WhistlePig Publishing · Independent Publishing Since 2017
Your Book. Your Vision. A Clearer Path to Publishing.
Since opening WhistlePig Publishing in early 2017, we’ve spent nine years writing, publishing, troubleshooting, and figuring out what works in independent publishing. Now we want to share those lessons—so other authors can spend less time feeling lost and more time getting their books into readers’ hands.
Whether you’re planning your first children’s picture book or preparing your next title, start with practical guidance from a publisher who’s been through the process.
Start Where You Are
You don’t have to learn everything at once. Choose the stage you’re working on and find guides that answer the questions in front of you.
1. Plan Your Book
Get the fundamentals right before you invest in formatting, illustrations, or printing.
2. Prepare Your Book
Make sense of layout, margins, bleed, and preparing a professional interior.
3. Publish & Distribute
Understand your options for print-on-demand, publishing platforms, ISBNs, and distribution.
Start with our picture-book publishing guide. We’re expanding this section with more detailed, experience-based articles.
4. Market & Sell
Publishing is only part of the journey. Learn about finding readers, pricing, discoverability, and the realities of selling books.
Can you make money self-publishing children’s books?
More practical marketing resources are on the way.
Free Download
Children’s Book Formatting Starter Kit
Formatting a picture book for print involves more than picking a font and clicking Export. Our free starter kit helps you think through trim size, margins, bleed, fonts, paper, and print-on-demand considerations.
Download the Free Starter Kit (PDF)
Free PDF. No purchase required.
Why We’re Sharing What We’ve Learned
Independent publishing has given us the freedom to bring our own stories into the world. It has also taught us that there is a lot to learn—often the hard way.
Over nine years, we’ve worked through the details: preparing manuscripts, making formatting decisions, dealing with production requirements, choosing publishing and distribution options, and trying to get books noticed after publication. Some things worked. Some didn’t. Plenty took longer than we expected.
We created this resource center because we remember what it’s like to have a book you believe in and a hundred questions about what comes next. We want to share the practical lessons we’ve picked up so you can make informed decisions, avoid some of the mistakes, and move your own book closer to publication.
We’re still learning, too. When we discover something useful, we’ll share it. When something changes, we’ll work to keep our guidance current.
No promises of instant bestsellers. No expensive shortcuts. Just practical help from one independent publisher to another.
More Tools Are Coming
We’re building useful checklists, planning worksheets, and publishing templates based on the questions independent authors actually ask. For now, explore the free guides above and download the formatting starter kit.
Some future resources may be paid products or include clearly disclosed affiliate recommendations. Our priority is making sure they’re genuinely useful before we offer them.
Have a Publishing Question?
Are you stuck on a publishing decision or wondering where to start? Tell us what you’re working on and what you’re trying to figure out.