How to Make and Sell a Coloring Book from Your Art – Julie Erin Designs

Have you ever dreamed of creating your own coloring book? It’s fun and satisfying to make and sell a coloring book of your own art!

last year i published my own coloring book through amazon kdp. the book features my own hand drawn mandala art and i love it!

You are reading: Sell coloring books on amazon

Today I am going to explain to you the steps I followed to make this book so that you too can make a coloring book with your own art.

how to make and sell a coloring book of your own art

It really is free (or quite close) to create a coloring book from your art using this method!

To follow this tutorial, you will need:

  • an amazon account (does not have to be prime).
  • an amazon kdp account (which you can set up with the same login information as your amazon account).
  • access to the editing software of images and a scanner to digitize your art.
  • software such as powerpoint or google sheets to build the inside of your coloring book.

You could probably also use canva or other software to design the interior if you prefer, but I’m just showing you how I did it. there are many ways to produce the same result, so don’t feel like you can’t do this if you don’t have the exact software.

creating the artwork for the coloring book

First, you’ll need some illustrations that you want to use for this project. I suggest having at least 30 artworks for a coloring book. of course, you can have more than that if you want!

Here are some things to keep in mind when creating the artwork for your coloring book.

  • black and white lines are best. the amount of detail can range from very simple (aimed at children) to extremely complex (for adult coloring enthusiasts).
  • try to keep the difficulty constant between drawings. alternatively, you can start the book with simpler drawings that progressively become more complex.
  • please note that you will need to digitize your art for the coloring book. if you can create your images digitally from scratch, great! if not, you can draw your artwork by hand with black pen (sharpies are good).
  • i suggest scanning your drawings and then clean them up on the computer using a design program like photoshop and/or illustrator. i have a tutorial on how to do this here: how to clean up line art in photoshop and illustrator.
  • save each of your drawings as separate image files, either .jpg or . .png is fine.
  • make sure the image size is large enough to fit on an 8.5″ x 11″ page. you can reduce the size, but I don’t recommend increasing the size; otherwise it may look blurry or pixelated.
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designing the interior of the coloring book

I created my coloring book in powerpoint, but you can use google sheets or other software as long as it produces the same result.

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Create a new document and resize the slide to match the size of the book you want to make (eg 8.5″ x 11″). here is more information about the sizes of kdp books.

Note that the size will be slightly different if you want to bleed (the image goes all the way to the edges of the page). you can read more about indentation at the link above. for my book I didn’t use indentation, because it doesn’t fill the whole page.

once your document is set up, duplicate some blank slides and start designing your book.

  • To add a professional touch, include a few title pages at the beginning of your book. things like a copyright page, introductory pages on how to use the book, etc.
  • You can also include a bio of the author with their headshot, or include links to their website and social media handles. it’s your book, so you can make it exactly how you want!
  • Once you’ve designed those first few pages, you can start inserting your artwork image files, one per page. add a blank slide between each page of illustrations.
  • You want to have a blank page on the back because coloring materials can bleed through the page.
  • Try to visualize what the book will look like when physically printed. sometimes it can help to look at an actual book or use some sheets of paper to make a booklet.
  • once you have added all the pages of your book to the file, including the blanks, save it as a pdf .
  • make a note of the total number of pages in your book because you will need that information for the next step which is to create your book cover.
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designing the cover of the coloring book

Now for the fun part: designing a beautiful and eye-catching cover for your book!

  • You will first need to download the cover template. this is where you will select your book dimensions and total number of pages and give you the correct file size to use for the cover. link to kdp cover template generator.
  • you can use the dimensions, or you can download a template to make your cover in photoshop or another image editing program. if you don’t have something like that, you can also use book bolt, which you can read more about here.
  • you can put text on the binding or not. this is entirely up to you.
  • needs to have a title on the front, not just an image or leave it blank.
  • the back of the book will automatically have an isbn barcode added to the bottom left.
  • You can also include author information on the back, such as their name and website url.
  • Make your cover look nice and attractive, with clear text and easy to read.
  • will print in full color even if inside is black and white, so you can pop it with color!

When you finish designing your cover, save it as a pdf. so now you should have 2 pdf’s, one for the inside of your book and one for your cover.

Now we can move on to the loading process.

uploading the coloring book to amazon kdp

You are now ready to upload your book to amazon kdp! when you’re logged in, click create > pocket book.

(You can add a hardcover version later, but it requires a different cover size.)

Please review the 3 loading pages carefully and fill in as much as you can. take your time here. Here are some tips and things to keep in mind as you go through this process:

  • the title should exactly match what is on the cover of your book
  • the subtitle can be more descriptive.
  • author: this can be their name, your brand name or a pseudonym.
  • add keywords that describe your book in the description and keywords section. think about what people might search to find your book (subject, etc).
  • the preview will let you know if there are any problems with your file, so make a note of this. it also takes several minutes to load. but don’t skip this step, it’s always important to review your file before you hit publish.
  • try not to get discouraged if you don’t get everything right the first time. this is not a very easy thing to do. mistakes are part of the learning process.
  • price is entirely up to you. but a lot of people sell their books for less than $10, so keep that in mind.
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publishing and printing your coloring book

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The last step to making and selling a coloring book of your art is publishing!

…..and then wait for it to be approved. this may take a few days or more. so sit back and pat yourself on the back for completing this project. no small thing!

Your book may not get approved the first time, and that’s okay. someone will let you know exactly what’s wrong via email, and then you can just go through your file and post it again. this is all part of the process.

After your book is published, you will have the option to order copies from the author, which usually cost around $2-3. this varies depending on the size of your book. you might consider buying some to sell at an art fair or give as gifts.

I also kept one of mine for myself, both for fun and promotional purposes!

I hope you’ve discovered how much fun it can be to make and sell a coloring book of your own art!

If you follow this tutorial and end up publishing your own coloring book, I’d love to see it! feel free to leave a link below so I can check it out.

you can buy my mandala coloring book here

I hope you have a great rest of your day!

cheers,

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