once i have been published, then what?

[Gary]

i am writing a series of story telling songs that i plan on turning into childrens books..
a relative of mine said that he would publish my first book..
but then what?
how does the book get known?
at some point i want to include all the story's into an anthology with chapters discussing the behind the scenes story..
i am sure that this anthology with the background would allow me to be a guest on Coast To Coast AM late night talk show..
is that a better way to go than shooting for kids books?
i somehow would like to do both..
but as someone on disability i don't want to start selling childrens books and lose my disability and then not get very much money from the books..
any advice or info on this would be appreciated..
thanks you~
it's not that i want to make money..
i just want to be stable..
disability isn't a lot of money..
but i am worried that writing books i might make less..
i don't know what resources my relative has to offer me..
but if it is minor then how do i make up the slack?
bob?

[littlesnail953]

Never think about money first,

you should first think of the success - money would then come naturally after that.

write only if you love writing. Not becuase of some possible money.

you are quite lucky to have a chance of getting published. go for it but think about what your result might be.

[CameronStone]

Jeez. First up, I really hope you're successful, and I don't mean to be mean, but writing is highly competitive. I've done two national radio programs, two national press interviews, three local press interviews, book signings galore, my work has been well received by critics and my publisher wants to put me forward for several of the major writing awards . . .

. . . and I'm still not making much money.

I'm not bitter about this- I never thought about success in terms of commercial success. For me it was more important to write a book I was proud of, and I have.

Best of luck.

[Pascha]

Once your book is published you will need to work hard to promote it, especially if it's your first.
Try local radio shows and current affairs shows.
Go to as many book stores as you can and offer book signing days, unfortunately, if you aren't already known, you probably wont get many people turning up, but do it anyway. Also, once the signing is over, offer to sign another 20 or so books for the retailer, this way, they can sell the books for slightly more and you can offer the signed books under the proviso that they must be displayed in an obvious spce, this you are more likely to sell more.
As soon as you have exhausted your own attempts at publicity you can start on your next book, they beauty is, once you have had one thing published, you will find it a lot easier to get you next work out there.
I don't know where you are, but in Australia, every book that is published must have at least one copy sent to the national archives. This will give libraries the chance to pick up your books too.
If it is a children s book (as you indicated) you can go to your local libraries as well and offer to do a reading for the children on certain days. You may even sell a few more copies this way.

Just remember that when it comes to publicity, the publisher usually doesn't put in the time deserved for your efforts, obviously becasue they are very busy. So it will almost always be up to you to make your work successful.

[akaMaryn]

Unless your relative owns a legitimate publishing company, you're in for some hard work which is doomed to end in disappointing sales.

Why? Because self-published (or relative-funded published) books don't sell well. Marketing a pay-to-publish book is damned difficult. Many of the avenues open to traditionally published authors are not available. Chain bookstores won't host signings or carry copies (although they will order them for customers). Newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio don't want your press releases and won't do interviews. The library system won't accept free copies. Writing- or book-related conventions won’t let you set up a sales or autograph table, don’t want you on their author panels, and forbid you giving away promotional material.

The author's blog, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and other electronic self-promotion efforts seem to have little effect in terms of increased sales.

About the only marketing I've seen have any effect for self-published authors is active participation at forums and chats dealing with the subject of your book. Find your niche market and determine where online they hang out. Some sites may allow you to discuss your book *if someone asks about it* (but will ban you for bringing it up more than once). Some may allow a link to a point of sale in your profile, or to your blog or web-page which in turn links to a point of sale.

You'll sell a few more copies than you might have, but overall, like most self-published books, regardless of quality, total sales will probably remain below 100 copies. More often, the number hovers somewhere around 2/3 to 3/4 of your total number of friends and family members. This compares pretty unfavorably to the thousands of copies a moderately-selling book from a conventional publisher can anticipate.

Assuming your children's book is fantastic, the money you make from it will not be enough to make your economic picture anything approaching stable. Even if you line up a conventional, paying publisher, you're unlikely to make a lot of money on a first book--and the competition for those publishing slots is absolutely cut-throat.

I’m sorry not to be able to offer much real hope, but I figured you’d rather hear the truth than sugar-coated lies which might cause you to waste your time or money.