What a thrill when you see your book becoming a reality. That’s what happened a few days ago. Via email, I received the charming final art for my forthcoming bilingual picture story book, Battle of the Snow Cones. It’s a fun and humorous book that I believe children will enjoy reading. The journey of a book from idea to final publication is a long road. It’s your baby, which you nurture along the way. But there are also many people behind the scenes who become your friends along the way as well — like the editor who accepted your manuscript, the artist commissioned to do the art, the marketing and publicity people, and on and on. Not to mention your critique writer friends who encouraged you when the story was just a seed percolating in your mind.
The book is not in its final form yet, but it’s almost there. By fall, I should be holding the hard copy in my hands. I can hardly wait. The journey for this particular book will be complete. But not quite. Then the fun begins. That’s when the promotion for your book comes in. You, as an author, have to get heavily involved in this venture because the publisher can only do so much. Plan ahead and make it fun.
“A good picture book begins with delight, ends with wisdom, humor, warmth, or love, and means more than it says.” – Barbara Williams