DartFrog Kids
Professional children’s publishing. Real reach with parents, educators, and librarians.
Publishing & Marketing for Children's Books
DartFrog Kids at a Glance
A clear overview of the program before you dive into the details.
Program Fee
$10,500
Structured across installments
Typical Timeline
9 Months
From production through release
Current Release
July 2027
For manuscripts accepted today
Copyright & Rights
100% Yours
Authors retain ownership
Author Royalties
70% POD
100% distributor royalties on offset books
The Complete Publishing & marketing Program for Children's Books
What's Included in DartFrog Kids
Professional production, market positioning, reader exposure, and coordinated launch support—managed as one integrated publishing process.
The Specifics
Editorial & Production Expertise
Every manuscript receives professional children's editorial development followed by proofreading. Our editors focus on strengthening storytelling, clarity, pacing, and age-appropriate language while preserving the author's voice. Both editing and proofreading are included in the program at no additional cost.
Your cover will be designed by Mumtaz Mustafa, Senior Art Director at HarperCollins. Each cover is custom-designed to reflect the book's style, audience, and themes. Depending on the project, it may incorporate an illustration from the book or feature an entirely original design created specifically for the cover.
We create a custom interior design for hardcover, paperback, and ebook editions, with careful attention to typography, illustration placement, and readability. Illustrated books are produced as fixed-layout ebooks to preserve the original design across devices.
We provide ISBNs for each edition, with DartFrog listed as the publisher of record. We refine your back cover description and author bio, and develop accurate, professionally prepared metadata to support your book's discoverability across retail and distribution platforms.
Your book will be distributed worldwide in print and digital formats. You may choose between print-on-demand distribution and offset printing with warehousing and distribution management. With print-on-demand, you receive 70% of net revenue from book sales. With offset printing, you receive 100% of royalties, with printing and distribution costs handled separately.
Every DartFrog Kids project includes a dedicated Author Experience Manager who serves as your consistent point of contact throughout the publishing process. While you'll work directly with the specialists responsible for editing, design, production, and marketing, your Author Experience Manager is there to answer questions, coordinate across departments, and help ensure a smooth, responsive publishing experience from beginning to end.
Every DartFrog Kids title includes True Origin™, our authorship verification system that creates a permanent, independently verifiable record of your manuscript's development using blockchain technology. Each book receives Verified Human Authorship certification, including a unique registry number and scannable badge linking to a public verification record, providing readers, retailers, and educators with documented evidence of human authorship.
Market Positioning & Strategy
Each title receives a professional literary market analysis from Zoe Sandler, a veteran literary agent with Big Five experience. Her evaluation identifies target readership, comparable titles, and genre positioning to help ensure your book is presented effectively to readers, retailers, and industry professionals.
We conduct keyword, category, and BISAC research to optimize your book's Amazon listing and retail metadata, helping readers discover your book through relevant searches and categories.
We create custom Amazon A+ Content featuring professionally designed graphics and enhanced product information to showcase your book, strengthen its presentation, and help potential readers make informed purchasing decisions.
We submit your book to Kirkus Reviews and Midwest Book Review prior to launch, with the goal of securing professional reviews that can strengthen your book's credibility and provide potential endorsements for marketing materials and cover blurbs.
We submit your book to three respected literary awards: the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY), Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, and Eric Hoffer Book Award. We prioritize competitive awards where recognition represents a meaningful achievement.
Reader Outreach & Promotion
Your book is featured in Ingram's K–12 Resource Catalog, distributed to more than 26,000 school and youth librarians. This targeted placement introduces your book to professionals responsible for selecting books for school and library collections.
Your book is introduced to DartFrog's curated network of Instagram book influencers. We provide you with a list of influencers who have expressed interest in reading your book. You review their Instagram profiles and select the ten (10) influencers you'd like to receive your book. Each influencer then shares an honest, independent review of your book with their followers.
Every DartFrog Kids title is submitted to Story Monsters Ink for editorial consideration for inclusion in its Reading Guide. Through partnerships with the National Education Association (NEA), Gale/Cengage, EBSCO, and Flipster, Story Monsters Ink content is available in 93% of U.S. public schools and 88% of public libraries, providing valuable exposure to educators, librarians, and families. If accepted, your book will be featured in the magazine's Reading Guide at no additional cost.
We promote your book through a targeted email campaign reaching readers interested in children's books. Scheduled around your book's release, the campaign typically reaches more than 100,000 readers, helping introduce your book to an audience with an established interest in the genre.
Before publication, your book is made available to Shelf Scout, DartFrog's advance reader community of more than 2,000 readers. Interested readers can request a forensically watermarked digital copy and share their reactions through the Shelf Scout platform. During launch, participating readers are also required to engage with DartFrog's social media posts about your book, helping build authentic reader engagement and visibility.
Your book is featured on Indie Discoveries, DartFrog's reader discovery platform reaching approximately 3,500 readers interested in independent books. Each feature includes purchase links and remains available as an evergreen listing that can be updated with awards, reviews, media coverage, and other news, helping maintain your book's visibility long after launch.
We provide a customized, ready-to-use social media campaign with professionally written posts for pre-launch, launch week, and post-launch. Each post includes suggestions for accompanying visuals you can create, giving you a coordinated plan to build awareness, engage readers, and encourage book purchases.
Your book is featured on the DartFrog website, including homepage placement and a dedicated author spotlight. We also promote your book through DartFrog's Instagram account, which typically receives more than 60,000 views per month.
Trusted by Authors
E.J. Stelter
Author, Poppy's Adventures series
"After interviewing with several publishers, I knew DartFrog was the one for me. Gordon actually picks up the phone. He not only listens but offers fair and honest feedback and advice. I am truly grateful for how he goes the extra mile to ensure each detail of the project is done correctly. I highly recommend DartFrog!"
Brian Mulcahey
Author, The Feather Necklace
"I appreciated the time and effort from my team in evolving the book from draft to storyboard to publication. In particular, matching me with my illustrator was the most influential step. We collaborated the whole way and made a product that has been very successful."
The DartFrog Team
Our team is comprised of senior leaders from Big Five traditional publishers and the independent publishing sector, including the lead designer at HarperCollins and a former New York literary agent who has represented New York Times and national bestselling, award-winning authors, as well as a Reese’s Book Club selection. Collectively, we bring decades of experience across editorial, design, production, and publishing strategy—combining the rigor of traditional publishing with the flexibility and author partnership of independent publishing.
DartFrog Kids
DartFrog Kids is our specialized hybrid path for children’s books, combining professional production, positioning, and reader exposure tailored to the children’s market. We bring focused experience in visual storytelling, illustration, and audience development to ensure each book connects with young readers, parents, and educators.
The DartFrog Kids program fee is $10,500,
structured across installments.
Frequently
Asked Questions
Illustrations are an additional cost. If you need an illustrator, we have a team of artists to choose from. We've posted some samples of their work here.
Yes. While DartFrog publishes your book under our ISBNs, you retain 100% ownership of your work. You maintain full access to your files, and you keep 70% of all royalties.
Hybrid publishing is a collaborative process. The author's perspective plays a major role in every creative decision, but we too–as the publisher–have a say in the creative decision-making. The same is true for editorial decisions.
If we accept your submission, we will tell you in the acceptance letter which month we plan to release the book. Typically the timeframe from submission to release is 10 months, but we will know more once we see your manuscript and evaluate fully.
By combining editing, publishing, and targeted genre-specific marketing and promotion, DartFrog offers a thoroughly unique and complete publishing program.