As a freelance editor, I have the good fortune to work with talented authors who write in a variety of genres, both fiction and nonfiction. One of the most prolific is Kristen Otte, author of the children’s chapter book series The Adventures of Zelda and the YA novel The Photograph.
In honor of the release of The Adventures of Zelda: Pug and Peach, Book 3 of The Adventures of Zelda series, Kristen agreed to share some of her secrets for marketing children’s fiction as an independent author.
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I never intended to write children’s books. When I started pursuing a career in writing a few years ago, children’s fiction didn’t even cross my mind. But then my husband and I adopted a pug named Zelda.
Zelda was two years old when we rescued her, and she has been a handful from day one. She’s a little pug who is light on wrinkles but heavy with spunk. Her crazy behavior, coupled with a writing-group challenge to write short stories, led to the creation of what is now The Adventures of Zelda children’s chapter book series.
The stories started off as fun blog posts to make people laugh. When I took a few of the stories to be critiqued at my writing group, I realized that I might have stumbled upon something great for kids. My eight-year-old nephew read a few and loved them, so I kept writing about Zelda the pug.
Two and a half years later, the release of The Adventures of Zelda: Pug and Peach marks the third book in the series. 
I think that means I am officially a children’s book author. Along the way, I have learned some important lessons about what it takes to be an independent children’s author. Continue reading “Marketing Children’s Fiction as an Indie Author: Guest Post by Kristen Otte”