DartFrog Kids is a curated program geared specifically for authors wanting to publish a children’s picture book, early reader or chapter book. The DartFrog Kids program has several parts that can be included or not included in a project, depending on the stage the author has reached when they come to DartFrog. Evaluation of every manuscript is free and if invited to publish through DarFrog Kids, there is no obligation to accept.
Features of the DartFrog Kids Publishing Program
DartFrog has a team of illustrators who can produce virtually any style of illustration. When a project comes to us that needs an illustrator, we determine which style and illustrator will be the best fit for the book. Sample illustrations are available here.
Every DartFrog Kids author has a project manager with whom they can correspond through Basecamp (the platform we use for all team communications), or by Zoom if a face to face meeting is required. The project manager oversees the team working on your book, is your direct point of contact, and also manages the administrative tasks that are important to the publishing process (the assigning of ISBNS, Library of Congress registration, uploading files, etc).
If an author comes to us with an idea for a children’s story but no written manuscript, or a loose compilation of notes that needs to be formed into a story, we will assign the project to a ghostwriter. The writing process includes communication with the author, sending of drafts for the author’s review, and then sending to the proofreader for the final polish once the story is finished and approved by the author.
A full proofread of the manuscript is always performed before the formatting process begins. Regardless of whether the author presents a fully written and polished manuscript, or a manuscript in need of editing, or no manuscript at all, the last step before formatting is always a proofread.
We create a custom website for authors who do not yet have one and will not accept a project for DartFrog Kids if the author chooses to have no website at all (having a website is that important). The website will incorporate Book Funnel (for disbursing reader magnets and capturing reader email addresses) and all DartFrog built websites include free hosting.
For indie authors, Amazon is the most important selling platform you have. Yes, other platforms are important, especially the ones that support indie bookstores, but the reality is the greatest potential you have for sales is on Amazon. So, a well researched and executed Amazon advertising campaign is crucial. We target genre-specific search terms with the highest click thru conversion potential, and we pay for the ad spend to get those clicks. During the campaign, we analyze the data frequently, making tweaks where necessary. Because we earn a royalty from every sale, it is in our interest to forge the most successful ad campaign we can and then leave it running indefinitely to maintain a steady flow of month-to-month sales.
A four color feature ad for your book will be placed in Ingram’s K12 Resource catalog (16,700 school and youth librarians) and another feature ad will be placed in the Ingram Children’s Holiday Guide (10,000 print and 28,000 digital circulation to libraries and retailers). Additionally, some books may be included in a full page DartFrog ad in the children’s version of Ingram’s flagship catalog called Advance (6800 print and 35,000 digital circulation to libraries and retailers).
Every DartFrog Plus Kids project includes a custom marketing report by the former head of worldwide publishing at Disney & former head of marketing at Scholastic. This report provides the author with a detailed and custom analysis of the steps to take for engaging schools and media (including the introductory letters already written for you), suggestions of bloggers and podcasts to approach, and more. Our team then reaches out on your behalf to the media and schools identified in the report.
We manage the interior design & formatting process (for hardcover, paperback & ebook) as well as the cover design process (for hardcover, paperback & ebook). We do not impose a restriction on the number of revisions allowed, because every project is different. We will revise until it is perfect.
We optimize every DartFrog Kids book for Amazon, which includes selection of keywords and categories that will give it the best chance to successfully engage Amazon’s algorithms and achieve ranking status.
Over the course of three, one hour zoom calls we assess your existing platform and provide guidance on the topics relevant to growing your specific platform. Topics may include:
- – Social Media Strategy Development
- – The technical side of social media channels (navigating around)
- – Tactical methods to build your following (strategy)
- – Basic social media rules, expectations, and recommendations
- – Visual Branding (logo, colors, fonts)
- – Messaging (tone, personality, and voice)
- – Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube
- – Email Marketing
- – Advertising
DartFrog will create a custom banner for your book to appear on our website homepage and some initial social media designs for you to post immediately before, during and after the launch. Additionally, we will design A+ content for the Publisher section of the Amazon product page to give it a fully custom and polished feel.
We connect every DartFrog Kids book to influencers (Instagram, TikTok, and/or the blogosphere) who read your book and share their honest opinion with their audience. We guarantee at least 10 influencers will review your book.
We also commission a professional review from Midwest Book Review and from Kirkus Review for every DartFrog Kids title. Reviews are submitted once the interior formatting is finished, in the hopes that we can add excerpts from positive reviews to the cover before releasing the book.
DartFrog will place your book in 3 independent bookstores. The book will be displayed face front in a genre appropriate section of the store at eye level, with a handwritten shelf reader card attached. The store will also include the book in an email newsletter to its customer base. We will provide a photo of the book on display in the store, which you can then share on your social media.
We list your book on Amazon and Ingram which (through their partnerships) ensures your book will be available everywhere books are sold. We utilize Print on Demand technology for hardcover and paperback, which also includes the capability for a dust jacket. Print on Demand technology ensures unlimited scalability and availability, but is also now totally equal in quality and cost to an offset printed book.
As a DartFrog Kids author, you earn a 75% royalty of all net income from sales of the book. All royalties are paid on a quarterly basis.
Some of Our Favorite DartFrog Kids Projects
