Everyone talks about how wearying pitching is so I thought - how about publishing it myself? And how about starting our very own new children's press?
I've worked in publishing before so this didn't seem too far-fetched. My last foray in the publishing world though was very different - I worked in legal publishing. There, books often have pages more dedicated to footnotes than the main text! As an editor, you fuss about, ensuring all those Latin legal terms are spelled correctly.
The world of children's publishing is a very different animal.
We wanted to create a press, first to publish my own book to challenge ourselves and learn about children's publishing. Then we wanted to promote children's literacy and children's involvement in writing and publishing. I have seen some children's writing and been inspired by how interesting it is, and how much kids want to get involved. I feel that often we underestimate how much kids want to be part of writing and how capable they are of expressing themselves clearly.
Owltitude Press was born - complete with a logo that showed we were a very different kind of animal!
While we brought lots of skills from publishing and writing to the press, learning about children's publishing and trade fiction has been a steep hill, and it's amazing how much we're learning every day. Of course, some of the things we expected to learn. But some caught us by surprise too ...
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The little things
I've worked in publishing before so this didn't seem too far-fetched. My last foray in the publishing world though was very different - I worked in legal publishing. There, books often have pages more dedicated to footnotes than the main text! As an editor, you fuss about, ensuring all those Latin legal terms are spelled correctly.
The world of children's publishing is a very different animal.
We wanted to create a press, first to publish my own book to challenge ourselves and learn about children's publishing. Then we wanted to promote children's literacy and children's involvement in writing and publishing. I have seen some children's writing and been inspired by how interesting it is, and how much kids want to get involved. I feel that often we underestimate how much kids want to be part of writing and how capable they are of expressing themselves clearly.
Owltitude Press was born - complete with a logo that showed we were a very different kind of animal!
While we brought lots of skills from publishing and writing to the press, learning about children's publishing and trade fiction has been a steep hill, and it's amazing how much we're learning every day. Of course, some of the things we expected to learn. But some caught us by surprise too ...
.jpg)
The little things
We expected to have to learn some big things, like how to market children's fiction to bookshops. What we didn't expect were some little bits and pieces that would crop up along the way. For instance, how many factors go into selecting a font for your book to make it look appealing and how some fonts have different conditions attached to use.
The fun things
Children's publishing is fun! Some of the best times were receiving the illustrations for my book, Septopus, and seeing the book come alive. The illustrations by Kathy Creamer were absolutely amazing and made us want more. We got so invested in it, we'd argue over the exact shape of Stanley's head and the thickness of his arms and worry about every detail - a sure sign of how much we'd all come to care for the book and the character. And, of course, it's absolutely amazing when a child tells you they loved your book and couldn't put it down.
The time and effort
There is a huge amount of effort that has to be put into doing a good job of children's publishing - well, any publishing really. It isn't for the faint-hearted. I already knew there would be work from having been in publishing but being responsible for your own press really lifts it up a notch. As someone else said to me, 'Every day's a hustle'. Especially when you're starting out and you're learning about the industry and figuring things out as well as trying to get a book out, there's always so much going on.
Also, having seen so many children's authors, I see the effort they put in to selling their book - the events, the communication with children. It takes a lot of energy to be so involved, something that isn't always realised until you're in the thick of it.
The goodwill
One of the loveliest parts we discovered was the goodwill. We realise we're only a small press with one book (but more projects to come!). However, the support we've received from other people has been fantastic. People have been extremely welcoming and willing to answer questions. We feel really heartened when bookshops will give us a go so we can prove ourselves. Family and friends pitched in to make our recent book launch a roaring success and even some completely random people turned up and said they wanted to help me out and support us.
It's good to know the kindness is out there and how people are ready to support the children's book industry in Australia.
The fun things
Children's publishing is fun! Some of the best times were receiving the illustrations for my book, Septopus, and seeing the book come alive. The illustrations by Kathy Creamer were absolutely amazing and made us want more. We got so invested in it, we'd argue over the exact shape of Stanley's head and the thickness of his arms and worry about every detail - a sure sign of how much we'd all come to care for the book and the character. And, of course, it's absolutely amazing when a child tells you they loved your book and couldn't put it down.
The time and effort
There is a huge amount of effort that has to be put into doing a good job of children's publishing - well, any publishing really. It isn't for the faint-hearted. I already knew there would be work from having been in publishing but being responsible for your own press really lifts it up a notch. As someone else said to me, 'Every day's a hustle'. Especially when you're starting out and you're learning about the industry and figuring things out as well as trying to get a book out, there's always so much going on.
Also, having seen so many children's authors, I see the effort they put in to selling their book - the events, the communication with children. It takes a lot of energy to be so involved, something that isn't always realised until you're in the thick of it.
The goodwill
One of the loveliest parts we discovered was the goodwill. We realise we're only a small press with one book (but more projects to come!). However, the support we've received from other people has been fantastic. People have been extremely welcoming and willing to answer questions. We feel really heartened when bookshops will give us a go so we can prove ourselves. Family and friends pitched in to make our recent book launch a roaring success and even some completely random people turned up and said they wanted to help me out and support us.
It's good to know the kindness is out there and how people are ready to support the children's book industry in Australia.
Rebecca Fung works and lives in Sydney, Australia. She loves to write children's fiction and several of those stories have been published in Christmas Press anthologies Once Upon a Christmas, A Toy Christmas, A Christmas Menagerie, and A Miniature Christmas. She likes owls, mandarins and chocolates, and she is often found curled up on the sofa with her face in a book.
She has written two chapter books, Princess Hayley's Comet and A Very Special Moon Mission and a middle grade novel, Septopus. She is involved in the Author Pen Pals programme which promotes children's literacy and love of reading and writing.
You can find out more on www.owltitude.com and follow her on X @RebeccFung or on LinkedIn or on Instagram or Facebook @OwltitudePress
