An Irish Storytime

Oh, what fun I had this morning - I went into Liam's kindergarten class to tell Irish stories, songs and rhymes. I was really pleased that the story-song I wrote, The Baker from Islandmagee went over so well - I had props and the kids sang the chorus with me. When we were finished that one, they wanted it again! That's a good sign.

Last week I sent that story/song off to a publisher in the States with the hopes of seeing it published as a picture book. I'm excited to hear back from them, but the process takes so long - 3-4 months to hear back (lots of nailbiting going on in the meantime). If they do accept it for publication it can take a year to 18 months before it's on the shelves.

Getting a children's picture book published seems like winning the lottery these days. Every parent/teacher/librarian/grandparent . . . etc. has a great idea for a story, and we the unpublished are competing against the already published, or the already famous. Billy Crystal, Fergie, Seinfeld, Jamie Lee Curtis (to name a few) all have children's picture books published. For the unknown like me trying to break into the industry, it can be incredibly discouraging. But, I'm not giving up! My goal is to publish by the time I'm 92 - so a couple of years to get a foot in the door shouldn't stop me, right?

Maybe the luck of the Irish will be with me this time. I'm searching for 4 leaf clovers, lucky charms, and maybe I'll get to kiss the Blarney Stone one day!



Blarney Castle by bill barber found on Flickr Commons