Thanks for dropping by, Mabel.

1. Tell us about how you came to self publish ‘Connie and the Pigeons’?

When I earned a place in the list of awards of a Writing for Children Competition run by a local Writing Centre for Connie and the Pigeons, I felt validated in my commitment to this story. I took careful note of the judge’s comments and did another edit or five (during which time I workshopped it at three primary schools) until I felt I’d taken it as far as I could. It was time to send it to a publisher I imagined would just be waiting for the Picture Book version of this story. It was 1996 and with the 50th anniversary of Connie’s first flight coming up in December 1, 1997, I thought I had a winner. Unfortunately, the publisher after keeping the manuscript for eleven months didn’t see the story in the same way. I knew I’d missed my 1997 deadline and let the book rest for a bit. I picked it up again early in 2004, did another edit, another school run before blitzing another fourteen publishers (in sequence) only to receive another fourteen rejections. By the middle of 2006, again the urge to have it published to coincide with an anniversary of Connie’s first flight – this time the 60th anniversary – took over. The only way to be sure that happened was to self publish.

2. How did you find an illustrator? Was it difficult to come to an agreement about rights for the illustrations?

For my school runs I painted a set of watercolour illustrations. Now I’m no artist but I do enjoy throwing paint around – and that’s what they looked like. Two friends offered to try their hand at illustrating. I used them for mu school visits and they were fun – but not suitable for the finished product. I took most of 2007 off from writing to edit two Children’s Anthologies for a local Writers Centre. During the process of editing the stories of various contributors, a warm relationship developed between me and one of the contributors. I discovered along the way that Kelli had a her passion for art and intended taking leave from teaching the following year to go to TAFE and undertake a course in Interior Design. I asked her if she’d like to try illustrating ‘Connie’. She was game for anything. So I booked us both into a couple of workshops for illustrators at the Fremantle Children’s Literature Centre – and we were away. There was no formal agreement about rights for the illustrations. We were naïve adventurers on a journey We just talked. I paid her per illustration and when the publisher had finished with the originals, I returned them to Kelli. Her TAFE lecturer was impressed with the work and insisted the illustrations form part of the portfolio of her year’s work. In addition, the following year Kelli also secured work during Children’s Book Week as a visiting illustrator in schools.

3. Can you describe the process from deciding to publish, to actually holding the finished book in your hand?

By this time, I decided to self publish I had learned quite a bit about the 32 page structure of a picture book and had played around creating storyboards and working out what text went where and how the illustrations fitted. I now set about playing with layouts and fonts. I decided on Kristen ITC 14 because it seemed a pleasant size, offering well-spaced lettering and a slightly quirky feel. I gave the text in its page by page format to Kelli the illustrator and she worked on drawing to fit. We adjusted text and layout as needed.

Once the book was ready, I put each text page into a separate pfd file and created another set of files of scanned illustrations in jpg. My intention had been, apart from the cover in full colour, to have the remainder of the illustrations in sepia. This, I thought, would help contain the costs. I sought quotes from four local printers. The variation was scary! I didn’t really understand what each was offering and was ignorant of the differences in digital compared to offset printing. In the end I settled for offset printing and full colour. The printer advised that sepia as a single tone would miss much of the detail and there would be little difference in cost between full sepia and full colour. I settled on a run of 750 books.

Dealing with the printer was the most stressful part of the process. I didn’t know what I should have asked for. One thing, in particular, that I should have asked for, was the proof in a full colour. Instead, I received it only in black and white. It was not until the books were delivered that I found shades that didn’t match; and, on two pages, colour omitted in parts that needed colour. Fortunately, I found a good quality coloured pencil of exactly the right shade. And now for the biggest laugh! As I open each box of books I spend an afternoon colouring by hand the two patches omitted. (Perhaps, I should be asking ask my readers to spot them! Instead, I’m hoping no-one will notice where they are.)

4. What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of going it alone as a self-publisher?

To me the advantages lay in having the book available when I felt it needed to be; having control over design and layout the book; and, getting a book in print without depending on the vagrancies of the publishing world. The disadvantages include, particularly with respect to picture books, the cost and the process of dealing with the more technical aspects printing. I found marketing and distribution another huge challenge.

5. How have you distributed ‘Connie and the Pigeons’? Where can readers buy a copy?

Distribution has been largely through word of mouth. My initial launch of ‘Connie and the Pigeons’ was hugely successful due to it being held as part of the Friday assembly at the local school where I’d worked one day a week as the Storyteller in Residence for the past five years. I also targeted a couple of bookstores and aircraft museum outlets and donated a number to libraries and schools I’d worked in. I currently hold less than 300 books
Connie and the Pigeons is available through Westbooks in Victoria Park WA (08) 9361 4211
Email: orders@westbooks.com.au; online through http://www.justlocal.com.au/clients/book/mabel-kaplan/ or direct from the publisher Stories for the Telling 54 Hudson Avenue Girrawheen WA 6064 Tel. (08) 9342 7150 Email: mabelka@hotmail.com

6. What advice would you give to other authors trying to get their first book published?

If you have the passion, go for it. Find out as much as you can about the technical aspects of having your book printed. Be aware that picture books are expensive. Books less reliant on coloured illustrations would be a better proposition. Some people will tell you about the advantages of scale. But, unless you are very confident of your potential sales I’d suggest you keep your initial run under 1000 copies. The advantages of lower costs per book with larger runs won’t seem as appealing if your left with boxes of book in the corner of the garage.

7. What next for Mabel Kaplan?

I currently have three children’s picture books: ‘Turtle Hunter’, ‘Jeb! Out! Shoo!’ and ‘I Don’t Do Mornings’ doing the rounds of potential publishers; I am working on what I hope will be a chapter book for 11-13 year olds set on Rottnest Island; I’m re-editing some manuscripts in need of a lift after having lain too long in my little bottom drawer; and I’m doing everything I can to distract myself from writing a longer work that has been rolling around in my head for a very long time.

If you would like to follow Mabel’s tour, you can see her at the following sites: