Education's Journey

A recently added group at the professional networking site, LinkedIn, sparked a particularly interesting discussion between me and my 9 year old daughter. The initials of the group are IF, so it got me thinking outside of the box.

We were getting ready to head out for a visit with my mom. While in the shower I began thinking about my life and all that is in it. (I do this on a regular basis. The shower is my reflection/meditation safe place). I thought about my new drive and motivation to become a published author. When thoughts of all the things holding me back and blocking the way, I discarded them. When thoughts of time restraints, the unknown, and possible rejection crept up on me, I washed them off. I re framed my thoughts on all of this with a new perspective. One of will, determination, and a can't fail attitude. I stepped out of the shower with bold confidence, and about 15 ideas to write about. I thought, man I've got to get a tape recorder.

I knew we had to get out of the house, and I wouldn't have time to type or write my thoughts, since I would be driving. So, I gathered up the kids and set out. The drive is about an hour. I thought, I'll just keep rehashing these thoughts, and when I get to mom's I'll write 'em down...We all know how well that worked for me:)

About 15-20 minutes into our drive my oldest daughter made a comment on my old boring music. SO I shut the radio off and we started talking. Talking about fun things she wants to do, her asking me about ways she can make money to do them, and a whole lot of what if's. I told her about a place I had visited on the web that day, lulu.com. It's a self-publishing site that has two different programs for kids to get in on the action.

Earlier in the week my 6 year old son sparked a new idea for a reading program. I told him that we would work on it together, and when I get ready for publishing, all the proceeds would go toward his learning. Alexa, my oldest daughter, had recently completed a file folder project on President Bill Clinton, and we began talking about it. I told her that I gave her a review of her work, just like an editor would, so she could see where her strong areas were and where she could work to improve. She then began asking questions about our new president. "Obama's our first black pres. right?" Things like that, then she proceeded to tell me she wanted to do a file folder project on him. I knew how hard it had been for her to get her mind into the researching and writing involved in the one she had just finished, so I told her she didn't have to stick to that template. Sure it was in a book that we bought at a teacher store, but she didn't have to limit herself.

She then began brainstorming all the different ways she would design a file folder project. A light went off in my head!! I told her that if she comes up with a few really good ideas, we could work together to make a book out of them. I explained that the book we had used was in stores everywhere, and someone was making money off it. She loves money (what 9 year old girls doesn't?) so this brought bells to her ears. I said, "Hey, I told Allen any profit made from his inspired book would go to his interests, same goes for you Chicky."

HA. I thought she was going to wake up the three other kids with her squeals of excitement. "Really?" Of course, this sparked some money figuring talk and some talk on the writing industry.

**Now before I finish this story, all of you writers, editors, and publishers out there. I realize the picture I am about to paint is VERY optimistic at the least, and probably unrealistic at the most. But you must understand that when you are trying to encourage and excite a child, embellishments and exaggerations are almost required. Especially when this child is very opposed to the entire writing process, and really needs some motivation. So it is known, after this whole discussion, I explained that the numbers I used and the rate I used were in reality a lot bigger than we should expect, but that it was easier to use nice round numbers, and think about all the possibilities.**

Back to the story:)
So, I painted a picture. I gave the values, she did the figuring. Say we publish this file folder project book, and it is received well. We put a price tag of $10 on it with our cut 10%. Now, our publisher does a great job of promoting to bookstores across the nation, and 100 stores order a case of 20 books each. That would be $1 per book and $20 per case, at 100 stores, that's a (cover your ears cuz now the little ones did wake up) $2,000!!!!

"Oh my gosh....really??? and it would be mine? Fer real?" "Yuppers, for real, I said it would all go towards the thing you want to do, sculpture classes, piano classes, your gymnastics, you said you wanted to join Girl Scouts and 4H, right?"

I didn't stop there. I said ok, real it in let's continue this. Say the next year we think up a new idea, a different kind of idea book, or another file folder project book, whatever. We use the same publisher who had such a good return last year, so most of the bookstores who bought our books last year want to buy again this year, and a few different ones decide they want some too. To make it easy, let's assume it's another 100, but half of them want last years book as well. It didn't take her long to figure the $3,000 potential. (Forgot to cover your ears that time, huh?)

Now she went off on the what ifs of that much money all for her interests. She began talking about our dream trip to DC, and then California, Mount Rushmore, and on and on.

