From Sketch to Shelf: Our Journey Creating Our First Coloring Book

Let me tell you how the idea of creating a coloring book came to life. My daughter’s love for cats has resulted in her making tons of cat crafts and drawings that end up on my desk, the dining table, and the walls of our lovely home in Florida. 

One day, while I was working, my daughter Antonia, who was 5 at the time, came to show me a drawing of some cats she had made using some geometrical templates/rulers. These cats weren’t like others she had drawn before; they looked different, but the idea was clever and cute. She asked if I could trace them on my iPad, add some details, and turn them into a coloring page. 

As I began working on the first drawing, my daughter returned with a second, a third, and they kept coming. I mentioned to her that we were going to end up with an entire coloring book, and her face confirmed that she loved the idea.

So, Antonia continued to produce more cat drawings featuring different ideas and poses. Sometimes, she came up with the ideas herself. Other times, I made some suggestions, and she drew them. We accumulated a good collection of drawings. Using the Procreate drawing app, I embarked on the task of digitalizing them, with Antonia as my watchful supervisor, ensuring each design met her approval.

I tackled one page at a time until we completed about 40 pages. Printing them and having Antonia coloring them helped me notice details I had missed, prompting me to spend time editing many of the images using Illustrator. At the same time, I started researching the world of coloring books, especially focusing on the self-publishing process. I wanted to see how they were structured, how many drawings were included, and the overall creation and publication process. This involved plenty of time watching videos and reading blogs, leading me to some valuable resources I will share at the end of this post. 

Meanwhile, my little bossy boss came to check if the book was printed. She wanted it done, but this process was long, considering I didn’t have experience creating a coloring book, and I also had a part-time job, among other responsibilities and projects. So, I kept going little by little, whenever I had some spare time, and enough energy to sit and work at night, like how I am doing now, as I write this post. 

After gathering a bunch of information, I came up with a simple plan, that proved to be more complex in detail, but here is a quick list of the main steps I took.

1. Get an ISBN number, in case we want to sell the book
2. Complete all edits
3. Create a draft of the book organization
4. Format the pages
5. Publish the book  

As of now, Antonia is almost 7 years old. I finally submitted the fully formatted book IngramSpark, the publishing company. Antonia and I are eagerly awaiting the proof, hoping there aren’t changes to be made so that we can proceed and make sure the book meets our standards. Our plan is to print some copies for our family and others to sell at our local artsy market. For the time being, we wait patiently. I will keep you updated on this exciting journey. 

Thanks for reading. 

Update 11/14/23
You can now buy our book from Amazon. Yay!

Additional Resources

Bethany Stahl’s YouTube channel for self-publishing authors. Great videos. 
How To Fix Your Ingram Spark PDF – With Free PDF Fix Download
How To Self-Publish An Adult Coloring Book With Meg Cowley – Podcast
How To Make $ With Your Art: Amazon / KDP Coloring Books Youtube video
IngramSpark File Creation Guide PDF