How much money can you make from a children's book?

[@MelodyAWriterCreator]

This was wonderful!! I recently wrote, illustrated and self published my first 3 children's books and it is a great feeling of accomplishment even before the books start selling.. I went through kdp and I'm going to be trying the new Vella format for one of my books.. I don't write particularly for money.. I love writing stories that have meaning and an element of adventure, acceptance, and kindness... I get some but not a lot of support for my writing from family and friends because I think they see it as a little bit of a waste of time because it takes so long to be successful or prosperous, but I absolutely love writing.. This video gave me a feeling of support and encouragement and excitement for what the future can possibly hold for my books.. Thank you so much!! 💙✍️

[@christyanfox189]

You’re very welcome and thank you for the kind comments. It sounds like you’re well on your way and - more importantly - you’re having fun and finding a creative release. All the best and good luck with your books, Christyan

[@christiannilsen2835]

Never listen to slowlaners in your life and never feel ashamed to want money and the success you deserve!! These are crucial mental blocks to remove asap. Congrats on being awesome!

[@ChuckAroundTheWorld]

What’s the name of your books ?

[@MelodyAWriterCreator]

@@ChuckAroundTheWorld Hi thanks for your interest... My books are Hiram Raccoon's Phenomenal Movie Adventure, Penny Petunia Opossum's Tail Tale, and Itty Bitty The Little Kitty Goes To Heaven.. My Vella series, which I will be adding to soon is called Kylewyn Gnomerstein's Magical Quest.. I have 16 episodes posted so far..

[@Loud_Thinker]

A publisher claimed that people RARELY find success with self publishing. Being someone who's never published anything yet but getting closer to finish my first book... Your advice would be..... ? 🙏

[@kaicastle.]

You're an underrated channel. Thanks for sharing valuable info!

[@IronicallyUni]

Thank you! I’m 12 and I am wanting to be a children’s book writer, this helped me lots!

[@NicholasPickleous]

I hope you have made progress in your goals!!

[@faithhopelove7777777]

You can be a Children's Book Writer now! You're at the perfect age to remember being a young child unlike us adults. You see the world differently & more innocently. You can also write for pre-teens your own age. I would buy books written by someone your age!!!! God bless!❤Have fun!!!

[@41yearoldnewdriver]

I am an aspiring children's author. I have a diploma in writing for children and teenagers. My manuscript was my final assignment for the course. I call my childhood memoir Mama's Little Helper. I just submitted it on June 9th for a critique through The Institute of Children's Lit.

[@christyanfox189]

That's great Ayesha, I hope you find a publisher and/or an Agent soon. All the best, Christyan

[@jessicalazarus7524]

Wow! I loved this video. The last segment gave me chills of excitement! I recently wrote a children’s book just in the notes app on my phone as it all came to me. I’ve now read it to dozens of people who all say it’s so good I need to get it published but I have no idea where to begin! But what you said in the last part of your video tells me I’m in the right place because when I read my book out loud to my kids and all my nieces and nephews and siblings etc and saw their smiles and heard their laughter I got that feeling you described.

[@温迪雅诵读]

not so often to watch a video which is so clear,honest and simple to understand. thank you so much!

[@AntisocialAtheist1]

I'm probably too old to begin writing for a living but I do think I'll enjoy trying for the love of it. I subscribed to your channel today. Mostly because you strike me as just a decent human being and I enjoyed listening to what you had to say. Thank you for the information

[@yoh2123]

I’m in the US & need some advice plz. I fell into book illustration a few years ago as more of a hobby, but plan to continue into retirement from my day job. I don’t have a contract & don’t know where to start. I’ve posted art to Ingram-Spark, Amazon-KDP; currently working with a fledgling self-publisher (friend) who also doesn’t have a contract. She recently asked me to work on a new children’s book project - I jumped at the opportunity. I found out after starting the book illustrations, that she verbally quoted her friend (a day job coworker) a fee we’ve established in the past for a cover design only. This new book is 20-pages of custom art + covers. Turns out the client-author is only going to pay the price of the cover. All 3 of us are ignoring the elephant in the room - I’m working (almost) for free which has been a huge problem of mine. Where do I begin?? 😫

[@clairzu4461]

Thank you so much. I am a first year college student in Graphic Design major and currently learning about illustrating children's books. I learn a lot from your video and it makes me realize that I want to go for illustrating children's books for my living.

