With only 2 days until Annie’s 4th of July Launch on Tuesday June 4, I want to share some highlights of my journey writing this book with you.
For about 7 years, I had been thinking of writing a story that captures my love of the 4th of July celebration in Morning Sun, my rural hometown in southeast Iowa. As a child, I couldn’t wait for the town’s celebration to arrive each summer. As an adult, I loved watching my daughters participate in the children’s activities and watching their excitement as they gazed at the beautiful fireworks show. Now as a grandmother, I am blessed to be able to watch my grandchildren as they join in on the frog jumping contest and the big wheel races, and eat the refreshing snow cones.
For years I have pondered the value of annual community celebrations. I know that my family has built lasting 4th of July traditions spanng four generations. No matter what state my siblings and I lived in, almost every summer we trekked back to our home of origin in Morning Sun to be with each other, attend class reunions and the alumni banquet, cheer for each other in fun contests, be in or watch the parade together, and sit and “oo and awe” during the longest lasting fireworks show in rural America.
Last August an interesting post popped up unexpectedly on my personal facebook page. Miriam Laundry was offering a course on Learning How to Become A Childrens’ Picture Book Author. I had retired a year earlier and had begun thinking more seriously about writing this book but I honestly didn’t know how to begin. When this post appeared, I felt this was a God wink directed toward me. In recent years, I have tried to be alert to God’s various ways of communicating with me…through nature (ask me about rainbows in 2009), listening to Christian podcasts, talks with friends, reading Bible verses/passages, and listening to Christian praise songs on the radio.
After researching the course, I joined the cohort and learned from Miriam and her very skilled staff as I knew next to nothing about writing a children’s story. Who knew that a children’s picture book is limited to 600-1000 words…a real challenge for wordy me!! The editor in Miriam’s course, Sharon Jennings, was also a godsend. She has written over 70 children’s books so knows the 4 years - 8 years age group extremely well. Her editing suggestions were spot on and made the story so much stronger, more relatable, and developmentally appropriate.
Finding an illustrator was another God wink. I Googled “Children’s book illustrators in my area” which resulted in six finds. I researched their websites and saw their individual styles and reached out to one in particular. I loved her illustrations and we connected well online. After negotiating a contract, another new experience, I learned that she didn’t actually live close to me at all but three states to the west of me! I don't know why Google said she lived closeby but I interpreted it as a God thing. I am so thankful to have found Anna-Maria Crum as my illustrator. The details she added in each picture will surely bring children back to the book over and over again to discover something new in the illustrations.
Now that Launch Day is right around the corner, I have a mixture of emotions…excitement, fear, happiness, anxiety to mention a few. Although I felt I didn’t exactly know where I was going, especially with the marketing plans, I had a tremendous support system to help guide me. Miriam Laundry’s Book Mastermind Team and Publishing Team are incredibly professional, skilled, and helpful. Without their guidance, my book still wouldn’t be written. I also had a significant amount of help from a young woman, Carly Halgrimson, who is very knowledgeable about social media, which I am not. Without her help, I would still be fumbling trying to figure out how to make an author’s webpage and facebook page, and how to create and post instagram posts/reels. Thank you for your patience, Carly.
A definite highlight has been reading Annie’s 4th of July to approximately 750 PreK - 6th grade students in two separate school districts. I loved reading the story and discussing the illustrations with the children and look forward to many more school presentations. The students seemed genuinely excited about the story and related well to the carnival rides, fun contests/games, and snow cone treats.
My hope is that children and families will enjoy Annie’s story and illustrations, talk over how to handle situations that don’t always turn out the way you think they will, and discuss how to gradually demonstrate bravery over individual fears.
Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me and cheered for me during this nine month journey. Launch Day will be a huge milestone! I wouldn’t be at this point without your help and encouragement. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
No matter what happens on Launch Day with sales and Amazon hits, I am so thankful that I embarked on this new journey! Even though the writing and publishing of the book is completed, I feel like it is just a beginning. Who knows what the future holds for Annie’s 4th of July and for me as the author? Stay tuned!!
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