pelican – Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher

Tonight, I submitted my children’s book, Bobby the Brown Pelican, to Austin Macauley Publishers. This is a big publishing company. Their website says to expect a response in three weeks, which will be November 29. Wish me luck.

Bobby has previously been rejected by Shadow Mountain Publishing. However, it is uncommon to have a work accepted on the first attempt. I consider myself doing well if one of my manuscripts is accepted on the fifth or sixth attempt. In the past, when all rejections were sent by US mail, some writers proudly papered their walls with rejection slips. I am surprised that I have received as few as I have. I would love to be published by Austin Macauley, but if not, c’est la vie.

Bobby is a young brown pelican who is afraid to fly and to dive into the sea, which is the way brown pelicans hunt. His parents, particularly his dad, give him positive reinforcement and teach him to have confidence and to do what he needs to in spite of his fear. He follows his dad, who teaches him to fly, and then he teaches him to dive and catch fish. In critical points in the action, the narrator asks the reader what he is thinking and feeling in order to establish a connection between the reader and Bobby and to give any parent reading this to a child a chance to discuss how the child would feel and what he would do if he were in Bobby’s place. This book also helps parents talk with their children and help them overcome the fear children have of disappointing their parents. This books promotes interaction and discussion between children and parents on very basic fears common to children, such as of disappointing their parents, fear of being hurt, etc.

I will post updates as they occur.

Hasta luego.

I just finished typing up the first draft of Bobby the Brown Pelican. Word count: 1,168. I don’t even know if that’s the right length for a children’s (around 5-6) book, or if it’s too long or too short. I will do a little research and read a few children’s books. I am somewhat familiar with them, but I need to study them more intensely. I will also try to find a few beta readers, who have experience in this field. I believe the simplicity of the language is at the right level. I have taught children of this age, so I think I have a feel for the way they talk.

I have been thinking of publishing it myself on Amazon or Smashwords, but now I am leaning toward a traditional publisher. I have found lots of royalty-free photographs of pelicans on Pixabay and Pexels. The trick will be to find the ones that match up with what is happening in the story.

Now it’s on to writing a sci-fi horror story about an American colonel torturing an alien armada commander in an apocalyptic future. This is more my style.