5 People Who Made Me Believe I Could Write Children's Books

When I first started down this path to becoming a children’s picture book author, I didn’t know what to expect.

But I can honestly say I never anticipated being welcomed so easily into the community. So encouraged to go for it.

Maybe I was just being cynical, fueled by my early career as an inquisitive journalist. Or perhaps it’s simply because the writing industry overall – newspapers, magazines, books, you name it – is incredibly competitive.

Regardless of the reason, I’m still amazed at just how welcoming the kid lit community was in those early years.

And now my network of support has only grown, which feels nice and refreshing. Like this dream was always possible.

As for the kid lit community, I guess I really shouldn’t be too surprised. I mean, we are a group of individuals striving to inspire, encourage, educate and entertain children. Not to mention foster an early appreciation for reading.

But still …

As a new(ish)comer to the community, I remain so deeply appreciative of the guidance and generosity I received along the way. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to a few individuals whose support, encouragement and kindness truly made a lasting impression on me:

• The Michigan Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a great resource that I recommend others check out, especially if you’re considering writing a book now or in the future. There’s a mentorship program, webinars and free monthly meet ups to help authors further develop their writing. I attended a fall conference years ago that connected me to some incredible writers, including Kristin Lenz, author of The Art of Holding On and Letting Go. She was encouraging and kind and I’ve enjoyed watching her success grow ever since.

  
  

• The very first editor I found was Louise Knott Ahern, a former journalist like me who is now a USA Today bestselling author. Maybe found isn’t the correct term since we’d been Facebook friends for years but never actually met. Anyway, she took on one of my manuscript projects about a decade ago and helped embolden my voice. Louise smoothed areas in need of TLC, but also highlighted my strengths. As any good editor, she made it better, made me stronger. But it was more than that … her feedback built my confidence, declaring me “well-suited to writing children’s books.”

  
  

• If you have young children, then you’ve certainly read The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen time and again. It was a favorite in our household back when my kids were younger – and shorter than me! After a lot of hemming and hawing, I emailed Ms. Diesen to introduce myself back in 2015 before we were going to be at the same writing conference. I had never emailed a New York Times bestselling author before, and the interaction was nothing like I expected. First and foremost, I never even expected a response. Let alone a same-day response congratulating me on my leap into the children’s picture book world and offering insight into her publishing journey. After a few emails – and the opportunity to meet her in person at the conference – I finally took her advice to heart to polish my work and go for it.

  
  

• My family. They should probably be at the top of this list because they’ve encouraged and inspired me through all the stops and starts. Unbeknownst to them, my sisters and parents have been part of a little critique group over the years. And they’ve connected me with others in the industry who’ve helped further my dream (I’ll introduce them later). My kids have been my muse. I wish I could’ve read them my published book when they were little, but the timing just wasn’t right. And my husband encouraged me before they were even born. When I was a reporter, I used my maiden name in my byline for multiple reasons. I was established at The Detroit News before I got married and I didn’t want to change my professional name. But I also wanted to keep a modicum of privacy because I covered sensitive city issues and murder trials. But my husband made me promise that if I wrote a book one day, it would be with my married name. So, here we go!!! They’ve all been my biggest cheerleaders.

  
  

• My friends. I’m grateful to numerous former writing colleagues I’ve had through the years who’ve shared feedback on my manuscripts, as well as enthusiasm for my pursuit. But I also have support from my Book Club, which is comprised of an amazing group of women, mothers, professionals, book lovers – people I genuinely call friends. We certainly don’t read children’s books together, but we celebrate each other’s triumphs and support one another in times of distress. And we usually do that over wonderful conversation and a good glass of wine! About a year ago or so I shared my manuscript with them, and their words of encouragement resonated with me. My manuscript has come along way so I’m really looking forward to sharing it with them with it’s published.

I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of encouragement and kindness I’ve been fortunate to receive – both recently and over the years. But the confidence it’s instilled in me to pursue this dream has been nothing short of transformative.