Wednesday, February 03, 2016

Marketing Your Self-published Children's Book

Award winning children's book
I can't believe it's been 10 years since I've been writing and illustrating children's books. It started with a simple idea where I drew up kid-friendly colorful characters that lived in the rainbow and called them Splatter and Friends. Years later, I had another inspirational children's book idea  Wunderkind Family children's chapter book collection. My end all goal for these books was to inspire kids to read and imagine and to teach them about themselves.

I've made mistakes along the way, such as rushing to publish a book before investing in professional editing and then having to redo the entire book again. I also discovered there are easier ways in illustrating a book such as using a Wacom drawing tablet. And I continue to find new ways in marketing my World-wide children's book brands.

Self-publishing is growing. It's not an easy journey making it into a lucrative career, but it is possible.

How to market your self-published children's book
  • Use social media to spread the word. The tools that have worked well for me are:
  • Children's chapter book mystery
  • Get book reviews and have them not only post a review on their blog, but also on Amazon and Goodreads
  • Start locally by holding local author events and writing workshops. Contact your local newspaper and ask them to do a write-up about your event
  • Get your children's self-published books on consignment in local bricks and mortar books stores
  • Get your children's story in the hands of teachers, librarians, parents, grandparents, relatives and kids by giving them away 
  • Offer giveaways and deals, especially around the holidays
  • Become a member of SCBWI and participate in their workshops
  • Network on Goodreads and ask people to review your book
  • Create an author page on Amazon.
  • Become a member of Linkedin writing and self-publishing groups
  • Market your book on Net Galley for additional reviews
  • Submit your children's book for awards
Children's book and angels
Creating brand awareness for your children's book is an investment of time and money. Most likely it won't happen overnight. It's truly a journey.

I hope you'll share other ideas! And please check out my books on www.melissaproductions.com!