Indie-Publishing for Picture Books: Author Interview with Ben Wilder

What inspired you to write Big and Small, God Made Them All?
I tell you what, it was a long time coming because I actually had the title in mind years ago. But to go back to my childhood for a second, I've grown up with a love for the outdoors, for animals, the ocean, and nature in general. This environment we get to live in always astounded me, and as an adult now, it still does. So as is the case with any good art, whether it's music, paintings, drawings, literature, it points back to a talented and creative artist. That's what this book is about. The inspiration is the trees, the animals, the ocean, the wild nature that God designed, and it's pretty amazing!

When did you actually start writing your book?
I started writing this book in late summer 2015.

How long did it take to write your first draft?
It's a short book, but I'd say over the course of a couple weeks I had a good first draft going.

Who encouraged you along the way?
I didn't tell a lot of people about what I was up to specifically, but my family knew, so they were very encouraging. As the book progressed, a few close friends were cheering me on as well.

Prior to this picture book, what was your publishing and writing background?
My writing experience  is in television, actually. I started as a production assistant at CMT in 2006 and by the end of my time there I was an associate producer and writing scripts for a few of the highest rated shows on the network. I have always enjoyed writing in it's different forms, but this my first experience in the literary world.

Are you active with any children’s writers groups?
Not at the moment.

The publishing company, Driftwood Tree Press is your imprint, correct? What made you decide to start your own publishing company?
Yes, this is my imprint. The decision to start this publishing company came after hearing advice from people with more expertise than I have, and doing research about the best way to go when an author is self-publishing. The entire process was new to me, so I simply went with what most indie-publishers were doing, and trusting the advice I received.

Did you do your own formatting or did you hire someone?
I knew I needed a team of experts to help this book become a reality, so I hired a designer to come on board for the formatting, page layout, cover and back cover layout, etc.

What was that process like?
It was fun "drafting" a dream team for this project. I ended up hiring an illustrator, editor, and designer. I researched quite a bit for each. I came across a website (Reedsy.com) which is where I found my editor, and indirectly my designer. There's an gigantic world of talented people out there, so it can take some time to find the folks you like, but Reedsy definitely helped, and various professional websites with reviews, portfolios, etc were great to browse through.

Did you send your manuscripts out to other publishers or agents prior to that?
I was in touch with two other publishing companies that had imprints designed for new authors but just didn't feel comfortable going that route, so I decided to indie-publish. I wanted to have more control than I felt like those companies would allow.

I love the whimsy of your front cover. How did you go about finding an illustrator?
Childrensillustrators.com has a huge list of illustrators and after looking through quite a few portfolios, I still wasn't sure I found a match. I researched other sites, other artists, and traded emails with a few artists. But then going back to childrensillustrators.com I came across Laura Watson and that was all she wrote. I knew she was the exact artist I wanted.

What did you look for in an illustrator?
Detail. I wanted a strong attention to detail and the more portfolios I browsed, it really came down to the eyes. What I learned is that a lot of personality can be shown through the eyes of the characters or things being illustrated. Some artists had great illustrations, very talented people out there, for sure, but all the eyes in their creations were the same. In Laura's work, you can almost eliminate everything but the eyes and still know exactly what the emotion of the character is. 

To me, that was huge. For this book, I wanted each animal, whether it was a scary one (like an alligator) or a friendly one (penguin, or elephant, etc), to come across as kind and happy, showing lots of personality. They had to be somewhat realistic, but extremely cute.

Did she work strictly from your text or do you give her suggestions of how you want the story to be done?
The book text definitely lends itself to pretty specific images so I didn't give Laura many notes beyond that at first. I wanted her to have freedom to create without restrictions.

What made Laura Watson the right fit for you?
Her art was the perfect balance of whimsical, yet realistic, full of personality, cute, detailed, artistic without being abstract, and again... the eyes!

How many changes had to be made before you chose the illustrations you wanted? 

Not many changes in the illustrations. i think we went through a few rounds of revisions, but I'd say half of the artwork was approved on the first rough sketches I saw. We spent more time on the cover than any other illustration, because we knew how important it was to have a great cover.

What has frustrated you the most in putting together this book?
I think it was the "not knowing." As a first time author, and indie-publishing, there was (and is) so much I didn't know from book size, to types of paper, image bleed, when to publish, who to publish with, how many pages is ideal, color choices, etc. So many decisions to make!

What has pleasantly surprised you in the process?
Having a team that was as excited as I was to make the book. I know being hired as an artist, editor, or designer can be looked at as just another job, but they were so supportive, offering ideas and encouragement all along the way. It really was a dream team.

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?
I'm not sure I have a good answer to this. I think the most important thing for anyone who wants to take this step of publishing their first book is to take the first step. Whatever that first step is for them. I believe I learned what I was supposed to learn at the time I was supposed to learn it. I will say this, I wish I would have taken the leap sooner. I had the title in my head for many months, but didn't act on it, and I wish I would've done that sooner.

What type of promotions have you done for this book?
I'm trying a lot of things, but it mostly comes down to social media. The majority of sales so far have come from connections on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Other promotions I've done are giveaways on Goodreads and Facebook, a tie-in with a children's organization in Nicaragua, and a couple of posts on blogs designed for parents. The book was published fairly recently, so I still have a few ideas for promoting it the rest of this year. I'd like to have a few book signings, more giveaways, and things like that.

What promotions have been the most successful?
I did a giveaway on Facebook recently and it seems to have drummed up quite a bit of chatter. As far as creating the most buzz, it was the book trailer. I posted this weeks before the book was published and it definitely helped create excitement about the book. I highly recommend book trailers for a new book coming out!

