Numerous questions from a novice

If they're published on Lulu, then you're done so far as publishing them goes - you've burned first rights. Beyond that, all you can do is try and get a bookstore manager to place some on their shelves or see if local libraries will allow you to have signing or reading there.

Yeah, what Cyia said. And, of course, start writing another, then query agents.

And, welcome to the watercooler

Don't do anything (except write, of course) until you've read absolutely EVERYTHING in the Toolkit thread. You will find almost all your questions answered in the resources listed there.

It's right here:http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39596

TMcBee said:

I have written two children stories and have come to a figurative brick wall. They have recieved good reviews from a local elementary school. Unfortunately I do not know where to go from here. I published them on lulu and have been very disappointed with them. Where do I go from here to get it out into the literary world? Thanks in advance!

Travis

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Hello Travis, I fouled up, made a BIG mistake and did the same thing by self publishing my first two books through Xlibris Publishing. I didn't take the time to study and try a figure out how the publishing industry actually worked. I figured that if I got too many rejections I would just give up on the stories. I have since thickened my skin up, sucked up the rejections from publishers and agents and chaulked it up as part of the publishing game and continued writing more stories to send to publishers and agents.

What you can also do is get to know ALL your local school librarians and as many teachers in the grade level of your books. I speak at alot of local schools and they let me sell my books through the schools. They send out flyers before author days announcing my books to parents with an order form and price sheet. If I don't have enough books available, I order them, sign them and return the orders to that teachers class.

I've also spoke at some libraries and they have ordered some copies themselves to sell through the library. They email me if someone wants one signed and I swing by the library and sign the copies for kids.

You will have to do the promoting yourself on your self published books.

Good Luck! Mike

Cyia said:

If they're published on Lulu, then you're done so far as publishing them goes - you've burned first rights. Beyond that, all you can do is try and get a bookstore manager to place some on their shelves or see if local libraries will allow you to have signing or reading there.

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That's not really true. While Lulu does acquire the right to print your book, you can just as easily take them off Lulu without getting stuck in a PublishAmerica type contract. I've also seen plenty of Lulu authors who had no problems securing a publishing deal afterwards.

That said, those people had great books and did a lot to promote them and generate a buzz before the publisher took the bait. That might not be easy for children's books.

Just query, but be upfront about the self-publishing bit. Not all agents and publishers are narrowminded to the point of giving up a deal just because they can't get first rights.

Michael Hoeye and Christopher Paolini are both excellent examples of children's authors who self-published and then sold the rights to those books and their sequels. It can be done.

Like Stijn says, it takes two things.

1) Write a really good book.

2) Sell enough of them to convince someone you can do it.

I remember reading on an agent thread, or hearing someone speak about this at a conference. Selling a lot of a self-published book doesn't automatically get you a contract, either, because of the way the editors think. "This book could probably sell 10,000 copies. He's already sold 5,000 on his own. That means I'd only make half as much money as if I'd gotten it first."

Hoeye and Paolini had sequels in the package, which probably made a big difference to the publishers.