BY AARDE WRITES for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 10/2/2026
Hey Aarde,
I’ve been wanting to write a children’s book, but when I bring it up to my friends, they all kinda act like it’s not attainable. It might help if I had some direction on how to make this dream a reality to prove them wrong. Do you have any advice for getting a book out there? Thanks.
Signed, Story Teller
Hey Story Teller,
How exciting! Good for you for knowing that writing a book is an attainable and worthy dream! And luckily, the literary world offers plenty of support for writers willing to put their work out there. Your friends may not be able to be fully present for you during this adventure. If you have “friends” who actively discourage you or make you feel foolish for attempting something meaningful to you, then they may not be the friends you thought they were. Perhaps they don’t understand the effort that goes into writing and navigating the nuances of publishing, and that’s okay. They don’t necessarily have to “get it,” and you can find support elsewhere, and you may even end up preferring that “elsewhere” in the long run. No need to decide on that now; just keep gathering data quietly, and you’ll gather enough evidence to cross that friend cull later.
Now, as for bringing your dream to the general public, we should look at it as two endeavors: writing a book and publishing a book. William Faulkner once said, “Read, read, read. Read everything . . . then write.” Imaginative exploration has an important value that only reading can provide (R.I.P. Dolly). It would behoove you to read books in the same vein as yours. This will help shape your structure, parameters, and style. Most writers have been readers since a young age. Local writer-turned-publisher Doug Boyles recently reminded me of beloved Ray Bradbury’s apropos advice, “Don’t think, just write.”
So, first things first, write the book. Write it poorly at first, just the nuts and bolts, get the skeleton down, and then the messy meat of it will come. You can rewrite it as many times as you want, editing along the way and adding or removing sections, sentences, or words as needed. On the first draft, give yourself as much fodder to work with as possible. Legendary writers refer to this as “word vomit on the page.”
Additionally, it helps to write for an intended audience. Doug said his book, Grumpy’s Garage, was inspired by his wife, Lynnae, and her love for her late father. Do you know who your readers are? Knowing the age group or general audience you’re writing for will help. It lets you research vocabulary, concepts, page count, and overall book length to fit your readers’ expectations.
A like-minded community can show support and also fill pivotal roles in achieving your goal. When you’re ready, you will have trusted beta readers to help with hidden gaps, confusing storylines, line edits, and overall flow issues in your writing. Trust their constructive criticism; this will save you money in the long run. Of course, you may want to invest directly in a book editor, who offers different stages of editing services for a fee: conceptual, line-by-line, and editorial. Whichever you choose, do this before considering the publishing stage.
When you are nearing the end and you feel ready, research the differences in publishing options. You can determine whether you’d like a literary agent to present you to traditional publishing houses, whether you’d like to represent yourself and self-publish, or whether you’d like to work with some variation of hybrid publishing. There are many options for your publishing goal; just be sure to research your options, costs, intentions, and goals. And be careful before handing over any manuscripts or banking info; beware of scams.
To quickly add, it’s safe to assume that you plan to have illustrations to accompany your storyline, so a word of caution: before you start commissioning those adorable watercolor illustrations you’ve already imagined, figure out your publishing route first. Traditional publishing often asks you not to bring an illustrator. Self-publishing raises questions about financial compensation and legal rights that you’ll need to consider. When it came time for Doug to publish Grumpy’s Garage, he researched his options, and when none worked for him, he opened his own publishing company, Dug & Bug Books. You certainly don’t have to go that far, but his story shows there isn’t one sacred doorway into publishing.
Local publishing companies like Dug & Bug Books and Blue Cactus Press, along with writers’ groups, independent bookstores, librarians, and other authors, are a goldmine for you. Befriend them. Ask questions. Find out how other people got their books from a Word document into a reader’s hands. These people know what they are talking about and are usually passionate about sharing their hard-earned insight!
And now the least fun part of my advice: get cozy hearing “no.”
This is a piece of you: your heart and soul. Rejection hurts, and having an agent pass, a publisher ghost you, or a beta reader critique your favorite passage isn’t fun. But rejection is part of the creative process, and it is not synonymous with your worth. Stephen King tells his story of rejection in his memoir, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Think of it: rejecting Stephen King! If he had quit then, we wouldn’t even know his name. “No” can mean many things: not right now, not for us, or not this particular manuscript. So, try, try again.
And to conclude, give yourself some structure; put some deadlines on the calendar. Set aside time to write; whatever works for your life, make the dream take up a little actual space in it. And try to stop worrying so much about proving your friends wrong. Shift your thoughts to proving yourself right. Imagine someday they will be standing in a bookstore or a library, looking at a book with your name printed across the cover. It only happens if you tell the story.
