Never Give Up—A Personal Story

Dear writing friends,

This coming Wednesday, I will be celebrating the half-birthday of my first picture book. It's hard to believe it's been six months already! Because of that, I thought it might be fun to switch gears and share with you my writing/publishing story.

The Beginning

I used to joke, after the birth of my first child, Melissa, I also gave birth to creativity. The creativity bug hit me hard after she was born. My best friend, Linda, used to tell me I was creative. "Nah!" I would reply. I never believed her until I became a mother.

Let's Read!

As a child, I loved to read. Now that I had a newborn, I was excited to start reading to her. After a trip to the library and bookstore, I was ready! I sat in my comfortable rocking chair, and read to her every day. My love for children's literature nudged my creativity and book ideas quietly tapped me on the shoulder.

Start Small

I wrote down some of my ideas. But I also realized perhaps I needed to start small. Writing a book seemed daunting. I did some research and then wrote and submitted greeting cards. That was a lot of fun even though it didn't lead to publication. From greeting cards, I moved onto writing humorous first-person articles for our local newspaper. Seeing my first published piece, "Uncovering the Caused of Kitchen Counter Clutter" was thrilling! After publishing more articles, I felt brave! I wrote a couple of picture books and submitted them.

The Next Steps

Being a reader, I read many how-to books on writing for children. I joined a writing organization and continued to read tons of picture books to my daughter. After writing for the newspaper, a wonderful gig presented itself for a columnist in a magazine. My column, Side of Life, was about the humorous side of everyday life. I loved writing my columns and kept that going for a little over three years. In the meantime, children's stories continued to call me.

I Am A Published Writer But . . . 

I was so happy to be able to call myself a published writer, but my greatest desire—to be a published children's book author—still hadn't happened. By this time, I had two children. Once they entered elementary school, I started the perfect job—I became the librarian at my children's school.

Here Come the Ideas!

Remember those book ideas that used to quietly tap me on the shoulder? Well, they turned up the volume and the taps turned into some serious pokes. I could not write ideas down fast enough! All those rather loud and insistent ideas won. I left my library job to stay home full-time and write.

Time Passed

Many years passed. I tried my hand at different children's genres: picture books, easy-to-read books, non-fiction, and chapter books. Attending writing conferences and joining a writing critique group helped me progress as a children's writer. A literary agent took me on as a client, but then stopped agenting. ☹️ I had the opportunity to write an easy-to-read book for Nickelodeon's Rugrats. (That was a blast!) Nothing panned out for me. I almost quit many, many times. But before I left my job as a librarian. I told my library kids, "Dreams can come true. Never give up!"

My Happy Ending

I took writing breaks throughout the years. My children grew up. With the birth of my grandkids, once again I was tapped on the shoulder. My book, "Make Me LAUGH, Nonna!" came from my time playing with my granddaughter, Hana, who loves to laugh. This book will not be my last! Today, self-publishing a book is acceptable. I didn't give up. Now my children, grandchildren, and other children can enjoy my books for years to come. Don't ever give up! 💜