If you have just written a children’s book and are looking to self-publish or publish with a publishing house, this one is for you! 

 

 

Promoting children’s books can be difficult. Whilst they are one of the best-selling genres of books, there are so many out there that it can be hard to stand out. The first thing to think about is who your audience is: children. And where do children spend most of their time? Schools. Schools are the obvious choice for children’s authors, especially if you’re an unknown author. These are our tips to start off marketing or promoting a children’s book!

 

 

Plan a workshop 

 

The first thing to do is plan what you would do at a school. Usually, a reading of your book is the first step, then some time for questions. You can maybe ask your publisher or agent to help you with getting some black and white print outs of some characters in your book to be coloured in. Or simply ask the children to draw their favourite character. If your book is centred around a topic such as global warming, animals or social topics, maybe plan a fun PowerPoint with some educational and fun slides – don’t forget to add lots of pictures, and bold colours as you’re talking to children! There are so many things you can do for a workshop, pick what is right for you.

 

 

Approach local schools

 

Your best chance of being accepted when you’re first released is in your local town or city. Many establishments are happy to support their local community, that means you! (For more info about making the most of being a local author, check out another article we wrote here). Write to your local primary schools and see if they would be interested in a reading/storytime or a workshop.

 

 

Pay attention to bookshop and library events

 

Many bookshops and libraries hold events for children. Have a look what is going on locally; usually on their website’s events section there will be a list of what is coming up. If any suit you or you feel you could contribute, pop them over an email or ask your publisher to contact them.

 

 

Attend book festivals or fairs. 

 

See if there are any book fairs in your area! Ask your publisher to email or email yourself to secure a place! Bring some books and publicity material with you; you could meet a lot of people and start a buzz!

 

 

 

One thing that helps authors to climb up the charts are good reviews. Goodreads and Amazon are a good place to go to. If you know of any friends and family who have bought your book, ask them to leave a review, it will really help you out!

 

Children’s books rarely follow the same formula as a novel or non-fiction. They have an entirely different audience! An audience that is far more receptive to pictures rather than words. We often get asked by aspiring kid’s writers where to start, so here is our advice on the matter!

 

 

Step one: Get illustrated!

 

Words are important, of course. But kids want to look at drawings or illustrations. It’s almost essential to get your book illustrated. The only time you can get away with having your book without is if it’s a young adult novel such as Harry Potter.

 

 

Step Two: Writing isn’t always enough

 

We get a few phone calls of authors who say they wrote a kids book yesterday can we get it published. It’s not as easy as that. Read the above about pictures. But also remember that you need to do more than quickly write a story. Test it out on some kids in your family, show it to some friends to see what you can do to improve. Look in bookshops to see what actually sells, speaking of…

 

 

Step Three: Look at the charts

 

Kids’ books usually have trends. Dinosaurs are very big at the moment! Space books were huge last year who knows what will be next? Well, the market may give you a clue. See what sizes are popular, colour schemes, writing styles, layouts etc. It’s not copying, it’s understanding what works in the market.