How to Self-Publish Your Very Own Children's Book

Ever think about writing your own children's book? I have, for many years, actually. Last year, I finally followed through and produced one. Here are the steps I took from concept to finished product.
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Image: Smart Aleck book, by David K. Israel

Ever think about writing your own children's book? I have, for many years, actually. Last year, I finally followed through and produced one called Smart Aleck. Here are the steps I took from concept to finished product (in the video below, you can see exactly what the finished product looks like in much more detail).

  1. I took my story idea and wrote it down, trying to keep to under 1,000 words, which could work on the ideal page count for a picture book: 32 pages.
  2. Working with a local university, I "auditioned" dozens of illustrators until I found the one whose style I thought best fit what I was picturing.
  3. I settled on a price to pay my new illustrator, Gabe Lin.
  4. Over a couple months, we worked out the look of the characters. Then we storyboarded the book, drawing little sketches of what we wanted to see on each page, leaving room for the text.
  5. Once the characters and storyboards were done, Gabe roughed out the book at 10" X 8", which was the trim size I was aiming for.
  6. Over the next few months, Gabe illustrated the book and we made small revisions to the text where we needed.
  7. With the finished files in hand, I started looking for the best place to get the books printed. After an exhaustive search and many days on the phone with various companies and tech supports, I settled on two – ArtBookBindery.com to handle the 50 paperback copies I wanted and Blurb.com to handle the few hardcover copies.
  8. The video below walks you through some details of those experiences, but overall it was simple, painless, and even fun!
  9. Of course, the best part was reading the book in bed to my son during our normal booktime. He was floored that this very professional-looking book he was holding was written by his very own dad. Easily the highlight of the whole experience. I can't recommend it enough, especially if you can work into the story some inside jokes and phrases only your family knows about... that makes it very special for the kids.
  10. If you'd like a copy of my book, I'm taking 50% of all the money I make from sales and donating it to FirstBook.org - a wonderful charity that puts new books in the hands of kids in need. Just e-mail me for details on how to order: triviahunt at gmail dot com.