Making a long story really short, when I was in 4th grade, our class made books. We wrote the story, then put together the pages and the covers, which we made out of scrap cloth and cardboard. We even hand-sewed the pages together. Then we read the books to another class.
I enjoyed the process so much, I did it again!
I still have the books.
Dawn Blair’s 1st two books:
Sparky: Fastest Dog in the West and Sparky vs. Joe Hacky
I even still have the note from the teacher in the first one:
It reads: “Dawn, your book is very good! You used good description, good imagination — lots of adventure. You should be proud of it. Mrs. K.”
I should’ve known then that I’d like self-publishing. I wish I could say it was easier, but it does take work to self-publish. You’ve got to think about all those thing: what is the cover going to look like, how am I going to format it, who am I going to have to print it? Okay, so I’m not hand stitching the books together. Still, it’s a lot of work and I love every frustrating moment of it. The feel of the solid book in your hands… ahhh!
Oh, and for anyone who thinks that digital is going to take over the world, I heard several boys (I call them boys because they had to have been somewhere between 16-24 — I am horrible about telling ages) last weekend in Hastings bookstore talking about how they liked to have physical products in their hands, whether it be books or video games. I had a hard time not staring at them in shock, especially knowing how my own son loves downloaded video games.
Anyway, yes, I really should’ve known back in 4th grade that I’d be self-publishing today and still saying, “Gee, that was fun. Let’s do it again!”
Thanks, Mrs. K.! I still am proud of it.
Posted by dawnblair 
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