[@butterflyblueshorts]

Such a humble, grounded and respectful video. I can see how you've carved out a strong career. Thank you for the sage advice.

[@carolgiacovelli3161]

Just found you Christyan! Thank you for your candid and very helpful information. I will be watching the rest of your videos and hopefully will take your author/illustrator course. Already wrote 2 picture books in a series but the actual logistics of making sure you have the correct page number, etc is new to me....I was just having fun. Thank you again!

[@christyanfox189]

Hi Carol, good to hear from you and I’m glad you enjoyed the video. I’m working on more at the moment so watch out for the next batch. Glad you’ve made a start on your first stories, it’s only by ‘doing it for real’ that you really gain a perspective on the challenges involved. Good luck with your next steps, Christyan

[@LuciaMihaiteanu]

Impressive!...thank you so much for sharing your deep and honest insight...Best wishes!

[@stevesmith3556]

There is some very good information here! It sounds a lot like the record business with bands up to the late 80s where artists started to create their own studios and record companies to recoupe some of the royalties they were losing to the big recording companies. Sounds like the way to go would be to self-publish, sell merchandise, and get a good distributor.

[@AmbikaKarandikar]

Thanks for sharing this valuable information. I'm a children's book illustrator from India and I've been working as freelance illustrator since one year now and absolutely loving what I do 🎉😄

[@jmthalifemusic3939]

I just started writing my 1st children's book thank you for your advice...

[@amandamrogan]

So thankful to have stumbled across your content - THANK YOU! Looking forward to exploring your resources. -Amanda

[@PaulCharlesAllen]

This is great advice. I’ve written my first manuscript and have now gone through the first stage of editing. I’m leaning to self publishing and hoping that lightning strikes. Going the traditional route is daunting. I would need to find an agent!

[@philiphoweartistwriter272]

Thank you Christyan for providing a wealth of information. I am a very experienced illustrator, mostly book covers for all the major publishers, so I thought I would do a cool book for my Grandson, which came out really well. I think the next step is to find an agent so I will begin there. Your words were inspiring and direct and I really appreciate your willingness to share your own story.

[@anacmarulanda]

Christian thank you so much for such an insightful video. I’m thinking of changing my career and I have some ideas that I want to put to paper and you have inspired me to just start writing and see what happens!

[@msmilaarts]

Thank you for those tips! I am an visual arts teacher, writing and illustrating a book with my nephews and nieces as characters, traveling the world and learning about Arts and Culture. Your vídeo really gave me good insights to start. Thank you for sharing!

[@A_Jel]

I will be exploring your other resources as well, this was great thanks. So clear and much more than expected. Like going to a candy store and leaving with free samples 😁

[@ArtySubu]

This is a very comprehensive video, Christyan! Have forwarded on to a friend who's looking to publish her book.

[@christyanfox189]

Good to hear from you Arati - and I see you've illustrated a lot of book covers. Never considered illustrating a whole children's book yourself?

[@theinkpirate2710]

Thank you, I just started writing and illustrating in my language, your videos is so inspiring, thank you🙌 appreciate it

[@christyanfox189]

You're very welcome Ink Pirate, best of luck with your book(s)!

[@Nadine-ok5fg]

Thank you so much! This was excellent. I so appreciate the time you spent to do it.

[@Cecedymond]

This was wonderful to watch. Very honest and clear. Excited to get my books to print soon ❤

[@breomast]

Thanks so much for this! You gave me a lot of clarity on this topic and I’m truly inspired ❤

[@DavidEvans-se8ow]

Really enjoyed this video, honest, succinct and extremely informative. Thank you

[@lanceevans1689]

This was quite giving. Thank you!

