The Journey Continues

The journey continues. Writing and illustrating my first book has taken much longer than I thought. Thank goodness the characters in my story continue to inspire and motivate me.

I started this project in 2022 with much enthusiasm. However, when I finally reached the end of my first 32 pages, I realised I still had SO much to learn!

I could do better! Yes. The illustrations were improving, but the words and structure of the story still needed work.

So, I enrolled in a course on Writing Picture Books at the Australian Writers Centre. And a bit later, I started another - Writing Picture Books Masterclass.

Draft after draft gradually tumbled out of my laptop. And image after image was added to my files. It seemed like it would never end!

As I learnt more about the publishing industry, I discovered that the traditional publishing process can take up to two years (or more) from being an 'accepted author' to having a 'published book'.

I didn't want to wait that long to tell the story of The BiG Meow. It's ALREADY been over two years in the making! So, I decided to take a deep breath . . . and self-publish and market my book instead.

BUT . . . I know little about self-publication and marketing and have found all the information on the web quite overwhelming.

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Previously, I had been speaking to a friend of my son's. Our discussions were based on a possible (great) story idea - but I also asked for advice on social media. Ahhh! Thank you SO much, Chloe, for your patience during that time!

By the way, Chloe has an amazing website called Baking Envy. Here's a small glimpse of what you can find there!

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In the end, I found Little Ivory Haus. Laura provides step-by-step instructions for self-published authors on printing, social media and wholesaling. So, I signed up and am slowing working my way through to the end. Thank you, Laura Feldman!

Self-Publis

So where am I up to now?

I have received the proofs for my book from Ingram Spark and have approved them. Very exciting! I have also ordered a hard copy (still in the post) to check that all is well.

Next week, I am off on a short holiday. So hopefully, in April 2025, I will finally be able to publish.