Hello! Meet ‘Bobbi Tinker’, a storytelling bunny, who is a central character in my new children’s book.
I have trouble finding places to promote my books, so any ideas welcomed!
I have my Dandelion’s Gallery page on Facebook, so promote on there, and also a separate author’s page (Ada Rose Leighton).
I try sharing in craft groups, but like a lot of other people, get no reactions.
I’m in writer’s groups, but they all seem to be about writers promoting to other writers - no people who are looking for books on there.
I’m not great at Instagram or Twitter/X, but do try posting on there.
Does anyone have any ideas on where I can promote children’s books?
I don’t have kids myself, or any kids in the family, so no contacts established with schools or youth groups. I’ve tried donating previous books to a local primary school when they asked for donations for raffles prizes - not even a thank you from them.
I’ve offered books to my local library, only to have them sat on a pile in someone’s office somewhere, and forgotten about.
Help!!! Suggestions and ideas gratefully received!
Sorry I don’t have any experience in this area - perhaps you could try promoting at children’s ‘events’ or possibly venues like petting zoo’s or museums etc. Play groups might also be a possibility.
He’s so cute! I love your creative products and surely everyone loves rabbits!
I don’t have kids either, but I do remember what it was like to be one and I adored all books to do with animals. That may have been a lot of years ago, but I guess many kids today are still like that - they just don’t connect with that content in the same way. Have you looked at creating some type of animated version of your characters - maybe something that helps to teach kids about poetry / rhyme? I wouldn’t have a clue where to start with that but there are so many great teachable resources online now, it might be worth checking into?
If that’s a step too far, the other thoughts that popped into my head were colouring books that were also story books - maybe make a little series of very low cost books and serialise the story over several little books to build loyalty? Bobbi would make a super cute kawaii style cross stitch pattern too, that would be popular with more than kids - you could quite easily make him into a kit with counted aida fabric maybe, a little hoop to frame him, some instructions and the threads to complete it? If that’s outside your wheelhouse, maybe look for a fellow maker in that area to collaborate on it together? Maybe also someone who does pottery / clay modelling to make some miniatures of your characters? I absolutely love those little mini animal totems and I know lots of other people who do too - again, of all ages.
The direct marketing approach is so bloody exhausting and so often frustrating, as you’ve found, that it might be worthwhile getting your characters out there in other ways to build your audience and then introduce them to your books and other products.
We have a local children’s author who promotes his books at a craft market, I don’t know how well he does. But what about school fetes. I know they tend to be held at the end of the summer term & Christmas which might be a long time to wait but you could start to inquire at local schools to see who is running a summer fete.
I know a children’s book author who has had a stand at local markets and sold her books there - she also makes sculptures of the main characters and prints - ie pictures but also on cups, t-towels etc of the characters from the books. When she is at her markets she has pre-printed A4 outline images of her main book characters which she gives out to the children to colour in. She used to attend markets we were at and always had people around her stand - I bought a couple of her books and my great niece a pretty little china mug showing one of the characters as her winter hot chocolate mug.
I used to help at the local Brownie pack, and saw how they weren’t really interested in things like this. Must check and see if the leaders have changed - might be some more receptive ones running the pack now!
Sadly I cant do fetes due to health issues. Someone kindly hosted a stall for me just before Christmas for my books, but it was a poorly attended event, and no sales.
I had some previous bunny characters printed onto mugs, but drop-shipping gets too complicated, and when i ordered some in to ship myself, the postage made them very pricey for posting out to customers. Sadly I cant do markets or craft fairs any more.
Good ideas, thank you. It’s finding the right group thats hard. So many spammers out there offering cheap services for poor quality work.
I don’t publish on Amazon, as my books are either middle grade or chapter books, and most kids in that age group still read physical books. Also, independent booksellers dont like to stock indie authors who sell on Amazon, and I’m trying to get my books into dome of those stores (it all seems very complicated!)
I’m trying indie publishing, as agents are overrun with enquiries, plus I like to be in control of the creative process lol!
Have a word with Martine from @MaisyMuffin . I think she was making up stories about the dolls she sells and posting them here and on fb etc to promote the dolls. She ended up with enough stories to publish as little books which she now sells alongside the dolls and their outfits.
So, a bit the other way round in that the characters came first.
I just promote mine on Instagram and Facebook but I suppose people tend to buy my books because they have my dolls.
A girl I went to college with sells hers on Amazon so maybe that’s an avenue to explore.
Sorry you aren’t able to do any events. Do you have a good local bookstore - would they be able to do something for you. We have several independent ones around us. One had a table with an author’s books that the children could sit and look at - there were some pictures they could colour in too. Our local library has a childrens reading club - I’ve seen children engrossed in having a story read to them by one of the librarians. Would your local library take some?
There is a very good local bookstore in the next town, and I read their website fully on what they want when an indie author applies to them to see if they’ll stock their books - and I got a very rude reply telling me completely different information was needed (things that weren’t mentioned on their website), so I didn’t really get the vibe that they would be pleasant to try engaging further with.
I left copies of each of my currently published books at the local library, with a covering letter (the manager was on leave, and no-one else would take responsibility for passing them on). After a few weeks I sent a polite email, just to check they had been received by the manager. Got an email from county level, saying they’d got the books. I could chose which library they went to, if they were accepted for inclusion. That was back in November, and I’ve heard nothing since
I’m not sure I have the confidence to try again, and I can’t keep sending in books if they’re just going to be sat gathering dust in an office somewhere
It would be lovely to think that they would be enjoyed by local children, though!
I’ve written several full length novels and two are currently on Amazon. Amazon gives you full control over your work and covers etc, and you get to offer both ebooks and paperbacks. And it’s all free. Don’t get sucked into vanity publishing. It might cost you a small fortune. If you think your books are niche then try to find an agent or publisher that will consider unsolicited submissions.
