OK, so I’m now putting it out there. After my post last night, I have finished the story & my kids like it!
I would love to see this published as a picture story book, so I’m putting it out there on PlanBig.
For some background – this story originally started life as Toby’s Bedtime, a story about a boy who wouldn’t go to sleep. This was based on my years of babysitting kids who wouldn’t go to bed & some of their tricks. I submitted it as part of my VCE writing folio back in 1995 (you can do the maths to work out how old I am). Then it was called Mikey’s Bedtime after a little boy I babysat at the time (he is now 18!). I got an excellent mark for my writing folio.
When I finished Year 12, I tried to get my story published as a picture story book. It was rejected. At the time I was sad, however, looking back, the story really wasn’t ready for publication as there was really no resolution to the story. It ended and the kid was still scared to go to sleep.
In the last however many years, the story has been sitting in my filing cabinet gathering dust.
My Mum, however, has been at me to dust it off. So yesterday I finally did and rewrote a bit in the middle and the end, giving the story a resolution.
I think it’s ready for publication, at least it’s much closer than what it was when I first wrote it.
So now the big question is – do I find a publisher once again, or do I go down the self-publishing route?
If you want to follow my plan, click here.
Wish me luck, and if anyone has any words of wisdom, or tips to calm the butterflies in my stomach, please share
