How Do I Get A Childrens Book Published

By Cecile Ingram


Writing for children is extremely fun, creative and rewarding. Seeing ideas, characters and stories come to life in living color is energizing and inspiring. While the book may be the next best seller the question for many authors is how to market and publish their work. It can become a daunting and overwhelming process for those not yet familiar with publishing. Many may ask how do I get a childrens book published?

Research is key to understanding how the traditional publishing world works. In the past authors submitted their work to publishing houses who rejected or accepted their work. If they were rejected the only option was to continue to offer the work to other publishers.

Today the publishing market has changed. This is due mainly to the added reluctance of publishing houses to take chances on unknown authors, along with the rapid pace of change within the electronic publishing industry. Many children's authors have simply decided to publish their own works, using the many opportunities available to them through online book sellers. The Internet now offers access to a mass market of readers.

With electronic technical readers now available through book sellers, it brings the convenience of electronically paying, downloading, and reading all in one place. Once the readers, books and payment system was available through booksellers, it created a boom in the self publishing industry. As the electronic audience has grown, so have marketing and communication outlets for author and reader communication.

The added benefit to electronic publishing is the intimate type of connection authors can develop with readers. Readers leave reviews, and authors can personally answer their reviews in a way not previously possible. Traditionally, book signings, events and special appearances were the closest thing to this.

Social networking and Internet fan clubs, as well as self publishing options through online booksellers have also offered the opportunity for authors to sell and connect with their readers. In an instant, authors are able to benefit from reader feedback on author pages that can be connected to personal cell phones, or other methods of tracking marketing campaigns. They are also able to plan events, book release parties, and connect with other authors.

They can plan marketing campaigns that include sales, special giveaways, contests, trivia questions about their books, or other fun reader activities. Social networking and the Internet also opens doors of opportunity to connect with other industry writers, and offers the ability to network, and share experiences. Some self publishing authors go on to publish their work through traditional publishers and become so successful at self publishing they simply continue this avenue of publishing.

In the past self publishing authors were restricted into print agreements, wherein a certain number of books were printed, and authors marketed and promoted them to physical bookstores on their own. This is no longer of the same importance as in the past. Print on demand only prints the amount of books sold through online booksellers, and then makes them available for shipping. Self publishing now is a viable option for publishing, reduces the question how do I get a childrens book published, and allows authors the ability for sources of unlimited success.




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