It was 1962 . . . I found myself at the bottom of a neighborhood hill, laughing and giggling, as I lay bunched-up against a small row of bushes. I had just turned 6 and received a shiny new pair of sparkly-gold steel roller skates with bright red wheels for my birthday . . . I even had a skate key tied onto a shoe-string to hang around my neck!
You see, moments earlier, I had been on the side walk at the top of that hill, flanked by my brother and sister (10 and 12 years my senior). They had been given the responsibility of teaching me to maneuver on my shiny new skates.
Now, kids today have all the “right equipment” . . . they have helmets, along with knee- and elbow-pads. Back in the 1960’s, we had no such fluff. So, my sister, the practical one, had “belted” a pillow to my mid-section (for soft back-side landings), and tied rags around my knees and elbows – just in case. I couldn’t move, but I was ready to roll!
Up until this point, my relationship with my brother and sister was pretty much from a distance, as they were so much older than me. I knew my brother as the “teaser and tormentor”, and my sister was the “mini mother”, always looking out for me. With skates on my feet, I remember my brother wanting to just PUSH me down the fairly-steep (to ME, anyway) sidewalk . . . just to see what would happen . . . and my sister holding me back from what she saw as certain death, doom and destruction.
Luckily for me, my sister’s grip and determination were stronger than my brother’s and she began guiding me down the hill as she held my hand . . . eventually trotting along the side of me as we picked up speed. As we neared the bottom of the hill, she let go . . . and I veered left, plowing head-first into the row of bushes. I was having FUN and was ready to go again!
Now, had my brother won the battle-of-the-wits that afternoon, the story may have ended on a much less positive note. But I learned a valuable lesson that day about TRUST – I trusted my sister to guide me and not place me in a harmful situation. I also learned that trying something NEW could be fun!
Publishing is a lot like learning to roller skate. It can be intimidating at first, but when paired with someone you can trust — once you start rolling — you’re bound to see positive results.
You don’t have to navigate the “wild, wild west” of publishing by yourself. We’re here to walk beside you, guide you, and help you avoid a myriad of self-publishing pitfalls.