Step by step guide to self publishing with Ingram Spark - Uploading your files

This blog is the second part of a two part blog. If you would like to follow from the beginning, you can read part one here; Preparing your Ingram Spark account

In this blog post, I will go through a step by step process to preparing your files and uploading them to Ingram Spark's website ready to publish and distribute.

Before you can upload your files, you need to make sure that they are formatted correctly. Ingram Spark have strict specifications that you need to abide by, so if you are not familiar with formatting and design, it might be best to hire a professional to ensure you end up with files that will be accepted. If you have hired an illustrator, it's worth asking to see if they offer this as part of the illustration package.

Ingram Spark expects you to upload your book as two files; the exterior as one file, and your full interior as the other. The process is similar, but not identical, depending on what kind of book you are publishing but I am going to assume you are uploading a full colour book with pictures or illustrations and if your book is different you will still be able to follow the process. Let's start with the exterior file.

Exterior file

Your exterior file includes the front of your book, the back of your book and the spine. Depending on your personal preference, you might have a combination of text and illustrations. Your exterior should be one, continuous file that has the front of the book on the right and the back on the left. Here are the specifications that Ingram Spark requires;

- A PDF which is PDF/X-1a:2001 or PDF/X-3:2002 compliant
- CMYK
- At least 300 dpi
- A 100% black only barcode on a white box / background
- A 3mm bleed on all four sides
- A 6mm margin on all four sides

The size of the file is the front cover, plus the back cover, plus the spine. The spine size depends on many factors, such as how many pages it has, what kind of paper you use and what kind of cover you select. You can calculate this through Ingram Spark's spine calculator here; Ingram Spark - Spine calculator

Here is an example of one exterior file I created for a recent project;

Interior file

Here are the specifications that Ingram Spark requires;

- A PDF which is PDF/X-1a:2001 or PDF/X-3:2002 compliant
- Single page PDF only (all double spreads should be split)
- CMYK
- At least 300 dpi
- A 3mm bleed on three outer sides
- A 13mm margin on all four sides

If you have  9" tall by 6" wide book, this is how you work work out the bleed;

The size of the book in mm -  228.6mm x 152.4mm
WIDTH = Add 3mm bleed on the outer trim edge - 228.6mm x 155.4mm
HEIGHT = Add 3mm bleed on both the top and bottom outer trim edges - 234.6mm x 155.4mm

Below is an example of one page from an interior PDF that I created for a recent project. note that you can't tell where the bleed or trim end, as the illustration flows all the way to the end of the paper. The outer edge around the illustration contains little valuable information because that will risk being cut off when the book is manufactured.

Once you have the two files correctly formatted and ready to upload, login in your Ingram Spark account and navigate to your Dashboard by clicking on the tab at the top of the page. From here, click on the title of your book and you should see your metadata and information you have already filled in. Keep clicking on continue (checking the information is correct) until you get to the end, where you will see two sections to upload files; one for your interior and one for your exterior.

Uploading can take some time if you have a large book or high resolution files and I sometimes find the upload times out if you don't have a good enough internet connection. Once the file has finished uploading, you'll see a spinning wheel as the software automatically checks that the file meets their initial requirements. This is not human controlled, so if you receive any errors at all, read them carefully and double check you have calculated the exact size and trim.

Once your files have been accepted, you will be able to submit the book for review by an Ingram Spark employee and your work here is done. As long as you've followed the steps properly and met the requirements, you will have your files accepted and be able to distribute your book. Good luck!

If you found this guide helpful, please share it and let others know!

'Baby Bull' Children's Book Illustration - Speed painting

'Bluebird' Children's Book Illustration - Speed painting

Bluebird Illustration Speed painting

I love watching speed paintings, and now I'm addicted to making them too! There's something very satisfying about watching a blank canvas transform before your eyes, I cant help but watch it over and over.

I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it!

This illustration was created for Laura Bullock's book; "Where Do You Live, Animal Friend?" and is available on Amazon here; Where Do You Live, Animal Friend?

If you need an illustrator for your children's book, you can email me at izzybean@izzybean.co.uk

WORDS AND PICTURES - How to balance text and illustrations in an illustrated book.

