Knowing What's Best for You
As a writer there are times when you have to make a choice between self-publishing versus traditional publishing. Each having their pros and cons. I think today's guest post from Christina Davis explains it best when ultimately came down to her experiences in the publishing world. Check out what she has to say.
Princess Periwinkle Sprinkle vs. Holly Tamale
By Christina Davis
Welcome to the Enchanted Rainbow Realm, where the clouds are made of cotton candy, the animals can talk, and magic is real!
Princess Periwinkle Sprinkle was the only rainbow unicorn princess in the land, until she got a little sister. Holly Tamale wants to do everything her big sister does, and she keeps getting in the way of soccer practice. Eventually, the big sister thinks of a creative solution so they can play together.
The goal of this book is to provide an example for kids to look up to so they can come up with their own solutions for getting along with others. To that end, you’ll find discussion prompts at the end of the story to help your little one apply the lesson of the book to their own life.
Tell us about yourself
Hi! My name is Christina Davis, and I live on the central coast of California with my husband and kids. When I’m not being a mom or writing, I enjoy kayaking in our local wetlands and the Pacific Ocean. I also enjoy doing arts and crafts with my daughter, or throwing together healthy baking projects. I recently perfected this chocolate chip cookie recipe:
1.5 c almond flour
¼ c coconut flour
1.5 teaspoons vanilla
½ c brown sugar
½ c avocado oil
⅓ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
½ c dark chocolate chips
Bake for 14 minutes at 350 degrees, let cool for 5 minutes, and enjoy!
What was your inspiration for the story?
Princess Periwinkle Sprinkle vs. Holly Tamale was inspired by my relationship with my sister. We struggled to get along for many years, but now we’re best friends. I love her with my whole heart, and even though she lives in another state now, I wish we could hang out together all the time.
When my husband and I were planning to grow our family a couple years ago, I set out to write a book that we could use as a tool to teach my daughter how to play well with her future sibling. Viola! Mission accomplished.
(Well, her sibling is still a baby, but we have the tool for when we need it, and the story can still help with cousin relationships, school-friend relationships, and more.)
How long did it take you from start to finish?
It took me about two years from conception to publication. My process is unique in that I begin by telling the story to my daughter at bedtime several times before penning a rough draft. Then, I type my rough draft with in-depth illustrator notes, trim the text significantly during the page-layout process, and make any additional tweaks based on my editor’s feedback.
Luckily, since this is my third book in this series, a lot of the world is already developed and I have a blueprint I follow, so in general I know the cadence and how many spreads (double-page pictures) and single pages I’ll need and where they’ll go in the story.
Did you have any other contributors?
Yes! I found my phenomenal illustrator by looking at portfolios of different artists online. I immediately fell in love with her style and reached out to see if she would be willing to work with me. She said yes, so I had her illustrate a test page. For me, communication is one of the most important parts of working with a freelancer, so I wanted to make sure we could work well together before drawing up a contract for an entire project.
Did you invest in any self-publishing classes? If so, did they work for you?
Most of the continuing education classes I took were for writing craft, and they were super helpful. Previously, I also had a lengthy career in publishing, which is what I studied in school, so I use a lot of the skills I gained in those endeavors while publishing my own books. A couple years ago, I attended the 20books conference in Las Vegas (now called Author Nation), and that was both inspiring and illuminating as well.
Why did you choose self-publishing versus traditional?
You might not know it, but this is a loaded question. When I delivered my daughter, I had a traumatic near-death experience. The mindset I had coming out of that was different from the mindset I had previously.
For years, I had been working on fine-tuning a young adult trilogy (The Da’Valia Trilogy) with the intention of becoming a published author. I’d done the “query trenches” and had some nibbles from agents, but none that were willing to take me on as a client.
I had spent far too much time letting the pursuit of perfection be the enemy of good. I was having a hard time getting out of my own way.
I’d also heard that after a publishing deal is struck, it takes a couple years for a book to be released. That–paired with the newfound realization that life is finite and that I should seize the day–was the kick in the pants I needed. I truly felt like if I wanted to be a published author before I died, I needed to move faster than traditional routes allowed.
So now, anytime someone tells me they’re thinking of writing a book, my advice is to sit down and do it! If you have a rough draft, you can make something out of it, but you can’t publish vague ideas.
How much did it cost to self-publish?
I’m running my self-publishing as a business and I’m on my second series, so that’s hard to pinpoint. With the first books I published, I had fun, but I spent too much on marketing. And unfortunately, it was hard to track the ROI (return on investment) on a lot of what I tried.
If I were to ballpark how much it costs to produce a single picture book, it’s about $3,000 – and that’s with bootstrapping! That’s why I chose to launch my kids books on Kickstarter in order to offset the costs of the illustrator, which is where the bulk of my spending comes from. I’m transparent with the numbers on there, and you can see a breakdown of where the money goes in my second project (Princess Periwinkle Sprinkle’s Glitter Toots) here.
I think it’s also important to remember that there’s the cost of doing business as an LLC, which is very expensive in my state, as well as things like email and web hosting, office supplies, shipping, taxes, legal, design software, etc. So, if you chose to do self-publishing as a business, I recommend really thinking through those little costs that can add up over time.
I did a training program with my local Small Business Development Office to learn the ins and outs of running my own business, and I was awarded a California Dream Fund Grant that helped with start-up costs. The training and grant they provided was invaluable, so I always recommend reaching out to your local business development office to see what support they can offer.
Do you have any tips or tricks?
If you’re just starting out, I highly recommend doing these things:
Read your story out loud - does it flow?
Have someone with a different education level than you read your story out loud - does it still flow?
Generate a template on a site like BookVault or IngramSpark before your begin illustrations – this way you know the exact size you’ll need, including the “bleed,” which is the area that may or may not get cut off the final product
Think visually – if you have have a different picture on each page, the book will engage kids better
What’s next?
I’ll have my next kids book on Kickstarter in the spring. I’m super excited to explore a new main character in this book, which has financial lessons for kids. Studies have shown that kids’ attitudes around money are already developed by the time they enter elementary school, but there’s still a lot of learning they’ll need to go through to master personal finance. Tilly the Troll’s Shopping Spree shows kids how they can get into trouble with impulsive shopping, and also how to shop with intention.
Guest Post Wrap Up
I don't know about you but i loved this guest post by Christina! Has anyone gone to try her cookie receipt? I know I will be.
If you haven't already go and check out all the projects she has been working on. You can also check out some of the latest guest posts including self-publishing authors Tricia Gardella or Amanda Kute. If you would like to be featured on the blog, please feel free to reach out at kalikuzma@gmail.com.
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