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Well the good news is there are many ways to become a profitable self published children’s picture book author. The barrier to entry is low, so writing and publishing your book is easier then ever. However, making a profit and running a successful self publishing business takes time and business knowledge. Do your research. There are many options to self publish, but some are much better and more profitable than others.

The most profitable way to self publish is to print your books off a full color press. This was my choice. However, this requires an upfront investment. Publishing this way will give you the best quality book for the best price. Other authors choose to do print on demand through Amazon KDP. The print quality is not as good but it saves you upfront costs because you only pay for the books you sell. Spend time to carefully consider these options. Self publishing your book is a big investment in your time and money. Take the time to do your research and see which options are right for your book and business.

Whatever you do, DO NOT publish through a vanity press. They are presses that promise you everything and all they end up doing is charging you high rates to print your book, leave no room for profit, and no marketing help. So, do your research. Network with other authors to find out about costs and quality. Resist the urge to get your name on a book quickly without doing your homework. It could leave you broke and very upset.

Do Not Rush The Process

This is the biggest tip I can offer. Nobody wants to hear this but rushing a children’s picture book just to get it out is a terrible idea. I promise you there is so much to learn as authors. It is a never-ending process. Do your research beforehand and set yourself up for success. Join writers groups and learn about the business of self publishing. Writing your book is the easiest part. Sales and marketing takes a good amount of time and knowledge to do it well.

      You will need to learn so much about sales and marketing, running ads, websites, mailing programs, possibly Kickstarter, and all aspects of running a small business. If you rush your book and do not put out a high quality one, it will not sell, and you will be extremely disappointed.    

     Competition is high in the children’s picture book market. Millions of titles are out in which you will be competing with. So, take the time and invest upfront in a high-quality graphic design, a functioning website, email program, and social media following. No sense launching a book and not already have a market or at least a good number of customers to sell them to. This all takes time and a lot of effort.

     I know everyone with a children’s book inside of them is chomping at the bit to get their ideas and inspiration out into the world. I encourage you to do it, but do it the right way. Ultimately you will need to create a high-quality book and have a reasonable working knowledge on how to sell and market your books to be successful. I will expand upon all these points in greater detail.

HIRE A HIGH-QUALITY GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND ILLUSTRATOR

I must reiterate, if you expect to sell a good number of books you must have a high quality design and illustrations.  You are competing with the best books in the world. Once your book is created you will not get a second chance to make a first impression. So, create a great book, visually appealing, and story parents and children will want to read over and over.

Since I am a professional wildlife and dog photographer I only needed to hire a graphic designer. I used my photos for the illustrations. I hired Karen McDiarmid, https://karenmcdiarmiddesign.com/ to design my book Buddy’s Magic Window. She is a NY Times and Ben Franklin award winning graphic designer. I just gave her my basic ideas and she ran with the design flawlessly. By doing so, I can now compete with the best designed children’s picture books in the world. Hiring an experienced designer will also help alleviate a ton of stress and will free you up the time to do the million other things you will need to do in preparing for your book launch.

We live in a visual world. We are bombarded with visual content on all social media platforms. Scroll through Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Notice that it now takes exceptional artwork or photos and illustrations to make you stop for more than a second to take a look. This is why it is a must to have great illustrations. Children’s picture books tend to be driven by the “Pictures” In which you will need to have a great story. You will be judged quickly by your cover and illustrations. It will be the first impression a potential buyer will have of your book. So hire a high quality illustrator. It will give you a competitive advantage. It is getting tougher to impress the public with ordinary pictures and illustrations.

USE A MAILING PROGRAM

I use Mailchimp. https://mailchimp.com/ Other authors use Mailer Lite or Constant Contact. These programs have free versions and trials, so see which program makes sense to you. I chose MailChimp because it had extra marketing functions built right into it. It integrated with my website and I just found it intuitive to use. But pick whatever fits your needs. Take your time with this one and explore all the costs and features. Try to gauge what your future needs will be, so you do not end up having to switch and learn a whole new program.

