QUALITY, HARDBACK PICTURE BOOKS – AT COST PRICE....... WHY??? I just got the news that the books will arrive this week, so it thought I had better explain why I am doing this. For the people that know me, it will be easy to grasp, but if you don’t, it will be a stretch. I love telling stories to children and I have done it all my life. In my library we had “the quiet room” – which was actually often very noisy, especially if the story was “robust” – but it was a place of magic. Obviously, whatever book was featured became hot property and its borrowing statistics went through the roof. The power of a good children’s picture book can never be underestimated. So, when I finally got some time in retirement, and with the encouragement of my family, I decided to publish some of the stories that have been within me for years. That is when I realised that publishing good quality, hardback children’s picture books is not easy. Many publishers won’t take the risk because softbacks are cheap and easy to sell, and if you don’t have time to read the whole book at the shop, it is a better bet to buy the softback in case the book is not that good. So, the good news is that I decided to go ahead and publish in hardback and sell the books for whatever they cost me. Everyone wins. I get to write and tell my stories which I just love doing, some fantastic illustrators, book designers and publishers are getting work, you get to buy them at cost price and hardback children’s picture books start appearing on lots of book shelves! The publishing quality is outstanding – the paper is gorgeous and thick (librarians have a thing about good quality paper in children’s books – bear with me)! I received 60 advance copies for Book Week two weeks ago and they sold out immediately – well I did give some away (too much fun), and the reaction has been amazing. So scary watching people read your book in front of you – you almost forget to breathe while you wait to see their reaction at the end. I am going to sell them for $10 each (recommended retail is $25). Postage will be a pain of course because they are heavy. I will show you the cost in another post, but as an example, in a PO cardboard box, it costs $15 to post three books to Sydney, so you would get 3 hardback books, delivered for $45. I will give a quick précis of each book in my next post, so you can see approximately what age group is appropriate. However, it will be very broad. They are all suitable as a bedtime story – or to be read together any time, but two of them can be read by much older children. My fourth book is just being finalised by the book designer and it is very obviously aimed at 2-4 year olds. I wish it was as easy with these books! So, everyone, thanks for your encouragement and support. Hopefully the books will be here any day now and you can finally get to enjoy them. If you buy “How Do I Know?, promise me you will take the time to read it, quietly, and remember how lovely it was to have someone read a book to you.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 21:30:24 +0000
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