Let's Make Kids' Books - Children's Book Publishing Show

My guest this week is Catherine Driscoll, self-published author of the hit book “The Town Turkey.” Catherine wrote it based on a funny event that happened in her town, and ended up turning the idea into a very successful first book! In this interview she shares how she came up with the idea, what led her to self-publish and self-print (rather than using a print on demand service like CreateSpace), how she launched and marketed the book, and much more!

You’ll hear:

• What gave her the idea for the book in the first place
• Why she chose self-publishing over going traditional
• How and why she contracted with a printer, instead of going print on demand
• Her exact marketing strategy, which includes tons of ideas and techniques you can use too
• How she leveraged the local angle to sell more books and build her fan base
• Her brilliant tips for getting the most out of school visits and readings
• And much more!

Catherine is a very smart marketer and promoter, and the advice she shares in this episode will be a big help to you if you’re struggling to put together a marketing and launch plan for your books! Be sure to check it out and leave a comment below or a review on iTunes.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Town Turkey – The official site for Catherine’s book
• Ingram Spark
• Bookmasters
• Red Communications – Catherine’s marketing and communications company

Keep Listening:

• Subscribe on iTunes – Please leave a review if you enjoy the show! It just takes a second and really helps get the word out.
• Check out more episodes
• Subscribe to Let’s Make Kids’ Books – Get emailed whenever I release new episodes or blog posts, and get my free “6 Steps to Self-Publishing a Children’s Book” checklist!

It’s the dream of every children’s author to see their book in print and actually hold a copy in their hands. I can’t tell you how exciting and satisfying it was for me when I got the first printed copy of one of my books in the mail and showed it to my kids. They squealed, “That’s you!” when I read them my name on the cover, and I nearly died from an overload of pride

In this episode of the Let’s Make Kids’ Books podcast, I talk all about using Amazon’s fantastic CreateSpace service to print and distribute your books. “Print on Demand” services have become a great tool for self-published children’s authors, because they allow you to offer print versions of your books without any overhead or inventory. I share why I ended up choosing CreateSpace over other printing options, and share a ton of information about using CreateSpace for your own books.

In this week’s show, you’ll learn:

• Why print on demand is important
• Why I chose Amazon’s CreateSpace program over other printing options
• A cool “trick” Amazon does that encourages sales of your books
• The “cons” to working with CreateSpace so you can decide if it’s right for you
• What you need to think about when creating your book and getting it ready for print
• What’s different from publishing ebooks
• How much it really costs to do CreateSpace printing, how pricing works, and how much you should charge
• What tools to use to get your book ready for CreateSpace
• The minimum length your book has to be to be printed
• The exact steps and options to take to publish your book
• Amazon’s Expanded Distribution Channels, and whether to use them
• And much more!

If you’ve always dreamed of having your own printed children’s books to share with family and friends, sell to fans and readers, and gaze proudly at on your bookshelf like I often do, this is the episode for you!

Mentioned in this episode:

• CreateSpace book size options
• My Book Cover Example – This is the exact cover size you’ll need for a 8.5′′ x 8.5′′ print book of 24-25 pages. On the image you’ll see a thin black vertical line near the middle. This shows where the actual square cover ends, with everything to the left being the spine and back of the book. Note that I don’t actually include this line on my cover- it’s just there as a visual guide for you!
• Sign up for the CreateSpace program

Keep Listening:

• Subscribe on iTunes – Please leave a review if you enjoy the show! It just takes a second and really helps get the word out.
• Check out more episodes

Want to self-publish your children’s book but feeling lost or stuck? Want to shortcut the learning process and get your book done quickly and easily? Check out my training course 6 Weeks to Your First Children’s Book. It’s “Pay What You Like” (really!) for a limited time! Check it out here.

Today I’m really proud and excited to introduce you to my new Let’s Make Kids’ Books podcast. I’ve been podcasting for years, and knew when I started this site that I wanted to create a podcast on the topic of writing, publishing, and selling children’s books.

For the past couple of months I’ve been recording episodes for you, ranging from solo shows where I cover one specific topic or strategy, to interviews with other amazing authors and illustrators, getting them to share what they’ve learned from their own careers and sharing their best tips for creating books and selling as many copies as possible.

