I'm in the process of publishing my new children's book! The publishing part is turning out to be more stressful than the actual writing. The emails and phone calls back and forth between myself and publisher have me taking fistfuls of xanax. Maybe that's not PC to say since I'm talking about kid's material here but, oh well! That's the facts.
The book is targeting toddler age children so it's very simple language. It is loosely based on my time on The Wonderland Trail however I have added my chihuahua, Pico, to the story because I thought it was pretty boring for Lola to be walking around by herself. And I have adventures hiking with Pico all the time so I thought it was natural. I'm dedicating the book to my 3 year old grandson, Little Kahuna, since he came up with the title and is a constant source of inspiration and joy to me. When I called home to report that I made it off The Wonderland Trail, he said, "Lola, are you hiking the Icy Mountain?!" Hence, the title will be Lola Hikes the Icy Mountain.
I am self-publishing but I do have a company to help me through it. I will post a review on them when this is all said and done. I'm on the fence right now on whether I'm going to like them or not! I have the contract and the next step is to hire an illustrator.
I'm hoping the children's book will be a stepping stone to writing and publishing other books or articles as well but I'm really ignorant when it comes to the publishing process. I'd love to write some hiking or backpacking articles for a magazine or publication but how do you even get into doing something like that?
I will keep you posted!
