As Always, Debbie

Dear Reader, Last I wrote, I told you about my publicist. She was happy with my story just like my husband and other friends, but as we spoke, it seemed like a good idea to hire an editor just to make things the best they could be, after all, this would be my first published book. Let me mention that I have been on writer's retreats, I have attended many writing workshops, I have belonged to several writing groups where we critiqued each other's works and therefore I knew that you may think you are done, but someone else's eyes will point out things you didn't see. Sometimes the critiques are a little painful. You have presented your "masterpiece" that you have toiled over every word and in a few moments, your ego can be bruised. Critiquing is a great necessity, but it can be painful. I had never worked with an editor before and I braced myself for pain. First, I had to find an editor. It is awesome that with the help of the internet you can hire a publicist,

 Dear Reader,  For the next chapter in my journey, I decided to do some more research. I already knew that Connecticut Publishers and Authors Association highly recommended self-publishing for reasons that I previously stated. I did know a couple of people who had self-published, and I saw that many of the CAPA members did it repeatedly.  I decided to contact one of my friends who published a children's book. We met for coffee, and she spoke freely about her experience, the time, the money, basically all the blood, sweat and tears. I was encouraged and discouraged at the same time. At the end she said, "I will never, ever do it again." Ouch. Stabbing words that I didn't want to hear. Yet, I decided to keep researching. I noticed a children's book author who was selling locally and decided to contact her and ask her about her journey. She was quite willing to share her experiences. She was trying to promote this book as Covid was first upon us and that really slowe

 Dear Reader, Now that you know I have always been a writer, I'd like to tell you how "A Fish in a Tree" came to be. I was in the kitchen, preparing a meal for family, when my grandson and his family arrived. He came running to me saying, "Grammy, I saw a fish in a tree!" I said, "A fish in a tree, how can that be?" My husband said, "That sounds like a book." Silas went on to explain the "fish" was a balloon stuck in a tree. It is awesome to enjoy the wonderment of children in such things like this. That evening, I thought about my husband's words and in probably half an hour, I wrote, "A Fish in a Tree".  I was pleased with what I wrote, explaining to children in a fun rhyming way that balloons do not belong in nature. A story was born. My husband thought it was good. I shared it with some others, and they had a few suggestions and I tweaked it a bit. (It was much later that I learned, it was far from where it could b