5 Things I’ve Learned Since Self-Publishing My Children’s Books
I self-published my first children’s book back in 2022 and since then, I have published 5 books, four of which are part of a series I’m currently working on. In June, it will be three years since I started this journey, and I’ve learned a lot.
It all started when my brother told me he wanted to write a book and get it published through Amazon. I had no idea what Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) was. I could publish my own books!?
In fact, back in my early days of college—when I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life—I had considered writing books as a profession, but the intimidating nature of traditional publishing stopped me from pursuing it. I remember thinking how difficult it was to even have your book considered let alone published! I tossed that idea aside and moved on with my life thinking I would never be a published author.
Children’s books and self-publishing
There are a lot of blogs and articles out there talking about how easy it is to write, illustrate, and publish a children’s book. The children’s book market is an over-saturated market. I’m not sugarcoating it. Everyone, and I mean just about everyone, is writing a children’s book these days. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing books for kids but it’s a difficult marketing to get into when you are self-publishing.
I’ve been reflecting lately on my writing/publishing journey, and I’ve come up with five things that I have learned over the last three years:
1. You have to market yourself
You have to be your own marketing team—unless you can actually afford a marketing team and marketing is not cheap! Social media ads, graphic design software (or you hire someone), a website, there’s a lot to think about when it comes to marketing your books.
With traditional publishing, you don’t have to worry about marketing your book. The publishing company will do that for you, but they will take out a hefty cut from your sales. You have to ask yourself how much work are you willing to put into marketing your books?
Are you going to be consistent with posting on social media? What social media are you going to focus mainly on? Do you have money to put into targeted ads? These are the things you need to consider when self-publishing.
2. Learning skills beyond just being a good writer
This ties in with number 1. If you go with traditional publishing, you don’t need to know about SEO or A/B ads. With self-publishing, there are so many skills you have to learn. I learned how to schedule my posts on Instagram and how to design ads with Canva. I read countless blogs, watched a dozen videos on YouTube, and occasionally bought an ebook (that ended up being a waste of money).
Research, research, research.
In my next blog, I’ll be listing some of the skills I’ve learned over the course of the past few years—and no, I will not be making it into an ebook where you have to pay to read it.
3. Focus on what really matters
I didn’t start off writing because I wanted to make money or have a passive income. I wanted to start writing and publishing books because I love writing. I have always written short stories and kept a journal throughout my life. Writing was a way for the chaos in my head to come out on paper and make sense.
But when I started to focus more on making money with my books, I lost my love for writing and ended up getting writer’s block because of it.
Write because you love to write and like everything else, work on your craft. Take a few grammar courses, try writing a few prompts, and put in the extra work to be the best writer you can be. If you make some money with that, great.
4. Take feedback as constructive
I was so anxious about putting my writing out there for fear of negative feedback. What would people think? Would they say I was a terrible writer? Would they think my stories are bland? Characters dull?
Reader reviews, even the critical ones, are opportunities to grow. Positive reviews are affirming, but critical feedback often points out things we can’t see ourselves: unclear storylines, pacing issues, flat characters, or even technical problems like grammar or formatting. Instead of seeing these as failures, I’ve learned to see them as insights into the reader's experience—insights I can use to improve.
5. Success looks different to everyone
Some people measure success in sales, others in reviews, maybe even simply holding a finished book. For me, success means I’m continuing to pursue something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve thought about all the times in my life that I didn’t do something because I thought I wouldn’t succeed at it. My fear of failure kept me from even attempting my dream. Imagine if I had just trusted myself all those years ago? How far would I be now?
Define what success means to you—and celebrate every milestone.
Conclusion
Self-publishing has been one of the most challenging—and rewarding—experiences of my life. It’s pushed me far beyond just writing; it’s taught me how to show up for myself, take risks, and treat my passion like a profession. While the learning curve is steep, every lesson has brought me closer to becoming not just a better writer, but a more resilient creator. If you’re on this path or thinking about starting, know this: it’s not easy, but it’s absolutely worth it.