Getting That Book Out There

                   

You finally did it, your book is done. Hooray!! Now what? Do you sell it to a major publisher, taking the risk of your book getting lost in the shuffle, overlooked in favor of big-name authors? Or, do you decide to really lay it on the line and team up with an experienced book consultant who will help you to publish it yourself, on your own terms?

The Book Publishing Game

Today, many authors are deciding to go out on their own, as far as publishing their own book goes. There are arguments on either side, as far as self-publishing or selling a book to a major publishing house. For those who decide to self-publish, the advantage is in keeping all the rights to the work, and any income the book generates. Selling to a publisher means giving away the rights, as well as a percentage of the sales. It’s also hard to get a publishing deal if you are not a big name author, so self-publishing is a way to get a work out into the world, on your own terms.

Order Fulfillment

A self-published author must deal with the marketing and printing of a book as well as getting the book orders fulfilled. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but for many authors who are passionate about what they do, the work can be a joy. It’s also good to know that there are good options for order fulfillment out there, through mailbox centers. Mailbox centers are known for offering P.O. boxes, and other services like an apostille in NYC and document printing. These centers also offer warehouses for product storage (like books) and the means of taking on all the order fulfillment (packing and shipping) of book orders that come via email.

So, for anyone thinking about getting their book out there, the good news is that there is a way to get it done and get it into the hands of the reading public. Yes, it’s a big job, but it may be a little easier than you think.

               

Tundra Finds her Howler by Marc Rumaner

The pictures in this book are just so vibrant and colorful, and we just sat here and admired them for quite some time!! The kids loved the pictures of all of the animals, not to mention the story is very sweet!
Tundra tries to get some help from some other animals to ask where her howler is, and they can't seem to help since they are not Alaskan Malamutes, like Tundra. She wants so much to sing with her friends, but can't, and she tries and tries and tries, and doesn't give up! ( valuable lesson for children of all ages!!)
That's what I like best about books like this, is what my children gain and learn from it. Tundra teaches them to not give up and to keep trying! You will succeed when you keep at it and have faith.
It is especially neat because children catch on very quickly when the lesson is taught through a book with gorgeous pictures, and cute animals. More so, then if I would just give a speech:) (of course you should always still be positive and teach your kids, but when you find a genuine good book like, Tundra Finds her Howler, you should use the story along with it! It is thanks to stories like this that we can build character, not only in our children, but in ourselves.
I especially love when my children, have no clue they are learning, and they enjoyed the story, the pictures, and were so proud of Tundra at the end! My 2 year old just loves animals, especially doggies, lol, so he was very thrilled to see these pictures and giggled at the animal sounds! Our 5 year old loved the pictures, and making the animal noises herself, and even tried to help Tundra along the way! Even our big boy, who is almost 9, was fascinated by the pictures and certainly got the lesson at the end. Genevive, (the 5 year old), was trying to fix a ring she loves that broke the other day, and her big brother reminded her of the story, helped her with the ring, and together they fixed it! He said, "Oh Genevive, don't give up hope! You will find a way to fix this! remember Tundra found a way, so can you!" It was so adorable, (of course they don't always get along!) But, every now and then they have these moments where they work together, and help each other, and I have to say, it has always been after reading a story like this one.
I would recommend this book for all children! You will not be disappointed, especially with the ending and the pictures!

If you want to see more of Tundra, (by the way, Tundra is real, and actually Marc's dog!) She has a brother named, Igloo, and they have all kinds of adorable pictures on their site!! , you can visit them at www.igloominations.com!!


