14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Promoting Childrens Book

by David.M
12 replies
Hey Warriors,

My Marketing teacher would like me to help him promote a christian childrens book his wife wrote but never published. I want to help him self publish it and have it so that it is only printed when purchased, get an ISBN for the book and get it up on Amazon. I haven't purchased it yet, but this course looks promising: Instant Influencer: Write a book. Become an authority.

Anyways, I have a few ideas on how to promote it, but would like to ask for your opinions in case any of you have ever gone through this process before.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,
David
#book #childrens #promoting
  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    Do you even know if it would sell?

    An idea here is to get a run of 500-1000 copies and donate the to local charities for children/hospitals/libraries and see if there is any demand for them...

    After about 6 months you will have real feedback on the popularity and know whether it is worth scaling

    How to publish yourself

    http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/isbnqa.asp

    I would've thought a marketing teacher would've at least thought of that...
    Signature
    “Thinking is easy, Acting is difficult
    And to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world ~ Goethe”
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1604219].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Sissy76
    Hi David,

    Self publishing is a great road, however it can be a very tough one as well.

    Before you spend any money, take a look at Dan Poynter's site, he's the authority on self publishing and has some valuable information available for free.

    As for promotion - get an author blog up & running asap & start forming relationships with other writers & writing groups, from there you can go on to guest blogging & participating in a blog carnival to widen your audience. Sending press releases to mainstream media & Christian oriented media is essential, however following up is the crucial factor in securing coverage. There's radio & tv air time & print media space just waiting to be filled, so get out there & go for it!

    Amazon's subsidiary, createspace dot com, is the best way to get a title on Amazon. Fellow warrior Jessica Kale has an excellent WSO at the moment covering everything you need to publish a book this way, just do a search for her & you should easily find the thread.

    Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

    Cheers,
    Sissy
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1604243].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author David.M
      Thanks for the replies :-). I don't think he has the money to give out all those free copies. I'm sure it'll sell, it's a nice read. But thanks for the links.

      Sissy76, Thanks for the advice. Could you please link me to her WSO offer, I can't seem to locate it.

      Thanks,
      David
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1604276].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author StaffPartyTrivia
    Great idea from Sparhawke ( btw, do you sell sailboat masts? )

    (print) copies and donate the to a local ... children's hospital

    Absolutely do this.

    THEN ... if the kids LIKE the story ... do a fundraiser for the hospital
    and give them 50% of the net. They will help push it to local news
    and force it up front in local bookstores.

    But, the kids do need to like the story!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1604420].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author StaffPartyTrivia
      Check this:

      Self Publishing - Xulon Press Christian Self Publisher

      It's a Christian Self-Publishing place. ( I regret the religious post however
      this is in reponse to the OP who is niche-specific )

      =======
      also check Self Publishing - Lulu.com

      and iuniverse.com ( but they are having webpage issues - defunct? )

      =====
      If you want it on Amazon, they'll need physical copies, likely.
      So it wont be a one-off print-as-needed deal there, likely.

      If Amazon is where you want to be ( the money will be in local sales at first )
      CALL/CONTACT Amazon and determine EXACTLY their criteria for selling it.

      You need more than an ISBN
      You will also need a bar code ( and it may be a PARTICULAR KIND and
      probably will need to be embedded in the cover art - so do it first )
      and probably the book will need to have a copyright registration #
      and proof of deposit in a Writer's Guild depository. - just a guess.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1604436].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Sissy76
      I don't recommend the free copies to children's hospitals. I'd only give out free copies to media for review or a competition prize. Parents will always take a free book for their children, so it's not really a valid indicator of demand.

      You could promote an author book signing & sell signed copies of the book at the event. Get in touch with your local bookstore, tell them about the book & your friend the author & see if they'd be interested in hosting an in-store book signing for a percentage of sales.

      Get coverage in the local press about a local author signing books for local kids. Do some radio interviews promoting the event, have posters around town, especially the local library, schools & churches.

      If the book has a theme of some sort, make it a dress-up event for the kids, with a prize for the best-dressed in various age groups. Have the author read the book to the kids dressed in their costumes. You'll have media all over the event AND making sales at the same time.

      Then, rinse & repeat with another bookstore in the next town.

      It's a lot of work, but that's the publishing industry!

      Even if your friend secures a publishing contract with an established house, they'll still be doing the same kind of promotional work, but for a reduced percentage of sales. If they're prepared to do the work, then self publishing is perfect, you keep all of the revenue.

      All the best.

      Cheers,
      Sissy
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1604490].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
      Originally Posted by StaffPartyTrivia View Post

      Great idea from Sparhawke ( btw, do you sell sailboat masts? )

      (print) copies and donate the to a local ... children's hospital

      Absolutely do this.

      THEN ... if the kids LIKE the story ... do a fundraiser for the hospital
      and give them 50% of the net. They will help push it to local news
      and force it up front in local bookstores.

      But, the kids do need to like the story!
      This is a great idea too, I wasn't really saying spend $1000s on publishing just to give them away but if you have a few hundred already printed you can give 25-50 away to local childrens charities for free and then you may be able to get local radio stations to at least mention it when they are publicising a local fundraiser...a couple of hundred dollars or so now given away can have great dividends if you can also get into a local bookstore for a signing session.

      You will get both publicity and revenue from the bookstore if you can get them to somehow pay you to cover costs and you will be able to scale it up with follow on books.

      People always underestimate the power of giving things away...

      And no, I don't sell sailmasts yet, are you in the market for one? lol
      Signature
      “Thinking is easy, Acting is difficult
      And to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world ~ Goethe”
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1604998].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author StaffPartyTrivia
        Sparhawke Haha -- I thought you might hawk spars
        ======

        The gist of my post was - the kids in hospital who are well enough to read
        are starving for entertainment - and of course the parents will be delighted for them to read instead of watch TV...and that is if they even
        have access to a TV.

        Give them AN IMPORTANT JOB - tell them that the writter needs a true
        evaluation of the book and how interesting it is. ... and it needs to be
        read withing, say, 7 days . A written "book report" with a few questions
        can accompany the book - signed by the author - and ask:

        How long did it take you to read the book?
        Were there any words you did not understand?
        Who was your FAVORITE character?
        What was your favorite part about the story?

        Just a small sample of books 25 -50 with that questionaire
        ( with space for the answers )
        will tell you a lot about the book.

        The attachement to a local charity and sold through a
        recognized book store will help sales AND give you
        credible sales figures in your area ( read as MARKET POPULATION % )

        ...so you can then query larger publishers.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1608715].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author David.M
          Thanks for all the advice. I'll try out a few them and let you all know how it goes :-).
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1609091].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kevin_Hutto
    David,

    The WSO that sissy is talking about is good... and it will show you how to get your book published cheap.

    Good Luck!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1604479].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author thmark
    Find several authors with books that are related to the topic and ask them to review it for you. You could add their testimonials to your sales page which would give them extra exposure.

    Also, go to Amazon and review books in related areas, and use the REAL NAME feature. You can set up your author profile there and mention your book.

    But give honest, real reviews, not cheesy "look at me" ones.

    It's tough to make any money selling books. They are usually a springboard to larger backend products or promotion of yourself or your business for larger ends.
    Signature

    Interested in Self Help, Alternative Health, and removing self limiting beliefs and actions?

    Energy Healing Workshop UK June 23 & 24 http://LivingEnergyWorkshop.com

    Free Marathon Energy Healing teleseminar series http://facebook.com/LivingEnergyDay

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1604527].message }}

Trending Topics