Authors of Children's Books Can Market Their Books for Very Little Money

I am a children's book author as well as a print on demand book publisher. The nice thing about that is that once I am done writing a children's book, I can then become my own publisher. It's a great arrangement, and I have no complaints.

As an author, I have tried several ideas to market my books. I've read material that said I needed to get on the radio, come up with press releases, book reviews, and the list goes on. The problem with many of these ideas is that they tend to be very expensive. I've even tried some of these marketing ideas, and they really didn't increase my books sales all that much. In fact, I spent a lot more money than I ever made.

Now, if I were lucky enough to make it on a radio show with a very large audience, sure, I'd make some book sales. But the reality is, for unknown authors, we're not going to reach much of an audience, not without paying a few thousand dollars in marketing.

What I have found to be successful for selling children's books is to go where the children are: schools. Now, you can't just walk up to a school and expect to start selling your books. You need to contact the principal of the school, if possible. Sometimes that can pose a problem because there is usually a secretary who screens the principal's calls. Good luck trying to get past her. The principals are usually too busy to handle such a call.

If contacting the principal is out of the question, you have to be a bit more resourceful. Who else sees the kids at school? The teachers! It's much easier to contact a teacher at the school than it is the principal. Once you get the teacher excited about your book, she'll become your spokesperson. A librarian can even be a good resource.

Offer a free author visit to the school. Give a complimentary book to each teacher who is going to participate, and do this enough in advance of your visit so that the teacher can read your book to her class. By doing this, the students will be familiar with your book, and if it's a good one, they'll be sure to want to buy a copy.