How did I get published?
This is a GREAT QUESTION I get asked a lot. Prepare yourself for a LONG ANSWER because it took me 5 years to get published so sit back as I try to summarize my 5-year journey…
First, you need to write the book, which is HARD. I recommend you sign up for my newsletter. I share writing tips and book recommendations to help you with your craft. I only email once a quarter so you do not need to worry about getting spammed.
Second, you need to figure out what publishing path is for you. Do you want to be traditionally published or self-publish or go with a hybrid publisher? If you traditionally publish a “publisher” or “publishing house” is responsible for buying your book, editing it with you, hiring illustrators, printing, distributing the book to bookstores, and helping you market your book. In exchange, you get a percentage from each sale. If you self-publish, you do ALL the work, and it is A LOT, but you keep ALL of the profits. Also, there are hybrid publishers now as another option; you pay them a fee to help you publish your book.
Researching these options will save you a lot of aggregation in the long run. Remember, once you self-publish a book, you won't be able to query that book to a publishing house. And once you sell a book to a publisher, it will be very difficult to get your rights back and self-publish. In other words, make sure you are one hundred percent sure about the publishing path you want to go down, before moving forward.
For traditional publishing ask yourself: Are you willing to wait A LONG TIME (years) for an agent or publishing deal? Are you okay with collaborating with an editor and publisher on your book and giving away some of your creative control? Are you patient? Are you okay with getting a percentage of each book sale?
For self-publishing ask yourself: Do you have publishing/marketing skills or money to invest in marketing / an illustrator / editing services / formatting? Do you have time to invest in all of the above? Are you okay with your book not being in bookstores and potentially schools and libraries?
All of these factors and more are worth considering before picking your path. You might be wondering WHERE to look. Google and YouTube are your friends. Follow authors on social media, sign up for their newsletter, and seek out publishing-related podcasts for more information. Look into organizations like The Word - A Storytelling Sanctuary, We Need Diverse Book, and the Latinx KidLit Book Festival for additional FREE insight. Many authors like myself offer critique services for a fee. I can help you with your picture book manuscript and your query letter.
A very simplified version of what you might expect when you traditionally publish would be to:
1) write and revise the book to the absolute best of your ability, 2) query to agents, 3) find a literary agent, 4) revise the book with the agent, 5) go on submission, 6) get an offer from an editor at a publishing house 7) your agent negotiates the contract, 8) publish the book in 1-2 years (approx). There are MANY more steps and remember that everyone's publishing journey is different!
For self-publishing you might:
1) write and revise the book, 2) illustrate the book or hire an illustrator, 3) format your book for ebook and paperback 4) look into book distribution, 5) begin marketing 3-6 months before release, 6) release book and continue to do promo.
Please keep in mind these are incredibly simplified versions of each path, and there are many more steps and sometimes complications but these are the big ones that I think it's important to take into consideration.
