How to publish a kids' book:

Book publishing has changed drastically in recently years. Determined authors have a lot of options when deciphering how to publish their children’s picture book. It is absolutely necessary that authors educate themselves and research all of the children's book publishing options available in today’s market.

Jungle Wagon Press is a small family owned and operated independent publishing house operating out of Rockford, IL. Our approach to publishing children's picture books is unique and deserves a detailed explanation.

I will start by telling you what we are NOT. We are not a traditional publishing house (Random House, Penguin Books, Scholastic). These publishing giants are overwhelmed with hundreds of submissions per day. Their "slush piles" would be best termed "slush mountains." In years past, being published by a traditional publisher was the dreamy-eyed ambition of all would-be authors. In reality, the chance of un-agented, non-celebrity authors getting published by one of these giants is very slim to none. The process for submitting to these publishers is often complicated, lengthy, and disheartening. Even in the event an author's manuscript is accepted, their input in the publishing process is rarely heard let alone considered and royalties paid to the author are often pennies after all the middlemen take their share of the profit.

Jungle Wagon Press is NOT a vanity press or a Print on Demand publisher. Vanity presses take advantage of passionate, misinformed authors by playing on their fantasies of fame and fortune. These companies provide pre-publication and printing services for authors despite the fact that in many cases, their manuscripts will unlikely succeed in today’s competitive market.

Although we do ask authors to make an investment in their own work, we are SELECTIVE in the submissions that we decide to publish. We will not allow a potential client to purchase a publishing package until we have reviewed a snippet of their manuscript and spoken with them personally about their goals for their book.

We provide a distinctive service to a select group of talented authors who have a unique story to share. We have a particular sense for greatness and a proven ability to unite fantastic stories with creative artwork to produce good old-fashioned tangible books to be adored by families everywhere.

Vanity presses and POD publishers DO NOT CARE if the books they publish succeed. They assign one or several "author reps" to process your order. There is no artistic communication, no sharing of goals, no exchange of ideas between the author and the publisher. How tragic.

At Jungle Wagon Press, our customer service department consists of ME, the owner and president of the company. Communication is never screened and you will never be dumped onto a "representative." I will give you my time, dedication, creativity, and honest feedback. I collaborate with professional editors, artists, designers, and American printers to create only the highest quality children’s books. 

At Jungle Wagon Press, our authors and illustrators can say with pride that their work was especially selected for publication by an independent publishing company. Purchasing a publishing package from Jungle Wagon Press will NOT classify you as a self-publisher. We only accept great work that will be worthy of our passion, mission, and logo.

For the author who requires complete control over their project, I might recommend self- publishing. Proceed with caution, however. Most self-published books are easy to spot due to their format, poor cover design, clear lack of editorial gatekeeping, and poor printing quality. Unless you have A LOT of time, money, talent, and publishing expertise to bring to the table-why reinvent the wheel?

Jungle Wagon Press will require you to surrender some artistic control because that is what you are paying us to do! We will offer editorial advice that may take your manuscript in a completely new direction. We may suggest illustrations that were very different than what you imagined. Our gift is bringing out the best in you!

Your opinion will always be considered in the publishing process and your approval of final editing and general illustration plans will always be necessary before books go to print. 

We are a small company with a big heart. Offering these publishing packages allows us to provide our unique services to more authors and to publish more books that will bring families together for shared literacy! As one illustrator shared, "Jungle Wagon Press is full of integrity, honesty, creativity, and compassion. (Jeffery Gale)"

In return for the author’s investment, they will receive 100% of the books' rights and 100% of the inventory. After all-it is their investment! There are no loopholes or surprises. We are one of few children's book publishers accepting submissions.  With our professional publishing packages, we charge a flat fee that covers our publishing services from start to finish AND your entire inventory, delivered to your doorstep.

We encourage authors to avoid the misleading traps of our competitors. They really try to convince authors that their books will succeed as long as they are e-book compatible and have distribution through Amazon.com. At Jungle Wagon Press, we are certainly not opposed to keeping up with technology; however we encourage authors to retain their grass-roots marketing strategies as well. I have single-handedly sold HUNDREDS of copies of my first book, You Are a Twisting Tornado. There is nothing like meeting your customers face to face and sharing your passion with them. My life has been profoundly changed by the people that have crossed my path because of my book and its profound impact on their lives! And as a bonus-it is now an extra stream of revenue for our family! THAT is what book publishing SHOULD be about...not just mass distribution to faceless, nameless customers.