How to publish children's stories: the keys to achieve it

publish children's stories

If you like children's literature, surely more than once you have invented stories for your children. Or maybe you have a drawer full of them ready to be published. But how to publish children's stories?

If you also ask yourself that question and would like to know everything you can do to make them go on the market and be read for many other children, here we give you the answers you may be looking for.

What should you take into account before wanting to publish children's stories

publish children's story

Imagine that you already have a children's story that you want to launch on the market. However, you don't know what to do. Is it published and already? Is it sent to publishers? Is it sold privately? The truth is that you will have asked yourself all those questions, but are they really the first ones you should ask yourself? The truth is that no.

When publishing children's stories you should take into account the following:

The language used

You have to put yourself in the place of a child and think if what you have really written is in a simple, easy language that children can understand. Sometimes you have to remember that infantile child that we carry inside to reduce the vocabulary and thus know if the story is suitable for children or there is something that can cause problems.

This implies that you must review the entire text well. And even, if you can, let several children read it to the age at which you have focused to write that children's story. Only then will you know if they like it or not, or if they find it boring or difficult to understand.

The images

If you take a look at all the children's stories on the market, almost all of them are full of illustrations, right? Well if you want your story to be attractive you may need illustrations too.

Now, this will depend a bit on whether you are going to publish it on your own or if you are going to trust a publisher (and this one provides you with the drawings, which it does not always do). If it is the first case, you will have to invest approximately 500 euros. But if it is the publisher, it is possible that they will cover the investment of the drawings.

How to publish children's stories

open book illustration

Once you have done all of the above, it is time to take the plunge and know how to publish children's stories. Although it is something very exciting, and a process that you must live with all the illusion of the world, It's not always as pretty as it seems. That is why you have to take the appropriate steps to enjoy the moment, and not see it as if it were a problem and you are wishing it was over.

That being said, the steps are:

search publishers

The first thing we recommend when publishing children's stories is that you take a look at all the children's publishers that may exist in your country. But not just list them and get the contact to send the story. No.

Before that, it is necessary, and highly recommended, that you analyze it. See what kind of children's stories they release, how often, how they sell, and what opinions there are about the publisher.

It can also be interesting contact them requesting information as a writer interested in the publisher: how they work, if they are open to receive manuscripts, etc. And, finally, if you can get in touch with an author from the publisher, the better, although this is the most complicated. However, this way you will have another opinion of who is inside.

Once you do that research you will have a good list of publishers to send your story to.

Or self-publish

If you skip publishers because you know book authors are not paid well, You can consider self-publishing it yourself. This is harder work and, above all, more difficult to get them to notice you. Unless you have a lot of people to sell to, or you are well known, the most normal thing is that the book goes unnoticed and only if it succeeds will you be able to sell.

But keep in mind that the promotion, whether editorial or self-published, in most cases you will have to do it yourself.

Submit the manuscript

If you have the illustrations, send it too. Even layout, so that it has a better presentation and the person from the publishing house who receives that story has an idea of ​​how it would look and how well (or badly) it could work in the publishing house where they work.

We do not recommend going one by one. That is, send one, wait for them to respond and send another... The wait can sometimes be 6 months (from that date it is considered that they have not accepted it).

Therefore, it is better to send to a good number of publishers at once and wait for a few to reply. You will have to arm yourself with patience but the good thing is that, if several are interested, you will have proposals to study to find out in which editorial you want to publish it.

open book dating stories

promote yourself

Depending on the publisher you choose, or if you are going to self-publish it, the promotion in many cases will run on your account. That is, you will have to make yourself known. And for this we recommend:

  • That you create an author web page.
  • That you create a web of the book. Especially if it is a saga because that way the little ones will be able to look for you and follow you.
  • Organize readings, workshops, etc. Any activity that makes you better known and that they can see the author and take the signed book. In this way you will invite them to buy from you much more easily.
  • Propose it in schools as reading. Or even, facing book day, going to schools to give a talk, or to read the book, can be something interesting.
  • Look for collaborations with stores in your city, or across the country, so that they sell your book: bookstores, stationery stores, toy libraries, etc.

As you can see, publishing children's stories is not difficult, but it is a long road that, in order to be successful, you have to go little by little and make yourself known. Don't be discouraged if your story is rejected by publishers; If you think it's good, keep insisting or self-publish it. If it is successful, it will be the publishers that will come to you afterwards. Do you dare to publish?


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