Maximizing Self‑Published Children’s Books Sales: A Guide to Direct Sales for Indie Authors
In my thirteen years of independently publishing children’s books, I’ve found that distribution is a major challenge. I publish books for children ages 5-14, fiction and nonfiction, but find my best success with nonfiction picture books on STEM topics. That means my audience is teachers and librarians, rather than parents. The combination of targeted books and audience means my distribution needs to reach into the education community.
My 2025 title, NOT EXTINCT: The Przewalski’s Horse Returns from Extinct in the Wild, is a conservation story of the endangered Asian wild horse. Horse-lovers, elementary science teachers, and kids will agree with Kirkus Reviews that this has an “optimistic tone,” while also “realistically presenting both successes and setbacks.”
The question is, how to reach the right readers for this book?
Everyone starts with retailer platforms, but once you’ve maxed those out, where do you go next to increase your income? Increasingly, authors are turning to selling directly to their readers.
Do direct sales work for children’s books? And what exactly are direct sales?
Direct sales means you have an online storefront or sales page and a means of fulfilling or sending books to readers. Some authors use a minimal approach and use a sales page on their website, but add links through platforms designed to handle the retail transaction. To fulfill, they keep a stock of books on hand and make runs to the post office to send out books.
I’m not a daily-post-office-run type of person! I didn’t want the books and shipping supplies in my office. And I didn’t want the stress of fulfilling book orders.
That meant I started looking at print-on-demand (POD) options. A POD company holds your book as a digital file on their server until they receive an order. Then, they print and ship directly to the customer. You never touch a book. That was a plan I could support! I decided to try an online storefront.
Print on Demand + Storefront: Choices
Others in the industry can connect you directly to retail channels. I searched for a way to provide direct sales, but found no one with a good setup for integrating with a direct sales store.
Then, I found Lulu Direct, a POD printer that integrates easily with most online storefront platforms: Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce. I chose to set up a Shopify store with Lulu Direct as the backend fulfillment.
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Print Quality and Delivery Times
When you talk about printing children’s books, the first question is always about quality. Will the book look good? Early POD printers were known for quality issues. But the print technology has improved and now rivals the gold standard of offset printing. Children’s books, however, need one more thing: quality paper.
I was shocked when I first learned that Lulu Direct offers an #80 (eighty-pound, a measure of the paper’s weight and quality), coated paper. Most novels, printed in black and white, use a #50 or #70 uncoated paper, which absorbs ink easily. If you use that paper for a full-color children’s book, too much of the color ink is absorbed, and the book appears faded.
Coated papers, however, add a smooth coating that absorbs the right amount of ink, producing brilliant pages and a nice feel to the book. Lulu’s #80 coated paper is perfect for children’s books.
A second question is, will the book reach the customer in a timely manner? How fast can a POD company ship? Many authors think they are competing with big retailers who can ship quickly. But when a customer orders directly from you, they understand realistic shipping times. What they won’t put up with is needless delays. Lulu’s deliveries are always on time. Christmas is expected to be a slower delivery, but they always meet that projected time (or beat it). I trust them with large book orders!
One of the first big tests of this was in 2020, just as the pandemic had hit. A school ordered 1400 copies for the 2020 summer reading program. My book, Nefertiti, the Spidernaut, the true story of a spider who went to space, was ordered for the 4th-grade class, while they chose books from other publishers for the other elementary classes. My books, printed with Lulu, were the first to be delivered.
Special Orders
Last year, Mims House published MAGNET: How William Gilbert Discovered That Earth Is a Great Magnet, the story of scientist William Gilbert figuring out that the Earth has a magnetic core. Just after publication, I received an order for 600 books for an event related to a public television station. They needed books within three weeks and needed a guarantee that they would arrive on time. I never guarantee delivery by a certain date because the shipping companies have their own problems. But I’m confident enough to tell customers that my printers will ship on time. The books arrived early—as usual.
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Direct Sales
A direct sales store does bring in extra income outside the main retailer platforms. If you are great at social media, ads, and newsletters, you can build it to be a substantial income. If you’re like me, not so great on direct outreach, it’s still worthwhile because it becomes a great publisher’s website and a reliable virtual warehouse for any size order.
Check out direct stores on Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce. I recommend Lulu Direct for the backend printer.
Have you tried an online storefront to connect with your readers directly? Share your results or questions in the comments—happy to discuss or help.
Mims House
MEET THE AUTHOR
Children’s book author and indie publisher DARCY PATTISON has written over seventy award-winning fiction and non-fiction books for children. Five books have received starred PW, Kirkus, or BCCB reviews. Awards include the Irma Black Honor award, five NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books, and five Eureka! Nonfiction Honor book (CA Reading Assn.), two Junior Library Guild selections, two CLA Notable Children’s Book in Language Arts, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book, a Best STEM Book, an Arkansiana Award, and the Susannah DeBlack Arkansas Children’s History Book award. She’s the 2007 recipient of the Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award for Individual Artist for her work in children’s literature. Her books have been translated into eleven languages.
Learn more about self-publishing in her new book, PUBLISH: Find Surprising Success Self-Publishing Your Children’s Book. The Kickstarter is live!