My family and I just returned from a great mid-winter trip to Florida. Although it was pretty chilly for much of the trip, the sun felt great.
Just before we left, my two young daughters and I were sick with bad colds. After dinner one evening, when they started feeling better but I was still in rough shape, they begged me to play with them. I didn't have the energy for play or for even reading to them, so we cuddled on the couch, I closed my eyes, and told them a story.
The story that came out surprised me. I had no idea where it was going and was too sick to care, so I just let it flow. After I finally put the girls to bed that night, I sat down at my computer and wrote down the story. Even after re-reading the story several days later, I still really liked it. And even though I know every mother on the planet thinks they can write a children's book, I'm still going to see if I can get it published. What have I got to lose?
Right now, I'm re-working the story...a lot. It's very far from perfect and it has actually changed a lot from its original form. Then I'm going to see if I can get an agent. According to the children's book authors I've spoken with, usually you have to try to sell the book to a publisher first before a children's book agent will be interested, which is totally backwards from the adult market. Even though this is the conventional method, my plan is to contact a few agents I know first, and if that fails, I'll go the regular route.
I'll keep you posted.
3 comments:
I'm glad that you had fun in FL. That's so cool about the new book! I can't wait to read it. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Oh, neat - a lot of great stories have come about this way.
There's the one that Alice Liddell begged Rev. Dodgson to write down, about a little girl who fell down a rabbit hole.
There's Lyman F. Baum's story about a magical land; when his daughter asked what it was named, he looked around the room for inspiration and saw a filing cabinet with two drawers, labeled A-N and O-Z.
Richard Adams's daughters insisted he write down a tale about rabbits he told to pass the time during a long car journey. Watership Down would be rejected by thirteen publishers before going on to worldwide acclaim.
You're following a great path, Steph - enjoy the journey.
Thanks, Bon! So good to hear from you.
Pat--I can't say this story is destined to become a classic, but I do like it enough to explore the possibilities. I have absolutely no expectations at all, which will make this project all the more fun.
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