Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello authors.
[00:00:01] Speaker B: I'm Joanne Morrell, children's and young adult fiction writer and author of short nonfiction for Authors. Thanks for joining me for the Hybrid Author Podcast, sharing interviews from industry professionals to help you forge a career as a hybrid author both independently and traditionally publishing your books.
[00:00:18] Speaker A: You can get the show notes for.
[00:00:20] Speaker B: Each episode and sign up for your free Author pass over at the Hybrid Author website to discover your writing process, get tips on how to publish productively, and get comfortable promoting your books at www.
Let's crack on with the episode.
Hello authors. I hope you're all keeping well in whatever part of the world you reside and listen to the podcast in today's interview is Writing Kids Books Inspired by the Natural World with Casey Whitelaw and we chat A Dolphin's Wild Journey Home. What sparked the idea for Flute Story and why it was so important to tell it through the eyes of a dolphin. How Casey goes about translating the wonder of the natural world into storytelling that resonates with young readers, balancing educating and entertaining when writing children's books. Casey's advice on weaving real world inspiration into meaningful age appropriate narratives and much more so in my Author Adventure this week I was a bit shocked to learn I got an email from Amazon. So currently my women's contemporary fiction book the Writer, the Hairdresser and the Nurse is available in ebook and print book through my website and I've only got the ebook up on Amazon.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: That is it.
[00:01:46] Speaker B: I don't have it on any other third party retailer stores at the moment. I got an email from Amazon to say that they had royalties from a couple of different platforms to give me and they can't and I had to go in. I have to advise me to go into the platform to update my bank details. So when I went in I was a bit shocked that to learn that out of all the Amazon platforms, which when I say platforms I mean per country, so there's obviously Australia, Amazon.com, you've got Amazon.com which is the US. You've got Amazon.co.uk, which is UK, you've got Canada. Amazon is global and worldwide. So I was shocked to learn that out of I think it's about 15 countries out of all them there was about two switched on for money coming in and the reason being for that was because I learned that my bank does not accept international transfers and I was just like what? Oh my goodness me, that is not good. Not good when you're a bookseller selling your book globally to a global audience. So it's probably good that I've learned this now rather than, you know, having up in all other places.
[00:02:55] Speaker A: And you know, I'm not with one.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: Of the big banks here in Australia. I'm with an online bank and I've been really happy with the bank that I'm with. It's got good rates and all the rest, but maybe this is why.
Yeah, really shocked. So I'm going to have to go on up on a specific business bank account for I'm effectively going to have two now, which I guess that's not bad. You can kind of have it as book sales maybe specifically, I'm not sure. But yeah, so I was really, really shocked to learn about that. So, you know, definitely check with your bank provider about international transfers, whether it's accepted or not. If you are with one of the big five banks within your country, I would say it's a guaranteed but just double check because I had no idea and I've just been sitting this time not knowing that. So it was good. Amazon got in touch and ye. So I need to now go and open a bank account and then go and update my bank details via Amazon. I also need to get the print book sorted. The reason for the delay is that I've got to resize it. It's not in the same size that I printed with. I printed locally in Australia and it's been a wonderful process but it's also been a bit of a headache for international sales. So effectively I've got to make a second product which is much cheaper and it's a cute little size as well. But the format is not correct and it's taken that long to get two books over because it was over the Christmas period. I've kind of just moved to different things which is not great. And something that needs to be done and something that's got my attention now. It just, everyone just feels like it moves so slow like to get a copy like two months, it was just crazy. So hopefully to get on that and once I have that then I'll be able to have the book available across other platforms for people to get. So that's good. You know, I'm learning