Writing for children is a joy. Knowing that yours will be one of the first books that they read and that you might inspire a love of reading in them for the future. But getting published is another story. With around 1/3 of children owning and using an eBook reader, there is a lot of potential for getting your books read by publishing an ebook. But who are the top publishing companies for children’s eBooks? Which companies should you approach to have the best chance of seeing your words in digital print?
Top Publishing Companies
We’re going to look at the top publishing companies in three different categories; the big players, the smaller firms, and self-publishing. We’ll also consider how you can get your work published in a serial format, for example as a magazine.
Top Publishing Companies For Books
The firms you’ll see in this section are household names. They often have multiple imprints, and you will need to do your research to see which you should target with your submission. Along with physical copies of your work, these companies can also produce and market eBook versions.
Random House has 10 different imprints just in its children’s book arm. They don’t take direct submissions, but if you have an agent they are worth approaching; they publish the likes of Dr. Seuss and Phillip Pullman. Imprints include Dragonfly and Wendy Lamb Books.
Simon & Schuster is one of the most successful publishers in the world. They’re a subsidiary of CBS, which gives them a lot of media clout. Their titles are often seen on the New York Times bestseller list, including the popular Dork Diaries series by Rachel Ren?e Russell.
Scholastic is the publishers of J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter series. They publish around 750 new titles a year, making them one of the biggest in the USA. As the name implies, they like to publish educational books alongside fiction, so if your title is non-fiction then they might be worth an approach.
Independents Publishing Children’s Books
Most of the bigger publishers don’t accept direct submissions, so you first have to get an agent before you can approach them. The independents tend to be a little more open.
Immedium are a relatively new publisher but they’ve already become known as one of the top publishing companies for children’s books by winning awards and backing some best sellers. They focus on innovative books and are looking for projects that are strongly flavored with originality.
They’re also known for managing the rights for merchandise and television alongside their titles, for example, they publish the Octonauts series.
Lee & Low Books are interested in books with a multi-cultural focus. With less than 10% of children’s books having a main character who is non-white, this is an important market. If you have a book that contains cultural diversity including characters, family structure, the inclusion of non-traditional gender roles or identity or stories that feature people with disabilities, Lee & Low might be just the publisher you need.
They publish primarily picture books, with word counts of less than 1500, and they handle their own illustrations. Don’t send them manuscripts that include illustrations unless you are a professional yourself.
Albert Whitman & Company are a rare child book publishing company; they accept unsolicited submissions. Founded in 1919, they are a well-established company that publishes picture books alongside mid-grade and young adult novels.
However, they only publish a small number of titles a year – around 40. But if you want to go the traditional publishing route and you don’t have an agent, they are definitely worth considering.
Self-Publishing Solutions
Once upon a time, self-publishing was seen as a last resort or an inferior option to mainstream publishing. But that’s no longer the case. Print publishers are making very conservative decisions when it comes to new titles, preferring to choose safe options such as proven or celebrity authors.
This has created a generation of authors who have chosen to self-publish. They have their work professionally edited and typeset, and the use a top performing self-publishing platform to launch their books. Here are a few of the best self-publishing platforms.
Kindle Direct Publishing Love them or loathe them, Amazon has changed the way we buy books. They’ve also changed the way we publish them, through their self-publishing platforms CreateSpace and Kindle Direct – which have recently been amalgamated into one service.
You can quickly and easily upload a manuscript to self-publish, and have the option to make your book available to those who have signed up the Kindle Unlimited service too.
Lulu also offers you the ability to upload your own files and convert them into multiple eBook formats. You can then decide which publishers you want to release your eBook with, and you’ll earn royalties from those sales.
Payhip not only allows you to create your eBook, but it also lets you create an e-commerce site that you can use to sell it. You can earn through affiliate programs, offer discount codes and take a flexible approach to price giving you full control of your project.
Magazine Publishing
If a contract with a top publishing company doesn’t appeal, or your work is produced in a serial format then you could also consider using a magazine publishing platform such as ours.
Here at Magloft, we give you the tools to quickly and easily set up a print and electronic version of your magazine, comic or manga title. You just upload your PDF, and then use our interactive tools to bring your title to life with audio, video, and HTML.
You Have Options
We hope this article has made you aware that you have many options when it comes to publishing. The top publishing companies are out there, looking for new talent all the time. But if for some reason they aren’t looking for what you have to offer right now? There are some great self-publishing options so that your work can get out there and start inspiring children to read as soon as possible.
And if you’d like to give us a try? You can sign up for free, and set up your magazine before you pay us a cent – and we’re here to support you every step of the way.
