As I mentioned in Tuesday’s blog, many Christian authors write with the purpose of helping others. Sally Meadows is a good example.
Sally is a two-time Canadian national award-nominated inspirational singer/songwriter, author, and speaker. After three professional degrees and a diverse career path that included being an editor, children’s entertainer, and educator, Sally took the plunge to focus full-time on her music and writing ministry in 2013.
Sally’s desire is to inspire others to explore the creative calls on their lives in the fullness God intended, no matter what their background, age, or personal challenges.
Let’s dive into today’s interview.
Why did you write The Two Trees?
So many reasons! The Two Trees is the story of two brothers, the oldest of whom is on the autism spectrum. My intention was to provide a resource for families in story form that would help them identify the more subtle characteristics in young children that are consistent with being on the high functioning end of the autism spectrum. Parents are a child’s first and best advocates! Early diagnosis and intervention is critical.
The book is unique in that it is told from the perspective of the younger, neuro-typical (“normal”) sibling, giving a voice to brothers and sisters of children on the autism spectrum, whose needs are often overlooked. Lastly, the book is a useful tool at my speaking engagements at elementary schools, autism organizations and events, and with other community groups as it helps raise awareness about the challenges families that include a child on the autism spectrum face.
My overarching goal is to inform and encourage the general public to show compassion and acceptance for children who are on the spectrum (and their families), and make appropriate accommodations so that they have a much better chance at success in school, work, and life than they would have otherwise.
Can you give us a brief synopsis of your journey to publication?
The story had been rattling around in my mind for some time, but I didn’t actually start writing it until I took a “Write a Children’s Picture Book” course from a local award-winning author. This was a great experience, as my classmates and I reviewed each other’s drafts throughout the course work, and I was able to incorporate their (and my teacher’s) suggestions for improving the manuscript.
When the course was finished, I ended up putting my manuscript aside for over a year while I pursued other projects. After I picked the manuscript back up, I was able to smooth out some of the kinks in the story, and went on to hire a hybrid publisher (see below) who allowed me to get the book out within a relatively short time frame. This allowed me to start doing presentations at schools and other organizations, providing a secondary stream of income.
I was blessed to have peer editing and feedback during the process of generating the original manuscript. I myself am a former editor, and edited my manuscript many, many times. When I thought I had taken it as far as I could, I had a professional editor read my manuscript and provide further suggestions for improvement. Finally, my publisher is an excellent editor and helped me fine-tune it further, including seeking input from a teacher-consultant to maximize its effectiveness in the classroom.
How do you keep yourself motivated to write?
Deadlines (for publishing, interviews such as this, and contests/competitions) certainly help motivate me. I am blogging a book right now. My blog is called “Butterfly’d: Unfurling Glory In An (Extra)Ordinary Life,” and that is motivating me to keep writing. This year my goal is to be more intentional about writing on a regular basis by setting aside blocks of time—recorded in my day timer in advance—to think and create. I try to remember this to keep me on track: if a particular activity doesn’t help me move forward with one of my defined goals, then I need to put it aside and re-focus.
Scheduling that time to write is so important. I find if I don’t write it on my calendar, then plenty of other tasks take up my time and I don’t get any writing done.
Speaking of time, we know spending time marketing our book(s) is also important. Many writers dislike marketing for various reasons—one being it takes away time from writing. How do you feel about it?
Owning another home-based business in the past that relied heavily on marketing and publicity, as well as working outside the home in a position that required some marketing experience, has prepared me well to do marketing as an author. I actually like marketing, but it does eat into my creative time. When it comes right down to it, I have realized that I feel my best (and have a more balanced lifestyle) when I am creating, not endlessly promoting.
I don’t think any of us wants to endlessly promote, as you put it. I know that’s how it can feel, especially if we aren’t seeing any results. Achieving balance takes work, but it’s what we all need. What does your marketing strategy include?
I am on Facebook quite a bit, and while I believe it is essential to have a presence there, I am realizing more and more that it has limitations as a marketing tool. So I am developing a more diverse marketing strategy. Because of my past work experience, I am good at generating media (print, radio, television) interest. I have also done a lot of cross marketing between my projects; for example, my newest children’s book Beneath That Star (2015) is based on a song I wrote of the same name from my Christmas CD Red & White (2014).
This year, my plan is to do more guest blogging on international sites to raise my profile. Another goal is to do more concerts and speaking engagements because they are an excellent platform to generate more sales. Finally, I am becoming more informed about and implementing search engine optimization (SEO) to drive more traffic to my website.
What advice do you have for writers concerning finding and gaining a publisher?
I went with a hybrid publisher (with elements of both self-publishing and royalty-based publishers) for both of my children’s books because I had a timeline I needed to honor in order to maximize my earnings (see second question above); traditional publishers have their own timelines. This choice also allowed me to have more creative control over the final product. Because the audiences for my two children’s books are very different, I went with two different publishers based on promised, specific distribution.
My biggest piece of advice is to pay attention to your gut feeling. Also, I can’t stress enough the importance of chatting with other writers under a specific publisher before you sign on the dotted line.
What did you learn—good and bad—through this that you’ll apply to the next time?
Peer review is invaluable. Expect that perfecting your manuscript will take time. Find a publisher with an excellent reputation who is a good match for you on a personal level. It is critical to ask a lot of questions of the publisher and to writers who have experience with the publisher before you make a commitment.
Where can we buy your book?
The Two Trees, along with my other book and CDs mentioned above, are available on my website. The Two Trees is also available from my publisher, Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing, at amazon.com and amazon.ca, through most major online bookstores, and at select bookstores across Canada and the US.
Sally, thank you so much for being here today and sharing your experience. I pray God’s success for your book and that He open doors for you to reach these families.
ABOUT THE TWO TREES
The Two Trees is an autism story for ages 5-9. Jaxon’s older brother Syd is smart, really smart. But all Jaxon wants is someone to play with. When Jaxon sees Syd having trouble interacting with other kids, he is torn between loyalty to his brother and the frustration of having a sibling who is “different.”