Thursday, January 26, 2023

Pam's Rocket-Launch into Children's Picture Books


I self-published my first children’s picture book on November 1st and am working on a second one. I never planned to write children’s books, but one thing rocketed to another and here I am. The story…

On October 8th, I was at a local festival selling my books. I’ve had a booth at Sebastopolooza every year since my first print novel released. I enjoy meeting new and existing fans, and even lots of friends and family who aren’t readers stop by to say hi. It’s like one big family reunion.



In the lull between chatting with friends and selling books, I watched shoppers as they visited other booths, wondering what made them gravitate to different things like homemade soaps, jewelry, clothes, wooden plaques, and the list goes on.

The thought meandered through my head that maybe I should add something to my booth that people could buy even if they aren’t avid readers. Nothing too drastic … like homemade goat’s soap! But maybe t-shirts with writerly sayings on them, or journals. It was just a passing thought, because just as quickly as I pondered the idea, I also realized that diversification without cohesion would only dilute my purpose: growing my fan base and my name recognition as an author.

Moving forward. Three days later, I took my granddaughter to gymnastics. It was a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, so I sat outside with her 18 month old brother and soon a homeschool mom and her son joined us. Her 9 yo son was using an old iPhone to turn quick recordings into fun little videos. It’s no secret that I enjoy a bit of digital graphics, so we started chatting about digital art, memes, apps that create cartoon-like characters, videos, podcasts, etc. Before we knew it, we were swapping ideas, and as we chatted, a lightbulb went on. Or rather a whole smorgasbord of strobe lights starting pinging.

Since I’m not an illustrator, could I use an “AI” app to turn photos into “cartoon-like” illustrations for a children’s book?

  • Could I write a children’s picture book?
  • What would it be about?
  • Could I self-publish it on kdp?
  • Could I do a print version on kdp?
  • Could I….

The thoughts ping-ponged around inside my head. I felt confident I could write rhyming prose, and I was pretty sure I could muddle through the publishing process since I’ve already published several ebooks through kdp. But the illustrations were the key, since … and I repeat … I’m not an illustrator. But I had a vision of what I wanted.

Two things happened simultaneously over the next three days: I played around with AI apps until I found one that would do exactly what I wanted: turn an existing photo into a cartoon look-alike. At the same time, My Cowboy took three of our grandchildren on a “big adventure” and came back with a ton of cute photos. I had my first idea for a children’s book.


The ebook version of Adventures with Cowpaw came out on November 1st. The print version released on November 6th, and that was only because I had to wait for a proof to arrive. Since this was my first attempt at self-publishing anything in print, I was a bit nervous about the print quality. Nothing to worry about. I was very pleased with the quality from Amazon's print department.

I went into this adventure with two goals in mind. I wanted to learn how to create and publish print books and starting with a children’s book seemed the perfect “small” project for that. I had no idea if people would want copies of my little book with its non-traditional illustrations, but since it was mainly for Cowpaw and the grandkids, I wasn’t worried about how it might sell, as long as I was pleased with the result. 

I ran out of copies at my first local book signing and had to order more! And Adventures with Cowpaw has been my top-selling book on Amazon since its release. Kind of a wow moment.

With what I’d learned about producing print books via kdp, I was then brave enough to self-publish my first adult print book on Amazon as well. Within the first two weeks of November, I moved forward with a project that I’d been too “chicken” to pursue until now. I formatted 3 existing novellas that were already published as ebooks, designed a cover, and published my Calico Trails Romance Collection in both ebook and print.

Amazon link to Calico Trails

Looking back, I’m amazed at the TWO-WEEK timeline of producing my first children’s book from start to finish. The entire process has been a fun rollercoaster ride and I’m thrilled to have some new skills in my writer’s toolkit as well as something new and different for readers and non-reader friends to share with their children and grandchildren.

20 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Pam. The children's book looks great. I like the cover of the other book as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sandy! I've been traveling today, so am just now getting a chance to reply. Both projects were fun to get out there!

      Delete
  2. Oh, Pam, good for you. You are truly branching out. Sounds like fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, a little sideways step or two here and there. :)

      Delete
  3. Wow! That's inspiring Jan. :) Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You're one busy lady, and a talented one too! Congratulations Pam.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Connie, I seem to take it in spurts. I've been trying to work on the second children's book, but holidays, work, and family obligations have gotten in the way. But I'm slowly chipping away at it.

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats, Pam! Love both covers. You're amazing!!!! I'm sure your children's book will be a favorite with so many youngsters and their parents. Way to go!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Debby. Locals seem to love it because they know my husband personally. Even the smallest grand will point out Cowpaw (he says Baw-baw), his sisters and himself in the book. It's so cute!

      Delete
  8. Pam, love your other books. Am going to have to check out these children's books! Sounds like a very neat process! You are so enterprising!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awe, thanks Sally. I love my little Cowpaw book. :)

      Delete
  9. I got two copies of Adventures with Cowpaw for my grandkids for Christmas. I love that you're doing this, Pam!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Mary! So glad you got them for your grands. I received a message from someone ... from Illinois, I think ... Her daughter bought the book for her husband for Christmas. He's a farmer and his grandkids also call him Cowpaw. When the man opened the present, he thought his daughter had made it for him. They all got a kick out of another grandfather being called Cowpaw and she sent pictures of him reading it to his grandkids.

      And a friend of ours who owns the local stockyard bought one for her grandaughter. 4 yo Jaybea goes to gymnastics with one of my grands so she "knew" the people in the book. Our friend Sandy said Jaybea had made her read the book over and over the day they got it. Fun to hear of little ones enjoying the book.

      Delete
  10. Wow, Pam, what a story! I love your courage in taking on something new! Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love this so much! The whole thing makes me smile, Pam! And what a wonderful step forward. DELIGHTFUL!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

If you have trouble leaving a comment, please "clear your internet cache" and try again. You can find this in your browser settings under "clear history."