Ten Things to Consider Before Self-Publishing a Children's Book

The indie/self-publishing industry is booming, and I believe it's a viable alternative to traditional publishing for author entrepreneurs who believe they can connect with their readers online. In 2011, I became excited about this fresh frontier and I self-published a middle-grade novel titled THE PET WASHER.

I learned A LOT about publishing with this book, and also about interior formatting, cover design, marketing, editing, and Amazon sales rankings (which are as addictive as CRACK and just as bad for you). I shared what I learned on my website, and I watched several indie YA and Adult authors shoot onto the bestseller lists, namely Rebecca Donovan and Rachel Abbott, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing early in their careers. But the most important lesson I learned is not to self-publish children's books!

This applies to the solo/debut indie experience, not to writers who already have a readership, or who partner with hybrid publishers. 

Here are ten things to consider before self-publishing a children's book:

1. GATEKEEPERS: "After-market" gatekeepers for children's books are more difficult to win over than "before-market" gatekeepers. If you have a solid story with likable characters, your chances of landing an agent and a publishing contract are better than getting into libraries, bookstores, or schools with a self-published children's book. 
2. READERSHIP: If you write for teens or adults, you have a chance of finding your readers online and selling ebooks. If you write for children under the age of 13, you won't discover a signficant readership online. Overall, young kids don't have the freedom or buying power to search online for new books. This readership can be maintained online, since plenty of kids are allowed to visit sites of books they've already heard about, but they are coming to you. 
3. PARENTS: You may try to reach out to parents online, but parents also count as "after-market" gatekeepers. Most buy what their kids ask them to buy, or what is popular, or what has been recommended through word of mouth. Without an endorsement from a source they trust, a lot of parents won't hand a book to their youngster that is completely unknown to them.
4. REVIEWS: I speak at schools often, and I always poll the kids on what they're reading. Without fail, 90% of them are all reading the same books, and all of them are popular, traditionally published books being promoted to kids by librarians, bookstores, and teachers. Why are these the chosen books? Because they have been vetted by The School Library Journal, Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly etc, and/or they have won a major award. 
5. PAID REVIEWS: The catch 22 is that the above referenced publications don't accept self-published books for free reviews, but free reviews are the only ones that matter. Librarians have told me point blank that they don't consider paid reviews valid, even if they're from Publishers Weekly. 
6. COMPETITION: Why do reviews matter? Because there are more books published each season than libraries and bookstores can hold on their shelves. They don't have time to read them all, so they rely on the opinions of professional reviewers. We don't have to like it, but we have to understand it. No teacher, librarian, or bookstore owner wants to sell/lend a book to a minor without some reassurances from outside sources.
7. BOOKSTORES: I approached some stores about carrying my paperback, and  quickly learned why they won't do it. My book, and almost all indie books, are POD (print-on-demand), and bookstores won't stock POD books unless they are hugely popular. Why? Because they aren't returnable. Did you know that with traditionally published books, stores have 90 days to return the unsold/returned stock for a full refund? So why should owners risk their dollars on nonreturnable indie products by unknown authors when they can buy Rick Riordan or Veronica Roth at no risk? This is why indie authors who make it big with online sales usually partner with a publisher for their print sales.
8. EVENTS/SIGNINGS: So how do you reach your readers if you self-publish children's books? You hit the road. The small successes I've had with THE PET WASHER are all due to my personal appearances at local schools where I have contacts. From there, I built a reputation as a speaker and ventured into more schools. I also outreached to middle-grade bloggers. But the scale of outreach within driving distance of my home is nothing in comparison to what a traditional publisher can do for me. And while I hand-sold a lot of paperbacks at my personal appearances, my efforts didn't have a significant impact on my online sales to children. 
9. WORKLOAD: I spent more time creating, maintaining, and marketing THE PET WASHER than I did writing it. With my traditional publisher, my only job is to write the books. They do everything else. Do I help promote--absolutely! The one thing my publisher can't provide is a clone of me to show up at events and sign books. But my publisher is planning national events, whereas I've only been able to organize local events. I work harder on my writing now, but not as hard on book design, production, and event planning--and for that I'm grateful!
10. EXPENSES: For my self-published book, I hired an editor. He did a great job checking my grammar and spelling, but I couldn't afford a content edit. With a traditional publisher, you don't have to worry about what you can or can't afford. You don't have to sacrifice quality, skip steps, or invest your valuable grocery money on your book. A traditional publisher's profits are tied to yours, and they are motivated to create a great product and sell books. I trust my publisher completely in this area. It's a partnership, and I love it. 

But don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the community and the creativity of the indie experience, and everything it taught me is useful to my career as an author. Still, when I went on to write another book called STARFIRE, I chose to query it to agents instead of self-publishing it. I really wanted to break through to my young readers this time, and to do that, I knew I needed the clout, budget, and distribution channels of a traditional publisher. I believe from experience that this is the best way to break into the children's market today given the current conditions and limitations.  

If you have written a children's book, I encourage you to funnel your creative brainpower into breaking in with agents. Writers are born marketers. Our skill is to turn a phrase and draw emotion from our readers. You can use that gift on agents, in fact, they want you to! Write a query letter that makes them care about your characters and makes them want to know what happens next, and you will get a phone call. 

That's what I did. I queried an agent who had previously rejected me on a different project. She loved STARFIRE and signed me immediately (proof that agents reject books, not people!) Soon my book was on submission to editors and STARFIRE went to auction. HarperCollins pre-empted the auction with an offer for four books, turning STARFIRE into The Guardian Herd series! I happily accepted. 

As the release day for STARFIRE approaches, bookstores and libraries are already placing orders. Since I broke through the "before-market" gatekeepers, I don't have to worry as much about the "after-market" gatekeepers. I'm thrilled for the next adventure--developing a readership--because at the end of the day, that's all I've ever wanted.

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What do you think? Have you had a different experience? I'd love to hear your thoughts/comments below. 

by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, author of The Pet Washer series and The Guardian Herd series. Books for young readers.