Getting Started: Your first step into the world of self-publishing

Do your research and build a plan

Since the release of my first children’s book, Violet and George’s Bedtime adventure, I have been asked two questions repeatedly. The first is who’s George? (My daughter is named Violet), and the second question being, how did you do that? To answer the first and most common question, George is a fictional character I created to add more opportunity for adventure and connection in the series. While I originally started to write these stories for my daughter Violet, I found it was much more effective for the dialogue is there were two main characters to bounce things off of. The name George was chosen because in our family, all of our nieces (We have 4) and our daughter included, are called George by the grandparents. It’s one of those names that made me laugh and had a lot of meaning attached to it, and it worked for the narrative.

Now the second question is about process. For me, this process was really exciting and challenging and I have enjoyed every step of the way. I have learned a ton and continue to learn every day as I release new books, expand my reach in terms of promotion and look to find new ways to connect with my reader audience. Getting started is often the hardest part. To answer this question, I have decided to write a series of posts breaking it down from inception to book launch and all the considerations along the way. This post will cover getting started.

To begin this journey, you first need to read a lot of books. You simply cannot write a good book unless you are reading non-stop. In order to create objectivity, a clear narrative and unique voice, yo have to explore what other people are writing, what type of books you like and what ideas naturally come to you.

I started this process as a new mom who was reading 20-30 books to my daughter a day from the day she was born. I also always have at least one book and one audio book on the go at all times for myself. I love reading, and I love writing. I do both to escape and throw myself into an alternate universe, and learn about new things. I started writing my first novel manuscript last year and was finding it hard to get enough time to sit and write long form chapters at my computer with an infant who needed me and I was getting frustrated I wasn’t able to complete something, so my husband suggested I write a children’s book instead. I really wasn’t sure that was the right avenue for me, but I took on the challenge just to see if I could do it.

As it turns out, I really enjoyed it. When I started doing research on how to write a children’s book, I got in touch with a few people to pick their brains and ask questions. I interviewed a publisher, a CEO in the library business and talked to teachers and librarians. What I learned was that in order to create a successful children’s book there were a few things to consider.

1. Pick a writing style and stick to it

2. Series do better than standalone books

3. Find something that makes you unique

4. Schools pick books specifically related to a unit or lesson so if you are trying to sell to schools, make sure your book is thematically appropriate for age group and curriculum covered

5. Illustrations are VERY important, and expensive.

After doing my research, and knowing the kind of time available I had to sit and write quietly (little to none), I decided to start writing little stories in the form of limerick that were quick, snappy and rhymed. Creating the prose in the way allowed me to create an individual scene and visual for each page in my mind, and allowed me to start and stop when I had the time to write. Comparatively with my novel, I would want the time to write at least 500-2000 words in a sitting or else you don’t get very far with your plot, and sometimes that can take hours. With a rhyming children’s book written in limerick stanza, I was able to write in bit sized chunks that still told a complete idea in a few words. This is how I complied my first drafts of my stories, first in my notes app on my phone, and then for editing I transferred them over to a Word document.

Once I felt confident that I had a few rough stories complied, before I went any further, I created business and marketing plan. I wanted to make sure if I was going follow through with this I needed to look at the financials, marketing, logistical and operational aspects of this venture. What started as a creative outlet quickly turned into a way for me to operate and manage a small business. (We will get into that in another post.) I felt I found a niche writing style, had drafted a series of stories that were all thematic and age appropriate and a plan to take this idea to a finished and sellable product.

The next step was to build a team of advisors which included beta readers, trusted copy editors and finding an illustrator to help bring that story to life.

Stay tuned for part two where I dive into the importance of building the right team to support your journey.   

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Violet and George's Bedtime Adventure

Violet and George's Colourful Day