Children’s book publishers bring illustrated tales to print via the publication of children’s books. The market provides several opportunities for firms that have appealing books. Children’s book sales overtook adult book sales in 2014, with more than 2.7 billion volumes sold that year.
Furthermore, entrepreneurs that launch this sort of firm are in excellent company. Today, many individuals have thriving children’s book enterprises, and one of the most successful children’s writers in contemporary history started by self-publishing her work. Both Peter Rabbit and The Tailor of Gloucester had their initial printings subsidised by Beatrix Potter. Even now, the two tales are well-known.
Table of Contents
Follow these ten steps to start a children’s book business:
Make a plan for your children’s book business.
Create a legal entity for your children’s book business.
Register your Children’s Book Publishing Company for Taxes
Create a Business Bank Account and a Credit Card
Create an accounting system for your children’s book business.
Get the Permits and Licenses You Need for Your Children’s Book Business
Purchase Children’s Book Business Insurance.
Create a brand for your children’s book business.
Make a website for your children’s book business.
Configure your Business Phone System
Starting a company entails more than just registering it with the state. This basic guide to launching a children’s book company has been put together by us. These stages will guarantee that your new company is well-planned, correctly registered, and legally compliant.
STEP 1: Make a business plan.
A well-thought-out strategy is vital for entrepreneur success. It will assist you in mapping out the intricacies of your organisation and uncovering some unknowns. Consider the following crucial topics:
What are the initial and continuing expenses?
Who is your intended audience?
How much money may you charge your customers?
Fortunately, we have done a lot of the legwork for you.
What are the expenses of starting a children’s book business?
The expenditures of publishing a children’s book are substantial yet doable. According to Lee Johnson, a small company owner may go from a story to 3,000 copies of a published book for $5,400. Hiring a more experienced artist or adding more modifications may raise the amount to $8,000 or $10,000.
Self Publishing, Inc.’s Ron Pramschufer breaks down the prices a bit more:
Illustrations are often priced at $2,200 for a 24-page book and $2,700 for a 3-page book.
The cost of text editing is between $500 and $1,000.
The cost of text and artwork editing is between $3,000 and $4,000.
The layout design costs between $1,000 and $1,500.
Offset printing costs $1.43 each copy ($4,290 total) for 3,000 copies.
Illustration expenses are the most variable of them. Some illustrators charge between $5,000 and $10,000, or even more. Higher-priced artists may provide layout design as part of their services.
Any of these procedures, which company owners may do on their own, significantly decreases the overall cost of publishing a children’s book. As a result, many company owners create their own graphics and layouts. They may also seek support from school instructors or librarians who are acquainted with curriculum standards and grade reading levels.
Only business owners who are actually capable of generating professional grade work should take these procedures. Giving up on the quality of a book’s content, artwork, or layout can hurt sales in the long run.
Furthermore, company owners should avoid digital printing. This printing process is appropriate for test runs, but offset printing should be utilised for publishing a book for sale. When done in large quantities, offset printing costs a fraction of what digital printing does.
What are the recurring costs of a children’s book publishing business?
Following the publication of a book, the continuing expenditures linked with the title include any marketing and storage charges. Of course, companies must also support the release of new works.
Who is the intended audience?
Children, contrary to popular belief, are not the intended audience for children’s novels. Parents, schools, and libraries, on the other hand, are the ones who buy books. According to children’s author Kate Klise, schools and libraries are exceptionally lucrative consumers since they buy in volume.
How does a children’s book publishing company earn money?
Children’s book stores generate money by selling book copies. Individual books may be purchased at retail pricing or in quantity at wholesale discounts.
How much money may you charge your customers?
According to the School Library Journal, children’s books typically cost between $6.49 and $17.85 a copy. Hardcovers are the most expensive, while mass-market paperbacks are the least expensive. Trade paperbacks fall somewhere in the centre.
How much money can a children’s book publisher make?
A successful title may generate six-figure income for a children’s book company. Augie and the Green Knight, for example, raised $384,410 on Kickstarter before to release.
How can you increase the profitability of your company?
Business owners may generate extra money in a variety of ways. Selling ebooks is getting more frequent. Company entrepreneurs may also speak at schools and companies and conduct seminars to other prospective business owners.
STEP 2: Establish a legal entity
Sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation are the most frequent business structure forms.
If your children’s book company is sued, forming a formal business organisation, such as an LLC or corporation, prevents you from being held personally accountable.