Build Your Mailing List

Your mailing list is your lifeline and direct access to your clients. As Social media platforms are constantly changing, you will need to collect e-mails so you can reach your buyers. If you sell on amazon you do not get customers e-mails, which is a big disadvantage. By having a customers e-mail, you can market future books and products to them.

RUN A KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

I was able to raise $10,700 in a 30-day campaign. This allowed me to print 2,500 books for my initial print run.  I had already paid for the graphic design out of pocket. Yes, self-publishing is a business and there will be a lot of business costs. You can run a Kickstarter campaign, http://Kickstarter.com for any amount of money, but stick to a number you actually need and think you can achieve.

      To help me succeed with my campaign I hired Lisa Ferland, http://lisaferland.com as a consulting coach. I highly recommend her if you need to raise over $5,000. I would shoot for a minimum initial print run of at least 1,000 books so the cost per book stays reasonable and you can make a profit to re-invest in future print runs.

Looking back I wish I would have run a shorter campaign. Perhaps 14-21 days. It is stressful, and the middle 2 weeks are not so productive.

CREATE A QUALITY WEBSITE

I am a professional wildlife and dog photographer. I needed a combination of author and photo website. I needed a high quality yet very functional design. I initially tried to build my own website. I quickly got frustrated and hired a professional. http://helenharveydesigns.com This was a great decision. It saved me so much time and aggravation. I now pay her a monthly fee to do updates on my website. I can e-mail her with any changes I need and her responses are quick. This takes away a lot of stress and frees up my time to write and market my books.

Business advice. Do what you do best and hire out the rest. Time is money. Spend your time on things you like and that you can do productively.

I use http://Bluhost.com as my web host. I use http://wordpress.org as my website. I use http://Woocommerce.com for my webstore. I use Mailchimp.com for my e-mail program. I use Braintree by PayPal, ://www.braintreepayments.com/features/paypal for my payment services. I chose these options because I needed a high quality website with photo galleries, webstore, blog, integrated mailing program, and payment system. There a thousands of apps I can integrate. There is room to expand and grow. I personally like this combination. You can see how this integrates smoothly at http://dennisglennon.com

Other authors are using Shopify and are very happy. Some find that program easy to do their own changes with. Do your research when choosing your web set up and see what you think will work for you.

PRINT HIGH QUALITY BOOKS

I use the https://dg.iapcbooks.com/ to print my books. My initial print run was 2,500 books which kept the cost per book down so I can sell books at a good profit. If I sell direct to public then the profit is particularly good, by printing in bulk I can still sell to other retailers and make a reasonable profit. I have not listed on Amazon yet, but even there I can still make a decent profit. (For full transparency I not only print and store my books with the IAPC, I am also an affiliate.)

Printing with an offset printer in bulk gives me the best quality for the best price. The production quality off the press the IAPC uses will match the best printers in the world. By doing things this way my book will compete with the best books in the world. To me, this is what is needed to be done to compete and thrive in the book world. You can e get book printing quotes from their website They can also send you paper and print sample. Or, you can order my book which is a 48 page full color book which really shows off the beauty of printing from a press. http://Dennisglennon.com

SHIPPING

I integrated Shipstaion, http://Shipstation.com with my website.  Other authors have used Pirateship. This was a game changer. I got a DYMO LableWriter 4XL label printer. This was a great decision. The time it saves me is lifesaving. With just a click, orders from my website print out and I can have books packed and ready to go in seconds. It helps keep everything organized and I can track all the orders. You can set up accounts with all the major carriers including : UPS, Fed Ex, USPS and use USPS Media Mail. Using USPS media mail will make your shipping cost efficient. I even created presets so with one click I can print out labels to ship up to 5 books.  

I get my shipping supplies from http://uline.com I use weather resistant white bubble mailers for up to 3 books. I use cardboard mailers for larger orders. The bubble mailers are tough and look professional. Other authors prefer shipping in cardboard mailers for all quanties. Cardboard mailers are twice the price. I do not find it worth the extra expense. I pay around 50 cents for each mailer. The cardboard ones seem to run around $1.00 each. That cost will add up quickly. I only had one complaint about the shipping over the holiday season where shipping is at its worst. So if you figure the cost of the cardboard mailer might have protected that one book it does not make sense to me to pay the extra money. Take the savings and invest in a bigger print run, advertising, or courses on marketing.