a lot here by putting, you know, starting to sell my books which people will think, you know, that's crazy because I launched this book last year so surely I should have had a marketing plan in place and everything like that. And there kind of was, but there also wasn't as well, time just gets. There's a lot of different things that has been going on these last Couple of years especially personally and things like that. So I'm definitely learning with venturing out with this book and selling it because it's different. It's different in the way the book is, the genre I'm writing in. It's a different pen name, it's a different publishing process I went through. It's a different market. It is just completely different from the other two short non fiction books that I've published. So I'm learning different things and yeah, maybe I'm crazy but it's. This book can stand on a shelf. So as I've been talking about the last couple of episodes, you know, I have been targeting bookshops and things like that and I am absolutely delighted to discover bookshops like in my local bookshops, indie bookshops who celebrate indie authors especially even just in the romance side of things. And it's just great. It's amazing to see. I didn't even realize that we had that in local communities. What I'm lov. What, what's the benefits of putting yourself out there as a bookseller is, you know, as a publisher, as an author to sell your book is discovering these bookstores, these places as well like local to you. I can't wait to get out and support them as they will support me. Another thing that was a little bit confusing to some is contact. My book is in the process of being available by West Books which is a local library supplier in Western Australia. When I got in touch with them because originally I had supplied the wrong ISBN after me. And so when I got notification of that and I responded I gave them a call just to check it was going ahead. And yeah, they're in the process of sorting that out because they're local to me. The good thing about having stock of your book is you can actually. And the good thing about going local and selling local is you can be the supplier. So that's good distribution wise. You can always rely on other distributors if it's worth it. It's hard for me because my book was more expensive to make in Australia so I've got to price it accordingly. They had, I just checked as well on my two short non fiction books and they had ingramspark as the supplier for them which is just insane because I have so many copies here for sale that it would have been better and easier for me to be the supplier which is now what they've got me down as because I can just zip up with copies they don't have to pay shipping a different price. It's just, I just thought, oh my gosh. I felt like a bit crazy but my short non fiction books came out in 2020 long time ago and I've just been learning this whole time and learning different things. The industry is different for everyone. Everyone's experiences are not the same, their book's not the same. Just all of it is fairly different. So the more that I do these processes, the more I put myself out there in terms of bookselling, the more I'm learning, the more that I will be better organized in the future for having a plan in place. It's always been about organizing my time. And as an indie author, you know, writing, publishing, promoting the book yourself, it's quite difficult sometimes. And also being a parent, this podcast, all of it, there's a lot that is happening as well as your personal life as well. It's insane. So just trying to find a bit of, I'm not going to say balance, but just better organization, especially when it comes to this sort of stuff. But I'm also not going to be too hard on myself because yeah, it's been a turbulent couple of years for me and I've navigated through that and yeah, just proceeded how I could with what was on my plate. So, so interesting. I just wanted to share that I've got quite a lot of workshop up with Discover the Power of Podcasting and I actually learned of the podcast statistic the other day that apparently Apple podcast hosts over 2.8 million podcasts, but only 15. Which just think because there's new podcasts popping up all the time, so it can be off putting to someone and even myself who's been doing this for four years, it's, it's kind of like oh, there's another writing podcast or there's this or there's that. But it actually stated only 15% are active. And active means like a new episode in the past three months because you can pay for hosting of your podcast episode, even if you're not outputting, you still pay for the hosting, so your episodes will remain there. It's like a website type thing for content.
