Secrets of a Children's Book Publisher: Part 2 - The High Cost of Book Reviews

I’ve been in the business of writing and illustrating books now for a few years and one of the areas which I find most frustrating is that of the editorial review. You would think that a good book just naturally gets good reviews, but that is not how the industry works. Traditional publishers send off their books to review boards months before they are ever published and usually pay nothing to have them reviewed. Self-publishers don’t have this possibility. They have to pay to have their books reviewed and this is not cheap.

A Little DonnerwetterKelley DonnerJanuary 26, 2024self-publishing, picture bookComment

Secrets of a Children's Book Publisher: Part 1 - Traditional Publishing doesn't pay

Many self-publishers begin with the dream of getting a traditional publishing contract. They write to dozens of agents and submit to publishers accepting unsolicited manuscripts. Then after receiving countless rejections and waiting months for copy-paste replies, they begin to wonder if getting a traditional publishing deal is really worth all the hype.

Kelley DonnerJanuary 11, 2024self-publishing, children's booksComment

Have You Ever Wanted to Write a Children's Book?: 10 Tips for Beginners

Have you ever dreamt of publishing your own children's book? Would you love to see your book on a shelf when you walk into Barnes and Noble? Have you ever wondered how difficult it is to sell a book on Amazon? Well... there are a few things that you should know first…

A Little DonnerwetterKelley DonnerJanuary 19, 2023picture book, self-publishingComment

A Pandemic Silver-Lining

How Writing a Covid19 Children’s Book Changed the Way I Publish

February was not a good month to be sick with a cough. Nevertheless, I had one and it ended up being one of the worst colds of my entire life. At the time, Covid19 was just becoming an issue and my continual coughing caused more fear than sympathy. Therefore, I went into lockdown before it ever became a bad word. Then my kids came down with my colds, homeschooling began, and questions about this mysterious virus began to get real.

Kelley DonnerNovember 1, 2020books, children's book, coronavirus, self-publishingComment

Ready to Self-Publish Your Children's Book? Read This First.

Self-publishing is not as ‘easy’ as it's cracked up to be. Sure, theoretically anyone can do it. But, just because it's easy to put your book online does not mean that you should or even that it will make you any money. The reality of self-publishing is that it is a very tough business, especially on Amazon. You are going against big publishers who have a ton of experience putting their books on the market. How will you make sure that your book stands out?

Kelley DonnerSeptember 11, 2020children's book, self-publishing, amazon, book designComment

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