[@akiart496]

Just came across your channel and loving the videos. This one especially! Thank you for providing great information. Hope to see more videos in the future!

[@christyanfox189]

Thanks Aki, you're very welcome. A flood of post-lockdown-work has slowed down the video production but I'll post more asap. In the meantime take a look at what's available on the course: www.childrensbookcourses.co.uk All the best, Christyan

[@missmelissa3573]

Very helpful thank you. The Amazon KDP route I gather is terrible so I’ll avoid it at all costs if I pursue this idea.

[@christyanfox189]

I've known a few people do it and the results they showed me were pretty good, but there are certainly other options out there these days. It pays to shop around and see who's offering the best quality and has the best results.

[@nicolapetersen1633]

Wow! I feel inspired. I'm just starting out. I always knew that I would one day, I would write a children's book. It just took me 200 years lol to get here.😅 Thank you so much for your video it was most informative. God bless...

[@charlottewilliams4875]

This was exactly the information I was looking for, thank you for sharing

[@suzum5689]

Loved this video! Well done! Thank you. I'm just about to put together many, many years of illustrations and book ideas. Kinda nervous! So, watching as many videos as I can.

[@denisesarjant1912]

This is so informative...thank you so much. Lots of appreciation Christyan ❤️

[@TCO3011]

Good for you.. I'm planning to write children's book too..

[@mrtuesdayafternoon]

Great stuff. Love the shirt.

[@gazza1982100]

Great video, realistic, encouraging.Thank you.

[@tjwalkup7155]

I haven’t illustrated a book in a while. This was helpful to me as I have been asked to illustrate one now.

[@FellDestroyedMusic]

Wonderful information, thank you :)

[@laurenjackson4032]

This was so helpful, thank you!

[@bopandmo]

Thank you for this very informative video. I started writing and illustrating my children's book series, Bop and Mo. I published my first book, "Bop & Mo Adventures together," a year ago on KDP and Barnes & Noble. Just today got Bop and Mo into two local book stores. One thing I've been very hesitant on, is making my books in ebook format. I've read that many ebooks are downloaded, then uploaded to various sites for free. But it sounds like ebooks may sell better, get noticed more, than traditional paperback or hardcover. Do you know if traditional publishing houses watch the sales of paperback books as well? I may have to entertain the idea of venturing into ebook sales.

[@christyanfox189]

Hi bopmo, good to hear from you and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Traditional publishing houses look at the overall sales figures of self-published books in both 'hard' copy and digital download format, so even if you've ordered copies yourself (to sell through your local bookstores) it still counts as a sale and would add to your tally. I don't think you need to worry too much about ebooks being passed on through other sites, if the book were to become successful either your name would still be on there (and therefore you'd generate publicity) or, if they've replaced your name with their own, you'd still have legal rights because you'd be able to prove that your version pre-dated yours. I hope that helps and there's lots more information on all aspects of writing, illustrating, publishing, agents and much else in the on-line courses (www.childrensbookcourses.co.uk). All the best, Christyan

[@themennoknight]

Really appreciate this breakdown and clear points!

[@Leannot35]

I remember at 12 yrs.old, I wrote fiction books to read to my little brother at that time I wished I had pursued it! I guess it's never too late, how enjoyable I think this could be, does anybody remember the book sweet pickles?? I used to reread those books repeatedly when I was young, I don't know if it was my mom and dad or my grandfather that got me the series, I would reread the same books over and over and over, I forgot all about them until now I just remembered, wow I just found it they were published in 1977 and out of print now.

[@Zenavesta]

Bless up Christyan! Thanks for sharing man

[@bornpowerful]

This video was very insightful. Thank you very much for providing the information.

[@TaranWanderer2]

I'm wondering whether there is a significant advantage or benefit in offering a completed manuscript in two distict languages, in my case both English and Spanish, which are global languages. Does the bilingual spin increase the value of the proposal?