When writing your children's book, you probably took a lot of time with your words; writing, reading them and then re-writing until you had crafted those words into a sentences, sentences into paragraphs and those paragraphs into a beautiful story that you can't wait to share with the world.

Then, like so many other authors, you let someone else handle the rest and they 'plop' the words onto the middle of a page in Times New Roman. Sigh.

I've worked as a full time illustrator for over seven years and one thing I have learnt is that exactly where and how you plop the words in a book makes a huge difference. The typography and placement is just as important as the illustrations. The two should come together and create a visually appealing page that reads naturally instead of clashing.

Here's some of my own DOS AND DONTS for making the most of your text. You can use these yourself, or pass them along to your illustrator or designer who can try them out for you. I'm always interested in hearing your thoughts too, so if you've got some ideas that I haven't mentioned, please feel free to comment below!

DO match your font to the story.

Try and pair your font with the nature of your book. For example; a story about a Princess who chews bubblegum might be light and rounded, but a book which involves monsters and dark forests may suit a spindly, spider-like text.

You can try more than one font and even mix them up as you go along, having different fonts for different actions or characters. Just be sure that whatever you choose, it is ALWAYS legible.

Here are some great websites for sourcing fonts - and some of them are free!

www.dafont.com
www.1001fonts.com
www.fontsquirrel.com

DON'T plonk your font down anywhere and leave it there.

You must think about the placement of your text. It's a long process that will involve lots of edits and tweaking until you get it right, but a good designer will never get annoyed with trying out different placements. When you think you've got it right - try another placement just in case!

Is your text on the same page as an illustration? 
Which one do you want to see first - the words or the picture? 
Does the text get lost in the colours? 
It is in the same place every page? 

One thing is certain - you must be aware of bleed and trim. The text should never be too close the edge of a page. 

DO test with other people to see if they can read it.

This seems obvious, but it's hard to test your own book properly when you already know what it says. Ask friends, family and other writers to read it out in front of you. Do they read it in the correct order? Do they stumble on words or struggle to find the next sentence? As beautiful and your layout might look, if it isn't easy to read by your target audience you may as well bin it now.

DON'T be boring.

Black, Times New Roman in a white box... yawn! 

What about red text? Text with a pattern? Text with a texture? Now there's an idea. How about text that curves around the illustration it is describing? If your text is being shouted, why not place it inside a huge illustration of a mouth? Get creative and try different things - if it looks good and can be read easily then make it work WITH the illustration instead of leaving them to battle for space. I'm not saying you can't keep a neat, monochrome theme if that suits your book; just don't automatically default to it without at least thinking about your options. 

DO your research.

Look at as many popular children's books as you can, and see if you can find common themes they all have. Assess their typography, the size of the font, where they place it... these bestsellers must be onto something.

Don't be afraid to try some of their ideas yourself - use them for inspiration! (Just be careful not to plagiarise anyones work, of course.)

DON'T have too much text on a page.

This is a common error that new writers make. 500-800 words is the recommended average for a 32 page children's book and it's like that for a reason - it leaves just the amount of text on each page.  Filling a page with text leaves no room for illustration and makes it feel cramped. If you need to say more, consider moving text to an adjacent page or cutting out a less important sentence. It's tough to cut your story short, but it will benefit the book in the end.

DO have pages without any text at all.

Some clients are horrified when I suggest this. No text on page 13? But what will they do?! What will they read?! 

This is a great opportunity to break your book up and make your audience pay attention as long as you use it in the right place. (You may not have a right place for it in your book, and that's OK too!)

The best tip here is to use it as a build up or passage of time and let the illustrations to do the talking for you. A story about someone digging a hole to the other side of the world may leave three pages of nothing but illustrations of the character digging... getting lower and lower until they disappear entirely... The next page that includes text should then have a big action or reveal as the climax;

...SUPRISE! He's now in China!

This is where your illustrator's talents come in handy. When there is no text on a page, you need to give the reader plenty to look at. Hidden items, background characters and lots of detail will make this trick work.

DO create your own font

While I appreciate this is not something everyone is able to do, it may be something your illustrator could do for an extra fee. Creating your own font has many benefits; If you can't find one that looks right you can create one to fit perfectly. No other books will have the same font which makes yours unique. Not using easily recognised or default fonts means some readers (and publishers) will take you more seriously and know you have put the extra work in. 