But yeah, I found that really interesting. I just thought, oh wow, you know, so the, the market's flooded with this, but actually there's only X amount that are still working. So I think that's really, really interesting. So as mentioned, my workshop talk season is starting to kick off my first and I'll put links to the hybrid author website if you are keen to discover more as there's a variety of dates and places that I'm going to be appear hearing if you're interested Discover the Power of podcasting workshop first one is on Saturday 30th of August and that is at Byford Library 10 till 11 in the morning. It is 16 plus. It is about supercharging your podcasting author career to expand your reach, connect with readers and build a loyal audience. We'll explore everything from starting your own show to being a guest on others and how this platform can boost your brand sales and visibility. Whether you're a seasoned author or just starting out, this session will show you how to harness the potential of podcasting to grow your writing career. So that is it. Bye for Library on the 30th of August and again discover the power of podcasting 6th of September at Melville Library. That's 10:30 till 11:30. City of Melville Libraries cost is $7. Same content as Byford. I am also appearing at Armadale Library. Not as a speaker as such, but I am interviewing the amazing Holden shepherd from and the event is called From Page to Screen with Holden shepherd and Joanne Zara ill morel Saturday 6th September 6pm till 7:30 and that is at City of Armadale Library and Heritage Services and this event takes a step behind the camera of the Stan original series Invisible Boys with author Holden Shepard. Having enjoyed the surreal experience of seeing his story and characters come to life in a new medium, Holden will share with author and podcaster me the process and challenges of adapting a book for the screen. Together we will explore the differences Holden has discovered between writing for the page and writing for the screen as experienced through working on the screen adaptation of his own book. We'll also touch on Holden's recently released book King of Dirt. This is part of his promotional touring campaign for King of Dirt and I'm really, really excited for that. It's going to be a wonderful conversation, always is with Holden. He's been on the podcast before and another event 20th of September again Byford Library Business Startup Success A bit different from the podcasting and this more ties in with my freelance writing Quick tips for fast success. But I've always said that little book can work as a business startup guide. Participants will learn quick tips on business setup, services, values, mindset, rates of pay to start up their online business for success. They will gain on looking professional, providing easy processes to run their business autonomously, give fast efficiency for working environments, stop miscommunications, cover both legally and professionally, and getting paid in a quick and seamless manner. And that is Byford Library 10 to 11 in the morning Saturday the 20th of September. So yeah, lots of little talks starting to appear towards the end of the year. There's more to come, but links will be in the show notes.
[00:11:53] Speaker A: If you follow me on social media.
[00:11:54] Speaker B: You might have seen my colorful adverts circulating. Created by more wonderful VA Announcing the Hybrid Author Podcast is currently open for guests, so if you're an author or industry professional in the publishing writing world, reach out and pitch me Joann hybridauthor.com make sure you're familiar with the podcast content. Episodes are topic based and proactive in encouraging writers to have a hybrid author career which is all inclusive, not just one way of doing things. I look forward to hearing from you soon and sharing further information about how the podcast works if you are successful.
Today's sponsor is Sanguine Press, my imprint of Feel Good, fast paced, emotionally charged women's contemporary fiction. The Writer, the Hairdresser and the Nurse intertwines the struggles and dynamics of three women's working, family and romantic relationships, leaning on their longtime friendship to help get them through and my short nonfiction for authors, Author Fears and How to Overcome Them how many times have you said your writing's crap or shied away from calling yourself an author? Take comfort in knowing your author fears are valid. Other writers feel the same way you do, but are not letting fear stop them from putting themselves out there. We're all feeling fear, but doing what we love anyway. You can too. And Freelance Writing Quick Tips for Fast Success Starting a freelance writing business Place yourself in the pro position before you've met with your first client. Invest one hour gaining 60 plus quick tips to save yourself time, money and stress discovering the little but important factors previously unconsidered. Having never worked directly with clients before, books come in ebook, print and some audio and range from 1015 to $28 each.
[00:13:30] Speaker A: Casey is a marine biologist, educator and children's author with a passion for connecting children to science and nature through storytelling and education. Growing up on the coast of Victoria, Casey spent her days beachcombing, surfing and exploring the rocky shores. As a child and still as an adult, she was fascinated by the rock pools teeming with life, eagerly learning the names of all the creatures she discovered. Her passion for the ocean led her to the World Heritage listed Shark Bay Marine park in Western Australia, where she had the incredible opportunity to work with the famous Monkey, Maya, dolphins and loggerhead sea turtles. Inspired by her work and dedicated to nurturing the next generation of ocean warriors, she's turned her enthusiasm into pages by Diving into the colorful world of picture books. Wow. Welcome to the Hybrid Author podcast, Casey.
[00:14:20] Speaker C: Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: We are honored to have you, and I can tell by your bio your passions coming through in your picture book journey. But can you tell us how has your author adventure been into children's book?
