Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of TCK Publishing, and the bestselling author of 27 books including Secrets of the Six-Figure author. He is also the host of the Publishing Profits Podcast show where we interview successful authors and publishing industry experts to share their tips for creating a successful writing career.

63 Comments

Donna on August 25, 2023 at 10:05 pm

Is there a shorter list available for publishers who accept tactile books (the fur on a dog for instance)? Thanks!
Lesley Hughes on October 5, 2022 at 11:11 pm

Hi, Kaelyn,
I hired an illustrator for my manuscript and he recommended i publish with Covenant Publishing. Only after the book was in print did i discover they are a self-publishing house, and even though Barnes & Noble carries the book on-line, they consider it a self published book and won’t put it in their stores. How do I get national attention for a well-written, completed book
Chisom on September 16, 2022 at 5:13 pm

I wrote a children’s story based on African lifestyle but trust me, it is very educative and interesting. I would like to get a publishing deal with a company because I really don’t have any capital for publication.
celeste Ancar on August 19, 2022 at 4:20 pm

I wrote a children’s book on how children sometimes deal with terrible disease of a love one and added photos to demonstrate on different pages. I need a company that will illustrate the book and DO IT ALL to get it published.
Gerilyn Pepin on August 16, 2022 at 5:13 pm

I have written one children’s book and hired an illustrator. The company offered me to do the publishing, marketing, but at a huge cost (which I cannot afford). I am in the middle of writing a 2nd book and want to do a series and would like to use the same illustrator. I even have a ISBN through this company. My question is since I have all that, what suggestions do you have for me to go forward with publishing, copyright and marketing my books? Thank you for your input and suggestions.
Jennifer A Gray on April 11, 2022 at 10:21 pm

Do you offer any remote internships for illustration work in the company?
- Kaelyn Barron on April 12, 2022 at 9:57 pm
  
  Hi Jennifer, we don’t currently offer any internships, but we’ll let you know if that changes in the future :)
Sirac on March 3, 2022 at 3:43 pm

Hello, I appreciate the list and read all the comments. I’m an illustrator and am currently challenged by the lack of responses from Publishers. I am emailing them my work with a brief description of my inquiry.
What suggestions do you have for me to solicit more responses?
Do you suggest I find an Agent instead? If, so what do I search for to find the right ones?

Thank you so much!
Anthony Rogers on January 25, 2022 at 11:31 am

I would desperately love to get my artwork published (out there) BUT it is unique as it is not entirely one thing or another…. neither illustrative nor abstract etc so I am a bit stumped. They are purely creative visual imagery to be absorbed by the viewer (perfect for young minds). I’ve been sitting on them for some time not knowing what to do with them so any advice for arty types like me would be most welcome. Thanks in advance.
- Kaelyn Barron on February 5, 2022 at 9:18 pm
  
  Hi Anthony, you could look through some of these publishers and see if any are looking for unique picture books that match your style.
mary helen berg on January 18, 2022 at 8:08 pm

Just a heads up that some of these links are broken or out of date.
- Kaelyn Barron on January 22, 2022 at 10:03 pm
  
  Thanks Mary, I’ll work on updating this post!
Twilah Lewis on December 15, 2021 at 6:10 pm

Please send me information to [email protected]

Mail; po box 301121. KCMO, 64230
How you can publish my children’s book and the cost.

Thank you.
kartik budholiya on November 19, 2021 at 3:30 pm

Hey Rebecca, I self-published two children’s picture books last year, using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. The whole process was a joy, but you have to do everything yourself. I used inDesign, which took a bit of learning, to design the pages and covers, put the text where I wanted it on the illustrations and submit each page as a pdf. The support from Amazon was excellent and I was very happy with the quality of the finished book. I thought, and still think, that for a free service it was brilliant. The difficult part comes in publicising your work.
Bhagwat Geeta in Hindi PDF
GRAHAM JORDAN on October 5, 2021 at 12:44 am

Thanks for this great access to professionals advice.
I am normally an oil portrait painter – but that’s a tough gig to sell. I have recently entered more ” Poster work ” competitions. BUT now Iv’e started oil painting natural creatures with a fun bent on their names. I have nearly completed four, and the more I look at them the more I think they would really be a lot of fun for a younger audience ( say 4 to 8 Y/O .) I’m planning to complete another 16 paintings before seriously approaching a children’s picture book publisher. But I guess I wanted to know is there anyone really trustworthy enough to share my idea with without them plagiarising it ?
- Kaelyn Barron on October 9, 2021 at 6:12 pm
  