Finally, here is a list of words and what they mean. They aren't 'Dos and Don'ts' - but they will certainly help you discuss what you need with your illustrator and be able to understand what they are saying to you! I hope you enjoyed reading my tips and tricks to making words work for you. Now get writing that next bestseller - and good luck!

SERIF - Fonts that have little details or accents to make the words easier to read. "This is an example of Serif"

SANS-SERIF - Font's that don't have the little details or accents. On computer monitors we are restricted to dots per inch and so the details and accents are not as easy to scale down or read.  "This is an example of Sans-Serif"

TYPOGRAPHY - The way type is arranged to achieve the desired effect

TYPEFACE - A kind of type. For example; Times New Roman

LINE SPACE (SINGLE, DOUBLE, ETC) - The amount of space between the lines of text

Developing a character and listening to feedback.

A live project example, complete with client feedback!

It's not enough to just be able to 'draw' to be successful in the illustration game - you need to hold a myriad of essential skills, two of which are; 

- being able to listen to criticism and, 

- making changes to your work based on that criticism. 

To demonstrate this ability in a real-world setting, I decided to share with you a recent character development project. You can see my sketches, plus the actual client feedback along the way and how it affected my work!

1. The first draft.

The brief was to create a character which will be used in a children's book as the main antagonist. Here's what I was given;

Could the girl be designed with brown hair and a pink dress? 

While this seems quite vague, I have already read the script so I know more about the character from her role in the story. She's a young girl who has a wobbly tooth. Here was my initial sketch based on the description given and my interpretation of the script.

2. The second draft.

 

I really like these examples from your website, would it be possible to combine these three together somehow? Perhaps with longer hair in pigtails? 

2. The third draft.

I like the twin tail look, but could we try the design as a cuter, younger, more rounded design? 

2. The fourth draft.

Great! Much better. Can we add the twin tails back?

2. The fifth draft.

Thankyou for the sketch. I think we're pretty close. Could we make the hair a bit more defined with it being a bit more pronounced and maybe some bobbles or flowers?

I think we've got it! Let's proceed to colour.

As you can see, most characters go through a series of changes before we finally settle on one to move forward with. Here is our character once we added colour, the client loved her!

This cutie will be featured in her very own adventure soon... watch this space!

Illustrating a children's book character from sketch to finish - speed painting

Illustrating a children's book character

 From sketch to finished work - a 4 minute speed painting!

Illustrating is a very personal process and every illustrator will have their own way of doing it. So when I decided to record myself illustrating a new children's book character, I realised it might be a good way of showing my clients exactly how I work and give a little more insight into how the illustrations are created, from initial sketch to the final, finished illustration.

Although this video is only 4 minutes long, the entire process took just under two hours. Phew!

This was my first attempt at making a speed painting, and I didn't quite figure out how to add music or do anything too flashy, but I hope you like it!

For those who would rather not (or don't have the time) to sit through the full video, here's what the final illustration looked like. Cute, isn't he?!

How to become a full time children’s book illustrator - a guide to starting your career

How to become a full time children’s book illustrator.

If you had asked me in 2006, while I was studying illustration at University, what I wanted to become after graduation, I would have said a T-shirt designer or an artist for the music industry or even a cartoonist for television. I would never have guessed I would become a children’s book illustrator - but now I see that it is my perfect job and I am suited to it for many reasons. My art style fits it well and I find it enjoyable and challenging in equal measures. I enjoy enriching children’s lives and putting complex emotions into simple faces. Children’s books are fun, dynamic and full of colour and energy - just how I like to draw! 

I get a lot of people asking about how they go from leaving University to full time illustrating. This guide is to help you take those first steps into your freelance career, but be warned! It's not going to be easy... 

Before we begin; I'm going to assume you're already drawing and have enough skill to illustrate children's books. If you don't, you probably want to spend a few years practicing or getting an art degree.

Understand that you will start out small and that's OK.

My first few jobs were done completely free. Several jobs after that were done for such a low cost, I was probably working for around £1 an hour.

