By Pamela Burba

Every author dreams of writing the next cherished treasure like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. But where do you start?

“It’s always best to start at the beginning. And all you do is follow the Yellow Brick Road.”

– Glinda the Good Witch of Oz 

 

Is there something keeping you from getting started? Did Dorothy let the Wicked Witch of Oz stop her from taking that first step?

Glinda the Good Witch of Oz was the first of many to encourage her to get on her path and stay on it no matter what. I’d love to encourage you to take that first step! So grab those ruby slippers and join me as I take you on my fairy special journey.

My sister Cheryl and I loved when our Mother read us fairy tales as children. We always dreamed of creating a fairy tale that not only teaches children in a fun way but also lets the story continue from book to book. All we needed was…an idea for a fairy tale.

Sometimes your story may be right under your nose.

As it turns out, our idea was sitting there right in front of us all our lives. We just didn’t realize it until our cherished mother Dottie passed away at the age of ninety five.

Our mother told us sweet story she over and over our entire lives. It involved me as a four-year-old trying to buy an ice cream cone with a penny I’d found.

We were sitting around reminiscing about this story, and suddenly we realized THAT was our book idea. From a sweet simple story came the perfect idea for our fairy tale! Hooray, our feet were finally on that yellow brick road!

Ice Cream and Sprinkles and Fairies! Oh my!
            –Pamela Burba

If I could give one piece of advice it would be to have fun while you are creating your story. Just take your time and enjoy the journey! Much like Dorothy, our journey is full of wonderful stories that happened along the way that we will treasure forever.

Once the Dottie Sprinkles character was created, the story began to fall into place Children would visit Dottie’s Fairy Special Ice Cream Shop and soon learn it was run by ice cream fairies. Dottie would teach gentle lessons to the children of Ferry Harbor. The love for our Mother just poured into the story.

And so Dottie Sprinkles Fairy Special Ice Cream Shop was born.

 

“In all this world there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child.”
– L.
Frank Baum 

It helps to know your goal. Ours was to bring happiness to children by creating a magical way for them to learn gentle lessons. And just by reminiscing—brainstorming—we were able to find our idea, and the stories just poured out of us.

Just like Dorothy kept her goal of getting home in front of her it helped us to never give up!

“Oh, look! There’s the Emerald City! Oh, we’re almost there at last!”
– Dorothy Gale

How exciting to reach the final step on the yellow brick road and reflect on what you hoped to accomplish when you started.

For us it is our hope that children will cherish Dottie Sprinkles long after The Fairy Grandmothers have clicked the heels of their ruby shoes and headed home.

 

Writing

Follow Your Yellow Brick Road From Beginning to End

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Author Feature

The Glastonbury Gift

The following are the words of Tom Tyner, Archway Publishing author of “The Glastonbury Gift.” Download the Archway Publishing free publishing guide for more information on our supported self-publishing services.

There is a Story inside Everyone

StoryAs a novice, I can only speak from the heart, not from experience. First and foremost if you feel within you dwells a story then write it. Don’t mimic me and put it off. For years my family and friends encouraged me to write. With a love of history, the gift of a great memory, and a vivid imagination, I finally took their advice. A person once said, “In every person, there lies a story waiting to be told,” this I strongly believe. Writing can be gratifying and aggravating but in the end, it is the most rewarding experience. I started writing not for the monetary factor but for self-satisfaction. Once I started I couldn’t stop, I’m currently working on two books. Continue reading

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Author Feature

Judy Barnes on Self-Publishing “Two Girls from Nazareth”

The following are the words of Judy Barnes, Archway Publishing author of “Two Girls From Nazareth.” Download the Archway Publishing free publishing guide for more information on our supported self-publishing services.

How My Story Became a Masterpiece

NazarethMy name is Judy Barnes and I’ve always been interested in writing. I have read the Bible many times, but there always seemed to be something missing. How did Mary (the mother of Jesus) become the woman who would give birth to Christ’s Child? While pondering the problem, I started writing about two girls who grew up in Nazareth. Consequently, Two Girls From Nazareth was born. Continue reading

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General

Our new blog

By Kevin A. Gray
Archway Publishing

For some time now, the Archway Publishing team has contemplated creating a blog to serve as a dynamic forum for sharing in the triumph that is self-publishing a book. We all know writing is as  tough as it is rewarding;  and publishing a book can appear to be a daunting experience. Through this blog, we hope to make the whole experience that much easier and to encourage those who’ve considered publishing their books to finally take the leap.

If you’re not familiar with Archway Publishing, pull up a chair and let me tell you our story. Archway Publishing is a supportedArchway Publishing self-publisher from Simon & Schuster that is operated by the world’s leading supported self-publishing services provider, Author Solutions. Simon & Schuster established Archway in late 2012, to offer authors high-quality design, formatting, editorial and marketing services. To date, hundreds of authors have self-published books of all genres through Archway, with each authors’ publishing journey as unique as their books.

By definition, indie authors are fiercely independent people. They believe in their works enough to make significant investments financially, intellectually, emotionally and with their time to see their works through from an idea to a reality. To support these individuals, we hope to offer content  that will enhance their publishing and marketing efforts.

If you don’t find what you’re looking for here or if there’s a topic you’d like us to write about, please let us know. If you’re a published author and you’d like to share some tips, tricks or lessons you’ve learned, we’d love to hear your ideas.  Please comment below, tweet us @ArchwayPub or Like Archway Publishing on Facebook and leave your thoughts on our wall.

Thanks for reading; we look forward to joining you on your publishing journeys.

-AWP-

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