5 Tips for Writing a Children's Book That Sells
As a book coach, I’ve helped many authors write children's books.
As a pop-up book fair owner, I've had the opportunity to sell thousands of indie and self-published author's books to customers. I know what sells and I know what stays on the shelf. Many books sit on bookshelves collecting dust, because they just don't grab the customer's attention. Studies show you have less than 10 seconds to grab a buyer's attention before they move on to something else.
Here are some tips for writing a children's book that sells.
Tip 1: Your front cover is your books sale's page. Your book should display an attention grabbing title that relays to the customer - the when, the what, and the why of your book. Give the customer a clear picture of what your story is about with your book's title and front cover illustrations. This encourages the buyer to formulate a buying decision quickly.
Remember you only have 8 seconds to grab a buyers attention. Learn more about how to title your children's book with the e-book "A Step-By-Step E-Book on how to Write and Self-Publish a Best-Selling Children's".
Here is an example, of a best-selling children's book cover. A buyer can tell from the title and illustrations that the book is about helping children cope with big emotions. The illustrations are simple and the title is clear and concise. Remember you only have 8 seconds to grab a buyer's attention. Your book's cover should sell your book!
Tip 2: Write with your book with the reader in mind. What is your reader's age, what do they like to do, what type of topics interest and intrigue them. Remember you are writing a children's book and you have to keep that at the forefront before writing your story. Although you may think your story is great, will a pre-schooler be able to relate to the words or images in your book? So, prior to writing your manuscript determine who you are writing for and if your topic and plot is relatable to your target audience.
Tip 3: Stick to the publishing industry standards. Although you are independently self-publishing a children's book, do your best to stick to industry standards when creating your book. You can make your own rules when it comes to self-publishing your book, however keep in mind that retailers, bookstores, and schools may not want to purchase and host your book if it does not fit the traditional children's book mold. The majority of my clientele are interested in writing children's picture books. These type of books cater to the birth to pre-school age range. It would be wise to stick to the 32 page standard model for that style of book. With that said, do your research on the type of children's book you want to write, your book's word count, and your book's reading levels. You can find more information about this in my e-book.
Tip 4: Create memorable characters in your story. Children love a good story, but do you know what they love more than that? A memorable character! Childhood is marked with cartoon characters from books, shows, and apps! When preparing your story, think about how you can make your story 's character stand out. The sky is the limit with children's books, you could create a character that could become a house-hold name! From your children's books, you could birth dolls, action figures, cartoon shows, etc. So when writing your story, make your character memorable. Is your character funny, are your characters mean, does your character like to pull pranks.. Develop your characters and make them memorable.
Tip 5: Hire a quality illustrator. The market is saturated with illustrators, make you sure you are well informed on the different type of illustrations your children's book may contain. Also thoroughly research your illustrator before hiring.
Read my blog post about the different styles of illustrations here.
Watch my video on illustrations here.
Stay tuned for more tips!
Happy Writing,
Toni