WRITERS AND BOOK PUBLISHING
We can all commiserate about our book publishing journeys. The exhilarating moment when the actual book is in our hands is a feeling like no other. But oh, unless one is very lucky and/or persistent, the torture of submitting to agents and publishers can be discouraging . So many “almosts.” So many rejections. The writer’s mantra, “Rejection is part of the writing process,” doesn’t always make us feel any better when the form letter appears.
I began to realize that unless I decided to publish independently, I would have very little to say about the design of the book, the illustrations and the cover. And I had a very strong vision of how I wanted my book to turn out.
I slid into an easy decision to publish independently. And now it’s happening. With the help of a production company I am making decisions and bringing my ideas to all aspects of the book, beyond the writing. I will have my children’s book ready to market to middle-graders in November, 2019, and I’m calling my publishing company, Saltwater Press.
This path to publishing my book is just right for me and a very doable option for writers with a manuscript and a passion to be published. There are many ways to go about it and much “How To” literature to help.
Nine-year-old Maggie Eva Elizabeth Cottle Greenleaf takes on the threats of a grouchy old Cap’n Hatch on Nantucket, with the magical help of her Grammy Apple.
“Witchy Magic and Me, Maggie” is a story from my heart, written as magical realism. All I want is for fourth and fifth graders to relate to Maggie and feel like they can be strong, especially when they don’t feel strong.
Here’s the Prologue.
Two Maggies
Maggie Greenleaf admired her art teacher beyond imagination. Her teacher sure could draw. Three quick ink strokes on paper, and there was a perfect whale jumping off the page. Every morning so far this summer, Maggie tucked her art pad and pastels in her bike basket and rode extra fast to the harbor for her outdoor art class, her heart going thumpity thumpitywith excitement. What cool things would the class draw today? The white sailboats? The busy sandpipers pecking for food in the sand?
Maggie and her teacher had the same first name, but Maggie Greenleaf called her art teacher, who was nineteen and grown up, Maggie One. She, Maggie Greenleaf, became Maggie Two. Maggie One was big, bulky and comfy looking. She often wore loose, faded, flowered jeans. So artistic. Maggie One was even preparing for her very own art exhibit at her college in Boston where she’d be going back for her sophomore year in September.
Maggie One never said things like, “Don’t make the lighthouse wiggle, Maggie Two. Lighthouses are straight.” Instead she said, “Yes! You’ve put a wiggle in the lighthouse.”
And on top of all this wonderfulness, Maggie One had looked at Maggie’s drawing of a horseshoe crab crawling out of the water and had said to Maggie, “You have a whole bunch of talent. You are a real artist.” These beautiful words landed in Maggie’s imagination, where they lit up her current dream: her dream that must come true, please, please to be accepted into the Nantucket Art Fair for Adults Only.
Much inspiration and smooth sailing if you decide to take this path, writers!! It’s exciting.
