Hey lovely readers! I work with a lot of clients as a freelance editor who are looking to publish their picture books independently. They often ask me for resources to help them with their endeavor, and so I’m compiling a list. For this particular list, I’m looking for services specific to picture books.
Where you come in: Have you personally worked with any self-publishing service provider to produce your independent picture book? Did you have a good experience?
I’m looking to hear about:
- Typography and layout designers
- Printers
- Cover designers
- Hybrid publishing houses
- Marketing services
I am looking for personal experiences here. For this reason, I am obviously much less inclined to hear from PR people and representatives from various companies and publishers.
Please leave some testimonials and links in the comments for me to research, or email me at mary at kidlit dot com. Thanks so much for your help!
Hi, Mary. I’m a children’s author and ghostwriter and have one client who is currently using DogEarPublishing.net
I haven’t used them, but she seems very pleased.
I’ve used CreateSpace and like them.
I hope you’ll share your results! I’d love to pass it along to my clients.
Hi Mary,
Darcy Pattison started an indy publishing company and has advice on her author’s website: http://www.darcypattison.com/darcys-books/18-months-of-indie-publishing/
Hope this helps.
I’m looking into self-publishing myself.
Mary Zisk
Hi Mary,
I have one picture book which I had printed (at a printing company now closed) and then scanned page by page to place into Amazon as an e-book (Title: If We Were…).
All of my books (not all picture books) have been independently published under a company name I created just for this purpose. Last year, I had an intern write her own picture book. In four months, we went through the entire process from idea to creation.
This is the idea I want to share with everyone:
Once completed, we used an online picture book making software (Shutterfly) to create a prototype product to see what it would look like as a published book. Sometimes, that is all people want, a few copies. I have used many different printing companies for higher volumes. We will be taking her book to market next year with the same process as I used for my own. It was fun to see her growth as she walked through the process. If you want to see, here is a link (go to the bottom of page first if you want to read in chronological order):
http://www.nichepublishing.us/cheyannes-corner
Disclaimer: Please note that the rest of the website is outdated and not administered at this time. Just sharing the prototype idea.
I’m an illustrator and I’ve created illustrations for a few indy authors. I’ve used createspace.com and have been happy with the uploading experience and the print quality.
Currently I’m working w/an author who will be using PrintNinja.com to print his picture book. Haven’t finished this project so no idea about the quality.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for the heads up! I am a traditionally pub’d author and illustrator and I have illustrated and self-pub’d over a dozen books for my clients. I am well versed in all the pros and cons of self-publishing, and I take my clients from start to finish (manuscript to pub’d book) holding their hand the whole way! I do and provide everything they need and explain the process before, during and after publication. My portfolio can be seen at http://www.ljmichaels.weebly.com.
In addition, I provide my clients with a mutually beneficial, easy-to-read contract and I offer a 4-6 month payment plan which helps to make working with a professional illustrator more affordable.
My experience is that many authors THINK their manuscript is ready for publication, but improvements can and should be made before self publishing in order to ensure that their book can compete in today’s complex market. I am an experienced content editor and I’ve helped over one hundred children’s book authors take their work to the next level, in preparation for submission or self-publication. More info and references can be found on my blog, http://www.theartofpicturebooks.com.