[00:14:33] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I never really started off thinking I would be a children's author, to be honest. It wasn't really on my radar and it wasn't really anything anyone put forward to me as, I guess, a possible career path. And I always loved the ocean, so beach combing, rock pooling. So I knew my career was going to be heading towards a marine biology type career. But I quickly learned while I was doing marine biology is that although I love the science, I love stats, I love data. But what I really wanted to do was to get all that amazing information out to the public. I wanted to be an educator, an ocean educator. And so that's where I ended up at Monkey Mire, getting to do that daily with the dolphins, talking about their lives. And I loved it. And so, as with most authors or story that you usually hear is when you go on maternity leave, you start thinking about picture books. You're reading them to your kids. And I thought, what a great way to get those stories out. I think I have storytelling in me. And so, yeah, I enrolled in some writing courses, did the conferences, did everything just to sort of immerse myself in that world.
[00:15:47] Speaker A: Fantastic. Oh, I've been up to Monkey Meyer once and my kids got picked to, you know, step forward and feed their friends, which was really cool. It's such a magical place.
[00:15:57] Speaker C: Isn't it cute? It is. It's stunning. It's a evening just besides the dolphins. Like, the whole area is absolutely stunning. Yeah. That's why it's a world heritage area. Yeah.
[00:16:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:07] Speaker B: They've done so much work up there.
[00:16:08] Speaker A: I haven't been up there since they've opened. Like, is it the new RAC Caravan place or something?
[00:16:13] Speaker C: Yes, yes, yes. A lot happening. Yep.
[00:16:16] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, that's amazing. Well, just for some context for the audience, can you tell us about your picture books?
[00:16:23] Speaker C: Yes. Okay. So my debut. I have two coming out, actually. So my debut picture book is called Flute, and it is based on a real dolphin from Monkey Maya in Western Australia.
And it's following Flute's journey and it's really highlighting themes of friendship and support, which is what I really noticed when I was working. A lot of the times you sort of see dolphins and you get super excited, but what you don't realize is the fascinating world, like how deep it goes, their connections and their friendships, and it's very entertaining, to be honest. So, yeah, I really wanted to highlight that. I really wanted to showcase the natural world, I guess, as well with flute. But I also. It is also sort of a bit universal as well. So it does highlight threats of noise pollution and boating and things like that to dolphins. And then my other book is the Great Shark Egg Case Hunt, and that's based on a citizen science project where people can go out and find shark egg cases and record them and contribute to science, which I think is awesome.
And with that one, yeah, I just wanted to again take the readers on a journey, I guess, and that one's a bit more about discovery and mystery and being curious about the natural world. So, yeah.
[00:17:39] Speaker A: Oh, it's amazing. And I think the shark cases, they're on the beach and I think a lot of people wouldn't even know what they were at all. I think I was a bit shocked when someone pointed one out to me. I was like, really? Oh, wow, you know?
[00:17:51] Speaker C: I know, yeah, absolutely. And that was me when I was growing up. I was like, what, what is, what are these things? And I was just so interested to learn what they were. And yeah, and my kids too, love it now. They go, hun, that's amazing.
[00:18:03] Speaker A: So you said Flute's obviously based off a dolphin at Monkey Mire. Is the dolphin at Monkey Mire called Flute or. No, you. That's the name you gave it.
[00:18:09] Speaker C: No, absolutely, absolutely.
[00:18:11] Speaker A: Oh, it's called Flute.
[00:18:12] Speaker C: It's Flute. Her real best friends are in the story.
[00:18:15] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:18:16] Speaker C: Yeah. And I did the stats to work that one out. I mean, you can tell. But I also. The researchers there are absolutely fabulous, the stuff they do out there. And you can actually see their networks, who they associate with the most and who's in their little group. Yeah, her mum's in there, Piccolo as well. So, yeah, it's as true as it can be.
[00:18:36] Speaker A: Yeah, amazing. And what was the inspiration with the shark egg case? One picture book. How did you come up with that especially, you know, how it's kind of interactive and.