STEP 3: File your taxes
Before you can begin for business, you must register for a number of state and federal taxes.
To register for taxes, you will need to get an EIN. It’s really simple and completely free!
Taxes on Small Businesses
Depending on the business form you choose, you may have multiple choices for how your company is taxed. Some LLCs, for example, may benefit from being taxed as a S company (S corp).
These guides will teach you more about small company taxes:
Taxes on LLCs
LLC vs. sole proprietorship
Corporation vs. LLC
S Corp vs. LLC
How to Form a S Corporation
S Corporation vs. C Corporation
There may be state taxes that apply to your company. In our state sales tax guides, you may learn more about state sales taxes and franchise taxes.
STEP 4: Establish a company bank account and credit card
Personal asset protection requires the use of distinct business banking and credit accounts.
When you combine your personal and business accounts, your personal assets (your house, vehicle, and other possessions) are at danger if your company is sued. This is known as penetrating your company veil in business law.
Furthermore, understanding how to develop corporate credit may help you get credit cards and other financing in your company’s name (rather than your own), lower interest rates, larger lines of credit, and other benefits.
Establish a business bank account.
Opening a business bank account is not only required when asking for business financing, but it also:
Separates your personal assets from the assets of your firm, which is required for personal asset protection.
It simplifies bookkeeping and tax reporting.]
Create a net 30 account.
Net 30 accounts are used to develop and grow company credit while also increasing cash flow. Businesses use a net 30 account to purchase items and refund the whole debt within a 30-day period.
Many net 30 credit suppliers submit information to the main business credit agencies (Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business Credit). This is how firms establish business credit in order to get approved for credit cards and other lines of credit.
Apply for a business credit card.
Obtaining a business credit card benefits you in the following ways:
Put all of your company’s costs in one location to separate personal and business spending.
Build your company’s credit history, which will be important for raising funds in the future.
STEP 5: Establish business accounting
Recording your numerous costs and sources of revenue is crucial to assessing your company’s financial status. Keeping precise and thorough accounting also makes yearly tax filing much easier.
STEP 6: Obtain all required permissions and licences
Failure to get appropriate permissions and licences may result in significant penalties or possibly the closure of your firm.
Requirements for State and Local Business Licensing
To run a children’s book business, some state permissions and licences may be required. Visit the SBA’s reference to state licences and permits to learn more about licencing requirements in your state.
For information on local licences and permissions, visit:
Check with the clerk’s office in your town, city, or county.
Contact one of the local organisations mentioned in the US Small Business Associations database of local business resources for help.
STEP 7: Obtain commercial insurance.
Insurance, like licences and permits, is required for your company to operate safely and legally. In the case of a covered loss, business insurance protects your company’s financial well-being.
There are several sorts of insurance plans designed for various types of companies with varying risks. If you are unaware about the hazards that your company may encounter, start with General Liability Insurance. This is the most popular coverage required by small companies, so it’s a good place to start for yours.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance is another important insurance product that many companies need. If your company will have workers, your state may require you to purchase Workers’ Compensation insurance.
STEP 8: Establish your brand
Your company’s brand is what it stands for, as well as how the public perceives it. A strong brand will help your company stand out from the crowd.
How to Promote and Market a Children’s Book
Obtaining reviews and accolades is the most effective technique to market a children’s book. Reviews may propel a book to the top of a best-seller list and give it credibility. Winning prizes (particularly the Newbery and Caldecott Medals) and being listed on recommended reading lists can assist enhance school and library sales.
How to Keep Customers Returning
Businesses must regularly create children’s books that captivate youngsters and that adults don’t mind reading several times in order to retain consumers buying books. Books that appeal to both children and adults will keep people coming back for more.
STEP 9: Create your company’s website.
After you’ve defined your brand and designed your logo, the next step is to build a website for your company.
While developing a website is an important step, some may be concerned that it is out of their grasp due to a lack of website-building skills. While this was a fair concern in 2015, online technology has made significant advances in recent years, making the lives of small company owners considerably easier.
The following are the primary reasons why you should not put off developing your website:
Every genuine company has a website, period. When it comes to bringing your company online, it doesn’t matter what size or sector it is.
Social media accounts, such as Facebook pages or LinkedIn company profiles, are not a substitute for your own business website.
STEP 10: Install your company phone system.
Getting a phone for your company is one of the finest methods to keep your personal and professional lives distinct and private. That isn’t the only advantage; it also helps you automate your company, provides it legitimacy, and makes it simpler for prospective clients to identify and contact you.