Our Process

Secure a Sponsor | Writing | Illustrations | Our Responsibilities | City/Market Responsibilities | Fundraising

First, secure a Sponsor.
All books published by Books by Kids have a big charitable component. After all, the whole idea behind the creation of Books by Kids was to provide kids with a hands-on learning opportunity and show them how they can help other kids in a meaningful way! Children who help to write or illustrate a book experience great life lessons, but none is more important than learning about the importance of giving back. If you want to get involved in creating a book for your city, a corporate or philanthropic sponsor is essential. The sponsor offsets the hard cost of each book's production, so more funds can be contributed to the participating non-profit. For more information, visit the For Sponsors section of this Web site or contact us.

Writing
The writing portion works differently in each city. In some cases, we work with a sponsor to launch a writing contest aimed at a particular student population in a specific city. Once the student writing team has been selected, we get to work immediately on the research. In the Our City from A to Z Series®, the student authors create a master list of city characteristics, venues or historical figures that start with each letter of the alphabet. The writing team also drafts an introduction, conclusion and a quiz for the end of the book. Once the research is complete, we work with the students to create a story based on their findings.

Photo courtesy of Art with a Heart in Healthcare, Jacksonville, FL

Illustrations
After the writing portion is complete, we partner with a local children’s hospital to create the book illustrations. Each patient who participates is given a letter/page to illustrate. Illustrations are done in a consistent art media and size, and each page includes the patient’s first name and age.

The participating hospital receives a portion of the profit from book sales, as well as great exposure in the community! Most importantly, the process of creating the art allows the young patients to get their mind off their illness, enhances the healing process and builds self esteem. After all, these youngsters are creating a great legacy that will benefit kids in their community.

Learn more about the role the illustrators played in Jacksonville from A to Z.

Our Responsibilities
Once the text and illustrations have been finalized, BooksbyKids.com creatively combines the words with the children’s illustrations to design the book.

• Book Design
• Project Coordination
• Web site – local and national
• Copyrighting
• Editing
• Printing
• ISBN
• Sales
• Billing & Administration
• Public Relations
• Book Order Forms
• Marketing
• Shipping
• Local Distribution Plan

City/Market Responsibilities
In order to raise funds for local non-profit organizations, Book by Kids needs strong local support. In each city, Books by Kids partners with a leading volunteer organization. Local volunteer organizations should be prepared to help with the following:

• Submit a list of possible sponsors to offset the hard costs of production. (Without this component, it will be nearly impossible for the participating non-profit to financially benefit since so few books are published per market.)
• Line up potential distribution channels for book sales – non-profits, schools and retail stores.
• Host a Book Launch Party with the Children’s Hospital, participating sponsor and BooksbyKids.com and assist with physically distributing the book to retailers.
• Secure a climate-controlled storage area to store the for book inventory.
• Assist with local marketing and public relations efforts
• Help with citywide research, as needed
• Assist with Group Sales efforts

How the Fundraising Works
At the onset, we work with a local leading volunteer group to identify and secure a sponsor to offset the hard costs of each book’s production. A minimum of 5,000 books are published per market. The sponsor is given considerable marketing value for its participation. More information on sponsor packages can be found in the sponsor section of this Web site.

Once we combine the students’ story with the patients’ illustrations, we publish a full color, hardback book that is sold throughout the participating community. Each book retails for $20.00 and wholesales for $12.00. In addition to selling the book via typical retail channels, we aim to sell books through non-profit organizations such as schools or other charities via a Group Sales Effort.

The net proceeds from book sales benefit designated non-profit organizations in each community.

See the sponsor section for more details…