Guest contributor bio:
Jennifer Fosberry, a mother of three, was moved to create My Name is Not Isabella when she thought about the kind of women that she admired and the kind of women she thought her daughter could be.
A few years ago I decided to make a huge leap of faith. I didn’t do it without doing some research. A LOT of research. I didn’t do it without some deep thought. And I didn’t do it without the support of my friends and family.
What did I do?
I “self-published” a children’s picture book.
I tried to do it the smartest way I could, knowing that I would make some mistakes out of the gate. But I had a product I believed in (My Name Is Not Isabella), a big enough chunk of money set aside to get it done right, time available (we had child care wrapped up with a pretty string while we lived abroad in Costa Rica). One might say, I had “a dollar and a dream.” I also had a business plan and a marketing plan and a budget.
What happened?
I managed to publish a beautiful book. I managed to get it into some stores. I walked, talked, and sold that book. And I did marginally well……(wait for it)….for a “self-published” book. It was an uphill battle to get it into stores and I completely understand that. The term “self-published” seems to be synonymous with “not so good.” A lot of self-published books suffer from one of three main maladies:
1) Not good = not salable.
2) Overpriced = not salable.
3) No distribution/availability = not salable.
Even if you make it past all those hurdles, there is the chance, really the likelihood, that no one will ever hear of your book. I did my best to get the word out and was lucky enough to get some good attention in review publications and blogs, including Lauren’s great review at 5 minutes for Books. And that certainly helped me to sell a respectable number of copies. But my big break came when I sent the Book to the Children’s Book Festival in Bologna, Italy. So “the book” went to Italy. Luckily, I had already had a chance to go for work a few years earlier, or else I would have been really jealous. Dominique Raccah, publisher at Sourcebooks (a company she started….) saw it, liked it, and got in touch with me. I was hesitant at first to sell the book. I had dreams of starting my own little publishing company. Frankly, the time had evaporated since we returned from Costa Rica, and I was feeling more artistic leanings. Dom slowly thought me through the whole thing and Viola! Contract with Sourcebooks.
So what happens after the prince slips on the glass slipper? Well, for this author it has been a quick paced ride through legitimacy. The biggest difference is that people (bookstores, schools, etc.) are happy to see me. They like my book and they like me. I feel that I learned an awful lot with this process, but am so glad with the choice I made to go with Sourcebooks. They have been kind and gentle publishers, with an aggressive marketing department. Just what “Isabella” needed.
Sourcebooks has donated one copy of I Am Not Isabella (linked to Lauren’s 5-Star review) to give away here, and one that will go to our Grand Prize winner.
If you’d like to win, leave a comment. We’d also love it if you’d “like” My Name is Not Isabella on Facebook and Follow @jenfos on Twitter. We’ll announce the winner on October 2. This giveaway is closed.
Check out our current giveaways, subscribe to our feed, and/or follow us @5M4B on Twitter.
Yes, even our On Reading column has been taken over by the Fall Festival of Children’s Books. Read the anchor post to find all of the reviews and see how you can link up and enter to win the Grand Prize.
What a cute title!
I would love to have this book.
I’d love to win this book for a little princess I know, her name is NOT Isabella.
This would make a great gift.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
What a cute book for a child.
I have been seeing this book all around the web lately. It must be wonderful. Thanks for the giveaway.
I also “liked” My Name is Not Isabella on Facebook and now follow @jenfos on Twitter.
Mel4Him777{at}gmail{dot}com
This book looks fantastic!
I would love to read this with my own princess.
This looks sooo cute! Please enter me, thanks.
[email protected]
This looks adorable!
sounds wonderful! I love sourcebooks!
sounds really great, thanks!
Very inspiring true life story from the author…I want to share this book with my daughter, thanks.
What an interesting and timely post for me – my husband and I were just discussing the pros and cons of self-publishing. Looks like a great product came out of all the effort!
Way to follow your dreams! Congrats on the success!
Nice work! Looks like a great read
I have a 29 year old daughter with a new baby and I think she benefit from this book. The book has all the things I hoped to instil in her. Life is short and this book is wonderful. To give a copy to her would speak volumes.
Looks great!
I would love to have this book! And I’m sure my niece (her name actually is Isabella) would love this book, too!
Kirsten-
You won this book! Please send me your shipping info (by replying to the email notification).
Thanks!
I’ve written a bit and had a few things published. I’d love to read this!
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
I loved reading about the journey into “legitimacy”. I am sure the book will be good too.
I’m sure my daughter would enjoy this, and I found the publishing backstory very interesting! Please enter me in the giveaway.
Thanks to 5 Minutes for Books and Lauren for sharing my story.
My niece has this name it would be a perfect gift for her!
Carla
cpullum(at)yahoo(dot)com
Aww what a cute book!!
would be so cute for the kids i watch.
I would love to have a copy of this book. What a delightful story of how it came to be and got published. The cover is spectacular, too. Fingers crossed on this one. BTW-my niece
s name is Isabella (how funny it would be to share tis with her).
So sorry, but I don’t have a Facebook nor Twitter account.
What a cute story. Would love this for my daughter. 🙂
Very interesting. My husband has a children’s book that I really think would be good if he could get it published. Thanks for the info. 🙂
My daughter’s name is Isabelle, she will love this book!