It will take a long time until you can charge anything near a living wage, but you should use this to your advantage. Explain to your potential clients that you are just starting out and will work for free or very little - a lot of employers will not mind that your work is below standard if you are working for free and a lot are willing to take the risk to help you propel your career whilst also saving themselves money. Working for royalties is also fine, but assume you will receive none as authors rarely make enough to pay any. Try not to get caught up in developing your style, that will come naturally with time, instead try to get as much work done as you can so you may learn, learn and learn some more about what is expected of you, talking to clients, the process and how long it takes you.

Even if you aren't being paid though, maintain your professionalism and always keep good records. 

Don’t quit your day job just yet - work in your spare time, evenings and breaks.

Do work with indie authors, self publishers and friends or family. They might not be able to afford an illustrator yet either, and so the transaction may benefit both of you.

Get the essential tools.

Once you’ve got a few jobs under your belt, invest in the proper tools for your services. 

Learning to use the 'proper' tools now will give you the chance to master them from the beginning. Having the latest technology and knowing how to use it will give you a hand over your competition. Are you working digitally? Upgrade your computer to the best you can afford and you’ll find you work much faster - making you more efficient and saving you time and money in the long run. If you’re working with traditional methods - don’t waste time with bad quality. What’s the point in being the most talented painter if your paints are dull and your brushes leave bristles in your pictures? Everyone's tools will be different, but my current workstation consists of;

MacBook Pro with Adobe CS6

Wacom Intros Pen & Touch graphics tablet

An external hard drive to back up my work

A day to day diary for pencilling in deadlines and client meetings

An Epson printer & A4 scanner

Don’t think that clients won’t know the difference. Most of them can tell when something is produced professionally or not. Plus if they start asking for .psd files and you've produced everything in paint... you might just be creating problems for yourself.

Do buy second hand, or ask for items for your birthday or Christmas gifts if you can’t afford them yourself.

Get a professional website.

I doesn’t matter if you are the next Quentin Blake - if you work from a gmail account and link to your portfolio on Deviant art, clients will not take you seriously.

Buying a domain is so cheap that you have no excuse not to. I bought my domain and hosting from HostPapa but there are lots of options. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, in fact I’d recommend keeping it as clean and simple as you can and let your work do the talking! Along with it you should get a professional webmail to use for the sole purpose of your illustrating business. If you are lacking the funds, there are options to build one yourself using a template such as Wix, Wordpress or Sandvox. You can always upgrade it as you make more money. First impressions count, and your website home page will likely be the first thing a customer sees - make sure it has a good landing page that shows an illustration! And of course, it has to be fast and reliable.

Don’t mix business and leisure. Have a separate website and email for your personal use.

Do showcase your best work, and display your contact information clearly on every page of your website.

Start using 'work for hire' websites.

Whether you win jobs or not, it’s another platform to advertise yourself and meet potential clients.

People on 'Work for hire' websites like Upwork, Freelancer, Guru and peopleperhour.com list jobs that you can bid on and if you're chosen, the work is carried out on the website with the site taking a percentage of your payment.

Even if you don’t get a job right away, use it to practice your interview skills and connect with your audience. You can find out what clients are asking for, how much they are willing to pay and what your competitors are quoting. Eventually someone will give a newbie a chance, and you should use the opportunity to prove to them you’re the real deal by doing it well. Once you complete a few jobs, use the work and the feedback from your clients to show off to the next customers!

Don’t bite off more than you can chew at this stage. While you might think you can illustrate a 30 page book with 3D illustrations for the accompanying iPad app - it's not as easy as it seems and you don’t want to kick start your career by failing. Start with small jobs and work your way up.

Do try out for a few that may not be your ideal job (as long as you can actually complete them, of course!) You might stumble across something you’re good at, and you really enjoy doing! 

Reach out an contact your target audience.

This is a tough one! Advertising, networking, shameless promotion and persistent emails - it's all part of the job.

Where can a children’s book illustrator meet authors looking for an illustrator? How do you advertise yourself without spending thousands of pounds you haven’t made yet? You’ll probably want to start by writing yourself a cover letter, CV and preparing a small portfolio of your best work so that you can send it to your potential client. I change mine regularly to add recent achievements and keep things fresh, but here is a little template to get you going in the right direction until you’re confident enough to create your own from scratch. Make sure every email or message you send is written to the actual person in charge and not just ‘To Whom It May Concern.’ If you don’t know their name, find out!

