After three years of trying, I (finally!) succeeded --- converting my kid lit books for digital distribution without layout being a hodge-podge of misplaced text and drawings.  Sure, I had one e-book already.  However, it took six months and a sizeable hole in my checkbook to hire the coding guru who formatted my first e-tale, Sweet T and the North Wind.

I can’t put my finger on why it took three years to accomplish my goal.  A messy confluence of factors weighed me down for 156 weeks, and I stress now just thinking about them:

• Overwhelmed by basics of writing, publishing, marketing as a new Indie authorprenuer
• Me, learn coding? Hah! 
  (I hate math.)
• Beat myself up for not accomplishing my expectations
• Hamstringed by time constraints of work and family
• Exhausted juggling multiple writerly priorities
  (building my blog and newsletter, starting a critique group, writing two print books, establishing social relationships, finding readers, visiting schools, etc.)
• Frustrated/discouraged after a gazillion failed attempts to do my own digital conversions
• Lacked confidence: would e-books find young readers? Were they worth my time and effort?

But I was determined.  Over time, support from family and friends, plus attitude adjustment, tipped the scale:

• Shifted my thinking: I can do this!  It’s okay to "fail"
• Celebrated small victories instead of rushing off to the next challenge
• Discovered new, user-friendly, free conversion software for Mac users:
  ibooks Author: creates e-pub files for i-Tunes; Vellum: creates mobi files for Kindle
• Received encouragement that I can, indeed, write a good tale for kids
• Cut back my daily work schedule and added more time for play
  Spending less time at the keyboard makes me more productive.
• Resisted the urge to compare myself to other creatives
  This is really hard for me!
• Turned to family and friends to recharge when I felt low

Nothing happened overnight. I still struggle, especially with accepting I’m where I need to be and not where I expect myself to be. 

​But I turned the corner.  So after three years of trying, my first Cat-formatted e-book, The Magical Aquarium book is on i-Tunes AND pre-order with Amazon for a 17 February release.  Beyond-excited and relieved!
 
Sure, there’s more to tackle ahead, but I’m moving forward instead of treading water.  And that’s a glorious feeling.

YOUR TURN: How do you keep going when you're feeling stuck?  Keep yourself out of that hole in the first place? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Photos: UnSplash, Creative Commons license

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I had a case of the winter blues....even though I live in North Carolina (southeast US), where winters are short and mild. But after reading author/poet/teacher Sarah Steele’s gentle poem, Winter, her words lifted my spirits and helped me appreciate  life's simple beauty.
 
Sarah loves using color to describe people and life around her.  Friends, family, birth, hardships, prayer.  In Winter,  she describes a season.  As you read her delicate rhyme, you’ll feel peaceful and relaxed…promise!

​Winter
by Sarah Steele

Winter is blue …

like the water now frozen 
in a sea of glass

like my hometown mug of hot cocoa

that warms me through the dark, cold nights

like the way I feel
​being stuck inside
without anywhere to run.

Winter is ​white …

like the freshly fallen snow, 
inviting me to venture into the frost-bitten world

like the lights that wink at me and 
beg me to stay out for just a minute longer

like our supima flannel sheets that wrap tightly

around a frigid body and make me long for more of night.

Winter is silver
…
like the frost that coats the car,
​
forcing me to scrape its beauty to a heap on the ground

like the tinsel that twinkles in the Christmas lights,

inciting me to stay awake and just be
like Gramma’s stunning hair and Papa’s charming beard,

blending in with the surrounding scene.

​Winter is beautiful.

Meet the Poet

Sarah Steele grew up as the oldest of ten children, and children have been following her ever since. A Hoosier English-learner teacher, then coach for five years, her hundreds of students and fellow teachers were on the receiving end of her poetry–for fun and for learning.

​Sarah believes poetry sticks to the brain and cuts to the heart. And while she loves to speak to hearts all over the world with her writing, her first books are aimed at children–delighting young minds and inspiring their creativity.

​Website  |  Facebook |  Etsy  |  Instagram

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Get ready for G-rated wild times and giggles with Lovable Lobo wolf pup and his forest pals. The animals find a wilderness camera in their woods and attept to figure out WHAT it is and HOW to use it in a burst of paws-on hilarity.  After tons of silly candid shots, the photo shoot comes to a sudden halt, and even the park rangers can’t figure out what happened.

​About the Book
Title: Selfies in the Wild |  Author, Illustrator C.L.Murhpy  | Publication Date:  August 2016 | Publisher: Peanut Butter Prose | Pages: 28 | Recommended Ages: 3-7
* Amazon *   

​
​What Kids Will Like 
Lobo is a natural kid magnet, but his experimentation with a camera in the forest brings smiles to a new heights.  Selfies pulls in young readers with Murphy’s colorful cartoon-like drawings super-imposed on actual forest photographs.  She also recreates the sights and sounds of a camera in a dark forest night as Lobo and friends figure out the trail cam and give it their best shot. 
 
 
What Parents, Teachers Will Like 
Adults will giggle along with the kids at Lobo’s antics, perhaps even more so as they appreciate the inherent silliness of the selfie craze.  In addition to its fresh humor, the book helps children learn basic colors and left/right orientation in the context of Lobo and friends struggling to master the digital camera…and kids will pick up on that technology, too.  The colorful layout is a joy to follow.  Best, kids learn colors and directions without knowing they are doing so because they are following fun digital camera commands. The author also includes a glossary of challenge words in the conclusion and a try-and-find animal picture challenge.

​Recommendation
I highly recommend Selfies in the Wild for preschool through second-grade children.  Even better: a read-aloud by older children to younger ones!  The book’s fresh humor and eye-catching illustrations score big with kids in the digital age.

Meet the Author
Cathy (C.L.) Murphy has been creating with and for kids for many years.  Armed with crayons and not afraid to use them, she’s faster than a speeding turtle, more powerful than a newborn bunny, and nearly able to leap tall tales in a single bound. A SCBWI member since 2012, C.L. uses her unassuming powers in a never-ending battle for good and silliness while traveling to the deepest (sometimes dark) part of her imagination. She lives in a wonder-filled forest amongst wildlife with her husband and other untamed animals. They have two wildly perfect sons and a scrumptious new granddaughter.
​

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​

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Updates - Special Offers - Fun Stuff

Kids: download your FREE coloring printables from Cat’s books

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Driving Down to Dillon: A Tale of Love & New Beginnings