[@christyanfox189]

Hi Taran, there’s no benefit at all I’m afraid. Whatever country the book starts out in, it would be published in its native language. If it goes into foreign editions each of those countries essentially buys a licence to publish it under their own publisher’s name for a specific length of time and produces their own translation text along with any necessary changes for that market.

[@TaranWanderer2]

@christyanfox189 Hey, thanks so much for the response. That's a bummer. In any case I have completed the manuscript, though I am still actively making changes to it. I suppose, if nothing else, two languages will at least broaden the number of agents I can reach out to.

[@annoif8]

Thank you so much for your kind message. Your words really inspire me, and to stay faithful in the process as a beginner illustrator who is still learning the art fundamentals. 🙂

[@paulrider725]

Thank you for sharing your insight and experience; it is much appreciated!

[@Chisfalcon666]

Hi and thank you for this wonderful insightful video. Could you recommend any good UK based editors for my 399 word narrative poem? I am a fledging writer so it’s all a learning curve for me. Thank you for any help.

[@KJ-zr2ko]

Thanks for the in sight. That was more than I realized.

[@beszaid9245]

Amazing content 🙏

[@cathykrueger4899]

This was so informative. Do you have any advice on audio books? Are there people who read books for this as a career? Is there an art to finding a voice that works best for your book? What does it cost to have someone tape your book?

[@denisemckeeverauthor]

Excellent piece very helpful, thanks Christyan

[@luciecaldwell1518]

Thank you so much for such informative and honest advice.

[@ReadySetHomestead]

Wonderful advice! Thank you!

[@imen7610]

This is the most useful video. Thank you

[@marymcandrew7667]

I'm so happy to have your video pop up in my feed! I've been creating characters, writing stories and poems for years, I have so much to share! But I'm frustrated, I've been trying to finish my first one for two years because I'm not sure how to put it together to send to publishers. Do I have to figure out the page layout along with text? Do I print that all out like a dummy copy and send it? And if publishers only accept digital submissions, how do I submit? Just send images and the text is separate or do I lay it out in a publisher program? Please I hope you can give me some feedback, I subscribed but noticed your videos are from a year ago, I hope you are still doing them! This one was great!

[@christyanfox189]

Hi Mary, good to hear from you. Yes, I'm still going but don't get much time to make new videos. You might have noticed that the KZbin videos are linked to my online courses (www.childrensbookcourses.co.uk) which will give you all the information you need. In your case you could just subscribe to the Illustrator's Course, but if you want a complete picture of the industry (and a better understanding of what it takes to construct a successful story) I'd recommend the combined option. The courses will answer all the questions you've asked and will take you up to the level of understanding how to present your work, identify the right publishers and give you advice about digital vs. hard-copy submissions... along with considering whether your book might be better-suited to self-publishing. I hope that helps and good luck with your books.

[@the_erudite]

God bless you, Christyan Fox!

[@yazmingarzagarza7555]

Thank you for sharing this is super interesting. Hopefully this dream will one day come true.

[@yazmingarzagarza7555]

Oh to read your own published book to your own children. That would be everything.

[@Elanor-g5z]

Very informative video. Learned a lot. Feel more like an insider now.

[@DevinNerison]

Christyan, , I have written a non-fiction book for adults in 2018 that is on Amazon. I have been teaching online ESL here in Thailand for a few years now. I started writing a children's book with them a couple of years ago. I decided to write a second in the series that I have roughly done. The first of the series should be ready to publish this month. I fear to do this all wrong. It's a great series, kids and adults like it. To Thai people, it is 6-60 years age appropriate. Wherever their English is. To Australia, US, UK, it may be 6-12 or so. Before I make a wrong decision I need to know a lot about the industry. I am retired so teaching a little online and writing is all I have. What would be your advice for me at this time?

