My Journey into Self-Publication

"Listen to this!"

I prod my husband with my big toe .

He stifles a yawn and peers over his glasses at me, his book lowered, his kind eyes twinkling.

"Another one?"

Yes!" I try to contain my excitement as a volley of rhyming sentences tumble forth.

"The goat one, or the rabbit one?" he interrupts, smiling while I catch my breath and reach for the glass of water he has placed on the side table next to the bed.

"The Goat in a coat."

"Not bad," he says softly, stroking his chin reflectively.

"I think it's done!"

I feel warm and excited as I stretch, groan and dress for the day.

The creative process has been fun, if at times a little disturbing, while the rhymes have been continuously played in my head on a loop over the last few weeks. At times I have giggled to myself while washing up the dishes, or watched in amazement as a pot has wobbled dangerously on the wheel, my hands faltering. It slips off the wheel distorted beyond repair. I don't care. A new, better rhyme has bubbled into my brain. I rush to write it down. The pots can wait till later. I can always throw another one.

The story, though, might disappear, and must be captured right this minute.

The Goat in a coat was the first rhyme that has actually reached the page. At the age of 73, there have been thousands of rhymes over the years, countless ideas for stories, all tumbling around rather aimlessly and pointlessly in my brain. I have dismissed them as nonsense, mostly, although at times have been amused and even laughed out loud as some of them kept reappearing while I have been occupied on the wheel, or waiting for the kiln to cool down.

The illustrations for The Goat in a Coat did not reveal themselves to me at all. It was just words rhyming with "Goat" that came easily. No matter how hard I tried I could not visualize what I wanted. I decided to call in the help of an expert from an earlier period of my life. Our children were friends at nursery school, and she was an illustrator for Maskew Miller at the time. Though retired, I knew that she was still painting, as I had seen some of her work at an exhibition in Kirstenbosch the previous week.

It had been about 20 years since I had seen her, but she answered my whatsapp with a smiley emoji and a "long time no see!" message. I knew she was right for the job. I emailed her my manuscript and said, "Please do your thing!" Within 10 days she presented me with 10 stunning illustrations. I didn't change a thing. They were perfect.

Then came the publishing process. This for me was the most challenging and least enjoyable part of the process of creating a children's book. I eventually found a local printer to print copies for me, but I am looking at Amazon for a cheaper alternative. That is, If I can get my head around INDESIGN, which is a major learning curve for me.

I have given up on the idea of finding an agent or submitting it to the well-known Children's book publishers. That seems a bridge too far for me right now. Self-publishing seems to be the only option.

Of course I could have left him there, the poor old Goat in a Coat - lying between the pages of the A4 hardcover notebook - forever undiscovered.

But teaching runs deep in my family. If there is an opportunity for teaching or learning, I am in like Flint. I just can't stop myself. It's like asking a dog not to bark. I had to do it. I had to get it out into the world. Someone might learn from it. For heaven's sake, someone might even enjoy it!

So here it is.  

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