  Hi Graham, thanks for your comment. I don’t think you really have to worry about that, all of these publishers are reputable, and it also seems like your idea would be difficult to replicate because it’s full of your unique paintings :)
  - Chelsea Moore on August 29, 2022 at 7:07 pm
    
    I’m wondering what advice you’d give to an aspiring children’s book author up against a couple of roadblocks. I wrote a baseball -oriented picture book that I’ve pitched to many publishing houses and agents, but have received no offers. Similarly, many seem partial to work produced by marginalized communities. Should I continue to persist in marketing my manuscript, knowing that rejections are common, and that there is a niche somewhere for my book?
    - Melissa Blizzard on October 18, 2022 at 7:48 pm
      
      Hi Chelsea! I currently have four children’s books awaiting publication at Page Publishing in Conneaut Lake, PA. One of them happens to be an exceptionally motivational book about a young boy who loves baseball, spends quality time with friends and family bonding over baseball, and gets the opportunity to travel with his parents and sister to visit a baseball game. Everyone at Page Publishing is exceptionally courteous and eager to communicate and answer any and all questions, but they do expect money which thus far has been mostly impossible to provide. Try calling them and ask to speak with Nyssa Curly. Perhaps this will provide some success for you!
Valerie Gayle02 Franklin on September 13, 2021 at 2:17 am

My granddaughter who is gifted has written three books in a series starting when she was in kindergarten. She does all the writing and illustrating. She is editing the first two books now that she is in second grade as she says she didn’t spell all of the words exactly right. I would like to get the series published. What publishers would you suggest?
- Cole Salao on September 18, 2021 at 9:28 am
  
  Hey Valerie! I can’t really suggest a particular publisher since I don’t know much about your granddaughter’s books, but all of these are good choices.
Lavina Serrao on August 30, 2021 at 12:29 pm

DO any of these publishing houses accept unsolicited manuscripts? And from India?
- Cole Salao on September 18, 2021 at 9:27 am
  
  Hey Lavina! I’m not sure about any particular one but some of these accept submissions from other countries.
Idgie on August 25, 2021 at 12:02 am

Hello, I am looking to publish a poetry book about a pet. Can you recommend a publishing house which is looking for this genre? Thank you in advance
- Kaelyn Barron on August 30, 2021 at 8:04 am
  
  Hi Idgie, thanks for your comment! You might want to check out these poetry publishers: https://www.tckpublishing.com/list-of-poetry-publishers/
Lilly Clement on August 19, 2021 at 3:19 am

Where do I Look to Sell my #3D Illustration Childrens Book. Fun, Easy, Colorful Task to Practice. 13 Pages. for Pre-schoolers, Kinder garden 4 to 8
- Kaelyn Barron on August 30, 2021 at 8:05 am
  
  Hi Lilly, thanks for your comment! I don’t know enough about each one’s specialties to recommend a specific publisher, but I think any on this list would be interested in a fun, illustrated book!
Kellie Kiesel on June 16, 2021 at 8:15 pm

Hi! I’m self published a children’s book last year and am in the process of writing a sequel. I would like to go with a traditional publishing house because I would like to create a series. Would TCK consider something like this?
- Kaelyn Barron on June 23, 2021 at 5:38 pm
  
  Hi Kellie, at the moment we’re closed to fiction submissions, but when we reopen again you’re welcome to submit your manuscript(s) :)
Gary F on June 1, 2021 at 12:22 pm

Many thanks for this list. It has been extremely helpful.
I have been offered a hybrid contract for my first picture book, requiring a small publishing fee to be covered by myself.
What are the thoughts on hybrid contracts? Am I best to accept it as a first opportunity to become a published author or should I wait to see if I can secure a full contract?
- Kaelyn Barron on June 7, 2021 at 9:25 pm
  
