Why I decided to self-publish a children’s book – Part 1
Blog post for Going Home Stories blog I WANT YOU TO KNOW. www.goinghomestories.com/blog
As I and the illustrator put finishing touches on the layout of the first book in the eventual I Want You to Know children’s book series, I wanted to take a moment to pontificate on this new journey in self-publishing (a journey that I’m only halfway through, really). There were many factors that factored into my decision to self-publish, but I’ll try to keep the logic brief. My main purpose in adding this post is to give some insight into my decision and make a token small contribution to the wealth of online information that is out there for those self-publishers.
First of all, I did not publish out of a desire to become wealthy. The aforementioned “wealth of online information” repeatedly states how one can err with such an expectation. I decided to write and self-publish the book because I had a specific finished product in mind, and I knew that it would not work to let someone else take over the reins. So why didn’t I (dare I say the V word) vanity publish? Easy. I believed in the marketability of what I was producing and wanted to share it with other parents that could be in a similar situation. That, and in five minutes I read enough of the financial traps and horrors of vanity publishing to hightail it in the other direction.
I’m a bit of a control freak — not horribly so, but enough that I’ve never been good at turning over creative responsibility for a project of mine to anyone, be it a theatrical production, a video production, or, in this case, a children’s picture book. I respect those that have this ability, but the thought of handing over a manuscript to a publishing house and allowing them to choose the illustrator… not something I’m capable of. I’d rather choose the illustrator, fail miserably, and know that it was my fault entirely. Again, I don’t think that I could have taken this approach if profit was a huge motivator.
To elaborate a bit on that point, researching illustrators was a true pleasure. There are so many incredibly gifted people out there, many of whom I had the pleasure to correspond with. In an effort to narrow down my list to a top 5, I did come across a very few that were either too expensive, didn’t find my manuscript a good fit for them, or had no desire to work with a self-publisher — and I don’t blame them one bit for that… they were all gracious in their replies. Nonetheless, this process of searching through the plethora of illustrator databases was time consuming. But as I clicked on the 200+ illustrators’ profiles, I learned that I was actually fine-tuning what my ultimate traits and needs were in an illustrator. It was a wonderfully educational process, and there has not been a day that I have doubted the decision I made in Gwynne.
Furthermore, everything I read or was told led me to believe that getting your manuscript published is a drawn out, laborious process that can take years in some cases. Years?!? Patience is not one of my virtues, as anyone who knows me will confirm. There was no way I was going to spend a year submitting my manuscript to competitions and workshops, beating down the doors of agents and publishers and another who-knows-how-many months waiting for the book to be illustrated and published. That’s IF I could land an agent or publisher. From my early years as a starving waiter — ahem, actor in New York, I pretty much reached my lifetime quota of rejection. But let’s not forget, I wrote this book for my children (presently 4 and almost 2 years old), and it is first and foremost for them. I just happen to believe that many more parents will find it entertaining and useful with their children, too.
Finally, there is the marketing factor. I also found from the research that the author, even if represented and publishing through a big house, will have to shoulder most of the marketing burden, needing to be prepared to spend whatever time and money necessary to do this effectively. And don’t forget, you’ll still only get that 1.5% of sales. My wife used to joke in our early years that I’m a jack of all trades and a master of none. The reasoning behind the remark is that I have always trained myself to do what is required. Whether that be graphic design, web design, writing, video production, carpentry or even marriage and parenthood, I didn’t go to school for any of it. I can spend time and money outsourcing it and hope that my control freak mentality finds the finished product satisfactory (I think this can be applied to everything I listed except marriage) or use the wealth of free and inexpensive information at my fingertips in print and online. The lesson here: don’t sell yourself short. You may not be able to do it all (I couldn’t draw my way out of a cardboard box, and I’m still figuring out this whole social media thing), but don’t be afraid to run full gallop out of the starting gate.
So if you’re a passionate, meticulous, impatient, controlling, self-starter, then self-publishing your children’s book may be for you.
Note that I did not dive into distribution options, e-books, POD or traditional printing. I’m only now ready to send off final artwork. But as I implement my marketing plan and get the books back from the press, I’ll put up an update. In the meantime, here are some resources that I found invaluable, even if I went a different direction from them in some cases:
Children’s Picture Books: How to Self-Publish Your Way to Success by Shari Faden Donahue
Self-Printed: The Sane Person’s Guide to Self-Publishing by Catherine Ryan Howard
Ms. Howard also has an entertaining blog.
Some illustrator databases:
Blog post for Going Home Stories blog I WANT YOU TO KNOW. www.goinghomestories.com/blog