[00:18:47] Speaker C: Yeah, it was actually interesting. CSIRO approached me with the idea and when they sent the email, they're a little bit not giving it away too much, but I had this inkling and I think I know what this is and I'm super excited if it is, because. Because, yeah, I love beach combing, so. And I spent a lot of time down at Phillip island in Victoria.
My Mum was a surfer, a professional surfer, so she always taking me to the beach. So it was constantly me down the beach in rock pools or in the water and just fascinated. So I was super excited when that opportunity came and I just drew from those experiences.
[00:19:24] Speaker A: Yeah, I feel like there's another picture book with your mum coming, towed through the child's eyes, watching their mum surfing out. That would be fantastic.
[00:19:35] Speaker C: I was a little bit before my time, but yes, yes.
[00:19:40] Speaker A: Oh, fair enough. Well, incredible. So huge congrats. You know, nature is such a powerful source of inspiration. How did you go about translating the wonder of the natural world like you've experienced and things into storytelling that resonates with young readers?
[00:19:57] Speaker C: Well, I think the natural world itself is pretty powerful.
So I think in. In that sense, especially with the illustrations and things, I think, yeah, nature is just amazing. It's beautiful, it's interesting, it's bizarre. And so there's so much you can do with the illustrations, with nature. I think with the writing, I really. I can only really speak from my narratives, but I really wanted to sort of make the reader feel like they were in. In nature. So thinking about the sounds and. And the feelings and. Yeah. The outside environment.
And I was very careful with Flute not to put any feelings on her. I wanted the reader to just take in her behaviours and what's happening to her from the outside world and sort of think about how she would be feeling themselves.
[00:20:50] Speaker A: No, I love that. I think that's really good. And yeah, yeah, you don't hear about that much behavioral rather than sort of feelings. I've read a lot of feelings, picture books, actually.
[00:21:00] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I mean, it's more in the science community, I think. It's like. It's one of these things where it's maybe a tricky conversation where you don't want to put feelings on animals. You know, they're not humans. So you sort of need to. From a science perspective, you need to make sure that you aren't putting human feelings on animals.
Having said that, the dolphins have different personalities. Like, I 100% believe it. Absolutely. They're all unique and they're all individual. Yeah.
[00:21:30] Speaker A: Oh, definitely. Well, it just sounds incredible. And as you said, you wanted to educate people about the natural world and it sounds like sharing that through behavioral with your characters and the animal characters is a good way to go. But I guess there is a balance between you wanting to educate at children and entertaining them at the same time. So, I mean, how did you balance that with Flute?
[00:21:52] Speaker C: Well, flute was a long process, so that was what would be about nine years ago from when I sparked that idea. You know, books don't come quickly.
So, yeah, with that one, I basically did a brain dump to start with. It was 4,000 words. Got out all.
Got out, all the facts, got out, all the information I wanted. And then I was like, okay, okay, I need to find the theme and I need to find the story. So that was the main thing with that one. And then looking at weaving the facts in. Yeah, it's a balance, a bit of a hybrid, you would say.
[00:22:28] Speaker A: Yes, we love that over here.
[00:22:30] Speaker C: So, yeah, it was a lot of thinking about what can be included and what should go in the back matter. And there wasn't much wiggle room. You know, I wanted it to be as truthful as possible. So.
[00:22:40] Speaker A: So obviously you want to educate. You want young readers to take away, like, an education about dolphins and things like that. But the back of the book is that. Is there more factual things that go into it or.
[00:22:51] Speaker C: Yeah, so that's definitely where you can really put those facts in and put in those ways how children can help dolphins and things like that can go in there. Whereas the story, I really had to stick to the themes to make that shine and make sure it sort of had a takeaway message, I guess, or I really wanted a feeling more of curiosity and empathy when writing.
[00:23:14] Speaker A: So is it going to be like.
[00:23:16] Speaker B: A series of these books?
[00:23:17] Speaker A: Obviously, like with Flu Flute, will there be another flute? Or is it.
