We recently connected with Jillian Boone and have shared our conversation below.

Jillian, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I had no room on my proverbial plate for a new endeavor. I just had a baby. My “real job” was stressful and overwhelming. I had family, friends, and colleagues to care for. And yet I couldn’t quite shake off this crazy idea that had begun swirling around in my head.

I had recently attended a friend’s baby shower, in which I had written a children’s book for her little one as a gift. One of the women in attendance read it over and said, “Hey, this is good–have you ever thought about actually publishing one before?” I scoffed and sheepishly waved her off. It wasn’t *that* good. And I didn’t understand the publishing world. And I liked my day job and I definitely didn’t have extra time or energy to waste.

But her suggestion niggled at my brain for three reasons. First, I am a huge proponent of promoting childhood literacy. I was a bookworm when I was younger, and I’m a firm believer that my love for reading and writing played a huge role in my long-term successes. Second, my work was dark and heavy (at the time, I was working within the criminal justice system). I had begun to slowly lose faith in humanity and needed something to reignite my belief that there was still good in this world. And finally, I have always valued service and giving back to different organizations in the community who are doing good work.

So, while I didn’t have any desire to publish a book just to say I did, I kept wondering if there was a way to accomplish all three of these goals–promoting childhood literacy, finding the good, and supporting charitable organizations–through my writing. But, the other thing you should know is that I am a recovering perfectionist and over-achiever. I’ve always been terrified of failure. This idea screamed “POTENTIAL FAILURE!” or perhaps even worse: underwhelming mediocrity. What if no one bought my books? What if they really weren’t that good? What if no organization wanted to partner with me? What if everyone thought this was a stupid idea?

I was drowning in “What ifs”… and I hadn’t even spoken my idea out loud yet. All of these voices and worries and doubts were completely self-created. One evening, I had the courage to pitch my idea for Read for a Cause to my husband. I held my breath, waiting for him to confirm all of the negative whispers in my head. Instead, he looked at me, smiled, and said, “I know if it is something you want to do, you’re going to do it, and it will be great.”

And so I dove in, a little at a time. I worked silently for a year: the only person who knew about my books-in-the-making was my husband. The learning curves were steep: I didn’t understand ISBN numbers, or how to find illustrators, or how to design a website, or to obtain a vendors license, or how to effectively convince my partner organizations that there was really no “catch”. It was a lot. And there were more moments of self-doubt and almost-quitting than I care to admit.

But I kept repeating a mantra I had adopted from a quote painted on the Columbus Zoo’s gorilla exhibit. My kids love the zoo, so we visit all of the time. To this day, every time we walk past the quote on the wall, I tear up. “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” – Edmund Burke. A little mattered. A drop in the bucket is still a drop.

I launched Read for a Cause with 5 self-published books in 2018. Over the past few years, I wrote 2 more books, bringing the total to 7 books (and 7 partner charities). Donating all of my book sale profits to my partner charities has been really rewarding. But it has been more than that: reading to classrooms full of children. Inspiring others to write their own stories. Recognizing unsung literacy champions in our community. There is so much light in the world– if you look for it… if you use your light to spark it.

I still have my days of doubt, of insecurity. I think everyone does. But there isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not thankful I took that risk–that leap of faith–and believed that I could. Every little bit of good matters.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Jillian Boone. I live in Central Ohio. By day, I am a law school professor, wife, mom, daughter, sister, and friend. I am also the founder of Read for a Cause.

Reading books with my two boys has always been one of my favorite things to do. As a parent, I appreciated books that taught a lesson but were still fun to read… because you can only read a poorly written book about nothing so many times, right?

I hand wrote (and illustrated, albeit poorly) the initial versions of each of these books with no intention of expanding distribution to anyone other than family. But then the idea of Read for a Cause arose: why not sell these books to support and promote organizations who embody these stories’ lessons and positivity?

And that is how Read for a Cause was born. Through the program, I have self-published seven children’s books, with each one dedicated to a specific non-profit organization whose mission embodies the values that story seeks to inspire. All sales proceeds are then donated to the book’s respective charity. In short, I try to read more, do good, and give back one book at a time.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Yes.  I basically had to unlearn my own thoughts.  It sounds crazy, but I’ve realized that doubt defeats your goals more often than failure ever does.

Our internal narratives can be so harsh (and inaccurate!). We are our own worst critics. If we allow ourselves to see us as others do, we just may be able to get out of our own way and change the world.

Another thing I’ve had to unlearn is society’s “conventional” definition of success.  Success is subjective. You do not have to adopt someone else’s definition of success. Create your own.

While financial success and fame are great, success can also be defined as following your calling, making good noise, promoting kindness, inspiring others, and living a life worth living.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Seeing myself through a child’s eyes. To me, I am just me: Jill. To them, I am a “REAL AUTHOR” who “SIGNED THEIR BOOK!!!!”

Whenever I read to elementary classrooms, I always bring with me some of the books I drew as a kid (thank goodness my mom kept everything). The books are illustrated with stick figures and are filled with misspelled words and backwards letters. The kids always giggle when I show them.

But then I tell them that its proof that anyone can be an author at anytime–including them, right now. And that while their stories may not be perfect, they can still make a difference. Seeing that realization on their little faces–that they are all authors with big, important stories to write right now–is everything.

Contact Info:

• Website:www.readforacause.org
• Instagram: @read.for.a.cause
• Facebook: @ReadMoreDoGood