I didn’t plan on publishing a book–or in this case a series of six books–on my own. But having tried for many months to get a traditional publisher to take “What Do Toes Do?”, I got discouraged and asked my husband what I should do. He said, “Why don’t you publish it yourself?” I instantly thought of a whole list of reasons why I didn’t want to do this, but over time I decided it was worth a try.
I founded Salt Cove Publications, found an illustrator from Indonesia, discovered that one of my local librarians is a good editor, and “What Do Toes Do?” was born. The first in a series of six board books, “What Do Toes Do?” captures babies’ delight in discovering their own toes. I plan to give away at least half of the print run–that’s 270 books! I've already delivered 20 books to the NICU at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA, and have delivered 30 books to “Read to Grow”, whose mission is “To promote language skills and literacy for children, beginning at birth, and to support families as their babies’ first teachers.” They do fantastic work getting books to families who can’t afford them, and even work with pregnant women who are incarcerated.
My local library has been a wonderful source of support and they purchased 25 copies for the Elk’s Community Baby Shower–a great event that gives diapers and books to families in need. I matched their purchase, so the Elks have received 50 copies of “What Do Toes Do?”
I’ve also started booking Story Time at libraries and preschools so I can read my new book to babies and toddlers. And yes, my book will be for sale in bookstores, gift shops and on my website (see Books & Dogs ). It's currently available at Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT, The Fun Store in Westerly, RI and Seaside Pharmacy, Dunn's Corners/Westerly, RI. I’m available for speaking events including bookclubs, writers workshops, and publishing forums.
I’ve had three books published by major publishing companies and that was exciting. But I have to say, this is really special because it’s been a collaborative process with so much help along the way. I can’t wait to get to work on the next book in the series which will be “What Does Your Nose Do?” Stay tuned!
I’ve been teaching workshops for library staff for almost ten years and I didn’t see this coming. An organization that I often work for asked me if I’d donate enough books that they could deliver one to every library in Connecticut. I said Yes! I've delivered the books to them and they'll ship them out. Now that is a gift and a wonderful example of how one thing (I said I’d give away half my print run) leads to another (their generosity.) It means so much!
