paid upfront costs, and sorted through your plans to sell the book, you have the rest of your life to sell book copies and get your story out there. Even if it doesn’t take off running the week you publish, you can continue to share and publish content about it and reach new readers.

Feel like a lot? It is! It’s another full time investment. But it’s such a beauty experience and your voice matters to the universe! I have had many authors in tears of joy when they see their book in their hands for the first time, and it is what drives me to do this every day. It’s an absolute joy to work with you and help your voice be heard. You can change a life with your message and words.