Where Will It Go?

Like a lot of writers, I tend to imagine my work is more insulated than it is.

That it is mostly just me and my laptop locked away in a room somewhere, apart from civilization. I realize, of course, that there are readers somewhere, but I always picture them snatching my books off the shelves from hundreds of miles away…not right next door.

The Donkey in the Living Room ended that illusion.

Like a lot of projects I’d been part of, I posted links to this self-published children’s book on Facebook and in an internet announcement. The internet is so over-saturated, though, it turns most author announcements into the equivalent of blowing soap bubbles into your backyard and hoping the world will notice them.

But this time was different.

It was striking how many people and which people–people who live near me, people I once worked with, people who I’ve known most of forever–had somehow found out about it and purchased it without me ever telling them.

And it was equally surprising how many bought multiple copies, one for each set of children in their family…even when I released it, with no marketing budget, less than six weeks before Christmas.

This, I guess, explains how this Christmas children’s book took over our kitchen–seen below–during shipping season. And also how I awkwardly and almost absent-mindedly delved into the children’s book market.

People keep asking me what I plan to do with the book. And my answer is I just don’t know.

I do think I will write more. But I don’t think that, without giving up my other writing (which I won’t do), I can share and manage this project to reach it’s maximum potential in the future. So I’ll be spending January looking for the right publishing partner or the right tools to do it justice.

And we’ll see from there.

This thing started almost by itself, so who knows? Maybe even if we leave it just as it is, it will go somewhere just as surprising and fun.