For the Love of Pawsitive Children’s Stories: My Self-Publishing Journey
I just finished writing and illustrating A Perfect Pet for Oliver James. The book is now published on Amazon.com and will soon be available in hardcover on the Barnes and Noble website. While no one has yet purchased the book, (it’s ony been 24 hours since it posted to Amazon), its publication is a true achievement in and of itself as it marks the culmination of seven years of work.
Oliver and his dilemma of choosing the perfect pet began as a writing exercise in an online workshop I took seven years ago. I ended up completing only half of the course. In late February of that year, we received the devastating news that our beloved cat, Rocky, had cancer. He had been diagnosed with IBD just seven months before, so we were astonished when the internal medicine vet confirmed it had already progressed to cancer -lymphoma to be exact. We tried chemo with prednisolone, but it just was not meant to be. I spent the last weeks of Rocky’s life laser focused on him, and I could not bring myself to complete the writing course.
Rocky wearing his matching dragon costume with our son.
By mid-March, we saw Rocky off to the Rainbow Bridge, and Oliver and the band of wacky animals vying to be his pet became just another save file on my computer.
After we moved from Viriginia to Colorado, I returned to work as an elementary teacher librarian. Occasionally, I would open up Microsoft Word and make a few tweaks to the story. For the most part, Oliver and his friends remained neglected over the years as my teaching career kept me busy well past my contracted hours.
In 2023, my husband and I decided we needed a change. We both loved teaching, but our passion for the work and our students consumed us; this left our own child and our family time a distant second to our jobs. So, my husband left a much-loved teaching position at the US Air Force Academy and accepted an assignment in San Antonio, Texas. We had no idea at the time that we were about to get heavily involved with the animal rescue community here in San Antonio.
Our foster fail, Charlie, eyeing a delicious pastry while visiting the Silos at Magnolia in Waco, Texas.
I took a part-time position as an elementary library assistant for the sake of being able to focus more on my family. Little did I know at the time that stepping back from teaching would allow me to focus on something I have always been passionate about-animal rescue. Within a month of moving to San Antonio, we were swept up into helping rescue and foster feral kittens. To date, we have been the official fosters for 14 cats and kittens, but we have also served as a temporary foster home for many others.
My current volunteer work, as well as the passing of my father last year, inspired me to finally get Oliver’s story out into the world despite knowing the odds of my book being a success are slim to none. The truth is, most writers will never be picked up by a traditional publisher. With the onslaught of celebrity “written” books, (my thoughts on that are for another blog post), the dream of us nobodies getting a traditional publication deal are even farther out of reach. Even some of the most popular children’s book authors, like Aaron Reynolds and Kate DiCamillo, recieved hundreds of rejections before they finally got a “yes.” I often wonder if they were just starting their careers today, would they ever get picked up by a publisher or an agent? Yet, I can tell you I have seen plenty of books make it to publication that elicit the thought, “this got published? How?”
Dog is based on our own rescue dog, Charlie. I originally wanted him to be black and white like Charlie, but I did not know how well the facial features would show up in priting. I ultimately decided to use lighter colors for Dog.
I say all of this because, whether you are just starting out with an idea or you are in the process of self-publishing your story, I want you to know that the gatekeepers of the publishing world get it wrong just as much as they get it right. We have books on our library shelves that the kids will never pick up. They might circulate a few times because we display them, book talk them, or a teacher uses them for a lesson. The truth is, some of the books that get a traditional publishing deal don’t appeal to the audience or are for a very niche crowd. These titles are eventually weeded from the library collection after little to no use. The truth is, the audience ultimately decides if a book is a success.
That is why I chose to self-publish my story, and it is why I hope you will be inspired to take the leap and get your story out there too. I may never see a dime from my efforts. In fact, I might even stay in the red from paying for this website and purchasing the paperback and hardcover proofs of my book. While it is not the ideal outcome, I can be okay with that as long as someone out there reads Oliver’s story and not only enjoys it, but is inspired by the heart of the story’s message.
Are you a self-published author, or are you just beginning the journey with your story? Please share your journey in the comments below.
