Crystal Swain-Bates

Celebrated children's book author, Crystal Swain-Bates, was fed up with the lack of black children's books on the market, so she founded Goldest Karat Publishing in order to address the lack of diversity in children's literature. With over 100,000 books sold, her children’s books have been featured in Forbes, CNN, Essence, the Huffington Post, and used as props on television shows. Known as a “Diversity Publishing Pro”, Crystal offers done-for-you publishing services and courses to authors who want to bring their books to life through self-publishing.

Find me on:

Recent Posts

Three Keys to Marketing Children's Books

Let’s face it. A lot of people decide to write children’s books because they seem easier. I mean, it’s a 32-page book for 5-year-old kids. There are lots of 5-year-olds in the world, how hard could it be right?

The thing is, you don’t realize just how hard it is because when you Google “How to market a book”, you get 2 billion results. The problem is that the majority of the book marketing strategies online focus nearly entirely on the adult market.

It’s not until you become a children’s author that you realize that children’s books are an entirely different beast.

Read More

Should I Self-Publish My Children’s Book?

To self-publish or not to self-publish? For many aspiring children’s book authors, that is the question. In fact, as a children’s book author myself, it’s one of the questions I receive most frequently. While there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to publishing, I believe that fully understanding your options can help you decide.

Read More

Diversity in Publishing: The Good, The Bad, and How You Can Help Make a Change

For the past few years, diversity in the publishing industry has been quite the hot topic and the inspiration for numerous initiatives and social media campaigns calling out for more representation in books. From #WeNeedDiverseBooks to the #OwnVoices movement, there is overwhelming agreement that we need greater representation and inclusion in the publishing industry.

Read More

Trending