If you absolutely do not want to do the shipping yourself then you can look into having a company fulfill your orders. I warehouse around 1,000 books at the IAPC warehouse. They do fulfillment. While I fulfill the majority of orders myself, they are available to fulfill my orders when I get back to travelling and can not fulfill the orders myself. I can easily store about 1,500 books at my house, but do not want to clutter up my space. So I like having the option of a warehouse that can also fulfill orders when needed or if I just get too busy or am travelling.

WHAT I WISH I WOULD HAVE DONE PRE LAUNCH

I have a decent social media following but I wish I would have built up my social media platforms, especially my Instagram account better and more strategically.

I wish I would have organized a list of influencers, media contacts, and celebrities and had established relationships with them.

It would have been strategic to have this set up pre-launch so once I had physical copies of my book I could have shipped them out immediately, in hopes of creating mass publicity, social media buzz, and better sales.  Looking back, I would have organized all this info in an excel sheet.

I wish I would have set aside more money for marketing.

WHAT I AM DOING NOW.

I am now putting together a list of media contacts, celebrities, and other influencers who I will send a copy of my book. I am writing personalized letters to each of them. This will be an ongoing process and just a few hits could really garner a lot of attention and lead to significant sales.

I am learning how to create pintables and free downloads to get followers to my website. I am incorporating marketing to schools and libraries into my sales and marketing plan. My initial plan was to sell direct to the public and do school visits and talks. Covid wiped out these options. When things open up, I will do art and craft shows, school visits, and speaking engagements. Speaking is where I thrive. I love the personal interactions and it is easy to set up some publicity around events.

Reaching out to different media outlets looking for book reviews and sending query letters for articles they might publish.. I am available for pod casts, interviews, and writing on topic, timely articles for each outlet.

Commiting to creating high quality blog posts. I hope these posts are picked up by bloggers with much bigger accounts and I will approach them to guest blog.

Weighing the pros and cons of Amazon Seller Central. I am currently only selling books from my website.

  It is certainly a learning curve to see what works. Follow me on my website as I will be blogging and writing much more detailed articles about all things self publishing. Successes, failures, and lessons learned. http://Dennisglennon.com

THE GOOD NEWS- YES!!! THIS CAN ALL BE DONE

Well the good news is that this can all be done. So join writers groups, especially ones that focus on sales and marketing. Those are the biggest skills you will need to develop. I am learning new things everyday.

Do not rush the process. Chances are that unless you have a massive social media following or incredible marketing skills, it is going to take much longer than you think to get your books sold. So invest time and research all of this. Set yourself up for success right from the start.

Keep pushing forward. It is a marathon not a sprint. Plan for the long term. So, be patient with yourself.

Consider hiring a mentor or experienced coach. Take some webinars. Read and subscribe to Publishers Weekly and join IBPA. Independent Book Publishers Association. https://www.ibpa-online.org/ Listen to podcasts. Get educated on all aspects of running a small business. Enjoy the process. You are creating something wonderful to share with the world. Do not lose sight of that. Give yourself time to succeed.

About Dennis Glennon

Dennis Glennon is a professional wildlife, landscape, and dog photographer. He is the author of the children’s picture book Buddy’s Magic Window.

To learn more about his book, view his photo galleries, subscribe to his blog, and follow him on social media go to http://Dennisglennon.com.

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Plan your photo shoot.

Let’s face it. We are all busy and time fly’s by very quickly. So, if you are getting a puppy, set aside time to take photos. Grab a friend or family member to help. It is easy to recruit helpers because puppies are just so CUTE. The moments you capture will be priceless. Puppies grow very quickly so take a ton of photos. Depending on the breed, the pups will usually go through some awkward growth spurts. I find that 7-9 weeks is a great time to get perfect puppy photos. PS.. There are no bad times to take puppy photos. Keep taking pictures. You will enjoy your photos forever.

