Many writers dream of publishing their own book. The usual problem is where to start, which genre they want to be in, and how they’re gonna get published. Children’s Literature is one of the easiest genres for beginners to start with. It’s also one of the most lucrative categories on Amazon; especially illustrated children’s books. I say Amazon because ebooks have become a better and easier way for you to reach a wider audience and share your content without having to deal with publishers and shipment. While physical books are still beloved and cherished, I’d recommend that you try your hand at success with publishing an ebook first.
You can always publish your book on your own and work on marketing in order to get people to take notice of your site or social media page, but you could also sign up for a popular marketplace that already sells ebooks so you can throw yours into the basket and work on getting their users to become your readers. KDP Kids is one of those great places for you to create and sell your ebook to millions worldwide.
What You Need
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Amazon Kindle account – Sign up at https://kdp.amazon.com.
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Microsoft Word or any program that supports HTML, Mobi, and ePub.
Setup Steps
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Log in to your Amazon Kindle account > Click KDP Kids > Click Get Started > Download the Kindle Kids’ Book Creator tool.
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Outline your story and start writing on the platform of your choice.
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Prepare your illustrations.
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Open the Kindle Kids’ Book Creator tool > Click the button to create a new book. Read the directions before pressing Continue.
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Enter the title of your book, the author name(s), and the publisher name, if you have one.
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Select a language > Save your book.
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To add pages, click Add Page. To create content, click on page > Click Add Text.
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To preview your book, click Book Preview at the top. To preview how your book would look on Kindle devices, click Devices. Click Save for Publishing once everything has been finalized. Once you’re okay, go to File > Save for Publishing.
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Upload your book to Amazon Kindle.
Marketing Setup
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Build your visibility by joining organizations and events related to children’s books.
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Organize school visits to talk about your book.
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Provide pre-orders for your books.
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Send out email campaigns and keep people update on your book’s status, and then promos post-launch.
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Announce your book release on several online news publications and blogs.
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Create and build your email list.
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Ask for reviews of your book on a review landing page.
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Give away a chapter of your book.
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Use Pay With a Tweet and offer excerpts of your book.
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Start marketing with pre-launch landing pages.
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Create campaigns pre-launch like having people vote on a book cover.
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Have a blog and website going.
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Use and connect your social networks to communicate with your readers.
Timeframe
Time to do: 1 week
Time to see results: 1 month
Additional Tips
Use the pop- up text feature provided in the Kindle Kids’ Book Creator for a better aesthetic.
Consider KDP Select and get Amazon’s book selling widgets and merchandising tools.
Take part in Kindle Countdown Deals or Amazon’s Free Book Promotion.
Write a killer story and author description.
Consider other platforms to publish your book.
Join an affiliate program.
Do your research on the best sellers on Amazon and see how your story idea would fair against theirs.
Work on your keywords.
Start with your family and friends first to spread the word and leave reviews.
Become active in responding to feedback.
Have a good pricing strategy.
Offer bonuses and promos.
Potential Results
With supply, demand, and price meeting together just right, you could publish your children’s books and earn anywhere from $500 – $5,000 a month. Many successful authors earn more and you could get there, too. Write more books and try more marketing methods till you find your groove.
