We recently connected with Arlene Stein and have shared our conversation below.

Arlene, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

My professional background is education of the deaf and hard of hearing. Since the average deaf student has historically graduated with lower reading comprehension than his/her hearing peers, I wanted to write high interest, low reading level books and develop curriculum to meet the educational issues pervasive in this population. To meet this need, I wrote State and Federal grants to secure funds for curriculum development. I quickly learned that I loved the writing of books to motivate young children to read. When I retired, the art of writing filled me with great enjoyment and fulfillment.

Arlene, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Working in education, I found that most time is spent in the academic arena. I understand that education is inherently designed around major subject areas, but unfortunately, very little time is left during the day for directed social/emotional development. Because of the lack of such instruction, I decided to develop an intriguing book series utilizing animal characters to teach the making of wise choices for young children, ages 2 – 7. All of the books are based on the personification of my family’s animals. Serious Henry Books covers such topics as manners, studying habits, honesty, making friends, sharing, good sportsmanship, and the importance of not talking to strangers.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Competition for new authors is sometimes overwhelming. Advertising and marketing are quite costly. Until a new author has a large readership, big advertising campaigns can usually be inaccessible. To attain attention to my book series, I exhibited at various art shows, holiday festivals and conferences. My self confidence was quickly boosted when I saw the extreme interest displayed by attending audiences. I started out slowly in my endeavor and then had responsive followers searching for me at shows or contacting me for additional books.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I loved my profession. I served as both a teacher and administrator during my educational career. I loved to see the “little lightbulbs” go off in the eyes of children. I loved working with teachers to improve the lives of special education students. I loved working with parents to support their quest for a good education for their children. When I retired, I missed my career and the making of a difference in children’s lives. When I looked back on my career, I realized my favorite part was the writing of curriculum and books for special education children. To be fulfilled, I learned that I could become an author in my new world. Thus, I looked around at my animals, took their personalities, and launched an engaging Serious Henry Books series based on making wise choices for social/emotional development.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SeriousHenryBooks.com
• Other: Email: arlene@SeriousHenryBooks.com