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Getting a book made is a long process involving many people. Obviously the writer bears the brunt of the responsibility in taking a book from its initial idea to a final version. That process requires a lot of note taking, plenty of rough drafts, and a great deal of editing.
There are, however, many people involved in making a book become a reality. I have self-published books and have used traditional publishing (see all of my books here or check out my Amazon Author Page). There are pros and cons to each. The latter means someone else takes responsibility for editing the book, developing the cover art, and promoting it. If, however, an author self-publishes, that means taking on the responsibility and cost of getting all that work done. I chose to self-publish because of the satisfaction of having a book hit the market as soon as it is ready. Traditional publishing can take a year or more even after the book is "done."
My book started in the spring of 2011 with an idea which developed because of my kids (see "The Origin of Otter and Arthur"). My first acknowledgement is to them for letting me brainstorm ideas with them and reading them early drafts of the book. I never would have been inspired to write this book if it weren't for my boys' love of books.
I put together my basic story idea and started sharing it with my writers' group. By the way, for any budding writers who are reading this, I highly recommend this process. I got great feedback from fellow writers which went a long way toward shaping this book. Thank you so much to Rachel Ellyn, Julia Flowers, Greg Gildersleeve, Kara Hoffmann, Ken Hursh, Susan Grace Napier, Christine Williams, and Denny Young for all your work in helping my book become a reality! You can learn more about their works here.
I finished up my final draft this summer. Then I turned to Joyce Jackson to edit my book. She had edited three of my books before when she worked at School-Age Notes and I was pleased at the opportunity to work with her again.
I also wanted strong cover art which not only gave potential readers a glimpse of what they'd find inside, but would make people want to pick it up. I definitely got that with Gen Goering's wonderful cover art. She had done lots of work in the art field, such as set designs for Kansas City's Lyric Opera, but this was her first stab at book cover art. I am overjoyed with the results.
Thank you to everyone for your help in making Otter and Arthur and the Sword in the Stone a reality!
