TUESDAY,  OCT. 21, 2014

Well I’m very excited because I’m almost ready to publish and launch my new book: “Bogey Beagle and His Totally Terrific Storm Tamer Shirt.”  This will be my first offering since I developed the idea to start my publishing company, SHOEBOX PRESS.

When I came up with the idea for Bogey Beagle, it was just a quick little outline and rough story I wrote in 15 minutes,  on my break at work, after hearing a friend tell of some experiences she was having with her dogs fear of storms.  At the time, I was also volunteering at Freedom Service Dogs, where they had some rescue dogs who also had issues with fear and nervousness.  My own dogs had issues with storms.  Combining these thoughts and situations, I was inspired and I came up with a tale that addresses the problem in a positive way.  And the story really can relate to all kinds of fears or feelings of discomfort in various situations and to varying degrees.  I hope that it will give children the understanding that whatever their fears or problems, they can, by themselves or with the help of others, find positive solutions and creative ways to cope and to find the courage to face their fears and overcome any problem.

Background Note:

The Bogey Beagle story is not my first children’s book, but it is the first one that I’ve submitted to Amazon.com and fully promoted with all the marketing tips and tools I have since learned is necessary for a successful book launch.

Last year I took my self-challenge to create and self-publish a read-along/sing-along Christmas story & Christmas song I had written called, “It’s A Puppy Dog Christmas,” publishing it through Blurb.  It was an ambitious undertaking because I knew nothing about such things.  Learning to use the software to download my photos, (including ones I had that fit the story already or new ones I created to fit), editing, figuring out how to add audio (something not often done in a Blurb ebook), etc., was a daunting but not insurmountable challenge.   I’m pleased with the results, but I never promoted it properly – no website, blog, Facebook or Twitter.  No book trailer.  I didn’t even setup the preview pages properly to highlight even one note of the song!  How careless was that?  It’s a sing-along book.  The whole book came about because of the song! The song stands alone and should be on iTunes for crying out loud!  Chalk that up to being a techno novice.

I did make a posting to my own Facebook page for friends and family to notify them that the book was available for purchase and review.  A few friends and family members did, with good response to my effort, and I very much appreciated their support.  But it really didn’t get the attention it deserves.  Also, I discovered that I needed to learn how to offer the audio in a more convenient format, one that would be easily accessed when purchasing the soft or hardcover versions, for sure, but also because the enhanced ebook version I produced is not very child friendly.

My neighbor and friend, who purchased and downloaded the enhanced ebook version, tells me her daughter LOVES the ebook, (this also being the first genuine and unsolicited review from any child that I had heard!) but that she, Mom, has to “push the buttons” for the audio segments that appear on each page.  She also wondered if there was a printed version of the book available?  Ah, marketing is so critical in getting the word out and for receiving feedback from my readers as well!  You can bet she’ll be receiving a signed copy of the printed book, hopefully complete with a QR code to easily download the audio narration and song so her daughter can read and sing along as she turns the pages of the book or her ebook!  Once I get that all developed, of course, but you see I am learning.