“Hello June,

My name is Izzy Bean and I am an illustrator who specialises in children’s books and cartoons.

Since leaving University I have refined my illustration skills to provide a fast, precise and successful result for both personal and corporate clients. I work closely with the project leaders to ensure they get the best results possible. I typically work in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, creating digital paintings or vector work and while I can provide a broad range of styles for every occasion, I also am comfortable with my own established style. I love a challenge and enjoy my work which is why I put 100% effort into every job, no matter how big or small.

I am currently looking for new projects and I would love to hear about any that you may have. My portfolio can be seen on my website, which is located at www.izzybean.co.uk and I have attached a few recent samples for you to browse.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have and I look forward to hearing your reply,

Izzy Bean”

You should always have a digital portfolio ready to send even if you work with traditional methods. Scan your work onto computer and create a PDF of no more than 20 images which is small enough to attach to emails and browse on any operating system. As a general rule, your portfolio should start with your best piece, followed by your second best - then end on your third best. 

Some of the methods I use to reach out to my clients are;

- The Children’s Writers and Artists Yearbook - This book is almost a directory of useful contacts with some interviews and information included. Invest in a copy (even an older second hand copy) and contact the appropriate listings with your cover letter and portfolio.

- Sign up to children’s illustrator and author forums, websites and chatrooms - Yahoo groups and Facebook are both free platforms where indie authors hang out and ask questions. Some of them will need illustrators - this is your chance!

- Use the internet and directories to compile a list of local businesses who could use your talent. Contact them as a freelancer and even if they don't have work now, they may keep you on file for the future!

- Sign up as a business on LinkdIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google + . Use them not just to promote your work, but to follow other artists, connect with authors, publishing houses  and companies who handle children's books and learn from the discussions they have.

- Start a blog (like this one!) and interact with other blogs.

Don’t bulk out your portfolio with work that is less than your best. If you haven’t a lot of work to share yet - sit down and work on some imaginary projects until you have.

Do research your field of expertise. Assuming you already have a passion for illustrating for children (otherwise, why are you here?) you need to make sure you know your stuff. Read lots of children’s books. Read lots of blogs about childrens books. Talk to authors. Find out the common book sizes, page count, colours used, what format the files should be submitted in -  everything you learn will help you to be more efficient and professional!

Do good work.

Sounds obvious, but hear me out. Once you start to get jobs coming in, you need to be consistent and do them all to the best of your ability, in good time.

Being self-employed is harder than it looks. You have deadlines even when you’re in bed with the flu. Clients aren’t going to appreciate sub-standard or late work, no matter what your excuse is. Manage your time well, make sure your work is ALWAYS the best you could have done and ask yourself before you submit it - will the client be happy? Is it better than they expected? Will they say "Wow!"? 

Alongside ‘good work’ I would also encourage you to be good at communication. Be polite, clear and friendly in all of your emails and make sure you sign each email professionally without using emoticons or smiley faces and if you have to arrange Skype meetings it is important to be presentable as you would expect going into an office. Most importantly, talk to your client with respect and remain professional at all times, even if they get angry or lose their temper. It can be tough to hear negative things about your work when you try so hard but this is part of being self employed - you have to be good with people.

Don’t take too long to respond to emails. During the week I aim to reply within hours, at the weekend it may take longer or wait until the Monday morning.

Do back up your work every day. Imagine working on a project for hours only to lose it when your computer breaks! I use an external hard drive, but you can back up to another computer, DVD or the cloud - whatever works for you.

Get someone to find the clients for you.

Sign up to illustrator directories and find yourself an agency.

Agencies are companies who represent a number of illustrators. They help to get you work by acting as the middle man (or woman) and in return they will take a cut of the money you make. Getting signed to a (decent) agency is harder than you'd think as most agencies only represent well established illustrators that fit their clientele. A good agency is more likely to contact you first, but I would still recommend reaching out to them even if they turn you down - they might give you some tips on why they said no and what you could do to improve.