[00:23:22] Speaker C: Oh, my goodness, I'd love that. Her sister Eden has great stories to be told as well.
So I was tossing up between the two, actually. But, yeah, at this stage, it's just Flute. Flute on its own. I do have a few other I've written.
[00:23:35] Speaker A: That's great. Oh, I can see you going back up to Monkey Maya and with the book and, you know, leading a big educational thing up there.
[00:23:42] Speaker C: Oh, absolutely, yeah.
Yes, I'd love it. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:23:46] Speaker A: So are the two books both with C S I R O Publishing?
[00:23:51] Speaker C: Flute is with Wombat Books and it's illustrated by Jenny Goodman, and she's done amazing watercolor illustrations. And the Shark, the great shark. AK's hunt is with CSIRO and Sylvia Morris is the illustrator there, and she's done these amazing collage type illustrations which really sort of show the depth, which is amazing. Yeah, yeah.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: And how are you feeling about having, like, two books coming out at the same time as even as a debut author having one coming out, it's overwhelming. I can't imagine how you feel with two.
[00:24:20] Speaker C: It's Overwhelming. And I'm one of those people who just want to do everything. So I'm, you know, I'm keen on the launches. I'm clean on doing school visits and things like that. So I'm trying to navigate both of them. But it's exciting. Yeah, yeah.
[00:24:34] Speaker A: So cool. And it's. Yeah, obviously it's your passion, marine biology and things, but it's such a great theme and area for children and you can do so much with it as well. Yeah, I'm really excited for you.
[00:24:46] Speaker C: Oh, thank you. Yeah, I'm excited to get out there.
[00:24:48] Speaker A: Yeah, I bet, I bet. And so for writers interested in crafting stories rooted in nature and environmental themes, do you have any advice on weaving in, like yourself, real world knowledge or researching or for age appropriate narratives in the children's side?
[00:25:05] Speaker C: Yeah, so I think, I mean, the first thing would be, obviously something you're passionate about will help in terms of the research side. I'll definitely find an expert in their field and go straight to the top and that'll be a big help. And they may have stories that you may not have even known about that could really bring your manuscript to life and scientific journals. That's where you can find all those researchers and scientists choosing a topic that kids like. I mean, sharks and dolphins are pretty popular, so I was pretty lucky with those two. But then you sort of got to go a little bit deeper as well. I mean, with Flute, I tried to add some fun elements in there that's relatable to kids. So there is a scene where Flute is playing puffer fish toss with her best friends, which is what she does in real life. So it's like a game of catch, you know, which is what kids do. We've also got her when she's a bit. She becomes stuck on a sandbar and she slides into the ocean like she's on a slide or a water slide. So I really tried to make it a bit fun and a bit relatable to children. And then with the shark one, it was drawing on that treasure hunt kind of thing. Like kids, children's birthday parties, they love a treasure hunt. So.
Yeah. So then just trying to get down to that level as well and seeing how you can make it relatable.
[00:26:19] Speaker A: Oh, I just think you can do so much with it. Even like you said, birthday parties at Aqua and they can head off along the beach.
[00:26:26] Speaker C: Yes, yes.
[00:26:27] Speaker A: All that sort of stuff. Yeah. Even a picture book with like Flute and the shark egg case, I don't know, coming together. Well, mine's Exploding.
[00:26:35] Speaker C: I know, I know.
[00:26:36] Speaker A: For people obviously reaching out to, like.
[00:26:39] Speaker B: You said, go to the top with.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: People in these fields and things, are they quite forthcoming? They're happy to help and share their knowledge and things like that.
[00:26:46] Speaker C: That, I mean, I would say so. Researchers and scientists, dedicated people, they love what they studied and most of the times they love talking about what they study. So I wouldn't be shy. But obviously don't bombard them with things. But yeah, email or a phone call and just explain what you're doing. I think they'd be more than happy to help. So, yeah, fantastic.
[00:27:07] Speaker A: And for yourself, have you got more projects on the go or you're just taking a break to do the marketing and promotion or you think you're going to stay in the picture book realm, Film?
