Calum is a dad, a nurse and a husband. In 2022 he added author to his list of achievements! Read about Calum’s inspirational self-publishing journey and his best tip for all the aspiring authors out there! But first…
Calum’s favourite book from childhood?
The Mr Men books – Mr Topsy Turvy by Roger Hargreaves
Calum’s kids favourite picture books?
Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman & Ada Grey!
In this Article
All about me!
Hi! My name is Calum and I am a children’s book author!
…It still feels a bit surreal to say that and fills me with conflicting feelings of childish glee, pride and strong waves of imposter syndrome! It is something I just stumbled into really, but boy am I glad that I found it!
By day I work full time as a mental health nurse. My beautiful wife and I have been married since 2018 and moved to Australia, from the UK, in the same year. We have two awesome kids. And I guess this is where my writing journey began!
I’ve always been a big reader, but it wasn’t until our little man arrived on the scene that I rekindled my love for picture books. We read before bed, every night. One night we were reading, and I don’t know if it was a bad translation or whatever, but the story just didn’t quite flow properly. After we finished my wife jokingly said the words that set me on my writing journey: “I bet you could do better than that!”
So that was it, I gave it a go! My favourite books to read at that time were the likes of Paddington and Peter Rabbit, but I also loved rhyming books. I took that inspiration and got lost in the process of bringing it to life. I didn’t really have a plan, I wasn’t thinking about where it would go, I just enjoyed the creative process. Until the story was finished. Then what?
Is it a story if nobody reads it?
So, now I had a manuscript but no idea what to do with it. I don’t know what I would have done if this was the 80’s. I think that would have probably been the end of my brief foray in to writing.
The power of the internet!
Thankfully though, it was 2021 and I had the power of the internet at my fingertips! Not that it helped at first, the world of publishing seemed incomprehensibly complicated and unattainable.
…It seemed like I would have more chance of winning the lottery than getting published.
Then, a colleague told me about a company that help you through the steps of self-publishing, and just like that, I was full steam ahead!
If you want something done, do it yourself!
I had a video call with Old Mate Media and things took off from there. In another lucky break, I have a friend who is an artist. She had never done a book before, but her style was exactly what I had in mind. Thankfully, she jumped at the opportunity! This was such a bonus, already being friends, the communication was easy and made the whole experience very comfortable.
Seeing my words bought to life is one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. I didn’t think it could get much better. But then you receive the proof copies in the post and get to hold YOUR book for the first time! What a rush! I think it was about 10 months from me finishing the manuscript to jumping up and down in the kitchen with my first ever book in my hands!
I think I spent more time on social media in that 10-month period than I had in the previous two years combined!
Building your Brand
In that 10-month period I created an Instagram account and dived headfirst into all things kid lit. I followed every author, illustrator and publisher I could find. I followed every bookstagrammer. I could and just tried to absorb as much information about picture books that I could.
I liked, commented and saved like crazy. I made a list of the top 10 hashtags, followed them and made sure they were at the end of any post I did. I made a list of the top 10 accounts that were most active/informative and made sure to engage with them at least 3 times a week with positive comments.
Slowly but surely, I began to engross myself in the wonderful kid lit community, so that when it came to publication time there were people out there to hear me shout and scream about my book!
Releasing your baby into the wild
When publication day arrived, I’d had two to three weeks of social media activity that can only be described as a controlled frenzy! It definitely paid off, but nobody tells you that after a week or so everyone has moved on with their lives and suddenly your book is lost in the wilderness of the Amazon algorithm.
This was a difficult pill to swallow at first but eventually it drove me on, like an addict trying to chase that first hit again! I enrolled in online courses and went to workshops with local authors/illustrators.
I read more picture books than you could believe and started listening to kid lit podcasts. But most importantly, I wrote. I wrote story, after story, after story. Looking back, some of them are pretty awful! But I think some of them are winners!
What now?
Two years on and I have self-published the second book in my series – Barry’s Broken Dam. Both books are set in the wonderful world of Bumble Brook and follow the 4 wholesome woodland critters as they use friendship and teamwork to overcome obstacles.
I have a number of other manuscripts that are being fired out to traditional publishers left, right and centre! I even have a junior fiction manuscript that has somehow poured out of my mind! I had school visits booked in during Book Week and another exciting project is on the horizon.
Just give it a go!
But all this started with me just giving it a go. No experience. Just a silly brain with optimistic determination!
So, if you are reading this and thinking about writing, let me share with you the best advice I have received:
Just write. Write often. If you finish writing one thing, start writing something else. It won’t always be good. Most of it won’t be good! But you'll never be a writer if you don't write.
So, what are you waiting for?
Thank you for sharing your self-publishing experience with Birchy’s Books, Calum! And also – Happy Fathers Day to you!
Next week we hear from Kristen Puma – An Indie Author from the United States!