Until you’re good enough to be accepted, or if you’d rather do without an agent, you can sign up to any of the illustrator directories who are aimed at the children's illustrator market. These companies showcase your work for clients who can then contact you directly. You usually have to pay a subscription fee, but if it gets you work, then it may very well be worth it. I use childrensillustrators.com and SCBWI

Don’t get disheartened when you get turned down. Think about what you can do to increase your chances of being accepted next time, and use it to improve your work.

Do contact agencies more than once. If some time has passed and you think your work has improved then they might change their mind.

Keep doing what you love.

It may take years until you can illustrate full time, but if you love what you do and do it well, the years will be fun and rewarding.

Once you do make it, all the hard work and effort will have been worth it! You’ll be a better illustrator and a better person for it. 

I hope that has helped you think about launching your career as a children’s illustrator. Of course there is so much more to the job that i couldn’t possibly cover in one blog post but you may find the tips useful throughout your journey.

Next time, I will be taking you through the process of an illustration from start to finish - including the client’s responses so you can see a real job in action! If you don't want to miss out, sign up by entering your email to the right.

If you have any feedback or have any questions, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

Thanks for reading!

Izzy bean

Izzy Bean's Top Ten Tips for Self Publishing Your Children's Book!

Self-publishing a children’s book is easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Almost anyone with a computer and some free time can do it. What is not easy, however, is self-publishing a children’s book that is actually good, and that sells well. 

I’ve been illustrating children’s books professionally for almost nine years, and along the way I’ve dealt with my fair share of first time self publishers. I’ve enjoyed every single one of them, but I have also realised that while most self published newbie authors never make their dream of being the next Roald Dahl, there are some essential tips that increase their chances of being read, reviewed and possibly even picked up by a big name publishing house. So before you reach for the pen or your laptop, here are my top ten tips to bear in mind when self publishing your first children’s book.

1. Read, Read and Read Some More

Chances are, if you’re passionate about writing, you’re passionate about reading. So you’ve probably already got this one covered. Just in case, read some more anyway! Reading any genre for any audience will help your writing skills regardless, but focusing on books that are written for your intended target audience is a must. Don’t just read them though, analyse them too. How many words are on each page? How many words in total? Are they complicated words? Do they have illustrations?

2. The PPP system, or POINT PER PAGE

I invented the PPP system to help authors focus on quality, not quantity. Each page of your book should have one major point that is essential to your story. It could be introducing a major character, an action that moves the story forward, or another event that is an important part of your story. If you have a page which you could take out without affecting the storyline, then leave it out. Tackle each page individually and ask; What is the point to this page? A 14 page book should have 14 points to the story. If one page has two points, consider separating it into two pages. (Without going into too much detail in this blog post, you can have secondry points that accompany your main point on each page, but more about that another day…)

3. Don’t Quit While You’re Ahead

You’ve spent countless hours writing your first story and you’ve finally finished! Right? Wrong! This is only the beginning, what you have just finished, is the first of many drafts. It may seem daunting, but you’re going to be re-writing this draft over and over, and only after you’ve re-written it enough to know it off by heart, and are possible even sick of the sight of it, then you’ll finally be ready to let people see it. Which leads us nicely onto the next tip…

4. Rely on Feedback from more than your friends and family

Your nearest and dearest love you to bits and everything you do in their eyes will always be great! While having them read your story and give you their opinion is not a bad thing, don’t rely on their feedback alone. Reach out to people who may be a little more honest and critical, maybe even find someone who you know will pick faults with your work. Why? Because you will get readers who will do just that, and you’re looking for honest feedback so you can test your story on a real person and use their feedback to improve your writing. As an additional tip, it’s worth noting that not all critiques could actually lead you to improve your story. There will always be someone who will find errors or have something negative to say about your work, even Harry Potter was turned down for being ’too complicated for children to follow’ by many publishers before being picked up by Bloomsbury. Your job is to listen to that feedback without feeling too offended, and also be the judge of whether it is useful or not.

5. Think Ahead / Do your Research

At least half of the first time authors I work for don’t think about who they are going to publish their book with until after it’s finished. There are many benefits to planning ahead, such as being able to save enough money, setting your launch around popular holidays or spreading some of the work to make it less stressful, but sometimes it will also cost you more money and effort if you don’t plan ahead. There are publishers who will only accept certain book sizes, and page numbers, which would mean a lot of wasted time if you create a beautiful book only to find you have to re-draw all the illustrations to fit a different ratio or cut out some of your pages.