[@christyanfox189]

Hi Devin, I put everything I know about writing and illustrating children’s books into the online courses (link in description). Take a look at the content on my website and you should find all the information you need. Good luck with your books, Christyan

[@punkyoliverio]

I like the way you sound. ⭐

[@christyanfox189]

How very flattering, thank you!

[@papamelanin]

Fabulous information❣️💯 Thank you for your time and energy🙏💛

[@christiannilsen2835]

Great content! What happens of we first go with KDP’s ISBN.. are we forever doomed from doing external contracts and owned by amazon forever???

[@jennacasaldi2246]

I have the same question.

[@christyanfox189]

An ISBN is only for that one book, so you can produce other books and other characters, or even other books based on the same characters, with a traditional publisher. Contract law can be quite a minefield so check carefully before signing: often with self-publishing contracts you need to be careful of those offering the largest royalties as they're more restrictive about what you can and can't publish subsequently.

[@manalimokashi799]

Thank you so much Chris :)

[@AutumnTrimble-i6s]

I tried searching online but could not find a straightforward answer. How many picture books does the average picture-book author write in a career?

[@mimbarwisnu1195]

Can't wait for the lessons from you, Mr. Fox 🙏

[@christyanfox189]

Hello Mimbar, are you signed-up for the Chelsea UAL course in August or are you talking about the on-line course? All the best, Christyan

[@mimbarwisnu1195]

@@christyanfox189I'm talking about online or video course, Mr. Fox. Thank you for your response on my comment. Best regard.

[@yoh2123]

Oh sorry I love your channel!!!

[@scottval321]

Hi. Great video, thankyou. What programs are you using for the illustrations and text at the moment please?

[@terryjerry4014]

Thank you for this explanation!

[@kylejordan6680]

I'm currently writing a children's book in memory of my son who was born premature at 17 weeks. I'm not exactly looking to make tons of money from it but I do want it to have the best chance of being read. What is the best publishing option for that?

[@christyanfox189]

Hi Kyle, apologies for not getting back to you sooner. It's very difficult to convince a mainstream publisher to accept such a project because of its lack of commercial potential (sad but true... it's a money-making business for them). I've had other students in a similar position as you who want to produce books on worthwhile causes, bereavement, charities, disability and other issues and the best way is to self-publish. Amazon is one of the leading platforms but there are others you can investigate online. One of the most successful self-published children's picture books (The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep by Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin) was actually on an issue that mainstream publishers deemed to be uncommercial, but went on to sell millions - so you never can tell. I talk more about self publishing vs. mainstream in my online video courses. Good luck and all the best, Christyan

[@msboku]

Ok so I wrote a story and just started working on another bit I have no idea what to do now. How do I know even if the story is good enough? I’ve had it for years but do t know what to do next.

[@asankasanlk]

Thank you so much for sharing this invaluable and honest information with us! Your insights are incredibly relevant and have been truly eye-opening. It's so refreshing to see someone who is willing to speak truthfully and openly about this topic. Your contribution is greatly appreciated!

[@DejanOfRadic]

Could self-publishing and/or Amazon sales jeopardize a potential traditional publishing deal? I would imagine that a traditional publisher might look at Amazon sales as a subtraction from the total potential book sales.

[@christyanfox189]

No, often the opposite is true. As I mention in the videos publishers like to keep their eye on any self-published projects to see if there's something they can monetise themselves. At the end of the day it's a business, if they can make money out of your book by offering a higher-quality product, they'll offer you a deal.

[@michaelmorales2472]

Loved the vid, you got a sub!

[@jamesshaw6011]

Thank you Christyan, most informative and has led me to evaluate what I am doing at present and seriously look at going into publishing on Amazon. Do you happen to know if rhyming books are more popular when it comes to sales in childrens books? All the best! James

[@christyanfox189]

That's an interesting question James and I don't have an accurate answer to give you because I'm a writer/illustrator, not a publisher. What I do know is that the children's picture book market today is international, which makes translation of rhyming books very difficult. In turn that means that a successful rhyming book in English might only be sold in English-speaking markets, which of course limits its sales potential in comparison with a book that can be translated and sold worldwide. I hope that helps, Christyan

[@melissaayres6347]

Thank you for sharing❤🙏

[@2solid4tv48]

Loved your Video .... Did you write them books in the back ??how many books have u written?

