[MitchFairchild]

My name is Mitch Fairchild and I am an indie children’s writer. Over the past few years, I've been writing children's poems for my own children and the students at the elementary school where I work. About a year ago I was encouraged to write a children's book using the hundreds of poems that I had written. As I began to pick and choose which poems would be book worthy and which would not, I soon realized that I had enough poems (after taking out the really bad ones) for 5 children's books. As I started illustrating the books, I was made aware of the whole ebook concept and started to research the ins and outs of ebook publishing. I quickly realized and fell in love with the amount of creative control an indie writer could have if he/she went the ebook rout. As a result, I decided to write my children's books with the strategy of publishing them strictly online via Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and the iStore.com.


I've just released the first ebook of the five ebook series and now I am left with the job of promoting the book. Many have told me that there will never be a place for children's ebooks because children don't own Kindles, Nooks or iPads. But I believe that parents will soon see that having a children's library on some kind of ebook device will take up less space in the home and make the children's books more readily available. After all, what mom or dad wants to go looking through closets, under beds and out in the back yard for their child's favorite book? I believe there are endless possibilities when it comes to children's ebooks. Probably the biggest factor in purchasing a children's ebook versus a print book is cost. A parent can purchase a quality children's ebook for an average cost of $2.99...compare that to buying the same quality print book in a local book store for $10.99 and up. The second biggest factor for parents and children to take into account is the "on demand" factor. If a child wants a poetry book, short story or biography, all the parent has to do is search for a title or author, purchase the ebook and upload it instantly. No more running to the book store or waiting for an ordered book to arrive. The entire purchasing and receiving of a book takes place in the amount of time it takes for a person to get up out of their chair, grab a handful of cookies and a glass of milk and then sit back down.

With the release of the Kindle Fire and the already existing Nook Color and iPad (which is color...duh) the opportunities for children's authors to publish their books with colorful illustrations now exist in each of the major ebook markets. I think now is the perfect time for the writers of children's ebooks to hit these distributers hard and get those children's ebooks cranked out. Ride the wave of this new medium into the future and put smiles on the faces of children, and parents, around the world. Once parents, and children, discover how convenient the ebook concept is, they will quickly realize the value it adds to their everyday lives.

~Mitch