Self-publishing A Children's Picture Book
Creating and publishing your own children's book can be a fun and rewarding project
. Here are a few tips to help get you started.
Inspiration:
If you already have an idea of what your children's book is going to be about, you can perhaps skip to the next section. If you just have the general idea that you want to create a children's book, but you are not quite sure exactly what you want it to be about, here are some ideas to get you going:
First, start with what is known as a free-write. Just let you mind go, and keep your pen moving. Think about what it is you want your book to convey, and what the purpose of your book might be. Is it to teach your audience something? To make them laugh? To simply delight and amaze? All of the above? With whatever it is that you have in mind as a basic guide, just let your imagination take over for now and get words and thoughts on the page.
Once you have some ideas down, you can begin to organize them into a narrative that you think your audience will enjoy. Remember that at this stage of their development, children do like a clear beginning, middle and end to their stories, and that you won't want to leave a lot of questions unanswered. Other than that, it is up to you where you take them.
Artwork:
If you are doing both the words and the art, great. If creating visual art is not your forte, then you may have to find someone to partner with on your project (or vice-versa, if you are naturally the artistic type rather than the wordsmith).
If you need to find an artist, there are a few ways to go about it. One way is to take a look around online or at the local bookstore at graphic artists whose work you admire, or who you think might make a good fit. Unless they are fairly well-known, artists aren't generally difficult to get a hold of, so search out some names and contact info and run your project past your choices to see what their rates and availability might be.
If you are discouraged by the rates you are quoted, consider running or posting an ad at a local art or design school. Often, art students need to do project to complete class requirements or at the very least may work a lot cheaper than their more established compadres.
Once your art and words are set, put your book together in a layout program such as Adobe InDesign or QwarkXpress.
Printing and Binding:
Have your pages printed in the highest quality manner that you can afford. If your artwork is in color, consider four color process digital printing for best results.
As far as the binding of your book, one option you might want to consider is purchasing a thermal binding machine and doing it yourself. These machines are surprisingly inexpensive and very easy to use. With one of these machines, you can have a hardcover book ready to go in less than a minute. Depending on how many books you are going to self-publish, the savings can range from significant to substantial.
by: Jeffrey McRitchie
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