Until Tracy Bryan.
Tracy Bryan is a self-publisher of children's books designed to "educate, inspire, and empower kids and their families." She had an idea for a full-blown picture book and needed an illustrator to make it happen. Eventually I began to realize that Tracy Bryan makes her dreams happen. Just follow her blog and see for yourself! She certainly inspired and empowered me!
So anyway, I learned a great deal during the process of creating this book. The first and probably the most important thing I learned was that I know how to do this. Everything I've ever had to do to make a living has required me to push myself to achieve something I didn't really have any idea how to do. There's nothing wrong with that. But when that's all you accomplish it's discouraging. The results were always somewhere around mediocre.
As I began laying out this story across 32 pages I discovered that I already knew what I needed to know to be able to do this. Some of it came naturally to me. Most of it were things I've studied, pored over library books for or practiced all my life when I had free time. Not that I can't still learn. It's just that all my life I've been illustrating picture books without actually having a book to produce.
Like I keep telling everyone: This is what I was always meant to be doing!
And the book? It's available on Amazon as a download or a paperback. The hardcover version is being printed right now and should be up there any day. We are both really proud of what we have produced. I believe it can stand beside any picture book on the market (take that all you self-publishing haters!). In addition to being a fun romp with lots of crazy animals as Emma and her parents visit the zoo it teaches both parents and kids the value of cell phones and the danger of their overuse.
Frankly, you'll just love it.
