In episode 26, we promised to occasionally feature children's authors Dream Team members on our podcast show.

In our first 25 episodes, our self published children's book author guests all mentioned that without the support of other professionals, their books would never be published.

As a published children's book author, after several failed attempts on our own, we started to think in terms of teams.

A Dream team that brings your book from dream to reality.

The biggest question of of most self published children's book authors is what is the role of each team member?

Where do I start and with whom?

In this and all future episodes about professionals who help you bring your children's book to life, we can help you as an aspiring children's book author and we will ask you to consider these questions.

What specific quality should I look for when assembling my Dream Team members?

What are the common pitfalls to avoid when self publishing a children's book?

And how can I effectively market my children's book after it's published?

If you think of traditional children's books, they used to start with the words once upon a time and then the children's book author would write the story.

Today we don't all have to be Walt Disney to enter the world of children's storybook authorship.

We can all be self published book authors with the right Dream team.

Adding the elements of Introducing you to the members in this children's book authorship Dream Team Episode I, I hope to inspire you to take action that you never dreamed possible.

I aim to introduce you to the core publishing members of your team.

The idea behind the core group of Dream Team members is to get your children's book published.

The second group of your Dream Team members is all about sustainability of your book, ensuring that it has a long life on the bookshelf.

These members will address sales, distribution and marketing.

They come into play after your children's book is published.

They are an essential group and sometimes what they do overlaps with your core Dream Team members.

Is there an order of things to do as you endeavor to assemble your children's book and a finished product?

There is an order and I would love for you to follow.

Don't get too rigid though in your approach.

Flexibility is good.

Please understand that your Dream Team members are professionals and you need to pay for those services.

I'm not a big fan of vanity presses.

That all being said, there is a role for them.

But remember, generally these are a one stop shop and their cost to help you can be very expensive.

You end up with a beautiful children's book but it can be costly with no revenue.

However, if you learn to become your own general manager of your own children's book business, there's things that you can take into consideration and still come out with a beautiful children's book at a much lower cost.

Put this in perspective.

The average self published book sells between 100 and 500 copies over the entire lifetime of the book.

You don't have to be a math genius to know you may never recoup your investment into your book business.

However, in today's episode and future episodes where we talk to your dream team members, the professionals that help you bring your book to life, the whole idea is to get you to take on just a little larger role in bringing your children's self published book to life.

Remember, being a self published children's book author is not a path to fame and fortune.

Whether you use a vanity hybrid children's book publishing service or you follow the formula I'm proposing to assemble your own children's book publishing dream team and bring your book into the world without breaking the bank.

Why take on a larger role?

Why do it?

If you've been listening to our podcast show the Adventures in the Heart of Children's Book Authors Podcast, all of our self published book authors who wrote a children's book weren't interested in fame and fortune.

However, every one of my guests has either written multiple children's books or is in the throes of writing and publishing their next children's book.

For them there is no one and done.

My goal is to help you become a self published children's book author or to help you with your next children's book.

However, I believe there is a more effective way for you to become a self published children's book author at a lower cost than going through a one stop shop.

By taking on a role in putting together your finished children's book, you can end up with a children's book you can be proud of and can be marketed throughout the world.

So let's talk about the first steps in bringing your children's book to life.

Let's discuss and recognize the core dream Team members.

First, you, the writer and the author of your children's book.

Second, a children's book editor.

Third, an illustrator for a book cover designer and lastly, a book format designer.

Once you've got these five elements to your core dream team, these members can help you bring a self published book to market.

That was part of your original goal to have a self published children's book.

The other part is to think ahead and realize that once you have your finished self published book, now you need to think about your sustainability Dream Team members and what are their rules?

First, without sales it is hard for you to recoup your initial investment.

Second is distribution.

There are so many ways in today's world, in today's digital world, today's brick and mortar world, there are so many ideas on how to get children's books into distribution, including a children's book website or author's website.

And third is a sustainable marketing program.

Whether it's through social media or through other of today's marketing processes, we will get into discussing all elements of marketing and talking to your Sustainable Dream Team members.

Now that I've introduced you to each profession on your core and sustainable Dream team, my goal over the next several years is to ensure I bring on several Dream Team members in each profession to give you choices and to inspire you to take control of your children's book authorship program and bring your children's book to life.

Enjoy the Listen.