[00:27:15] Speaker C: Yes. No, I would love to stay. I'm hooked now. I have a few things, fingers crossed that they go through and yeah, I'm heading off to some conferences and things like that. So yeah, I'll be around, hopefully.
[00:27:27] Speaker A: Fantastic. And courses and things that you undertook. Have you got any advice there for anybody or.
[00:27:33] Speaker C: I would say do them.
[00:27:34] Speaker A: Yeah, and the conferences as well.
[00:27:38] Speaker C: I think with me though, I love learning, so if I see an opportunity, it's hard for me not to turn it down. But definitely there's always room to improve your craft and the conferences are just great ways to network, understand the industry a bit more and build up that support network with other creators because, yeah, it can feel a bit lonely sometimes. So having that network around you is also important, so.
[00:28:04] Speaker A: Oh, that's amazing. And that will be fantastic as well. And yeah, so good. Oh, thank you so much. Casey, you shared so much. Really inspiring information for our listeners. Can you tell us where can they get your fabulous books when they're available and everything you do on and offline.
[00:28:20] Speaker C: Thank you. Well, you can find me@C KidsAlliance. I'm mostly on Instagram, so feel free to say hi there. My book. So the Great Shark Egg Case Hunt is on the CSIRO website at the moment. Csiro and then Flute at the moment you could probably find in most bookshops online. But yeah, they will be coming out in August and October.
[00:28:41] Speaker A: Oh, amazing.
[00:28:42] Speaker B: I'll just ask you before you go.
[00:28:43] Speaker A: How have you found working with the two different publishers? Was there much difference in it or.
[00:28:47] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean there was to a degree, both. Absolutely wonderful to work with. One bat's a bit smaller publisher but definitely allowed a lot of creativity and then CSIRO are just amazing to work with as well. Super supportive so, yeah, I've heard that. Yeah. Great experiences with both.
[00:29:04] Speaker A: That's like, that's great. And you are still just going to travel down the traditional path. No angling to go out and create something. Self publishing.
[00:29:12] Speaker C: It's a thought. It definitely is. Like to do some self publishing. Yes. Yeah, I'll see. I'll see where the journey takes me. We'll see where the journey takes me. But it's not ruled out, I promise.
I'm always interested in lots of things. Yeah.
[00:29:25] Speaker A: Well, it sounds like you're doing amazing things and everything looks fantastic. So thank you so much.
[00:29:30] Speaker C: No, thank you. Thanks for having me.
[00:29:38] Speaker A: So there you have it, folks.
[00:29:39] Speaker B: The natural wonder, Casey Whitelaw Next time on the Hybrid Author Podcast. There is always love writing through adversity and building purpose driven work with Vanessa Mayorano.
Vanessa Mayorano is a passionate children's author, a mum of two, and a fierce advocate for families navigating hard times. After her own experience facing cancer as a young mother, she was inspired to create gentle, supportive books that help children understand the big feelings that come with life's challenges. Her mission is simple to remind children that no matter what happens, there is always love. After years of working in office management, Vanessa started her own virtual assistant company. The business began while she was going through cancer cancer. Vanessa needed to keep working to manage medical bills and everyday expenses, so started offering administration and business consulting services remotely. As it grew, she was supporting businesses with revenue growth and operational systems while undergoing treatment, healing from surgery and raising two small children. Vanessa now consults for a number of companies and helps stay at home mums, some who are going through illness and others who are raising children, find flexible virtual work they can do from home. She says it's something that came from a really difficult season but has turned into a purpose driven part of my life that I'm proud of. Such an inspiring and powerful conversation with Vanessa coming up. I wish you well in your author adventure. That's it from me.
[00:30:53] Speaker A: Bye for now.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: That's the end for now authors.
[00:30:56] Speaker A: I hope you are further forward in.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: Your author adventure after listening and I hope you'll listen next time. Remember to head on over to the Hybrid Author website at www.hybridauthor.com to get your free author pass. It's bye for now.
