Writing children’s books is one of the most satisfying things I have done in my life…and believe me, I have done a lot of things. Most notably and recently I have spent over 40 years in the IT industry and at the same time over 20 years as a Professional Dog Trainer. These careers might seem at odds, but they both require communication skills, keen observation, and an awareness of what’s going on around you.
As a dog trainer, one of my passions was to help children with their dogs and see the excitement when that connection grows. Contrary to widely held belief, dogs and kids are not a natural match made in heaven. In fact, dogs need to be socialized to accept children, otherwise they are just loud, uncoordinated creatures that are at the same level as the dog and therefore scary.
This passion was always present in my business choices as a dog trainer; the way I structure my classes, the special offerings I advertise, the private consultations I accept, and the attention I pay to those small humans I work with. This, however, didn’t seem to reach the audience I desired. I wanted to help everyone, not just the kids who could come to see me.
Hard Times
Then in 2019 covid-19 hit. At first, everyone shut down for a few months and while it was hard, there were funds available to keep the dog training business going. When 2020 rolled around and the “Delta wave” hit Minnesota, business dried up completely and there was no more financing to be had. I was going to lose my business. So why not take another avenue for extra income and reach the audience I had yearned for. . .children.
Getting Started
I knew exactly how I wanted to approach this project. The books would be picture books and be fun for the kids with a message. And who better to teach those lessons than dogs. I had a lifetime of experience observing and working with dogs and understood their motivations and signals. If I could translate that to a child’s world. . .. .
And so, the Life Lessons from Dogs series was born. The first two stories were true stories about my personal dogs. The other 2 books that I had envisioned were more fiction but based on dogs that had come through the training center. I would deal with issues like blended families, disabilities, fear, the first day of school and others (you’ll have to wait for future books to see more).
The writing and the layout were simple; finding an illustrator was another issue. Oh, how I wished I could draw. I was also starting on a shoestring, which didn’t help. I located some pretty poor illustrators and lost money seeing how poor they were. I was fortunate to find Jannelle Edstrom to illustrate my books. At the time we met, she was a student. After 2 publications, she can now rightfully be called a professional.
The next learning experience was finding a publisher that would allow me to be a self-publisher. This, too, was expensive, and I paid for services that had little value with the talents I brought to the table. But the editor services and the education on how to do a self-publish was invaluable.
I can now control every facet of the process and my books can be what I envisioned them to be at conception.
