I have been busy working on my Chinese picture book When Chicken and Duck Talk. Self-publishing a picture book is a complicated task.
If you are considering whether to self-publish or go with traditional publishing, read on to find out what things you need to know. Traditional publishing means you have someone doing a lot of the work.
A publisher will help you with marketing. They will find an illustrator, design your cover, and edit your book. You will most likely get an advance and a possibility of royalties.
If you self-publish, you will need to put a lot of time and effort into your book. If you aren’t an author-illustrator, you will need to find your own illustrator. You will need to design your own book and cover. You will need to print, store, and sell your book. All of this costs money and you won’t earn a dime until you sell your book.
So, why would someone choose to self-publish a book? There are many reasons to self-publish. Maybe you are writing a personal story that you want to share with relatives. Maybe you have gotten a lot of rejections and you don’t want to spend more time finding the perfect publisher. Maybe you want to take control of your own career.
When Chicken and Duck Talk is going to be my gift to the world. It will be the first trilingual book that includes Cantonese, Mandarin, and English in one book. I speak all three languages. Yet books are either meant for Cantonese speakers or Mandarin speakers. But I speak all three languages, and I want my children to speak all three languages.
I am choosing to self-publish my Chinese picture book because no publisher wants to publish it. It’s too risky. There’s no readership for this kind of book. But I believe that there are many readers out there who also speak these three languages, or want to learn both Cantonese and Mandarin.
Cantonese and Mandarin are both Chinese languages. It shouldn’t be one or the other. My book will let readers appreciate both languages.
Chicken is going to overcome all obstacles. Help choose the perfect color cape for him.
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We will create a Kickstarter Project to help get the book published. Sign up to learn when the book will launch. We will be offering fun rewards like meet and greet with the author and illustrator, how to draw Chicken and Duck, and picture book critiques.