10 Pitfalls to Avoid When Self-Publishing a Picture Book
As a freelance picture book editor, my inbox is flooded daily with pleas from authors who need to know how to fix a mistake they made without spending a fortune. The truth is, not every mistake is easily fixable. But many of them are avoidable.
Below are the top 10 mistakes I see authors making—and how to avoid them!
1. Not Hiring an Editor (or Hiring an Editor at the Wrong Time)
Picture books are short—usually fewer than 700 words—so it’s easy to see why new authors might believe they don’t need an editor. The reality of the situation, though, is that the slight word count makes hiring an editor even more important.
It’s not uncommon for a manuscript to change dramatically in the editing process. But in order to create the best book possible, those changes need to happen before illustrations begin.
When art is created first, one of two things inevitably happens: new art has to be drawn, at an added expense; or bad plot points stay because they were already illustrated.
Do yourself a favor: edit first, then do everything else!
2. Revising Too Fast
I get queries every day that say, “I had an idea yesterday, so I wrote it down and now I need it edited.” And I have at least three authors a week turn around a revised draft in less than 24 hours.
Writing a first draft quickly is fine, but don’t forget to self-edit. Taking a few days to think through changes will give you the space to decide if your gut reaction is the right one, or whether there may be a better way to solve a problem with your story.
3. Not Researching Trim Size Before Art Begins
Time and again, I have authors coming to me with the same issue: They created their illustrations at a trim size not supported by Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or IngramSpark.
While offset printing allows for a range of book sizes, print on demand can be more limiting. Before getting started on illustrations, give some thought to how you plan to print and research what book sizes are available to you. Knowing this in advance is the best way to avoid the dilemma of resizing finished art.
“Picture books walk a fine line that other books do not: They need to be enjoyable enough that children want to read them again and again while also appealing to the adult buyer.” —Brooke Vitale
Writer’s Digest
4. Not Creating a Book Design Template
It seems obvious that once a manuscript is completed, it’s time to move on to illustrations. But there’s an in-between step that is often overlooked: creating a book design template.
A design template is a rough layout that allows an author to see how their words fit on a page and allows an illustrator to see how much room they have to work with. Once sketches (and later color illustrations) come in, they should be dropped into the template to ensure that art and text fit together properly.
Ideally, a design template should be created by a book designer. If you can’t afford one, create your own template. A design template allows the art to be adjusted and corrected before it’s finalized—avoiding issues down the road.
5. Not Negotiating Properly With an Illustrator
If there’s one thing to know about illustrations, it’s this: Simply hiring an illustrator does not grant an author ownership of the art that is delivered. Without an assignment of copyright, an illustrator still owns their art.
Illustration contracts grant specific usage rights, and they may not cover everything you need. All too often, authors find that while they can print the illustrations they paid for in a book, they don’t have the necessary rights for marketing or merchandising purposes. Going back to an illustrator for additional rights after the art is created becomes very pricy.
In hiring an illustrator, give serious thought to how you may need to use that art down the line. Will you need to make stickers? Posters? T-shirts? Might you need to change the art in some way? Before signing a contract, be sure to iron out the rights being assigned, due dates, the fees to be paid, and what will happen in the event of late delivery or no delivery of the illustrations.
6. Not Understanding the Target Market
Picture books walk a fine line that other books do not: They need to be enjoyable enough that children want to read them again and again while also appealing to the adult buyer. When writing a picture book, start by throwing away the notion that your book will be read by people of all ages. Rarely do 9, 10, or 15-year-olds read picture books on their own. Instead, focus on the target age range: 3–7. And remember that a book for that age needs to speak to what a child of that age understands, which is far less than adults!
7. Not Setting an Appropriate Budget
Self-publishing can be an expensive endeavor, and the costs can add up quickly. Begin the process by determining how much you plan to charge per book. Then do some research into the costs associated with producing a book. Set a realistic budget and a stretch budget and figure out how many books you’ll need to sell just to break even. Is it a reasonable number? If not, decide which costs you can afford to scrimp on and what you can’t!
Pro Tip: Don’t forget to factor in advertising fees and the extra cost of lost or damaged books.
8. Not Creating a Marketing Plan in Advance
In the race to get their books on the shelves, many authors never stop to think about what’s going to happen once a book is published. Finding your place in a crowded market isn’t easy, and it isn’t something that happens after a book is published.
Building buzz and getting people excited about a forthcoming book is the surest way to guarantee sales. So, start your marketing efforts the moment you conceive of a book. Share early pages. Ask opinions. And build a launch team that will read and review the book during its first week!
Pro Tip: Remember, it’s not the job of friends, family, or other authors to support your book. They aren’t the target audience. Find your real book buyers, and keep them engaged even after they’ve purchased your book.
9. Relying Too Heavily on Amazon
Amazon is a great way to sell books, but it’s far from the only way to sell books. As an author, one of the best things you can do is make a connection with your buyer. Instead of focusing solely on Amazon, try exploring other avenues such as local markets, school visits, and creating your own website. And remember: social media is a powerful tool for connecting with—and befriending—like-minded people
10. Hiring a Self-Publishing Company
All too often, I hear stories from authors who paid a company to “publish” their book, only to find that they’ve paid an exorbitant sum for something they could do themselves—and do better. Self-publishing companies make their money by selling their services, not by selling books.
Before hiring anyone, give some thought first to what you can do on your own and what you absolutely don’t have the skills for. Then find partners who can fill in the pieces you truly can’t handle alone.
Remember, an all-in-one solution limits your options. Focus on finding the right partners for each stage of your book, not the partners a company assigns to you. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did when your finished product is exactly what you want it to be!
Picture books are one of the most delightful—and important—genres in all of literature. In this course, you’ll learn how to write a winning picture book narrative, envision it with illustrations, and put together a picture package that a publisher will really notice. Plus, you’ll receive feedback on each assignment from your instructor and have the chance to participate in the peer critique section of the course with other classmates.
Writer’s Digest University