[@christyanfox189]

Hi, and yes, they’re all our books. I think we’ve written around 20 or so but I’ve illustrated a lot more that have been written by other authors so the published total is around 54. All the best, Christyan

[@2solid4tv48]

@@christyanfox189 Wow You illustrated them Books. Wow amazing Job !! Definitely Works of Art ! Congrats on your success ! Wish u much more Success ..God bless u and your family .Thanks For response .Much Respect Brother

[@2solid4tv48]

@@christyanfox189 do u sign other authors?

[@johanneberube6682]

Thanks for those info🌸

[@marcosz4892]

Thank you!

[@iammaxwellcole]

Fascinating fascinating post. Very inspiring. New subscriber too.

[@christyanfox189]

Thanks Maxwell, much appreciated!

[@dreyfas1]

Great advice. 🌟

[@matty506]

Which was your best selling book?

[@christyanfox189]

Hi Matty, that would be The Cat, the Dog, Little Red (etc.)... it made back it's advance on pre-sales and I think it outsold all our other books by around 15:1

[@sueevans7835]

Thank you. That was very informative.

[@mikebeats3281]

J. K. Rowling got 1500 pounds for her first advance for Harry Potter from a small publishing company.

[@christyanfox189]

£2,500 is sum that’s most frequently reported: life-redefined.co/redefiners/jk-rowling#:~:text=Following%20rejections%20from%2012%20different,2%2C500%20advance%20in%20the%20process. …but maybe you can cite other sources?

[@LadyTresureLive]

Awesome video!!!

[@rocketshipevan]

Thank you, very helpful!

[@paramedicchrisbookseries]

Wonderful. Thank you for sharing

[@zulqarnainaliauthor]

great book ideas for kids

[@ronerickson6582]

Thank you.

[@VoiceOfVoiced]

Thank you for this thorough and very helpful analysis. Question which I can't find an answer to: is there such a thing as any industry of illustrators in the business of accepting submissions from writers of picture book texts? I submit my texts to literary agents, of course, and will always continue trying. But are there also perhaps established illustrators who accept submissions of texts from writers, with a view to (if they find a really good one) collaboration in pursuing publication of a joint work?

[@christyanfox189]

Hi @voiceofvoiced, being an illustrator (who doesn't write) is standard practice for many and something I did for perhaps the first ten years of my career. The process is that you submit your portfolio to publishers, they keep copies of your work on file and if a suitable text comes along that they think would be a good fit they match you up with the text. Publishers prefer to make the decision about which texts work well with which illustrators, so it often doesn't work if you collaborate with an author beforehand and submit your work... that's not to say it doesn't happen, but generally you'd be better (as an illustrator) taking the former approach - there's more work that way and you're guaranteed a payment rather than trying to sell a book you've already completed the work for.

[@VoiceOfVoiced]

@@christyanfox189 that's a really helpful analysis and explanation, thank you very much! All makes sense.

[@theburger_king]

christyan fox looks like the type of guy to write children's books

[@gauravguptaa6346]

Thanks

[@Pumpkinshire]

I could live a $3000 a month us happily enough with my books in my peace and quiet. I’m on the autism spectrum and I don’t like the idea of a lifetime of going into the office. There are people there.

[@TheSantaCo-op]

Thank you

[@AlieUnscriptedTV]

Thank you for this video.

[@genevapenn9617]

Beautiful work

[@genevapenn9617]

I'm working on mine..

[@paulinaacosta8748]

Amazing video

[@seagreenbreeze7730]

This was both realistic and inspirational. Thank you!

[@Artemutacion]

thanks this is very valuable information