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A couple of Saturdays ago, I did a book signing at our local Barnes and Noble. This is how it works: the author (in this case, me) has to buy about 20 copies of his or her book and then bring them to the store to sell. Then the author gets 60% of the sales price back. This would have worked out fine for me if I had purchased my own book through Barnes and Noble Press, where I can buy it at cost; however, when I do that, it takes about 3-4 weeks to get the books. I didn’t have

As you know, my book and I have made it this far: from a concept in my head to a hard-cover, actual book with beautiful illustrations—an impressive feat, if you ask me. Now I am facing the most difficult part of this process: marketing! Anyone can go on BarnesandNoble.com and buy my book, but how are people going to know to look for it? Sure, they can Google some of the search terms that I entered, like “books about grief for kids,” but hoping that a lot of people will find m

As you know, I am totally new to this publishing/marketing thing. When I self-published my book through Barnes and Noble Press, I was under the impression that bookstores could order my book and sell it in their stores. Apparently, that is not the case. It can only be ordered online. I am disappointed because a couple of booksellers had told me they would consider selling it in their stores. If I can find a traditional publisher to publish it, that will resolve this issue. Wi

In addition to finding a means to publish my book, another roadblock was finding an illustrator. Hybrid publishing companies could only offer cartoon-style illustrations, which, although they might be great for a little kids’ book, were totally inappropriate for my story. About the same time that I discovered Barnes and Noble Press (in the fall of 2025), I Googled “illustrators for children’s books.” Voila! A website called Thumbtack.com came up. Moi (“Mo”) Camacho—a very tal

Hi. Now that my book has been published, I thought that I would tell you how/why I wound up self-publishing it through Barnes and Noble Press, in case you are considering this option. I wrote A Hug from Grandpa Joe in 2021. During the next year or so, I submitted it to various traditional publishers: some big-name ones, as well as smaller ones. Some sent me form-letter rejections. Others did not respond at all. Then I tried a couple of hybrid publishers. One accepted my book