Have you ever thought about publishing a children's book?

Never. Not one cent, ever. Garden Wolf does not take royalties of any kind. You keep 100% of every dollar your book earns.

You do, always. Your intellectual property belongs entirely to you. We will never claim ownership of your content, your characters, or your story.

Yes. You can start with a deposit and spread the rest over 6 or 10 monthly payments, taken automatically from your bank account. There's no interest. If you'd rather pay everything up front in one payment, you save a little. Your full payment plan is in your contract before you sign.

With a traditional publisher, there are no upfront costs to you. They invest in your book and recoup that investment through royalties. The tradeoff is that they take a percentage of your sales, often retain rights to your work, and make many editorial and commercial decisions without your input.

At Garden Wolf, you pay for the service upfront and keep 100% of your royalties and copyright, forever. You're the decision-maker throughout. We think it's important to be transparent about this difference so you can choose the model that's right for you, not just what's right for us.

To understand the full landscape of publishing models, watch our free webinar.

Self-publishing means figuring everything out yourself: finding an editor, an illustrator, a designer, a printer, and navigating distribution alone. Garden Wolf handles all of that with experienced guidance at every stage. You get the freedom of self-publishing with the quality and support of working with a professional team.

We specialize in illustrated children's books for mission-driven professionals whose work touches children and families. We occasionally take on select adult books that are a strong thematic fit for what we do. If your project would be better served by another specialist, we'll say so and connect you with the right person.

Yes. We work with authors internationally. All projects are conducted in English. Reach out and we'll discuss logistics for your location.

Yes, and we're set up for exactly this. Garden Wolf has experience working with grant-funded projects and can provide formal quotes, itemized service descriptions aligned to grant-eligible expense categories, and a Creative Commons open-access edition. See our Knowledge Mobilization page for details.

From project kickoff to final files, most projects run 9 to 12 months, regardless of which package you choose. Timelines vary depending on factors like manuscript readiness, the author's availability and decisiveness, and the illustrator's schedule. We'll give you a project-specific estimate at kickoff.

If you choose the Bloom package, yes, you'll write the manuscript yourself. Concept development and ghostwriting are included in the Thrive and KMb packages. All three packages include comprehensive 4-to-5-stage editing at the same level of care and rigour. The difference is who writes the first draft.

Illustrations are included in the Thrive and KMb packages, where you'll select from our vetted list of artists. In the Bloom package, you're responsible for sourcing your own illustrator. We help with industry connections, the creative brief, coordination, and reviewing the final files. You're welcome to use your own artist with the Thrive and KMb packages, though the package price stays the same and you'll pay the artist out of pocket. We'll still help manage the relationship and coordinate with them if you'd like.

We start with in-house artistic direction development and storyboarding, then source and brief the illustrator. I recommend doing a paid test illustration with the artist you like, or doing a couple of tests if you are deciding between more than one artist.

Once we select the artist for your book, the illustrator sends preliminary character sketches and big-picture storyboarding for feedback, revises, then shares a preliminary colour palette for approval. Illustrations are then delivered in batches, with feedback rounds in between until each spread is approved. The process moves sequentially through the book until all spreads are complete.

The number of revision rounds within each stage is guided by the illustrator's own pricing and contract terms, which vary by artist. For Thrive and KMb package authors, we manage this relationship on your behalf.

For Bloom authors, we help you review the illustrator's contract, offer a contract template if needed, and advise on how to negotiate terms — but you handle the relationship directly. We're there to guide, not to take over.

All three packages include comprehensive 4-to-5-stage editing: a developmental edit, a rhyme and meter edit (when relevant), a line edit and a copy edit (which happen simultaneously), and finally, a proofread, with manuscript revisions in between each stage as needed.

We don't cap revisions artificially. We say "up to 5 revisions" as a guideline, but in practice we often go well beyond that when it serves the work. The only thing we ask is that you show up to the process with an open mind and a collaborative spirit.

Every package includes final print-ready files for hardcover, softcover, and eBook, plus Amazon KDP setup. Which format you print is another story — that is entirely up to you. We will discuss binding and print-run volume options, and I help you make a decision to meet your budget and goals.

Absolutely. Many of our best projects started as a vague feeling that someone had something important to say. The discovery call is the right place to explore whether an idea is there. You don't have to arrive with a polished concept.