You have knowledge that can change a child's life.
Let's get it out into the world.
One session helps one family. One book helps thousands — for years, without you in the room. For clinicians and researchers, that's not just an extension of your work. It's a fundamentally different kind of reach.
The people who most need your expertise often can't access it directly. Cost, geography, waitlists. A $20 book puts evidence-based knowledge into homes that would never book an appointment. That's not a compromise. That's the point.
Being a published author shifts your professional identity in ways that compound over time. Speaking invitations, media requests, school and library partnerships. Your expertise doesn't just live in your practice anymore. It travels.
We offer what we wished we had as first-time authors: empathy, expertise, high standards, and budget-conscious support. We also listen. Depending on your package, we can either guide you, or do it all for you.
Your book. Your rights. Your profits. No exceptions."We don't just publish books. What we do here is a deeply personal and collaborative experience. We help experts translate professional expertise into meaningful books that resonate with children, parents, and educators. Your book will always be an extension of you, not us."Marlee Kostiner, Founder, Garden Wolf Publishing House
| Traditional Publisher | Self-Published | Garden Wolf | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You keep 100% of royalties | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| You retain copyright | sometimes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full creative control | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Professional editorial team | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| No upfront costs to you | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Faster timeline | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Guided, full-service support | sometimes | ✕ | ✓ |
If your work helps families, supports kids, or teaches something worth sharing, we can help you turn it into a story.
Don't see your field listed? Reach out anyway.
Book a Free Discovery CallAll three packages help you create and share a beautiful children's book. Choose based on how much time and budget you have available to invest, and how hands-on you'd like to be.
All packages include 4 milestone-based payments spread out across the 9-12 month process. You review and approve each phase before the next payment is due. We never take royalties or copyright. Your book, your rights, your profits.
Read this blog post to learn more about our publishing model.
Every Garden Wolf author receives:
You pay in four phases, tied to real deliverables, not arbitrary dates.
Each instalment is invoiced only after you've reviewed and approved the completed work for that stage.
You're never paying for work you haven't seen. That's by design.
*Vendor fees such as printer and illustrator costs are not included in the package price unless specifically indicated.
*We're currently shifting away from a la carte services to focus on scalable, full-support publishing options. If you're interested in editing-only support, reach out to see if we have capacity.
*While all packages are eligible for a Garden Wolf logo, Thrive Package books typically qualify due to the innate commitment to quality. That said, eligibility always hinges on whether the final manuscript and design meet our editorial and production standards.
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Working with Marlee has been an effortless and rewarding experience from start to finish. She brought my vision to life with creativity and care, offering thoughtful guidance and support every step of the way. Her expertise, feedback, and encouragement have not only elevated my work but also inspired me to continue writing books that support and empower children and parents.
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What started out as a seemingly out-of-reach dream came to reality, largely thanks to Marlee. When I made the decision to publish my first book, I had no idea how much effort, patience and organization it took, but Marlee guided me every step of the way. Her ideas, resources and experience made her the ideal partner in this process and I truly cannot express my gratitude enough!
"
Working with Garden Wolf Publishing was an absolute pleasure. Marlee is the consummate professional and an incredible collaborator. She guided us through every step of the process with skill and heart. Anyone thinking of publishing a book would be lucky to have them on their team. It's been an honour to have Garden Wolf as our partner and publisher.
You'll go from idea to polished manuscript to illustrated book to printed copies in your hands, with a partner guiding you at every step.
We start by learning about your goals, budget, and vision: from story style to illustrations to sales strategy.
We love efficient processes over here, so we always start with a clear project roadmap. We'll ask you questions you didn't know you had to think about.
Whether you've got a draft or need ghostwriting, we shape your story with expert editing and deep collaboration.
We match you with illustrators and designers based on your budget and style. You choose your involvement level: we handle the rest.
We prep files, finalize design, coordinate with vendors, and get everything ready for print and order samples (yes, you get to hold the book in your hands at this point).
Your book goes to print! While it ships, we help prep your launch plan: Amazon setup, advanced reviews, ads, book launch and more.
About Our Model
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.
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. Download our KMb Vendor Overview for details.
The Process
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.
Not if you're on the Thrive package: concept development and ghostwriting are included there. All three packages include comprehensive, 4-stage editing at the same level of care and rigour. The difference is who writes the first draft.
Illustrations are included in the Thrive package, where you'll select from our vetted list of artists. For Seed and Bloom packages, you're responsible for sourcing your own illustrator. We help with industry connections, the creative brief, coordination, and reviewing the final files. If you have your own illustrator in mind for a Thrive project, that's welcome, though the package price remains the same.
We start with in-house artistic direction development and storyboarding, then source and brief the illustrator. From there, the illustrator sends preliminary character sketches 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 package authors, we manage this relationship on your behalf. For Seed and 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-stage editing: a developmental edit, a rhyme and meter edit (when relevant), a line edit, and a copy edit and 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.
This depends on your package. The Bloom and Thrive packages include final print-ready files for hardcover, softcover, and eBook, plus Amazon KDP setup. In the Seed package, file preparation is the author's responsibility: we help connect you with a designer, coordinate on specs, and review the final files, but graphic design is not included in the package fee.
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.
is what we imagine you're thinking
30-minute session to discuss your vision and our process
Book a Free Discovery Call