Just finished a children's book (last revision now done). Was considering shopping it around to agents, or to a publisher and then an agent for publishers that take submissions directly, but then I thought I'd just make it available for Kindle and other eBook platforms. I'm more curious than anything how such a thing would play out. Getting ready to do the Kindle formatting. Any suggestions, pitfalls to watch for, etc?
It is a chapter book and will not have illustrations. Looking at books for similar-aged children, some of them have a few illustrations scattered throughout, though not all that many. I suppose I could hire someone to do some illustrations for me and include them in the eBook editions, but I don't know whether having them or not has an effect on the market. Do you think a lack of them will hurt the book? If I went with a traditional publisher, I expect that they would include illustrations, though again probably not many.
Have you looked much into self-publishing? I hear you make a lot more per sale, but you make so few sales it's usually worth first trying to get an agent/publisher. Unless you are a genius advertiser like Ashley Weis. And yes, if you went through a publisher they would most likely find you an illustrator.
Your posting made me remember something I saw on an ebook review blog. An ebook writer with her book available for kindle had prolems with spelling and grammar. An ebook reviewer called her on it, and it spawned a storm between the two of them. That's one thing you'll definitely want to avoid. My suggestion is to get it edited before you publish it. Annoying little problems like grammar and spelling plague independent ebooks. Having errors like those in a published ebook lessens your credibility and may affect your sales.
Thanks guys. Jess, I have had a couple people look at it just to make sure I didn't miss anything, but I'm a freelance editor and have been on the editorial staff of a couple publications in the past so hopefully I've got that covered fairly well. But a fresh set of eyes always catches something the writer did not!
Whatever you do, don't just plop it up on Kindle without a platform or a marketing strategy. Do your research. Work with social media to develop a platform and don't just tell people about the book and expect them to be interested. Give away some stuff for free to prove that it's a worthwhile product. Get good cover art and think about the proper price point.
I'm not clued up on this kindle/ebook thing. Is it not possible to do both, publish the traditional way and on kindle?
If you go through a traditional publisher they will often publish both ways or epub. Placing it on Kindle yourself is selfpublishing.
what age range are you targeting?... will kids that age be interested in a book with no illustrations?
Check out Back My Book, and NovelR, both of those help authors with publishing to e-books/the Kindle.
A concern I would have is the age group, and how many of them will have their own Kindles, or have parents who will be lending (sharing) their Kindles to use/read on. Yes, there are other ways to get Kindle besides the Kindle Reader. Just thinking that if kids are not granted/don't have access (or regular access), the chance of sales would be less. And it sounds like it's targeted to older children than what a parent would read to a child. Really, YA isn't my thing so I don't know, but something maybe to explore before publishing that way.
Lol I've done that a couple of times. And I like to comment on comments that are clearly posted by a paid reviewer or the "publisher." I've made a fair number of people mad and hope that I've saved a few others from reading books that aren't even worth the dollar. Steerpike, unless there's some desperate need to have an e-copy of your book now, I'd suggest querying a few agents. Even if you don't want to sign with any of them, you'll get an idea if people who make their living doing this think your book is ready for the market.
I remember reading that too, if it was the same person. That was the best example I've seen of a person not able to take critiques in a good way. How can people even consider publishing their work if they can't take a bad review without starting to throw insults at everyone?? scary.
Thanks for the additional advice. It is appreciated. The editing is complete and it is ready for the market, but I'm still looking into issues regarding correct Kindle formatting, marketing of the book, etc.
