An Ending
The Little Yellow Boat is to be pulped
February 2021 The Little Yellow Boat was published; a children’s illustrated book, words by myself and illustrations by Danielle Chapman Skaines, now Danielle Littlewood. It was fun to do and to collaborate with an illustrator. Although both collaborating and writing children’s books are not my normal genre. Also I am not a natural marketer so the whole promotion of the book and myself was not easy. It was not helped by the fact that we are in the second phase of COVID and lockdowns and whatevers so by the time everything fully lifted my initial enthusiasm had waned.
I did get copies in my local library and did manage to go to a couple of craft fayres run by friends so my book will be out there forever.
Two days ago I received this from the publishers
… it is now some time since our company published your work. During that time we, as your publisher, and yourself as the author have put a great deal of hard work into your book.
Regrettably, these combined efforts have not proved to have been as successful as we had initially hoped, and we now feel that the time has come for us to remainder your work.
This will mean that all relevant areas of the trade will be informed of the discontinuation of publishing, and all rights to the work will revert back to you, the author.
Remaining stock will be pulped …
I have about ten copies of the book still in a box in my study which I keep promoting whenever I run writing workshops but it was a very strange feeling to receive this. Not a sadness but a definite glump!
It is an end of an era moment. And I think ends should be commemorated as much as beginnings. So I will honour this moment. Hence this post.
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There is still time to purchase the book before pulping in 10 days. It is on Amazon and also on The Book Store in the UK and I’m sure can be found in the USA and other countries.
These posts are free but you are welcome to Buy Me A Coffee or buy my book :)
These posts are free but you are welcome to Buy Me A Coffee or similar
If it makes you feel any better i remember the day Delacorte remaindered my novel The Innocent. Ten years later another publisher picked up the rights and it sold 100K copies in one month. You've been given a gift. Use it wisely.
That's too bad it didn't work out. I always take the self-publishing route. Maybe you can do that and keep it going. I read about a very well-known writer who shopped a book around for fourteen years before he got a yes. The publishing world is brutal. Great post, though, Diane.