This was a busy but productive weekend immersed in activity on the first book in The Little Labradoodle’s first book in The Little Labradoodle Series - Puppy Pickup Day. From editing draft #9 and narrowing down choices of illustrator for the book to learning more about marketing, it was a highly productive couple of days.
I was especially grateful for help or help from my family who are my best critics and are not afraid to tell me the unfiltered truth. It is so important to have that when you’re working on a book and I’m lucky to have three!
1. Editing will be finalized this week
I am happy to say that I am ready for pencils down after I get the last round of feedback from my Editor tomorrow. This story has really evolved and I’m happy to see this final version. After all, there is a point of diminishing returns where changes stop becoming productive. I think I’m almost there!
2. Illustrator Selection
We have been blessed with a few very talented Illustrators who created a number of different cover options. We will be making an announcement this week regarding our final selection. In a picture book, illustrations are so important. They need to engage and draw in the child and help tell the story in a fun way. There are very well known illustrators with decades of experience and new talented individuals with fresh ideas. For us, budget is a constraint so we need to be conscious of that considering first books very rarely break even. Hopefully ours will be an exception to that rule!
Our primary concern with selecting an illustrator is the style and quality of the images. We will be posting more info later this week with some examples and commentary. Stay tuned!
3. Marketing
I am not a social media expert by any means. My Instagram has followers in the 2-digits. If we are going to do a good job getting the word out about the book, That has to change. So, as a lifelong learner and someone who is fascinated by immersing myself into something new, I have been taking a webinar, binge watching YouTube videos and signed up for Master Class where I just completed a writing course delivered by Judy Blume. I am excited to start putting things into practice and I hope our followers will help share info and help us spread the word.
More to come soon!
April