Writing a Children’s Book for Kindle – Part 1

Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is everything.  It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”    I have always had plenty of imagination, though sometimes I lack follow-through.

Case in point.  A couple of years ago, I stumbled across an internet entrepreneur who has developed a career around repurposing public domain books and materials for profit.   At the same time had been a writer for a website called Suite 101, where I wrote about opera. This seemed like a logical writing gig for a classical singer.

Luciano Pavoturkey

I thought it might be a fun idea to create a blog/website around a character that called Luciano Pavoturkey.  The purpose of the website was to teach about opera.  Not just kids, but adults.  Give opera plots, create resource materials, etc.

I went so far as to work out a design enlist my sister’s savvy design skills to come up with an image for my “opera gobbler,” secure a domain name, and even go to Build-a-bear and make a stuffed turkey that sang when you squeezed it.   I took Luciano with me to a couple of gigs, and he even made it to Germany and Italy.

One thing I learned was that trying to build the website I envisioned on a shoestring – read $0  - budget was both painfully slow and there was little return on the investment of time and resources.   I dropped Opera Gobbler like a hot potato.

Fast forward to about two months ago.   Still receiving email from the guy – since I never took my name of the email list – I heard about a podcast that covered children’s books.  I signed up for the free podcast and decided to spend a couple of hours listening in.

Opera Gobbler in Manhattan

Now most of these podcasts tease the listeners with about 45 min or so of real information before the sales pitch comes.  If you are creative, you can still glean enough information from the beginning of one of these things to be dangerous.

After seeing a couple of case studies about successful children’s ebooks, I thought to myself, “How hard could this be?”   Still, I hadn’t really attempted creative writing since I was in high school; I had no idea where to start.  One thing was clear from these trainings, self-publishing to Kindle was the way to go.   If I could self-produce a CD, I could certainly write a kid’s book, right?

One problem: I needed a character.

What about Luciano?   I could write books about opera, music, theater, etc. Then it dawned on me.  Perhaps Luciano is just one of the people who my “main character” meets.  The Opera Gobbler could teach about music and the arts, but other characters could teach about other things.

I still needed a main character.

Pomodoro Penguin is red like a tomato

Then it dawned on me.  What about a penguin?  I have a pomodoro timer that I purchased – though don’t use enough – I could design my penguin around this timer.  What should I name him/her?   Ding, Ding, Ding…. how about POMODORO!

And Pomodoro Penguin, a little red guy who loves to eat spaghetti was born…