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given that you’d like to share?
My editor shared with me a line that I won't soon forget. We were going over what parts of the book were strong and others that weren't strong, and she said about a particular line, it might be time to "kill your darlings." The phrase (from William Faulkner, I believe) resonated with me, and will help me even in the future as I write.

What other works do you have in the process?
I have the idea for my second children's book. I'm super excited to get started on it. It's very early in the process, but I'm hoping it will be as fun to create as this first book was.

What message would you like parents and children to take away from your books?
I love animals, so I'm guessing any theme in the books I create will come from that love. But going a little deeper than that, I hope that parents and children will become more curious about the things I write and that will lead them to do research on their own about whatever the subject is. Especially for this first book of mine. 

It's a story about animals, but really it's a story about God and his love for us. He created so many amazing things in the world and more importantly, he created mankind and lets us enjoy all the other things he made. Seeing the diversity in nature, the detail and the way animals each have their quirks, reminds me how big God is and yet, he's in the details. I'd love for anyone who reads this book, whether they agree that God created these things or not, to at the very least become curious enough to wonder.

What future plans do you have for the publishing company?

More books!

Any last words or tips?
To the readers and the buyers of my book, whether you know it or not, I am YOUR #1 fan. Keep reading... and thank you! For anyone thinking about taking a step of faith in any endeavor, do it. There may be some downs with the ups, but I doubt you'll regret it.

I like that. Thank you for the interview. If you would like to know more about Ben and buy this book, here's the way to get started.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1JQpv10
Website: www.benjaminwilder.com

Interview with Children's Picture Book Writer, Margo Sorenson

Today we will continue with my interview with children's writer, Margo Sorenson. If you've just come to my blog for the first time, I hope you will read Part 1 of this interview which was Tuesday's post.

You’ve won several awards for your writing. Is there one that means more to you than the others?

Having FUNNY MAN named a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in Young Adult Fiction was pretty special, but it also meant a lot to be nominated for the Quick Picks by YALSA, also, because that validated my writing for reluctant readers.

You’ve also written two books about a mouse and his adventures in a cathedral for Liturgical Press. This is not a “religious” book. How did it come about?

Many, many years ago, I majored in medieval history, and my favorite professor was so inspiring that I had an idea about a little mouse who wanted to help build a cathedral, AMBROSE AND THE CATHEDRAL DREAM. The building of a cathedral fascinated me, and I thought children could relate to a small mouse who wanted to be part of a grand scheme.  

I wrote the first draft twenty years ago, and when I read that Liturgical Press was going to start publishing children’s fiction (which they no longer do), I thought they’d be a good match for a book about a cathedral, since they are headquartered at St. John’s Abbey, in Collegeville, MN. 

Did you do any specific research in writing that book?

When the Liturgical Press children’s editor, the wonderful Father Tony Gorman, a Benedictine monk, decided to acquire AMBROSE AND THE CATHEDRAL DREAM, I asked my former professor, with whom I was still corresponding, (now a professor at the university our daughters were attending) to read the manuscript and correct any historical inaccuracies, which he did with delight.  Then, Fr. Gorman at Liturgical Press wanted another mouse book, so I wrote AMBROSE AND THE PRINCESS, and my professor read that one, as well. 

These books called for a lot of research; I wanted everything to be a completely accurate representation of medieval life in 1272.  What was special to me was that my professor was tickled to have the books dedicated to him (along with my family and my editor, of course!) – “Possibly the only medieval history professor to have a children’s book dedication,” he said – and that he had the finished books in his hands before he passed away. 

Any differences in writing for this publisher and Perfection Learning?

The main difference in writing the Ambrose books (and I have ideas for more!) and writing for Perfection Learning is that the Ambrose manuscripts are written at grade level and not for reluctant readers.  Also, because they’re picture books, the illustrator, the wonderful and talented Katalin Szegedi, was able to make the text come alive and take it to the next level.  My editor was absolutely excellent; he really believed in Ambrose – and still does!

Your most recent book is called, Aloha for Carol Ann and is set in Hawaii. This book is published by Marimba Books. How did you get started with them? I read about Marimba’s founding as a multicultural publisher and thought they sounded like a good fit for this manuscript, the first draft of which I’d written in 1989.  Forty revisions and many years later, I subbed to Marimba, this new publishing company, and they accepted, much to my joy.  They are a wonderful company to work with, and they found a fabulous illustrator, the nationally-recognized and talented Priscilla Garcia Burris, to bring Carol Ann to life, right down to the mango shortbread and spam musubi! 

Do you have other books in the works with them?

Right now, there are no plans to do something else with them; they’re not accepting submissions from anyone at the moment, but I’d love to work with them again.  They’re very supportive, helpful, professional, and enthusiastic. 

What is your next writing project?

My next writing project, ISLAND DANGER, a middle grade novel set in Hawaii, is actually being released in June 2012 as an e-book by Canadian e-publisher Muse Publishing.  I’m excited to see how this will work!  I also have a number of picture book manuscripts and middle grade novels that I’m submitting to various publishers and have several out by request with editors.  There’s always something cooking!

What is the best guidance an editor or agent has ever given you?

The best guidance someone has ever given me is from my critique partner, children’s author Bonnie Graves.  She always says, “Spare!  Spare!”  which helps me a lot, because I tend to overwrite.

What do you know now about publishing that you wished you had known earlier in your writing career? 

I wish I’d been more patient and taken more time with revisions.  The first commandment for writers is “Thou Shalt Not Fall in Love with Thine Own Words,” and that is so true!

What advice would you give someone who wants to write children’s books? 

I guess it would be the above – aspiring writers think they’ve written golden words, just as I always think *I* do, but put that manuscript away in a drawer for a while and then take it out and look at it with a clear eye – and have a good critique partner who understands your style and your aims.  Be willing and ready to revise!

That's all for today's interview. If you would like to learn more about Margo's writing and her books just click here.