Publishing A Book - Where to Start?

I’ve been writing for over thirty years. I’ve had formal training in almost every kind of writing, editing, researching, and public speaking skills imaginable. I can also market myself. I have no children of my own, but I have been around many children and I was one myself and I think that counts.

I’ve written poems, short stories, long essays, briefings, research papers, school papers, reports, technical papers, graduation speeches, eulogies, letters, cards, etc. I am a storyteller. When there are a group of kids, I naturally sit them down and start telling stories. Somehow they seem to be enthralled with the things I come up with. I’m amazed at their imaginations, intelligence and love it when they ask questions. My stories get better each time because of them.

I’m Irish; I figure it’s in my blood to craft fairy tales for children young and old. I feel now it’s a calling I can’t ignore. Now, with all this time and my disability keeping me from being able to get around and do much else, my imagination and need to contribute something to the world is on overload.

• · I’ve come up with a fictional world.
• · There are worlds within these worlds.
• · I’ve done basic character development on the main characters and intend to grow them in the stories. I’ve written them down and given them names and backgrounds, nicknames, special abilities and families.
• · I’ve created a map of the entire world they live in, but it will be revealed in pieces.
• · I have not plagiarized any of this from any other story I’ve heard although you can’t help but feel that some of it sounds familiar to something you might have seen before – I think that every book I’ve read has an element of something I’ve read before, an idea that someone created from an offshoot of someone else’s work and then made it their own story by changing everything about it. That is not plagiarism, right?
• · I’ve created a PowerPoint to show to a publisher on how I intend to write a series that will include at least 8 titles based off of the first book so far – by the time I am finished integrating all of the worlds, they will probably include at least 15 different titles.
• · The stories start with books intended for the 9-11 year olds. But to be sure, I’m setting up a practice group where I am presenting parts of the first world/book to a test group of 9-11 year olds at a pizza party and letting them tell me if they would be interested in hearing more and what they think would be interesting in characters and plot lines.
• · I plan to take notes and their ideas and integrate some of that in the first book – with their and their parent’s permission of course. Before the party and before the book is sent to the publisher.
• · This is going to be dedicated to my focus group and some of the characters personalities are based on personalities of some of my favorite kids, although you will never be able to tell in the book.

• I don’t know who the best publishers to go to are.
• I want to give back to the people who mean the most to me and touch children everywhere with a little magic, intrigue, and positive messages about courage, strength, and the human spirit.
• I want them to teach the value of finding your own special gifts and using them to work with others in community toward a common goal. When others believe in you, it can be the first step in learning to believe in yourself. That faith, or prayer, and belief in help from another power, whether it is from a God, Goddess, Prophet, the Planet itself, Science or the power within oneself and working in harmony with the energy with the planet to do good is universal. Manifest Destiny or whatever we send out – positive energy – prayer attracts goodness. Any religion on Earth believes that the power of Good can conquer evil. And in a world so full of adversity, we need that lesson so much, we need to believe we are not helpless, we are not just one, and we are larger than ourselves.
• These books convey much more than a fairy tale.
• And they are meant to grow with the kids – I can’t write them all and publish overnight so some in the later series will be written for the 11-13 age group and then finally 13-16 and In between I’ll publish some already written adult works as well that I have already ready for publication.

I would appreciate any advice, feedback, or comments. This is a new endeavor for me. I am not formally published, nothing in hardcopy. Any words of advice are greatly appreciated and criticism is taken always in the spirit in which it is given.

Namaste’ – “I honor the spirit within you that is also within me”

Erin LeFey