More words are always needed to tell of the words already written…

In the case of a picture book, words are used carefully and sparingly to keep the story within the attention span of a very young reader or listener. But the words used to tell, of the words already written can vary widely. The blurb on the back of the book may be very brief, to convey a simple story or theme, or it might exceed the word count of the book itself. This is because the pictures in a picture book work hand in hand with the words to tell the story. When the words meet the illustrations in the making of a picture book, there’s always a bit of argy bargy as words need to be edited to accommodate the pictures, to build a balanced book. And of course there’s always the opportunity to add your own words when reading a picture book to a young child, to talk about the story, the pictures or relate it to something in your own personal experience.

Even more words are needed to bring a book to the attention of potential readers, especially in an overcrowded market place online, where books are everywhere, and many get sold through a few of the bigger marketplaces. Every book with an ISBN will be listed in all of these book outlets, but it’s not a level playing field, and self publish books will frequently be listed as unavailable or with a long lead time, at a time when shoppers expect products instantly.

So what is the answer? Well, more words are needed to get the message out there of the books that need to be read, because books need to be out of their boxes and into the hands of readers, and that is my mission. But is it enough just to throw words into the abyss in the hope that some will stick? That is a question that I am still wrestling with, and the fact that you are reading this now rather suggests that I’m throwing enough words out there to find a few readers, and I now have my own little bookshop, where you can rest assured that your order will be quickly gathered together, signed and dispatched, not from a faceless warehouse, but direct from the author, illustrator who created the book from the first idea that floated through the imagination. The only thing I outsource is the printing and binding of the books, which is done locally, I drop off a memory stick with my book on, and they make the next stage of magic happen. It’s always an exciting trip collecting the books, to hold the precious story in a physical form, in a book!   

    

Holding the book for the first time is a moment to celebrate, to pause and appreciate the achievement. Then it’s on with the marketing hat, which can be a bit tight and uncomfortable, but must be pulled into the shape and made to fit.