Prior to writing your first children's book, you were a successful Realtor. What made you decide to make the jump from a high pressure, but rewarding job in real estate to the highly competitive business of writing children's books?
I have always enjoyed writing. In grade school, high school, throughout my real estate years, and later on, I wrote stories about my travels.
When I retired from a rewarding career in real estate, I decided to fulfill a long-term dream of traveling all over the world. I traveled to many places with my dog, Lindie Lou.
One day I decided to write my travel stories over the shoulders and through the eyes of Lindie Lou, and the Lindie Lou Adventure Series was conceived. I love literacy and I wanted to write a series with educators so the Lindie Lou Adventure Series books could use with their students.
How did you go about finding a publisher?
I didn't want to self-publish my books because having the support of a publisher was important to me. I found Pina Publishing in Seattle, where I was living at the time. We had an immediate connection and I felt it was a good fit. Pina Publishing began publishing my book series in 2016. Their mission is to “create published works of the highest quality with an emphasis on education”. Today they represent many writers. The Pina Publishing team continues to be a great support and helpful advisor.
"Team Lindie Lou" is my educational team and book collaborators who work for Pina Publishing. It consists of: myself the Author, a Creative Editor, (Pina Publishing), Educational Consultants, a Technical Editor (Pina Publishing), a Marketing Director, (Pina Publishing), an Illustrator, a graphic designer, and a Social Media Specialist (Pina Publishing).
How many rewrites did it take to get your first Lindie Lou book ready for publishing?
The first book, Flying High: Flying on an Airplane for the Very First Time, which came out in April of 2016, took 50 edits and three years to write. When we sold out of the first printing and were ready to reprint, we republished a 2nd edition with 3 more chapters and 18 revised and/or new illustrations.
Each book thereafter has taken about a year to write. Book 5, On Ice: Exploring the Arctic with a Polar Bear Cub, was published in April of 2021. There were about 30 edits and took 1 year to write, plus a visit to the arctic to learn more about my subject. My books have reliable realistic stories about places in the world.
I've been working on the storyline and outline for book 6, New Year's Eve Surprise, with my creative editor for about 4 months but the idea for the story has been in my mind for a long time. Now we are working out the characters, their traits, the details of the setting, the timing, the flow from chapter to chapter, and the social/emotional life lessons which are an integral part of the series, and the plot. All before writing a single word!
The original idea was to write a non-fiction travelogue with my dog as the main character. I was advised by my Creative Editor and Educational Consultant that a realistic fiction series with illustrations which was longer than the typical beginning chapter books (Magic Tree House) would fill a much needed niche. Research showed in 2015 that many 5 to 9 year-olds were interested in longer chapter books like the Harry Potter series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and Minecraft books, even though they weren't able to read them.
Educators told us they wanted a fiction series with an Interest Level of ages 5-9, a Reading Level of Grade 2/Lexile 400-600 which could be used as a read-aloud as well as a literacy tool. We decided that in order to encourage beginning readers to transition from picture books into their first chapter books the Lindie Lou Adventure Series books should be 150-250 pages, with short chapters, creative fonts, and color illustrations.
As a writer, you imagine what your characters will look like as you write their stories. When your illustrator was brought on, how close did she come to your initial imaginings?
The first illustrator we worked with was unable to achieve the concept we were looking for. After several attempts, we knew we needed to look elsewhere. When our current illustrator, who writes under the pen name Kate Willows, was recommended to us, we knew right away there was a good chance her style would work for us. It only took a few tweaks for her to create our protagonist Lindie Lou exactly how we imagined she should look. Team Lindie Lou has been amazed by our illustrator’s talent ever since.
Your book is a chapter book, which has numerous illustrations to go along with it. What is the determining factor in deciding how many illustrations are needed? One or two per chapter? Less? More?
