Giving Birth to a Picture Book

I made up my mind a while back to break the rules.  I've never really liked rules anyway.

I'm working on a children's picture book.  Actually, I've written a few picture books.  Once I even illustrated one and gave the finished product to my then young nephew for a birthday present.  But a published picture book?  Much harder to turn into a reality.

So I decided to publish one myself.  This is the beginning of the process.  I've written the text and selected an illustrator--my daughter.  She's minoring in art in college, knows the story since I wrote it for her years ago, and understands the concept.  It's about two young sisters, opposites--a simple story, hopefully humorous, showing two sides of what it is to be female.

I realized something from writing this picture book manuscript--it's the illustrations that are crucial to the storytelling.  The facial expressions and colors have to be right for this to work.

I also realized that there is a simplicity to this story; with a word count around 120, every single word has to count.  I know I will be revising and adapting throughout this process.  Once my daughter finishes the drawings, I'll decide which words stay and which ones go.

This is an experiment really.  And a work of love.  It's something I've always wanted to do.  It's my baby and I plan to give birth in my own way, at my own rate, and in my own home.

And I'm doing it my way, breaking rules if I feel like it.  This baby will be unlike any baby you've ever seen.