on her hands. The moral? "Don't bite off more than you can chew"—a lesson that would ironically mirror our publishing journey. Life imitating art, indeed. When Dreams Meet Reality We secured a genuinely talented illustrator and after a lengthy process created a vibrant, playful children's book. My ambitious vision included a trilogy, but that dream quickly dissolved under mounting costs and the shadow of mom's declining health. "Was it costly? It sure was!". "Could I have used Fiverr? Yes, and I tried, but many of those artists live overseas and, boy oh boy, do they play you!" and you have no artist control as they live so far away. Despite creating a website and video content featuring my mother, without social media expertise, I discovered that even the most heartfelt project can struggle to find its audience. I was left with an office full of books, my mother exhausted from her health battles, and an illustrator who hadn't signed up for such an emotional journey. The Illustrator Relationship: A Cautionary Tale When creating a children's book, illustrations often carry as much weight as—if not more than—the text itself. "I found someone I truly believed was a perfect fit and arranged a meeting with Mom and myself. "But I hadn't expected the illustrator to be so busy and so my expectations of working 24/7 around the clock together caused friction." My urgency was Teri’s cancer, hers a full time job and a family. Though we eventually worked through our differences, the experience taught me a valuable lesson: unrealistic timelines invite disaster. "Mom's health and my industry inexperience backfired like Marcie's 'Pooper Scooper'!" I say with a rueful smile. Fortunately, everything came
together in the end, allowing mom to see and promote our finished work—but at considerable cost. In my excitement, I made a critical error: signing a contract that didn't reflect reality. "I can be challenging to work with—I admit that, I'm a perfectionist (Virgo/ Libra)," But add a time bomb waiting to go off (moms health) looking back, it was just too much stress. My advice to a newbie? Take time to find an illustrator whose style aligns with your vision. Request sample sketches before committing. Establish clear communication channels and document specific expectations. "And don't have a loved one dying of cancer and expect others will care as much as you do!”. Production Costs: Premium Isn't Always Better For my first 300-book print run, I insisted on premium everything—paper quality, binding, cover stock— without understanding which elements truly mattered to young readers and their parents. "My first print run cost nearly triple what was necessary," I admit, "resulting in books that were too expensive to sell profitably. I ended up giving books away at events just to gain visibility!" I was trying to get the book in everyone's hands hoping it would explode in the market. But alas it was no JK Rawlings success story. Amazon became my next step going the printing and distribution channel, but it came with significant royalty costs. "If you're not marketing effectively, your book just sits there generating no income." Marketing Missteps: When Passion Isn't Enough Perhaps my most painful lesson came from hiring a marketing consultant company who charged premium rates but delivered generic strategies. At this point I just needed someone to work beside as mom was gone
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