When I first started telling my creative friends that I was writing and illustrating a picture book, I got so many interesting responses. Some were excited for me, expressing their own desire to do it in the future. Some were cautionary, telling me they’ve tried and it was too hard. Others were dismissive, telling me “good luck” on getting it done.
My takeaway was that this is a project I absolutely had to take on in order to bust some myths, and overcome my own fears of not being scholarly enough to write a book by myself from start to finish!
In this post I’ll share my whole experience from idea to finished book, and hopefully inspire you to design your own picture book!
the idea
As soon as my daughter was old enough to sit still for more than two minutes and listen to me, I was telling her stories about a little fox going through all kinds of troublesome situations in the forest.
When my daughter was sad or tired, she would ask me for a fox story, and over the years our little fox grew to take on a personality of her own.
the hurdle
Throughout this whole process, I’ve realized that designing a children’s book is not hard. It just contains a lot of parts and details that require time and organization.
In the end, a picture book adds up to 14 interior illustrations (which you’ve probably already done if you’ve designed a calendar) and once you combine it into a PDF, it’s officially a book. So why does it seem so scary to (gulp) publish….a book??
the details
I started by doing a deep dive into book sizes, paper types, publishing platforms, and all the details that come with each. I also had to think about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) because no one will buy a book they can’t find right?
Once I had my story written and my pages mapped out, it was just a matter of sitting down each day and illustrating a spread or two. It took me a few weeks to get through them all, and once they were finished, doubt started rearing it’s ugly head, but I pressed on.
the editing phase
Once I had all the pages together in one document, I sent them out to my most trusted friends and paid a professional editor to make suggestions (this part isn’t required, but it makes this girl who could barely pass tests in art school feel better).
I got so much important feedback from these people that helped the book become more sellable and clear. Like all creative projects, it’s easy to miss your own mistakes and oversights when you are so deep into a project.
ordering samples
When I finally felt confident with my book pages, I uploaded them to my publishing platforms (I’m using two because I wanted hardcover and paperback options!) and ordered samples.
A few samples and color tweaks later and I had a ready-to-publish book sitting on my desk, defying my inner fear that I was not good enough to be a writer.
help me become a bestseller
- I have a big goal to make this book a bestseller, but I can’t do that without YOU, my fellow creative friend!
- You can support my goal by ordering a copy and sharing the book with friends, family, or community members who you think would love it.
the marketing phase
Here we are, a few months after I publically declared my goal to publish a picture book, and the book is out in the world. At this stage I’m marketing it (through email, social media, and local venues) and researching ads and strategies for getting the book found through Pinterest, Google, and local bookstores.
There is a saying in the book industry that says “more books sell more books” so I think the best thing I can do to marketing this book is to keep pursuing my goal of publishing more Fern the Fox books to start building some excitement around the character and world that I’ve built.
Want to help me?
learn my process
I share my whole self-publishing process from idea to published book inside my membership The Studio. You could use the class to create:
- A coloring book
- A planner or journal
- A “draw this” activity book
- A picture book
- Any other book idea you have!
