Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elissa Barber. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Elissa, thanks for joining us today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

I started writing as I became a fan of Pride and Prejudice Variations. Like many people before me I thought I could do that. I signed up for a writing class through San Diego College of Continuing Education – Emeritus 55+. This led to a class on children’s writing. I was never going to actually write a children’s book but it was free and near home. Now I have written 2 books including bilingual editions and the adult novel is still sitting on my computer.
The idea for the book started with a story my father told me about Grouchy Bear and he liked to eat especially berry pies. I needed to expand on that idea and it came to me as I was driving, which is why I am the queen of u-turns. Looking for berries needed to lead somewhere so raspberries became “razzberries” in Yankee Stadium. At the end of the book Grouchy Bear is now happy as he jumped in a pie at a fair. Reading the book aloud at schools made me realize it needed a follow-up. Grouchy Bear does finally get to Yankee Stadium in “Grouchy Bear’s Home Run.” He does rinse the berries off his fur at a car wash. This was a third grade student’s idea!

Of course a children’s book requires pictures. I gave up on contacting publishers since I have a great-niece, Kerri, who is a professional artist and illustrator. I was still concerned about downloading to Amazon KDP as my computer skills are limited.
In the middle of my son’s wedding Kerri’s mother said Kerri would handle that. I was now in business.

The business side begins with a contract, due dates and payment. In traditional publishing there are no costs if you are accepted but no control either. A children’s book is expensive when you hire an illustrator. I had to divide the story by pages, describe the illustration, and is it on one page or over two. I had black and white sketches to review and then 2 colored pages a week. It was fun to see the picture in my head on a page. I said no refrigerator in the kitchen of the cave, obviously bears don’t have refrigerators they have wood burning stoves. Some authors are also illustrators but the intrusion of AI has increased the number of books and decreased quality. Working with an illustrator provides another person’s input. Kerri added so much to the pictures I didn’t think of.

There were Amazon KDP rules I had to learn. The ISBN number/barcode on the back of the book is supplied free by Amazon but has no use at a store. I needed to contact a company and buy the ISBN to enter. Hardcover is very expensive but stores prefer that if they will even look at self-published. There is discrimination within publishing. Libraries aren’t interested in self-published. The author becomes a publisher and that includes marketing, obviously social media.

One of the things I chose, is to have my books translated into Spanish. The books have the words in both Spanish and English on the same page, bilingual. I felt that it was an opportunity to bridge gaps in families. I hired a translation service. They charged nineteen cents a word, worth it. I still ran the translation by fluent friends from different Spanish speaking countries. The word “bayas” was a big controversy. It means berries but is not generally used. Spanish speakers prefer to use the word for the specific type of berry. In the story berries are important. My friends called their friends and relatives for confirmation. I finally felt better about using “bayas” when the manager of a restaurant I accosted knew the word for berries in Spanish.

The books sold slowly on Amazon, mostly to people I know. Then I learned about National Authors in Grocery Stores. The program is through Kroger or in California it is Ralphs. I go to local stores set up a table and display. The books are paid for at the register (the all important bar code) and I get mailed a check. I have met a lot of interesting people and you can never guess who will buy a book. The pictures draw them in and I talk to everyone.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into writing and self-publishing like most authors, the love of reading. As a retired school Speech-Language Pathologist I had read a lot of children’s books that I incorporated into therapy. This gives me some legitimacy. I learned a lot by reading posts on social media but I also learned to beware of responding. I did finally post that the author is going to pay in either time or dollars if not both. Writing is not for wimps.
I have learned to self-promote and send out emails or call anyone. I am still waiting to hear back from Mr. Steinbrenner.

I am proud of my books, Grouchy Bear and Grouchy Bear’s Home Run for being original, no AI. It also means a lot to me that I put my father’s name on the cover as “inspired by.”
I have also just released a prompted journal, Barberisms – A Journal. It includes sayings from our family to inspire responses whether from experience or story starters for your true lies.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am retired which was the first change. There was no longer a structure for my days. Signing up for classes is important. I started with computer, then dance. So when I started writing I went back to class. I even became a finalist in a writing contest at the library. I wrote about my dance class. It turned out Showgirls was code for Burlesque.

Writing is creative but self-publishing a book is like a chef deciding to open a restaurant. After working within a system it fell on me to build my own book and finance it.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I started a page on Facebook and Instagram and and post at least once a week. Photos are very important Don’t get wordy. Paying to boost a post or advertise on Amazon are tools. Reels or videos, using sound to catch the audience attention.

Image Credits

I am the photographer.