: Re: Self-publishing / marketing children's book I have wanted for some time now to write and illustrate a children's book. How realistic is it to self publish? I have no business background in this

@Kevin153

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Anyone can self-publish, but it's not a great route for everyone. From experience, successful self-publishers are always great salespeople. If you are willing to do non-stop school visits, readings at libraries, book-signings, book tours, speaking engagements and interviews, you can do very well as a self-publisher. As a self-publisher you can sell exactly as many copies as you are willing to hand-sell personally yourself. You have to be willing to think of your book as a product.

The additional task is that you have to be able to do all the many tasks that go into publishing on your own (or outsource them at a steep rate that will make it hard for you to ever turn a profit). That means you have to be great at editing, layout, design and marketing, in addition to writing and illustrating. Personally, I would never recommend self-publishing for children's books for two reasons:

People tend to still want print books for children, which cuts off one of the most lucrative paths for self-publishers, e-books.
Putting together a children's book is particularly complex in terms of layout and design.

Going through a traditional publisher is a low-risk route with almost no up-front costs for you. If you have strong illustration skills, I'd suggest putting together an illustrator's portfolio and approaching publishers that way. Once you have a book or two under your belt as an illustrator, you'll have the inside track towards selling a self-illustrated manuscript. Many well-known author-illustrators got their start that way. Breaking into the field as a writer is also possible (I did it) but it's very difficult. Picture books is a genre that really belongs to the superstar illustrators.

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