If you have ever had a dream of writing your own book you will know that the process is not as easy as it seems. Getting those ideas down on paper and then readable can appear an impossible task. But sometimes it all comes together and after many rejections from potential publishers, one of them finally says ‘yes’ and that dream becomes reality.
You will undoubtedly have read one of Sharyn Smart’s interesting articles in our digital magazine, Kids Friendly NZ, as Sharyn is a regular writer here. Sharyn has given us a glimpse into how she got her first book published. Who knows, it might just inspire you to get your ideas down on paper and write your first book.
Sharyn’s dream started back in November 2004 when she did a comprehensive writing course by correspondence through the Writing School. One of her assignments was to write a juvenile fiction story.
If you have ever had a dream of writing your own book you will know that the process is not as easy as it seems. Getting those ideas down on paper and then readable can appear an impossible task. But sometimes it all comes together and after many rejections from potential publishers, one of them finally says ‘yes’ and that dream becomes reality.
You will undoubtedly have read one of Sharyn Smart’s interesting articles in our digital magazine, Kids Friendly NZ, as Sharyn is a regular writer here. Sharyn has given us a glimpse into how she got her first book published. Who knows, it might just inspire you to get your ideas down on paper and write your first book.
Sharyn’s dream started back in November 2004 when she did a comprehensive writing course by correspondence through the Writing School. One of her assignments was to write a juvenile fiction story.
What would she write for this story? Her son, Alex, came to the rescue with a planned school trip to visit a horse called ‘Fonzi’ and some of Fonzi’s animal friends. Unfortunately, Fonzi got sick and the school trip was cancelled. Fonzi’s health deteriorated and he passed away.
Still the idea lingered and she put it on paper. Sharyn persuaded her friend, Wendy Short, to illustrate her book. The book was a tribute to Fonzi, and Sharyn and Wendy handed a copy of the unpublished book to Fonzi’s owners.
But this isn’t where Sharyn’s story ends. A friend recommended that she contact David Hill, a well-known New Zealand author, who lived in Sharyn’s home town of New Plymouth
Contacting him wasn’t easy; Sharyn had to pluck up the courage to ring him, wondering what his response would be. David proved to be both inspirational and encouraging, and so started the next stage of Sharyn presenting her manuscript to the publishing houses. However, like many authors before her, each submission of the ‘Fonzi’ manuscript to the publishers came back rejected.
Sharyn appeared to have hit a major road block, but a chance meeting with Carolyn-Ann Aish’s daughter at a scrapbook-making class set her on the path that would eventually lead to her getting her book published. Carolyn-Ann was from Studio Seven Publishers in Inglewood and she just happened to be looking for new authors. So in June 2005 Sharyn met with Carolyn-Ann and was shocked when she accepted ‘Fonzi’ for publication. Months blurred past with contracts being signed, and meetings and revisions to Sharyn’s manuscript. At long last ‘Fonzi’ was no longer a rejected manuscript but a real book, published and right there in Sharyn’s hands.
But having a book published isn’t the end of this story. There is no point in having a book published if no one will read it! So Sharyn approached the owners of her local shops in Moturoa to advertise the launch date of her book. They were extremely supportive and displayed posters and fliers in their shops. On 10 December 2005 ‘Fonzi’ was launched, with friends and family gathered together to celebrate. The Taranaki Daily News business section published a feature in which Sharyn was included.
As so ends the true story of how a school trip inspired a book that became a reality and made a dream come true.
This article was published in Kids Friendly NZ May 2007 on-line edition. Click on this link FONZI