By David Hoobler David Hoobler is both the author and illustrator of the Zonk the Dreaming Tortoise series. In the post below he shares his experience creating read aloud ebook versions of his children's books. Recording studios and mixing boards meant nothing to me a year ago. To me these are the realm of Rock and Rollers and Super Stars. That was then, before I decided to … [Read more...] about Guest Post: One Author’s Experience Creating Children’s Read Aloud Ebooks
children's books
An Interview with Vicki Marquez, Author of The Rootlets
Vicki Marquez is the author of The Rootlets. The Rootlets are four fun-loving and adventurous kids, with veggie hair and healthy habits - whose lives, up until now, were undoubtedly ordinary. In their very first adventure, Brocc, Carrotina, Cornelius and Kaley overhear shocking news that’s most definitely NOT ordinary, and that’s sure to change life as they know it…forever! … [Read more...] about An Interview with Vicki Marquez, Author of The Rootlets
Guest Post: Writing and Illustrating a Children’s Picture Book
By David Hoobler David Hoobler is both the author and illustrator of the Zonk the Dreaming Tortoise series. In the post below he shares his creative process when it comes to writing, illustrating, and publishing his own books. My process… What the heck is my process. First I hit myself on the head with a hammer until an idea falls out of my ear. Then I pick up a pencil and … [Read more...] about Guest Post: Writing and Illustrating a Children’s Picture Book
Publishing Children’s Ebooks
The children's book market is expanding. According to IBISWorld, "e-readers and other popular devices, like tablets and smartphones, make books easier to buy, read and store. Animation and other extra features made possible by these and other devices are making e-books particularly attractive to children." Jane Friedman also reported that "Children are starting to read … [Read more...] about Publishing Children’s Ebooks
How to Create a Fixed Format Ebook (Part 2): Adding Images
In my last post on creating fixed format ebooks, I covered how to set up your files in Sigil so that ereaders and tablets know to treat your ebook like a fixed format ebook. This post I'll talk about how to treat images in picture ebooks. First, you'll want to make sure that your images are each 800 x 800 px wide. If you have a spread, make sure the width is 1600 px, and … [Read more...] about How to Create a Fixed Format Ebook (Part 2): Adding Images
Getting Past the Gatekeepers: Promoting Children’s Books
By Louisa Clarkson – Indicated Now that more and more people self-publishing, it can be hard for new books to get noticed. With that in mind, Louisa Clarkson, founder of Indicated, a promotional resource for indie authors and small presses, has shared three helpful tips on how to promote children's books, the genre with arguably the most gatekeepers. Boy, I thought writing … [Read more...] about Getting Past the Gatekeepers: Promoting Children’s Books
McDonald’s, the Book Distributor
I couldn't resist. When I heard that McDonald's planned to give away over 20 million books with their happy meals during the first two weeks of November, I knew I had to see for myself. So on the first day, I bought my first happy meal in like 20 years. To be completely honest, I was excited to get The Goat Who Ate Everything, just because it sounded like the cutest of the … [Read more...] about McDonald’s, the Book Distributor
Rogue Bear Press, a publisher of children’s books
Jason Edwards, award-winning author and 'edutainer', kindly took the time for an interview about Rogue Bear Press. Rogue Bear Press publishes children's books, including The Chronicles of the Monster Detective Agency, which won the Mom's Choice Awards in 2011. The press currently has four employees, who all work part-time. In addition to publishing children's books, Rogue Bear … [Read more...] about Rogue Bear Press, a publisher of children’s books
Storybird: The Origins of Halloween
Storybird is a fun, relatively new, platform that, according to the website, "lets anyone make visual stories in seconds." Artists have created a lot of images especially for the site, and writers then use those images to inspire new stories. So far, over 5 million stories have been created on Storybird. For people with free accounts, it is supposed to take 5-7 days (though … [Read more...] about Storybird: The Origins of Halloween
BookStats, What Happened in the Publishing Industry in 2011
BookStats, the annual survey conducted by BISG that captures the size and scope of the publishing industry, was released today. See the press release below; there are some interesting factoids, particularly for anyone working with ebooks. … [Read more...] about BookStats, What Happened in the Publishing Industry in 2011
11/22/10: This Week in the Publishing World
Since it's Thanksgiving in a couple days, thought I'd post the publishing news early this week. I don't know if it's because I'm taking a Writing for Children's class, but I keep noticing the topic of children's books in my classes. Anyway, today the Association of Booksellers for Children approved a merger with the American Booksellers Association. ABC executive … [Read more...] about 11/22/10: This Week in the Publishing World