Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
It’s 2025 now, and what better way to start off the new year than with my first ever blog post?
Hello, and welcome, welcome all!
Some of you are seasoned writers I know online (hey there, #Kidlit people!), some of you are friends or family who’ve considered self-publishing at one point or another, and some of you are simply interested in my journey (hi, mom!). However you know me, I’m truly honored you chose to subscribe. Hopefully these newsletters will be a valuable resource for you, no matter what stage of the writing/publishing process you’re in.
My goal is to demystify the world of self-publishing in real-time, filling you in as I learn and (for sure) make mistakes!
Since many of you are new to the publishing world, I want to get us all on the same page. And to do that, I’ll need to go over the difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing. You’ll have to wait for a future blog post for that, though!
First…
Who am I to tell you anything about anything?
A little about myself:
I started writing children’s books in late January 2021, almost 4 years ago. After 2 years querying my manuscripts to agents, I was picked up by agent extraordinaire Jen Newens of Martin Literary. This was a huge step in my career, and I’m so thankful to have Jen in my corner!
Over the last four years, I’ve placed in over a dozen writing contests. In addition, I host a virtual monthly storytime called Storytime Sprint, where, along with Ryann Jones, I interview picture book authors as they read their newly published books. I am a member of SCBWI, Inked Voices, and Mighty Kidlit, I participated in 12x12 for 2 years, and I’ve attended countless webinars hosted by publishing professionals.
It’s been a wild and wonderful 4 years, but I still have SO MUCH to learn (especially when it comes to self-publishing). So why not share it with you all as I go?
In future posts, I’ll talk about WHY I chose to self-publish this specific manuscript. I’ll go over Traditional Publishing vs Self-Publishing, where I am in the process, and I’ll share with you my personal checklist. From there, we’ll talk about editing your manuscript, choosing an illustrator, finding a printer, marketing, warehousing, distribution, fulfillment… you get the picture. Everything that goes along with self-publishing! I’ll also share my personal progress of my board book, as well. It’s such an exciting journey, and I’m looking forward to sharing everything with you all! If there’s a specific topic you’d like me to cover, or a question you’d love answered, you can either leave a comment on this post or contact me HERE.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, and happy reading!
Signing off,
Andi