Puppies grow quickly. This cute golden retriever puppy photo was taken when he was 7 weeks old. What a perfect time to take photographs.

Choose a location.  

Find a safe outdoor location with some beautiful landscapes. I prefer to take an assistant with me, not only help pose a puppy, but also to keep them safe. Having an extra pair of hands allows me to focus on getting great photos, while keeping the puppy safe. I often photograph in local parks or even friends’ yards that are fenced in or away from traffic. My preference is always outdoors with natural light.

I photographed this golden retriever puppy in a remote area of a local park. Notice the great background. I love to mix rustic backgrounds in my retriever puppy photos. Outdoor settings and nice textures give a great feeling to the photos. Note that the color is beautiful but not overpowering. Photographing a puppy in a remote location is often easier because puppies will draw big crowds, which will be distracting to the dog and photographer.

Choose your background.

Backgrounds are the most overlooked aspect of creating great puppy photographs. I am constantly on the lookout for locations to photograph puppies. I look for backgrounds that are lending to each breed of dog. Since I love photographing the sporting and working dogs, outdoors is my preferred space. Rustic objects are very lending in creating a high impact photo. Some of my background preferences include rustic windows, tractors, barns, stonework, flowers, carts, and other random natural props I find when scouting locations. Once I decide I like a specific prop and location, I shoot at an angle in which the background is uncluttered. “Less is more” when choosing your backgrounds, and for good photos in general. Often the success of a given photo is more about what you leave out as much as what you put in. Get rid of any distracting backgrounds.

Time of day for the best light. 

For the best photographs, the time of day you photograph will make all the difference. Early morning and late afternoon is the best light to photograph in. Second best would be under some shaded canopy such as trees if you are photographing in the middle of the day.

Early morning or late afternoon light is warmer and is at a lower angle in the sky so it will make your photos warmer and more flattering. The lighting is the biggest factor in separating an average photo from a great one. Plan to photograph in the morning or late afternoon, preferably both. You can never take to many photos. Therefore, just keep shooting.

Using natural props is fun. I found this Adirondack chair in a local state park. I took advantage of the beautiful blooms to use as a colorful background. Throwing the colorful background out of focus makes the dog stand out and photograph more beautiful. I love color. Just don’t overdo it or it distracts from the puppy.

Use treats and squeaky toys.  

Yes…bribing your puppy is ok in this instance LOL.  Take a treat that the pup has never had before. Something that smells good. If you can do a little training before your photo shoot that is even better. Use treats for training and positive reinforcement to get the pup to sit or lay down. Even a few seconds is adequate time to snap off a few photos. Once you get your puppy to strike a pose use a squeaky toy to make its ears pop up or get a funny expression on its face. This is often priceless and brings the photo to life.

In order to get this 9-week-old German shorthaired pointer to point we used a feather which you can see in the bottom right-hand corner of the photo. When you can bring out a breeds or puppy’s natural instinct, you create a winning photo.

BIG PRO TIP.

Study your dog’s movements and expressions before the photo shoot. By carefully watching your dog, they will give cues on what they will do next. By anticipating the behavior, you will be able to snap the shutter at the perfect time. Do not be afraid to take too many photos. You can never have too many. Just weed out the bad ones. No one will ever see them. Just pick out the best ones. (That is what the Pros do).

Bring out the personality of the dog.

This is the real key to getting a great photograph. Nobody knows your dog as well as you do. Your dog will do certain things, have certain expressions that make them unique and even more lovable. By studying your dog’s behavior, you will be able to capture that moment and it will be a picture you will treasure forever.

I photographed this pup at 3 months old. He was staying at my house for a while. What a great dog and fun personality. Knowing the dog’s personality helps to get great photos. He was always doing something goofy. I took my camera out one day. We were just playing in the yard. When I went outside the fence to get something out of my truck, he just kept peeking at me. I was laughing so hard and took a few images. I truly caught his personality. So just keep shooting. You never know what you will capture.  I was at eye level with him which makes for a more impactful image.

