Self-published first children's book

[LipFoliage303]

Well, wife and I finally did it and self-published a children's book. A friend of a friend illustrated the book and we think it turned out pretty well. Take a look at the amazon page here… http://www.amazon.com/Barkley-Eats-Breakfast-Come-Desayuno/dp/1514284820

I'll have to do some more Google-ing on how to promote it. So far I've emailed friends and family, mailed hard copies to a few friends/family with toddlers, shared an update on LinkedIn and Google chat (I quit FB two years ago), donated a copy to my son's day care, and contacted the public library. Whew.

I'd appreciate any tips on how to self-promote this thing. I'd prefer not to spend money until the book is making money :)

Thanks!

[swick]

Good Job!

I would think that your first order of business would be to get some amazon reviews. Type up a quick note asking for a review with the amazon link and send it with every book you send out. Let your family and friends know how important it is that they leave feedback on Amazon.

If you have hard copies to sell, check out your local library/book store/coffee shop/day cares and offer to have a reading by the author and a Q and A session. Sell your books, or do the same but if you don't have books, hand out the note with the amazon review link.

Create a quick website - start gathering an email list. Include some free educational activities and games people can download...hmmm...coincidentally, I am currently working on the copy for my website so I can start offering services such as creating supplementary educational games and activities.  I'll send you a PM.

[MrsPfennig]

Congratulations! I put it on my wish list on Amazon.de. We are a bilingual family with a dog - so we are your target audience.

[LipFoliage303]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll check out your PM, swick. And thanks for the wishlist add, MrsPfennig. I haven't thought of it til now because I don't speak those languages, but I suppose it would be very cheap (thanks to Fiverr) to offer versions in German, French, etc.

[cripzychiken]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll check out your PM, swick. And thanks for the wishlist add, MrsPfennig. I haven't thought of it til now because I don't speak those languages, but I suppose it would be very cheap (thanks to Fiverr) to offer versions in German, French, etc.

Do you self-print?  I haven't heard of people self-publishing anything besides eBooks, so I'm honestly interested at what you are doing to print them.

[LipFoliage303]

Cripzychiken, we published on Createspace (through Amazon). Folks purchase the book through Amazon, Createspace prints it and ships it, and I see a royalty check every month.

I can look into what's involved with making this a Kindle/eBook. I feel like a dinosaur, but I've never read an eBook before. Do parents read eBooks to their kids at night?

[swick]

I can look into what's involved with making this a Kindle/eBook. I feel like a dinosaur, but I've never read an eBook before. Do parents read eBooks to their kids at night?

I would vote no! or they shouldn't be...Your price point for a lovely, tangible print book isn't that high. I would focus on a website if you have limited time, you can always make them into e-books later if your audience wants them.

[cripzychiken]

Cripzychiken, we published on Createspace (through Amazon). Folks purchase the book through Amazon, Createspace prints it and ships it, and I see a royalty check every month.

I can look into what's involved with making this a Kindle/eBook. I feel like a dinosaur, but I've never read an eBook before. Do parents read eBooks to their kids at night?

I've read eBooks of fairy tales to my son, but not picture books like you published, for those I stick to the old fashion real books.

[TheContinentalOp]

How did your 1st month's sales go?

I uploaded a short story Friday night and when I woke up Saturday morning amazon had approved it and I had one pre-order. (Book releases on the 10th). Went and did laundry and came back and got another pre-order. This one was from amazon.de. And I didn't even start trying to promote it yet.

[Tom Bri]

It looks cute, and your artist did nice work. As for advertising, I put a novel up on Amazon and it sold about $2K the first year, not much since then. No advertizing except occasional post about it on Facebook, and mentioning it to friends. One thing people do is give away a bunch of copies to trustworthy people, with the deal that they have to rate it honestly on Amazon. High-rated books sell well without further advertizing.