My goal with doing a podcast is to give you an easy way to learn more about creating children’s books when you’re on the go. For years I had a 90 minute commute each day, and podcasts were my favorite way to pass the time. Instead of listening to the same songs over and over, hearing all of the bad news in the world, or listening to talking heads blather on about politics or sports, I spent that time learning about marketing, business, and personal development. I gained so much incredible knowledge from the podcasts I listened to, and I hope that Let’s Make Kids’ Books does the same for you!

In the future I plan to add even more kinds of episodes, including Q&A shows where you send in questions and I answer them, or multi-part series on a big topic like marketing. If there’s anything in particular you’d like me to cover in an episode or a question you want answered, please leave it in the comments below or send it to me using the Contact page above!

I’ll be releasing several episodes right off the bat so you have more than one show to listen to, so please Subscribe on iTunes so you don’t miss any! New shows will be coming out regularly. If you enjoy the show, I have a big favor to ask: please leave a review on iTunes. It really helps get the word out about the show, which lets me help more people like you. Thanks for listening, and enjoy the show!

Keep Listening:

• Subscribe on iTunes – Please leave a review if you enjoy the show! It just takes a second and really helps get the word out.
• Check out more episodes

I’m back with a fun new episode for you this week. I recently interviewed a really fun couple named Rosemary Rivera & Mario Menjivar, who are a husband and wife team who create and self-publish children’s books! Rosemary is the author and marketing/PR person, and Mario is a former Disney animator who made the transition to illustrating his own books instead. They’ve released one book so far, called The Girl Who Couldn’t Draw, and are hard at work on their next book.

I sat down with them to talk about how they got started creating and publishing books, why they chose to self-publish, how they work together as a team (without getting divorced!), and much more.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why they switched from their original idea of animated shorts to a children’s book
• Why they decided to self-publish instead of pursuing traditional publishers or TV studios
• Their advice for other aspiring authors who are afraid of the technology and tools required for self-publishing
• What they learned from their first book that they’re doing differently with their second book
• Where to focus your marketing and promotional time, and how to avoid wasting lots of time
• How marketing and PR play a key role in your book’s success
• How their process works as a husband and wife team
• Their goals for the future, and how they’re getting there
• And much more!

More from Rosemary & Mario:

• Moonbearcc.com – The home of Rosemary & Mario’s books
• The Girl Who Couldn’t Draw – Their first children’s book
• StoryCub – Recommended by Rosemary & Mario as a great promotional tool for your book!

Keep Listening:

• Subscribe on iTunes – Please leave a review if you enjoy the show! It just takes a second and really helps get the word out.
• Check out more episodes
• Subscribe to Let’s Make Kids’ Books – Get emailed whenever I release new episodes or blog posts, and get my free “6 Steps to Self-Publishing a Children’s Book” checklist!

This week my guest is Carol Ekster, who taught children for 35 years before retiring in 2009 and devoting herself full-time to writing children’s books. She has written around 50(!) books so far, and has 3 books published through traditional publishing, including Ruth the Sleuth and the Messy Room and Where Am I Sleeping Tonight?, a book that tackles the tough topic of divorce.

In this episode, Carol shares her story, along with some of her best tips for marketing yourself as an author. You’ll learn:

• How Carol got started writing, and how she was able to get published within a couple of years of starting
• Why children’s authors need nerve
• How Carol uses social media effectively- including Pinterest!
• Why it’s so important to get out into the community to get the word out about your books
• How to do Skype classroom visits to share your work with kids
• How to find out what agents are looking for from children’s authors
• And much more!

Although Carol comes from the traditional publishing world and doesn’t participate in self-publishing like I do, there’s a lot of useful info in this episode on promoting yourself as an author, and how to keep hustling and writing new books! Don’t miss it.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Carol’s website, with info about her books and more
• 2014 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market book
• The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published
• Carol on Twitter

Keep Listening:

• Subscribe on iTunes – Please leave a review if you enjoy the show! It just takes a second and really helps get the word out.
• Check out more episodes
• Subscribe to Let’s Make Kids’ Books – Get emailed whenever I release new episodes or blog posts, and get my free “6 Steps to Self-Publishing a Children’s Book” checklist!