Eudora Space Kid started as stories I told my two daughters at the time. They were right in the chapter book age and I had already read them bazillions of those books – some of them over and over and over... One night at dinner, and I’ll never know why, they asked me to tell them a story (I had never done that before). So I obliged and decided to combine my love of science fiction and their chapter book genre into my unexpected improv story. And, thus, Eudora was born.
The Great Engine Room Takeover was the very first story I told them that night at dinner. My wife was the one who said I should try writing the story as a book, as we were always looking for good chapter books for our kids. The second book in the series, The Lobster Tale, also started as a dinner time improv story.
When did you actually start writing your book?
From first putting pen to paper, it took me around two months to write the first draft. And it was pretty terrible! But I had a great collaborative editor who really liked the “bones” of the story and taught me how to write a chapter book for real (sentence, paragraph and chapter structure).
If my editor didn’t see something in it, Eudora may have ended right then and there. But from there, it took maybe a year between that first collaborative edit to get to the final manuscript (but some of that delay was due to COVID).
Are you active with any children’s writers’ groups?
I wasn’t active in any writers’ groups at all, so I had no help other than the great editors I found. Looking back, I really should have been in a children’s writers group. Only now after my second book do I realize, hey that would have really helped, so I’m looking now to do that. At least I have something to offer a group now? And in another sense, maybe I benefitted somewhat from not being in a group - if I knew how hard it was, I may not have done it! Ha!
As an indie author, you foot all the bills for publication. What made you decide to go that route?
In all honesty, I didn’t have a choice! No agents were interested. I think the chapter book market is a hard sell. But I absolutely love chapter books. I love the simple joy and wonder in them. And I knew I wanted to publish this story for my daughters (they were so excited).
I’ll never know what traditional publishing would have been like, but one thing I really liked about self-publishing was getting to work with the artist and design everything in the exact vision I had (although the amazing Talitha Shipman brought so many funny ideas on her own). I got to have input into all the art, like design the uniforms, the ship, how the characters should look, all that stuff which I loved. It was like being the producer of a movie.
Do you do your own formatting, or did you hire someone?
The Great Engine Room Takeover was my first book. I had no idea how to go about formatting a book. Some illustrators I contacted were like “tell me how many illustrations you want and what sizes and formats” and I was like “Huh?! Don’t you know?” So I set out to find an illustrator who could do the interior design too (they’re hard to find), so they would bring their experience as to what I really needed since I had no clue. And Talitha hit a home run with it all.
After getting through my second book, The Lobster Tale, I think I know how many illustrations and what sizes I would need when I look at my manuscripts. But back then – huh?!
With chapter books your illustrations can be in black and white in the interior not full color, but you still need to get a stunning cover (and you did with Eudora). How were you able to do that?
Thanks, I’m so glad you like the covers! My advice would be – you should judge a book by its cover and put the extra cost into that. Being a new author and The Great Engine Room Takeover being the first book in a series, I think that cover was the absolute most important and best piece of marketing I could have done.
For those who think it would be fun to write and pub a chapter book, what would you tell them about putting together a book?
In terms of priority, I think the most important thing is great, thorough professional editing, but second to that is the cover.
What surprised you the most in publishing your first book?
The thing that surprised me most is how long it takes to self-publish a book. For my type of chapter book with detailed illustrations, the illustrations alone can take six months. To be honest, I already have lots of Eudora books written, but from editing to illustrations, I’m hoping I can self-publish them all before Eudora gets too old! Ha!
How did you go about finding the right illustrator?
For young kids and an unfamiliar science fiction story, I knew I wanted a graphic novel style that had detailed illustrations that could help explain the text and unfamiliar action.
I looked at a ton of different portfolios for illustrators until I found one that fit the graphic novel style I had in my head. And because of scheduling difficulty, I had to do that all over again for The Lobster Tale. I was so happy to find Deven Hoover who had such a great comic style which was perfect for the series.
How did you go about choosing the illustrations you wanted?
For the actual illustrations in both books, I wrote out in my manuscript suggestions for different pictures I thought would be good and we worked from there using the illustrators’ experience to figure out what would be best. For both books there were a few rounds of adjustments to characters and scenes – I imagine that is one of the benefits of self-publishing. I think going back and forth made for better illustrations.
What type of promotions have you done for this book?
As a new author, anything to let people know I exist helped. The best promotion was a book giveaway I did to help build a mailing list and generate interest where I couldn’t have otherwise. Also making my first ebook free at Amazon helped generate exposure to new readers and get some reviews.
What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given that you’d like to share?
I think it helps to let something sit for a while and then go back to it later with a different mindset (that’s kind of why the different stages of editing are so important). Sometimes when I go back to something, I come up with new jokes to add!
What other works do you have in the process?
I have a whole bunch of Eudora books written that are waiting to be published. Along the way we’ll meet some new, really silly characters and get to know our current characters even more. I’m also thinking of a new series, but that’s in the initial phase only.
Any last words or tips?
I’m still learning. If you’re self-publishing, to stay true to your vision. Write what you would want to read. After readings hundreds of chapter books to my kids, I wanted to write something I would like to read to my own kids. Ultimately, you want to be happy after you hit the publish button!
That’s all for today’s interview. If you’d like to learn more about David’s books, here are some links to get you started.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TC5WZLK
https://www.facebook.com/EudoraSpaceKidWhat surprised you the most in publishing your first book?
The thing that surprised me most is how long it takes to self-publish a book. For my type of chapter book with detailed illustrations, the illustrations alone can take six months. To be honest, I already have lots of Eudora books written, but from editing to illustrations, I’m hoping I can self-publish them all before Eudora gets too old! Ha!
How did you go about finding the right illustrator?
For young kids and an unfamiliar science fiction story, I knew I wanted a graphic novel style that had detailed illustrations that could help explain the text and unfamiliar action.
I looked at a ton of different portfolios for illustrators until I found one that fit the graphic novel style I had in my head. And because of scheduling difficulty, I had to do that all over again for The Lobster Tale. I was so happy to find Deven Hoover who had such a great comic style which was perfect for the series.
How did you go about choosing the illustrations you wanted?
For the actual illustrations in both books, I wrote out in my manuscript suggestions for different pictures I thought would be good and we worked from there using the illustrators’ experience to figure out what would be best. For both books there were a few rounds of adjustments to characters and scenes – I imagine that is one of the benefits of self-publishing. I think going back and forth made for better illustrations.
What type of promotions have you done for this book?
As a new author, anything to let people know I exist helped. The best promotion was a book giveaway I did to help build a mailing list and generate interest where I couldn’t have otherwise. Also making my first ebook free at Amazon helped generate exposure to new readers and get some reviews.
What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given that you’d like to share?
I think it helps to let something sit for a while and then go back to it later with a different mindset (that’s kind of why the different stages of editing are so important). Sometimes when I go back to something, I come up with new jokes to add!
What other works do you have in the process?
I have a whole bunch of Eudora books written that are waiting to be published. Along the way we’ll meet some new, really silly characters and get to know our current characters even more. I’m also thinking of a new series, but that’s in the initial phase only.
Any last words or tips?
I’m still learning. If you’re self-publishing, to stay true to your vision. Write what you would want to read. After readings hundreds of chapter books to my kids, I wanted to write something I would like to read to my own kids. Ultimately, you want to be happy after you hit the publish button!
That’s all for today’s interview. If you’d like to learn more about David’s books, here are some links to get you started.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TC5WZLK
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