A Comprehensive Guide on How to Publish Your Own Coloring Book
Coloring books are a great source of fun and entertainment for both children and adults. These books help them learn tons of things like patience and manners and evoke creativity. Coloring books is also a fun way to relieve stress and let our creative side take over.
If you happen to be an illustrator or designer, then you might wanna start with coloring book publishing. Your coloring book can light up a little spark in someone and inspire them to become one of the biggest artists of their age. They give everyone the creative liberty to pour out their ideas of color scheming and how they view the world.
So, if the idea convinces you, and you are wondering how to publish a coloring book, then keep reading, as we shall be talking about everything you need to do to publish your own coloring book.
The Benefits of Publishing Your Own Coloring Book
Self-publishing your coloring book gives you all the control and rights to know what is happening to your book at every step of publishing. Taking control of publishing your coloring book on your own gives you the following benefits:
1. Retaining a larger share of the revenue generated from book sales
Publishing a book gives you the responsibilities of both an author and a publisher. You have all the authority over pricing involved in the publishing process, where to distribute your coloring book and royalties. The profit you make out of your coloring book sales goes into your pocket, without the party taking any portion of it. It also gives you the benefit of utilizing your budget accordingly and strategically to make the most out of it.
Ready to share your creativity with the world?
Publish your coloring book with Hancock Ghostwriters!
2. Having a greater influence over the creative aspects of the publishing process
When you work on your coloring book and publish it on your own, this also gives you artistic liberty over the designs included in the book, its layout, illustrations drawn and the content incorporated. It also frees you from any creative constraints applied by a publishing house. You have the final say which matters when it comes to selecting the styles and themes of your coloring book. You could create something unconventional out of your coloring book which the publishing houses may not allow you to do so.
3. Publishing your book according to your schedule
One of the advantages of self-publishing is that you have no time crunch or strict deadlines to deal with. You work at your own pace, make your own decisions, and fix a date that suits the timeline you have in mind. You can also plan your launch and come up with effective book marketing strategies that help you garner attention from your prospective audience. If your book happens to contain a seasonal theme, then planning an event-based date for the release of your coloring book could be a good idea as well.
5 Steps on How to Publish your Own Coloring Book
As a book publishing company itself, Hancock Ghostwriters understands the pain points of fresh authors going through the excruciating publishing process. We have seen many authors almost giving up on their dreams because of the amount of time, effort, and money that the publishing process takes up.
We know that publishing any book comes with a lot of baggage, but by keeping the following steps in mind, the process can be streamlined for an aspiring author like you:
1. Look for inspiration
To create a coloring book, there is no doubt that you need good designs. And no, a few lines here and there cannot do the job. These designs must have some meaning behind them, which can only happen when they are inspired by something in the real world.
For example, if a design consists of texture with flowers, dots, and glamor, then most probably, that design is inspired by henna designs, which are pretty common in Eastern culture.
Inspiration for coloring books is found in anything. You can wander on the street, and the texture of the road, the design on the walls, and even the clouds in the sky can be your inspiration. You just need to have a clear idea of your audience and let your creative side take over. Make sure that your designs are appropriate enough for the audience you want to target.
2. Do your research
It would be best to do your research before you start working on the coloring book. You can visit different stationery and book shops and go through different coloring books for different age groups to see what is trending. One of the best stops to find what is new is the internet itself, which gives you access to many different ideas and trends.
You also need to think critically about how you can make the customer’s coloring experience better. For example:
- Single-side printing, as it keeps the color from affecting other designs
- Cut out options so people can frame the designs once they are done
- Good quality paper so it does not get damaged while you color
- Affordable pricing
- Royalty compensation if you are only publishing the book
3. Designing the visuals
There must be something unique or some kind of hook in your coloring book. When that hook is missing, it will deviate the customers away from you. Keep in mind, if the design does not pull you in at first sight, then it will never pull in anyone unless the rack is empty and there is no other option.
So, it is important that you carefully work on your designs and come up with something that seems interesting and attractive at the same time. Your visuals must provoke the artist inside the customer to pop out and start thinking of different ways to color them. The goal is not just to sell the coloring book, but also to ignite the imagination of your targeted audience.
Experiment with different design styles, abstract, line art, realistic, and sceneries, figure out which style suits you best, and go ahead with the one you are confident about.
4. Refine the designs
This is the longest step. First, you have to decide how many designs you wish to put in your coloring book. Ideally, there should be at least 50 designs there to make the spending worthwhile. Once the design count is finalized, you have to pick which designs go where.
As we said before, you do not want to put complex designs in a children’s book and vice versa for adults. So, after categorizing each design into its respective age group, you need to refine each design.
If the design is too detailed or simple, then change it accordingly to enhance the coloring experience. For that, we suggest that you get a third person to review all your designs and see how they, as an audience, react to the designs. Take notes from them and implement them until the design is good.
5. Printing the book
This is the most fun and awaited part of the book-making process, when all your ideation, creation, and hard work comes to an end and the time for finally gaining profits off your backbreaking. Make sure you take the help of a professional book publishing company or equip yourself with enough knowledge to publish your book smoothly and successfully.
Wrapping Up
As easy as it seems, publishing a coloring book is not an easy job. You have to look into a number of things, from design to the target audience, from the quality to getting the books published.
All you need to understand is that if your designs are appealing enough, then your book will succeed for sure.
So, take your time with the designs, look into every aspect of each design, and if there is anything that does not seem good to you, cancel it out and add something else.
Also, make sure that you have enough budget to publish the books in the best quality. Meaning, picking the best quality paper for your coloring books. Otherwise, the customers will not be able to fully enjoy your book. The finely the coloring book comes out, the more warm reception it will receive from the audience, and the more credible you come off to your buyers.
Lastly, if you don’t have the time to do all of this yourself, you can always reach out to Hancock Ghostwriters for delivering professional quality publishing work.
Ready to turn your art into a published coloring adventure?
Let’s make it happen together!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is self-publishing?
Self-publishing is a method of publishing a book or other content independently, without the involvement of a traditional publishing house or company. In self-publishing, the author takes on the roles and responsibilities typically handled by a publishing house, including manuscript editing, cover design, formatting, distribution, and marketing.
How to publish a coloring book on Amazon?
To publish a coloring book on Amazon, follow the below-mentioned steps:
- Create your coloring book content
- Sign up for an Amazon KDP account
- Set up a new paperback book in your KDP account
- Enter book details and upload your coloring book’s interior file (PDF)
- Design and upload your coloring book cover
- Set pricing and distribution preferences
- Review and preview your book
- Click “Publish Your Paperback Book” to submit it
- Promote your coloring book through marketing efforts
- Continuously monitor and manage your book’s performance on Amazon
How to publish a coloring book on Amazon?
The cost of publishing a coloring book can vary greatly depending on factors such as illustrations, editing, formatting, cover design, printing, and marketing. It is difficult to provide an exact figure as it depends on individual choices and requirements. However, self-publishing a coloring book can typically range from $500-2000, depending on the complexity and extent of professional services you choose to invest in.
How do I choose the right paper for a coloring book?
When selecting paper for a coloring book, consider factors such as weight (thickness), texture, and ability to handle various coloring mediums. Heavier paper, such as 70-100 lb (105-150 gsm), is generally recommended to prevent bleed-through. Smooth or slightly textured paper is often preferred for coloring.