Shoot at eye level.

Try photographing on one knee or even laying down to photograph the puppy at eye level. It brings you into their world, which is awesome. You will get more intimate portraits by doing this. It is much easier to get the puppy’s expressions this way. Plus, it is just more interesting and intimate.

Get eyes in focus. The eyes are the pathway to the soul. I often focus on a dog’s eyes. They tell a story. Great photos tell a story. If you can capture a great expression in the eyes you will always have a winning photo.

Tire the puppy out.

I always seem to get the best photographs when the puppy is a little tired. They are just more cooperative and easier to photograph. Do not be afraid to exercise the puppy before you do a photo shoot. Just be careful they are not so overworked that they fall asleep or look sleepy. Alert facial expressions bring a photo to life. You can get those sleeping puppy photos at the end of the photo shoot. All the exercise, excitement, and fresh air will certainly make your pup tired. Your puppy will sleep great the night of the photo shoot.

Always be ready to capture a moment. This pup was very active for most of the photo shoot. Here he took a minute to recharge and I was ready and thankful. He looks contemplative. It certainly captured a nice moment.

Bonus tip. Bring multiple puppies and a prop to contain them in. I often use carts, kayaks, rustic type carriages, or something large enough to cotain multiple pups. For this I plan to have at least 2 assistants to wrangle the pups up, place them, and keep them safe.

Action shots

Take these early in the photo shoot. Let your pup run around and burn off energy. Just keep shooting. You never know what you will capture. Worry about deleting the bad ones later. There are a few that will usually stand out. Letting your pup expend its energy will help calm them down and you will be able to pose them much easier later. I find that a puppy photo session can last anywhere from 1 to 3 hours depending on the puppy. The average pup seems to last about 90 minutes before they get tired, bored, disinterested, or fidgety.

Plan your time carefully. I like to shoot late in the afternoon starting about 3 hours before sunset to get to a location and set up. Usually, the pup is most cooperative after about an hour of getting to a new location. I will most often get my best photos 15 to 60 minutes before sunset. Let the pup have a lot of fun and get used to the sounds and smells of the location before you even begin shooting. Oh…And get them used to the camera clicking days ahead of the photo shoot. That way they will not get spooked by the camera when you take them out for the real photo session.

Stay calm.  

This is extremely important. The puppy will pick up on the energy of the people on the photo shoot. Whether it is the photographer, handler, or owner. Keeping everyone calm and having fun will help the puppy to relax. Relaxed puppies make for good puppy models and are much easier to photograph. I do not even drink coffee the days I photograph puppies…And I love my coffee.. but it amps me up and I found out by experience if I am amped up then the puppy will be also. It is fun and exciting when photographing a new puppy. But by keeping calm you will get better photographs. Once you are done and you get great photos it will be time to jump up and down and celebrate.

 I saw this barn window from the road when I was out scouting for a new puppy photo location. My friend Tracy was holding him up by his little but. He and everyone on the photo shoot was calm and having a blast. Buddy was the perfect puppy model. I find that between 6 to 9 weeks is the perfect time to take great puppy photos. They look perfect, plus they still cannot run too fast which makes it easier to get great photos.

To read the whole story behind the photo and learn more about my children’s picture book Buddy’s Magic Window, which this photo inspired, go to dennisglennnon.com

Most of all, enjoy the time with your puppy. Have a blast. Take tons of photos. The pups grow so fast. Photos of your precious pups are PRICELESS. They will create memories that will last a lifetime.

So keep photographing and sharing your puppy’s awesome adventures with friends on social media. It is fun to share and follow friends dogs as they grow and get out and have fun adventures.

About Dennis Glennon.

Dennis Glennon is a professional dog and wildlife photographer and author of the newly released children’s picture book Buddy’s Magic Window.

To learn more about Buddy’s Magic Window, get a free pdf copy of the book, explore Dennis Glennon’s wildlife, nature, and dog photo galleries, and get more photo tips and fun stuff go to: http://Dennisglennon.com

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