Children's Books - Can you help me?

[TeigrMum]

Hi, I'm a mum with a 12 yr old DS and a 7 yr old DD. They're a creative pair - they help me with writing children's books, often coming up with some great characters!

Three of the books they have helped me with have been illustrated and I have published them in collaboration with an overseas friend. They're published on Lulu.com, but we've not had any sales, despite everyone who reads the physical copies I do have being very enthusiastic about them.

I need to improve the sales of the books, and two of the ways I thought of doing it were audio books and e-books. But I am seriously unsure about the market for these types of publication and wanted to ask the people who buy them!

What I need to know is if you would buy audiobooks on CD/download/poscast or if you would buy an e-book for your children.

[Bongaloo]

No, sorry.
I get DD audiobooks from the library to play in the car. I don't buy them though.
I don't know what age group your books are aimed at - I'd think about letting my DD who is 8 use my e-reader (if I had one) but not a much younger child.

[Leafmould]

How do you buy anything off lulu? I just looked at the site and there are no books for sale. Am I being dim?

[TeigrMum]

Leafmould, there are five tabs at the top of the page - click the "buy" tab, that takes you to the shop page. I have to admit I find the site confusing as well!

While I'm here, can I ask you what your first impressions of the first book are? This is the link:

www.lulu.com/shop/maria-k-and-kira-morgana/pika-the-phluph-and-the-gribblebid-tough/paperback/product-20004195.html

The age range is 5+ for all of my Land Far Away children's books.

I also had some good news this morning - a publisher has taken on one of my other children's books! I'm bouncing a lot today!

[DeWe]

No. We used to get audiobooks from the library, and you get good ones in charity shops too. Never bought any new.

Two things I'd say.

Firstly I would only buy an audio book for the children I'd either read/seen before, or enjoyed one by the same author. I wouldn't get ebooks because my dc's favourite time to read is in bed.

Secondly if "everyone who reads the physical copies" is friend or family, they don't tend to be very objective. Or even if they're reading it in front of you, it's hard to give criticism.
There are websites which I've seen where you can put part of your book (or all if it's short) and other writers will give you feedback. I don't know how well it works, but I've seen that recommended before.

[DeWe]

Did you know that The Land of Far Away is an Enid Blyton book?

[DeWe]

Posted too soon.

Well done on getting them accepted. Really hard to do nowadays I believe.

[TeigrMum]

DeWe - yes. I loved it when I was a kid, so the name of the series is a nod to her inspiration in my work... that and every book starts with:

"Once upon a time,
In a Land Far Away..."

I've had the physical copies looked at by librarians, school teachers (both primary and secondary), childminders and other writers who I can trust to give me an objective view and have kids in the target age range.

I've also read the stories to a brownie group... don't worry - I'm a fairly experienced writer, but because I know so many writers, I was looking for opinions from the other end of the spectrum - the reader...