PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF IN THE END
For several months, one of my writing partners and I had trouble getting the cover of my children’s book Slo-Poke & Rabbit completed in an acceptable format by the distributor. When they finally said all is good and well, I immediately ordered a print proof.
Almost a week later, I walked out the front door on my way to an appointment. Sitting on the welcome mat—I believe it says Welcome, but it might actually say Go Away—was a package that had a distinct shape. I knew what it was without even seeing the label or opening it.
I snatched it up, jumped back in the house, shutting the door in case there were thieves about, and ripped it open. I should have said carefully opened it because I did not want to damage the precious material within. Sure enough, it was the book for which I had waited months to see in print.
I handed it to my mother-in-law after looking and judging the cover and material. She beamed. Her husband is the co-author—more about that later. She called my two granddaughters over to the couch so she could read it to them. While at my appointment, she texted to tell me the girls loved it so much they started acting out the story.
The cover of Slo-Poke & Rabbit by Lea Parette
To think I grew so frustrated at one point I wanted to give up and just can the project. Here’s a bit of advice: never give up. Stay the course (to use a cliché).
I SHOULDN’T WATCH THE NUMBERS…BUT I DO.
Of course, I took pictures and posted them. I had only signed off with the distributor to release it and people already were asking me where they could get it. As you probably have figured out, I am not a big fan of social media. I am told a presence on it is a necessary evil.
My first post was on my Facebook author page. Less than 1,000 people had a chance to see the post—if the algorithm allowed it to appear in their newsfeed. Later that day, scores of people had liked and responded, with many sharing it on their own personal pages.
I didn’t want to have a hard release until I had time to set up a launch picnic, but people asked me where they could get it. They didn’t want to hear that I had a signing in a nearby town library two weeks in the future. We are used to getting things now, and that’s what they wanted.
Because I admitted they could order it wherever they bought books online, orders started coming in. People I didn’t know were friends of friends ordered it when they saw it shared. And that made the numbers change.
Granddaughters enjoying a good story.
You all probably know that there are many millions of books on Amazon[dot]com. My poetry book Newspaper Reading released in the fall last year was ranked somewhere around 3.5 million. Slo-Poke & Rabbit ranked at less than one million when I first looked at it.
This became an obsession—not hard to imagine. By this morning, only four days after signing off on the release with the distributor, its rank contained less than six digits. Let’s say as an example Newspaper Reading was the absolute worst-selling title in Amazon’s catalogue. Slo- Poke & Rabbit ranked better than over 3.3 million other books on Amazon. True. It’s not number one…yet.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
My father-in-law told magical stories to my daughter when she was little. Stories about a turtle and his rabbit best friend. They lived in a forest filled with incredible friends. My daughter loved those stories.
When Les passed away in 2015, I decided to put his stories into book format so others could
enjoy them. Nine years later, that vision has come to fruition. Not only did my daughter love the
stories many yesterdays in the past, the magic felt real for my own granddaughters today.
I have his journals and some recordings of the stories. This means Slo-Poke & Rabbit will be an
ongoing series. Maybe we’ll see plush animals, cartoons, and a toy line. The most important
thing is that other generations will be able to enjoy and experience the magic of the stories about
a little forest turtle and his rabbit best friend.
Click here to order your copy of Slo-Poke & Rabbit
His legacy will now live on, and I am glad to have known him. I’m still not convinced about
social media, but I do know that an existing audience helps drive sales. Take care. I have some
writing to do.