Things to consider;
Hardback, paperback or Ebook?

Is the company charging you per book, or taking a percentage of sales?

Will the company let you distribute with other companies or are you limited to their customers only?

Do you need an ISBN number?

If you’re unsure who to self publish with, you can read my previous blog about Self Publishing here.

6. Make your characters relatable

Children come in all shapes and sizes, and no two children are the same. As an illustrator I’m very aware of making the characters appealing to real children.
Children have a strange sense of fashion – think trainers with fairy dresses, bright stripy socks with polka dot jumpers. Children wear glasses, have plasters on their knees, their noses are always running, they have paint on their hands. Some children have afros, some children have an abundance of bright red hair, others have ponytails. All of these details make your characters not only more believable, but a child will subconsciously be hunting for someone in the book who looks like them, and if they can’t find anyone to relate to, they might not be interested. So don’t limit yourself – let your imagination run wild!

It’s worth noting that in order to be realistic and relatable, you shouldn’t focus too much on gender specifics. While a lot of little girls love pink, there are plenty who are also obsessed with dinosaurs and play football. Children are more complex then gender stereotypes.

7. Make your title stand out

Aside from your cover, it’s the one thing that people will judge your book on. It’s the first thing they read, and your first chance to grab their attention among all the other titles. Make it fresh, catchy and different! There are a lot of books along the lines of ‘Simon Goes to the Park,’ but not so many named ‘Kit Kitten and the Topsy, Turvy feelings.’ If your title has three words, one of those should be your main theme, and one of them should be your character’s name. Ideally, we should get the general idea of what your story is about, just by your title alone. Here are three titles I recently illustrated, can you guess what the stories might be about?

1.    I Have Asthma, What Does That mean?

2.    Little Meerkat’s Big Panic

3.    The Lion Who Could Swim

8. Promote Your book… without paying a penny

You may dislike Facebook and all it stands for, but if you’re not utilizing it to promote your book, you’re missing out on one of the biggest advertising outlets available to you, which also just happens to be completely free. Sign up, create a pgae for your book, and start sharing! The same goes for Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest, Google Pages and more. While it may seem pointless at first, the trick is to interact with other authors and those who share similar interests, and post regularly. Try not to make everything you share about your book, alternate it with relevant articles and share other author’s books to gain interest within the community.

Aside from social media, there are plenty of other ways to promote your book on a budget, a lot of them far more effective than paid advertising. Such as arranging book signings or visiting local children. Teachers and Carers are always looking for guests to read to children in a safe environment. Get your illustrator to create some colouring and activity sheets and visit a local school, nursery, club or church to spread the word about your book whilst also helping your local community.

9. Join the Club

There are some great societies, clubs and groups for authors that are both free and paid for. The benefits of joining these groups is that you can learn a lot of tips and tricks direct from those who have been there and done that, and share your own experiences too. Make friends, chat and listen to others without trying to sell your book to learn invaluable advice and have real-life support. Check out the links below to find what groups I, and some of my clients regularly contribute to.

Society of Children's Writers and Illustrators

Kid Lit 411

Writer's Market

Write For Kids

Yahoo Groups

10. Get a great illustrator

If you’ve written a brilliant story, you need brilliant illustrations to go with it. Don’t undo all your hard work by settling for less than average illustrations because you know someone who will do it for free. It’s a common phrase, but you really do get what you pay for. Luckily, if you’re on a budget, there are ways to cut costs and still end up with a great illustrator!

Negotiate on price – an illustrator who really likes your script may be willing to drop their price to suit your budget.

Use one of your internal illustrations as the front cover

Use ‘spot’ illustrations instead of full page illustrations

Have less illustrations in your book and use illustrated borders around the text only pages

Find an illustrator that will allow you to pay in installments rather than all up front

Most importantly, your cover should really, really stand out. It is the first thing your customers will see, and yes, they will be judging your book by it! Take a look at some of these covers I illustrated, and if you like, you can contact me for a quote by emailing me at izzybean@izzybean.co.uk or see more of my work on my website at www.izzybean.co.uk