Have a product to sell that is professional. Proofread your manuscript for grammar and spelling errors. Format your book in standard manuscript style. Format a novel in 12-point Times Roman font with the paragraphs justified to the left with 1-inch margins on the top, bottom, left and right. The paragraphs should be double-spaced with indents and with no space between paragraphs. Format your picture book to accommodate placement of the graphics.
Copyright your manuscript with the U.S. Copyright Center. A copyright secures your legal claims as an author. Get an ISBN number so that you can sell your manuscript. An ISBN is the International Standard Book Number that identifies your book. The purpose of an ISBN is to identify a specific publisher's book. The ISBN allows you to market your product through booksellers, wholesalers and other distributors. Request an ISBN in bar code form so that retailers can scan your book when it is purchased.
Research the markets for various children's books. The age level and interest market are different for novels, chapter books, picture books and so forth. For example, selling late chapter books to preschoolers would not be a wise investment of your time, effort and money. Find your market for your genre by researching at your local library, through writers' groups or by going online.
Choose your book delivery format. Select hard-copy paper form or electronic book format. Research the cost of having your book published by a print-on-demand or local publishing company. Self-publishing from your computer will often give you unprofessional results that a retailer would not accept unless you have a talent for bookbinding and can afford the loss of time and money necessary to create a bound manuscript.
Create your book in electronic book format. There are various formats such as PDF, DjVu and ePub. The software for creating these formats ranges in cost from freeware to expensive software packages. You will need a website on the Internet to sell your e-book. Create a secure website with e-commerce forms to sell the books and pay for a website domain name so that people can identify the site as your book outlet. Alternatively, if you do not want to go through the hassle of creating your own website, distribute your e-books through a commercial site.
Join organizations that promote self-publishing authors. Attend book fairs, use social networking and go to library-sponsored events for children as a local book author.