One thing nobody prepared me for as an author was how emotionally draining promotion can feel after publishing. You finally put your work out there… and then you’re refreshing pages hoping people even see it. No reviews. Low visibility. Algorithms doing whatever they want. Meanwhile you KNOW the book deserves readers. I genuinely thought writing the book was the hard part. Turns out getting consistent attention on it is a completely different skill. What’s interesting is once I started approaching promotion differently, I noticed a huge shift in engagement and discoverability. Now I understand why some books quietly disappear while others keep gaining traction months later. Any other authors here relate to this? What’s been your biggest frustration after publishing?

Does anybody have experience with live readings of your book at schools & libraries? If so please share your experience.

I met with an illustrator yesterday! We are moving forward with the development of the main character to see if we can capture my vision and the mood of the book. It is actually happening!

If you’re here, chances are you’ve been carrying a children’s book inside you, and you’re not quite sure what the next step is. This is a calm, supportive space for writers at any stage of the process…from idea to draft to published but stuck. There’s no pressure here. No rushing. No “do it this way or else.” We focus on clarity, honesty, and small steps that actually move the work forward If you’d like to start, a simple place is this: 👉 Introduce yourself and share what stage your book is in — even if that feels messy or unfinished. You’re welcome exactly as you are.

I’ve got two WIPs on my desk at the moment one deep in the middle stretch where the story really starts to demand clarity, and the other still taking shape, finding its rhythm and voice. It’s that familiar phase where the work asks more of you, tighter structure, sharper character choices, and a bit of patience with the process. I’m always interested in where other writers are in their cycle. Are you drafting, revising, or letting something rest before the next pass?