  Hi Gary, thanks for your comment! In general, we recommend avoiding publishers that ask for fees to publish your work, but they’re not all necessarily bad. The important thing is that you read the contract/guidelines carefully and understand what you’ll be getting in terms of editing, marketing, and production services.
Rebecca Ferguson on May 31, 2021 at 6:18 pm

Hello again Kaelyn,

I’ sorry I confused you. I was referring to self-publishing via Amazon. I’ve read views with them, and would like to try. But, I have a gut feeling that possibly they might be expensive.
- Kaelyn Barron on June 7, 2021 at 9:19 pm
  
  Hi Rebecca, thanks for clarifying! I’m not sure of exact costs, but it’s definitely going to be more expensive to print a children’s book with lots of images and color, and as Nick mentioned below, quality isn’t always the best.
Lalita Phadkar on May 17, 2021 at 7:00 am

Hi.

I’m from India.

During the lockdown I penned a narrative poem ( original fantasy tale) for children and an illustrator for fun did some illustrations of it. Now don’t know what to do with it.

Just want someone to read it and tell me whether it’s worth trying to do anything about it or not.

Any ideas please- am rather at a dead end here.Also if there’s no one who’d do this informally, who can I send it to for evaluation ( not an agent please) so it actually gets read, not dumped into a slush pile.
- Kaelyn Barron on May 22, 2021 at 5:53 pm
  
  Hi Lalita, unfortunately we don’t accept submissions for children’s books, or I would encourage you to submit your book to us, but if you’re looking for an informal evaluation, you might try some facebook groups or online communities for authors and upload some samples to get feedback.
- Lyric on May 3, 2022 at 9:15 am
  
  Hi! I have a suggestion! Maybe you could ask a parent/guardian/teacher to read your peom? :)
Jiwon on May 17, 2021 at 2:25 am

Hi Kaelyn, thanks so much for this list. My 15 year old daughter wrote a really great children’s story book about environment and animal. She wrote the story and did illustration. But, we don’t know where to go next. Self-publishing company seems to be fast to print but costs a lot. Do you know any publisher who does relatively easily accept (I mean, welcome a book by a high school student, about environment/nature/animal) and relatively publish in a timely manner? Thank you so much!
- Kaelyn Barron on May 22, 2021 at 5:51 pm
  
  Hi Jiwon, it really depends on the publisher. Unless they state otherwise in their submission guidelines, I would encourage your daughter to submit her work to publishers looking for books on that subject (I don’t know any off the top of my head, but I’m sure there are several on this list)
Helen Harding on May 9, 2021 at 1:14 pm

I have written a children’s book and i do have an illustrator lined up but i would really like to find a publisher that would do both as money is tight.
I have plenty of ideas for future books mainly for young children to be read by them or parents maybe at bedtime.
Please could any one advise me on the best publisher/Agent to approach.
Any advice gratefully received as i just want to write and not spend every waking hour scouring the net for publishers etc..
Many thanks.
- Kaelyn Barron on May 13, 2021 at 6:22 pm
  
  Hi Helen, I’ve read that Flying Eye Books does great illustrations!
  - Dione Precious on November 8, 2021 at 8:04 pm
    
    Hello Kaelyn, am Dione from Cameroon, i have a couple of short stories for children and also a memoir, could you help me out on where to direct my queries. the short stories are for children aged between 6-11, and they are pictured books too.
    thank you for your advice
    - Kaelyn Barron on November 12, 2021 at 9:01 pm
      
      Hi Dione, for your memoir, you can check out this list of memoir publishers. As far as picture books, most of the publishers on this list publish them :)
Richard Brinser on March 21, 2021 at 10:35 pm

I am a retired Occupational Therapist and grandfather of 8. I created The Powhatan Turkey and his ad ventures for them The first book addresses bullying and making fun of others. The second parallels the pandemic. I have written two others “RELO” and “The Perfect Pocket”
- Kaelyn Barron on March 27, 2021 at 7:26 pm
  
  Hi Richard, thanks for sharing about your books! They sound great :)
coral jones on March 19, 2021 at 1:50 pm

Do you think Dorrance publisher is a good company to let publish your book?
- Cheryl Laliberte on March 20, 2021 at 3:43 am
  
  They just published my children’s book. I don’t feel they are doing enough to get my book out there. I realize that book signings aren’t happening right now but neither is my book. I’m taking my next one elsewhere.
  - Kaelyn Barron on March 27, 2021 at 7:25 pm
    
