Winning FIRST PLACE in the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Competition
What does this mean?
Awards. Why, as humans, are we impressed by awards and award winners? (Think Oscars.) What is this all about?
Well, Artificial Intelligence tells me that Awards can be attractive for a number of reasons, including:
Recognition: Awards are a way to acknowledge and celebrate achievements, and to show that good work is valued.
Validation: Awards can be a quick way to demonstrate the value of your work to others.
Credibility: Winning an award can help establish your place in an industry, especially if the award was judged by experts in the field.
Morale: Awards can boost morale and motivation.
Symbolism: Awards can symbolize progress and inspire fond memories of the work that led up to them.
I am embarrassed to admit - I cannot find a speck of humility at the moment. Generally, I’m pretty unassuming. But winning this first place award took my breath away. And frankly, it feels pretty darned good! As a writer, I’m not crazy about AI because it feels like cheating, but I have to agree with what it’s telling me. Winning First Place is all of those bullet points that Artificial Intelligence lists.
But first – the path to publication: About a decade ago, my daughter experienced an event that sent her spiraling. Married to an alcoholic whose troubles brought him alarmingly close to prison, she became severely depressed, and her hoarding tendencies skyrocketed to spectacular proportions. Her father and I knew that she had been living like this for a long time but had been unable to help her. Now we had to focus on our six-year-old granddaughter whose world had turned upside down. Her dad was no longer living in the home, and her mom’s ability to care for her was severely compromised.
So! I dove into research. Lots of research! - reading everything I could get my hands on that would explain hoarding to me. I read everything written by the research experts - Drs. Randy Frost, Carol Mathews, Christina Bratiotis, Gail Steketee, and Michael Tompkins. I read books written by counselors attempting to help individuals and their family members stuck in this nightmarish existence as well as books of lived experiences written by adults who had been raised in hoarding households. I learned how very difficult this particular disorder is to treat and was discouraged by reports of low success rates.
Probably at first, I wrote “Sometimes” as a form of my own therapy, never intending to publish it. But in time I realized that if I could get it published, its message might help other children like my granddaughter.
The difficulties about this idea became quickly apparent - while I am a children’s book writer, I am not a mental health professional, so I had no credibility. And because my story is neither a bedtime story nor a general classroom read, its audience was narrow. Not surprisingly, no one was interested in taking it on – no agents, no small publishers, nor an official entity like the American Psychiatric Association. I was on my own.
Research led me to Upside Down Books in the UK. A division of Trigger Hub, it publishes bibliotherapy, concentrating on mental health issues. In my query letter, I conversed with the Acquisitions Editor:
“Perhaps it’s happened to you - flipping through TV channels, you stumble across one of the sensationalized reality shows that profiles people living in abject filth and drowning beneath their belongings. Fascinated, but equally appalled, you either pause to take it in or skip past the channel as quickly as possible.
Some circumstances don’t give us the option of closing our eyes, however, and for me these shows are particularly unnerving because I have personal experience with hoarding via a family member. Sadly, this individual is my daughter and the mother of my granddaughter – an innocent victim. Despite countless hours of research, comprehension continues to elude me while keeping commensurate pace with my curiosity – how can any child possibly experience optimal growth and development in such dysfunctional circumstances?
This question has been my motivation to bring this subject to its intended audience in a realistic presentation. My granddaughter’s first decade was spent in squalor. But she was luckier than some children – she had a grandma circling the disaster like a shark. I knew what was occurring in the home and was working to address it. Professional help could have arrived sooner, though. I am convinced that if a book depicting her home life could have been shown to her by a school counselor or nurse, it may have given her permission to break the rules of secrecy, and her distress and its causes could have been identified sooner by people who were equipped to help.
Written for children ages 5-9 years old, I envision SOMETIMES being used in one-on-one situations; in the hands of school nurses and counselors and private practice therapists, it may help the reticent child feel safe breaking the rules of secrecy that accompany this perplexing disorder once he recognizes his life in its pages.”
The Acquisitions Editor for Trigger Hub responded quickly:
“Thank you so much for your submission to Trigger. I found Sometimes to be a very honest, yet very important piece of literature for children and families.
I'd be so happy if you considered Cherish for your book, as it's unlike anything we've published, and I think it would be a book that could help a lot of people.”
So . . . I entrusted them with my story about my dear granddaughter, and that’s how SOMETIMES came to be published. And now, with the help of this award from Writer’s Digest, this unassuming little book is finding its audience. This recognition has validated me and given me courage. I’m feeling much more confident as a writer and as an advocate.
The conclusion to this “Truth or Consequences” confession is that quite unintentionally, I am a perfect example of pushing through with a project even though you’re entirely alone in your conviction. Although I did receive support for pursuing publication, I also had fellow writers who had trouble getting behind it – understanding it and my motivation. And I get it. It’s a raw and unnerving story. But hasn’t it been said somewhere that it’s the uncomfortable things in life that make us grow?
