Green or Blue? What to do?

There are always so many decisions in publishing a book including in it's lay out.  I have included two book covers I designed but I cannot decide on which on!

Each has it own strengths and weaknesses, and as you can see if you compare, placement and size of font can also make a difference. I am partial to blue however I do like the earthy look of the green.

​Something I think anyone looking to publish any children's book with Print On Demand (POD) is to understand the economics of it.  I have read numerous forums where people are complaining about costs for printing.  Well, there are pros and cons to doing a book this way whether it is with Kindle Direct, Ingram Sparks or LuLU or any other site popping up these days.

The number one thing to understand is that IF you were to find an agent, and then find a publisher, and then go through the process and have your colour book put into print, it would be printed in huge batches, where they also can do layouts and set it up so that the pages that are black and white, print as black and white and the pages that are colour, print as colour. This keeps the cost much farther down for creating the book which can go into the price itself.

When you print a colour book with POD even if there is only ONE colour page in the book, IT ALL GETS PRINTED AND THEREFORE HAS THE COST OF COLOUR!  So, that means the profit margin on the book and the cost to create the book is much higher!  It wouldn't matter which company you went with to print it, it is the way it is for having the book printed as it is needed and no money out of pocket for the author.  

In the old days it was vanity presses that would print a book not accepted by a publisher.  You paid the money for the amount you had printed and it all came out of your own pocket.  So if you think POD is terrible, also take into account what happens IF you do get picked up by a publishing company.  Look at what your profit percentage is in the long run there!  And these days many publishers are struggling and get grants, such as where friends went to get their book published...oh they published the book (and held the rights!) however when it was done, it was done!  Sorry, no money for another run!  And not a thing you can do about it!  Also now, many publishers won't look at you unless you have a substantial mailing list. Well, if you have gone through all that trouble to get people interested, what are they doing?  They send it to the same printer often such as Ingram Sparks who also is the distributor!  So, yes, the book will cost a little more, and yes, there is only one size for a landscape size book (11 x 8.5 via Ingram Sparks which HAS to be premium colour) however it is what it is! 

By the way, most POD writers will tell you, the majority of their sales do NOT come from selling to Brick and Mortal stores but on line.  The ebook is where many make their money after they have done numerous books. If you are prolific and can crank them out, you may make an ok living as a writer however if you think just because it is published and out there, it will make you money, think again!  Like anything else, it is all about the marketing and that isn't most writers or artists favourite thing to do! I know!  Sigh!

This isn't to be discouraging, it is to help you understand what you are getting into. It is not perfect but it certainly is nice when you can see your own book in print.  This book I am doing now, I am glad I am doing it, since it gives folks the opportunity to see some of the magic of living off grid.  Something many adults and children today never have the opportunity to do...even this little lake I hear has become a BnB and party central!

So if you want to write, then write!  And with POD it means you don't need an agent, you don't need to wait months, possibly years to get picked up by a publisher and you don't need to be rich!  Writing is a labour of love for some of us and so it isn't about the black or red or profit margin like every big company out there these days seems to be focusing on, it is about communication and fulfillment.  

​Keep writing and go for it!  It isn't like you will loose much but your time, and if you set it up right, no money lost in doing that either.