    Thank you for sharing your experience, Cheryl! I’m sorry you didn’t have a great experience with Dorrance. In most cases, even with large traditional publishers, a lot of responsibility is still left to the authors to promote their books, but they need to at least do what they promised.
  - Michael l Spaur on June 23, 2021 at 7:34 pm
    
    The reason Dorrance has abandoned you is that they’ve gotten all the money from you as they can. Anything else would require their out of pocket money. And that ain’t gonna happen.
- Kaelyn Barron on March 27, 2021 at 7:15 pm
  
  Hi Coral, I don’t really know anything about them, but looks like they have mixed reviews on the BBB. Just keep in mind that you’ll be paying a fee for lots of things you could do yourself to self-publish your book.
  - L Serrao on August 30, 2021 at 12:20 pm
    
    Dorrance is not a traditional Publisher but a vanity publisher. Hence their role is enabling one to publish and marketing is not really much of their responsibility as I understand. But it depends on the packages I believe.
    - Cole Salao on September 3, 2021 at 9:10 am
      
      Thanks for the additional information! Hope someone finds it useful :)
Mary Aycock on March 18, 2021 at 2:13 am

You have Lee and Low listed twice.
- Kaelyn Barron on March 27, 2021 at 6:58 pm
  
  thanks, fixed it!
prakash sanshlesan on December 3, 2020 at 11:40 am

Do you know of anyone that would publish books that young children wrote.
- Kaelyn Barron on December 5, 2020 at 12:04 am
  
  Hi Prakash, thanks for your comment! As long as the publisher’s guidelines don’t contain anything about an age requirement, they would probably consider work written by a child. For example, at TCK, we don’t exclude a work based on the author’s age.
Beverly Ambrosius on November 7, 2020 at 2:42 pm

Do you know of anyone that would publish books that young children wrote. My seven-year-old granddaughter wrote an adorable book and I would like to have it printed out but I don’t know how to go about it is that something you can help with thank you.
- Dominic Wallace on November 12, 2020 at 3:07 am
  
  you can self publish on amazon, in ebook and paperback format for free. you can then order author copies for just the cost of print. hope this helps
  - Nick on March 30, 2021 at 6:52 am
    
    You can self-publish children’s books via Amazon for free, yes, but their picture book paper quality is not good, and you make marginal profit. Offset printing is superior in quality of paper and profit per book sold, but it’s costly up front which is why there will never be a better option than traditional publishing (if your book is deemed good enough!).
    - Rebecca Ferguson on May 4, 2021 at 4:11 pm
      
      If you submit your own photos or illustrations do they still publish? In a small amount what is the paperback cost? Just to get your foot in the door, so to speak.
      
      Thanks for your time,
      
      Rebecca
      - Kaelyn Barron on May 13, 2021 at 5:24 pm
        
        Hi Rebecca, are you referring to self-publishing or a traditional publisher?
      - Rupert Stewart Cox on September 29, 2021 at 3:51 pm
        
        Hey Rebecca, I self-published two children’s picture books last year, using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. The whole process was a joy, but you have to do everything yourself. I used inDesign, which took a bit of learning, to design the pages and covers, put the text where I wanted it on the illustrations and submit each page as a pdf. The support from Amazon was excellent and I was very happy with the quality of the finished book. I thought, and still think, that for a free service it was brilliant. The difficult part comes in publicising your work.
        Give it a go.
        Rupert
      - Kaelyn Barron on October 2, 2021 at 5:27 pm
        
        Thank you for sharing your experience to help other authors, Rupert! I agree that though it is a lot of work, self-publishing can definitely work for many authors.
- Kaelyn Barron on November 12, 2020 at 9:23 pm
  
  Hi Beverly, thanks for your comment! That’s so great that your granddaughter loves to write! We don’t have a minimum age requirement for our authors, so you’re welcome to submit her work :) You can review our submission guidelines here.
- Kaelyn Barron on April 1, 2021 at 11:27 pm
  
  Hi Beverly, there are publishers who will publish books by kids. You would just have to ask about that or do some research about them. I’m sorry I don’t know any off the top of my head besides us (but our fiction submissions are currently closed)