We typically include two illustrations per chapter. The illustrations often show some sort of movement, an image of one of the new characters, or something we feel a child can't imagine because they haven’t yet experienced the subject matter I am describing. We often also show maps so our readers know where our books take place.
What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
I wish I had known more about the process of writing a book. There are so many parts.
The concept, title, the cover design, the outline, the editing, the illustrations, the research, the outline, the layout, the plot, the characters, the printing, the marketing, social media, and I’m sure I’ve missed many more.
Writing is more than being an author and having a book published. It is a lifestyle. It includes being a public figure and loving to meet those who are interested in my books.
What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
The best advice I’ve received was the day my creative editor said “your book is good but it can be great if you are willing to take the advice of a few educators who are looking for a book like this.”
The best advice I can give is “writing is a way of giving to others the insights and experiences about a subject, readers may be interested in. If you have a compelling story, write it down, develop it, share it, and enjoy the outcome.”
What's been your most productive marketing tool for getting the word out about your books?
Word of mouth. If you write a GOOD BOOK, the masses will read it. :).
Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
One more point I like to live by…”If you do what you love and the rest will be a pleasure.”
What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?
There will be 12 books in the Lindie Lou Adventure Series.
Book 6 will be published in September 2022.
Here are the details...Follow Lindie Lou to a remote group of islands known as New Zealand. Learn about the people, their culture, the fauna, and the flora of this amazing place. Lindie Lou thinks she is playing with her family and friends, but she is actually changing their lives!
That's all for today's interview. I hope you'll take the time to review the links below and learn more about her books.
Lindie Lou website: https://lindielou.com/index.html
As a writer, you imagine what your characters will look like as you write their stories. When your illustrator was brought on, how close did she come to your initial imaginings?
The first illustrator we worked with was unable to achieve the concept we were looking for. After several attempts, we knew we needed to look elsewhere. When our current illustrator, who writes under the pen name Kate Willows, was recommended to us, we knew right away there was a good chance her style would work for us. It only took a few tweaks for her to create our protagonist Lindie Lou exactly how we imagined she should look. Team Lindie Lou has been amazed by our illustrator’s talent ever since.
We typically include two illustrations per chapter. The illustrations often show some sort of movement, an image of one of the new characters, or something we feel a child can't imagine because they haven’t yet experienced the subject matter I am describing. We often also show maps so our readers know where our books take place.
What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
I wish I had known more about the process of writing a book. There are so many parts.
The concept, title, the cover design, the outline, the editing, the illustrations, the research, the outline, the layout, the plot, the characters, the printing, the marketing, social media, and I’m sure I’ve missed many more.
Writing is more than being an author and having a book published. It is a lifestyle. It includes being a public figure and loving to meet those who are interested in my books.
The best advice I’ve received was the day my creative editor said “your book is good but it can be great if you are willing to take the advice of a few educators who are looking for a book like this.”
The best advice I can give is “writing is a way of giving to others the insights and experiences about a subject, readers may be interested in. If you have a compelling story, write it down, develop it, share it, and enjoy the outcome.”
What's been your most productive marketing tool for getting the word out about your books?
Word of mouth. If you write a GOOD BOOK, the masses will read it. :).
Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
One more point I like to live by…”If you do what you love and the rest will be a pleasure.”
What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?
There will be 12 books in the Lindie Lou Adventure Series.
Here are the details...Follow Lindie Lou to a remote group of islands known as New Zealand. Learn about the people, their culture, the fauna, and the flora of this amazing place. Lindie Lou thinks she is playing with her family and friends, but she is actually changing their lives!
That's all for today's interview. I hope you'll take the time to review the links below and learn more about her books.
Lindie Lou website: https://lindielou.com/index.html
Lindie Lou Educational Materials https://lindielou.com/educational-activities.html
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lindielouadventureseries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindielou_books/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjg0HWu6Yh8KSvXh8yEq4tQ
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lindielouadventureseries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindielou_books/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjg0HWu6Yh8KSvXh8yEq4tQ
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