** We received a copy of this book in return for our honest review **

The Amazing Adventures of Paddy Platypus by Tom de Paolo

I read this book before I read it to my children, and at first, I thought, "AAHH! What a bunch of big words for them to try and understand!!" (well, our almost 9 year old would be fine, I thought). I read it out loud to our 2 year old and 5 year old, and they were to busy checking out the cool pictures, to care what in the world I was saying, lol! But, Genevive, (5), at the end, had lots of questions about the book and Paddy, she listened after all!
This kind of proves my belief that, no matter what the book is, if you read to your kids, or even talk to them as if they were a regular grown up, they will hear you and they will start to understand some of those harder words. Our children's brains are like sponges, from day 1, and it is very important to read to your children, (books like this that have a more broad vocabulary are excellent!), and the earlier the better!! the more you read to them, the more they learn and grow!
Paddy the Platypus is a loveable character, and he is just a kid! The illustrations are very neat! Actually, I haven't seen such illustrations with so much depth and detail quite like these for a while. My little ones really enjoyed them and each time I turned the page, we had to stop and discuss the pictures, and go back over what was going on in the story.
It is a little longer of a book, but that's a plus in our book! It may take a little longer to get through then an average children's book, but this isn't an average children's book.
Paddy Platypus lives in Tasmania, and is a fine swimmer! So, he is asked to travel to the United States, to swim for his country in the Olympics. He goes along, reluctantly, and he misses home, and doesn't like the noise and all the commotion, (just like a human kid;), and what happens at the end is just adorable! We giggled and giggled and giggled more, and discussed why he did what he did, and what would we do if we were Paddy. (We voted and we all would have done the same thing!!)
This is a very funny book, easy for parents to read, and another plus is... give this book to your young reader to enjoy! Ours read this by himself, and after that, he read to his brother and sister. perfect book to keep those young readers motivated during the summer months!
We recommend this book to children of all ages, and we are all hoping to see Paddy come back in a new story VERY SOON:)

** We received a copy of this book in return for our honest review **

Our Mom Spot Summer Reading Giveaway

We were all super excited that we won this giveaway a couple weeks ago, and we just received our package this past weekend!!
The kids LOVE their new books, and didn't waste any time getting them out to read!!
For those of you who are not familiar with www.ourmomspot.net, they are a community of parents who come together to help each other, inspire each other, offer advice, tips, and just simple and fun chat for other busy, and crazy parents like us;)
They also have all kinds of information, discussions, giveaways and a lot more!
I never really enter many giveaways, I wish I did, but I am usually to busy hosting them, or doing book reviews!! But, I received an email about this giveaway from Our Mom Spot, and had to enter!!
We won these books:





We are so thrilled to have won these awesome books!! The kids have had so much fun the past few days, and Aaron (our almost 9 year old), has been reading them to the littlest ones, over and over.
You can read more about the author, Doreen Cronin, here!
They are just adorable! Cute illustrations, tons of facts, and written in such a way that you don't even realize you are learning. (that is my favorite kind of way because it seems what you read, sticks in your mind a lot longer, and it is easier to remember, especially for kids!)

Here is a couple pictures of Aaron, reading to his brother and sister;)
We are very proud of him! He reads exceptionally well, and a LOT!

I had a few extra minutes to quick throw in some laundry, do a sink load of dishes, and start dinner while they read!! So, THANK YOU Doreen Cronin and Many thanks to OURMOMSPOT.NET!!! and Thank you for having such an amazing community for parents:P
PS) I was actually in desperate need of a mouse pad, so that was a much appreciated gift I found in our package!!!! Thanks again:)

A Quest for Good Manners by Karin Lefranc

I have 4 children, and they are so similar to Rosalind and her pet dragon, Sparkler.(I think a lot of children are;)
That's one reason this book was so special! It made my little ones laugh at the beginning, because they do the same, and hear the same as the characters did!
We really enjoyed reading this book, and the kids of course, were all full of manners immediately afterwards! (Yes, I have to read it often, but luckily, Aaron, he is 8, loves to read out loud too!)
The illustrations are charming, and the book itself is especially neat. The kids love the cover, and even the way the words are on the pages. (We loved the please, thank you and your welcome parts.)
By the middle of the book, Genevive, (she is 5), was able to understand before I read it, what they should have done or said, and we were super proud that she was learning some manners!

I really love the cute story and how simple the author makes the lesson of manners that some of us parents have a hard time with. Of course, at least in our family, the kids are great in public, but when it comes to respecting each other and being kind and considerate at home, it doesn't last to long. But, all in all, so far, we have had a wonderful response with this book and even Deegan,(he's 2), knows that when this book comes off the shelf, it is please and thank you time!

We had so much fun reading, and I personally had a lot of fun seeing the children actually be kind and considerate to each other. (Even if just for the day;) But, everytime we read it, they go on their own journey and are kind and have manners here at home!

I recommend this to all little princes and princesses, and any parent or grandparent who may be getting tired of repeatedly asking, well, begging, for their little ones to have some manners!
You can buy this book on Amazon!

You can also check out A Quest for Good Manners on Facebook!!

** We received a copy of this book in return for our honest review **