Of course, my thoughts hadn't stopped here. I kept it going. Our third year, we come up with two fresh ideas sparked from the first two. So this year we put out two new books, and a few places want reprints of the older books, a couple more ask if we've updated the first one, and we build a website. We've got our hands full, but we've developed a system and routine. This time we have 200 hundred orders of an average of two boxes each. (yup, this screech was much louder than the first two, good job catching it.:) That's a nice $8,000. She added, that's more than you make in a year now!!! I had to admit it was nice dreaming about things like this. And all of the possibilities that could be there for us. We talked about taking a cruise, and visiting a rain forest, and the fact that she would be three years older, with new ideas, aspirations, and abilities. Maybe this next yer she would want to break away from me, or maybe not.

Yes, I kept it going. It was too fun for me to stop. I said, now over this next year, we are taking our older books off the print market. We've built a name for ourselves in the homeschool community, and we have a brand. Regular visitors to our site give us new ideas for many new books, they request prints of our older books, and they spread the word to their friends and homeschooling cohorts. We make available all of our previously published work in digital format, tagged with a nice little deal. We decide to increase the price tag on our newest books to $15. (This came along with a nice little discussion on supply and demand.) And for every buyer on our site who orders a new print book, they get an ebook for $5, or an ebook alone for its original price tag. And we are putting out 4 new books that year. Now libraries are ordering books, bookstores, homeschool co-op groups, and individual parents. She came up with an estimate around $13,000.

I had to stop the dollar signs here, that kind of success in that short amount of times is nice to dream about. But I didn't want her to get a big head and feel the instant pangs of defeat when it doesn't happen quite like that. So, I transferred the conversation from money, to personal growth and using our knowledge to help and inspire others. I told her that as a part of the website, she could have her own little area where her readers could contact her, share ideas and what not. She then says, yeah I could help them write their own books, and tell them how we did it. Sounded to me like she was thinking like a pro!

Anything is possible in the writing world. I told her that this dreaming was great and fun, but it doesn't mean a thing unless we put it to work. That writing i more than just putting words on paper, its sharing knowledge and ideas. When I sold Mary Kay Cosmetics I was limited by people wanting beauty supplies. And when I tried to start a Quixtar business I was dependant on people paying more than they could afford for products they could get at Walmart. But in the writing world it is different. Everyday someone has a new idea. And everyday someone shares a new idea. Ideas never go out of style, they never run out, and everyone is always hungry for them. Even people who say they hate reading, writing, school, whatever, there's still ideas out there that they are hungry for. Writing is one of the only businesses out there that is timeless, evergreen, indispensable.

The only thing that put limits on your writing is your own imagination. If you can imagine it, you can make it happen. Want to go to the Everglades? Take a trip around the world? Witness a surgery on a cat? Just pick up a book and it'll take you there. In the same way, you have a really awesome dream about fairies who save the world, just write down, polish it up, publish it, and every other kid in the world can have that dream with you. You get an idea about an awesome kid hangout with pool tables in the front, swimming pool in the basement, an arts center on one floor, and an arcade on another, and a skate park on the roof? Write about and every kid can hang out there with you. Ya never know, some developer's kid might buy the book and end up building it. (She breaks in with, then I could really go there and hang out with the kids who read about it!) I loved that!!!!

The point of all of this is this, we limit ourselves and our children everyday with the what ifs of life. We think what if the stock market never returns to normal, what if I lose my job, what if my hubby gets hurt at work, what if she fails, what if, what if, what if.

Stop thinking of the what ifs as negative things.Turn them around and think, what if she become a doctor, what if I become published, what if he grows up and loves his life, what if, what if, what if.

I knew when I started this, that it would be a new challenge for me to keep up with everything life throws at me. I didn't think that a whole year would go by, and only 4 or so posts added. My bad!!
I've spent a year adjusting to many of life's curve balls.
My second oldest daughter is now experiencing public education. And to my surprise, it has been a wonderful experience for her. Just goes to show ya that each child has different needs and those needs must be met individually. My three others are still at home with me all day, and wouldn't change it for the world.
The blogging didn't seem to cure my need for sharing my thoughts, so I ventured into some freelance writing opportunities. I am now a published writer at Associated Content, http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/196889/stefany_holloway.html as as Helium (I shared the link in a previous posts). I only have 52 articles collectively between the two sites, but I guess that's not too bad for just experimenting...right? My focus, of course, has been on education. But I've ventured out of comfort zone a couple of times with some plays, poems, and religious meanderings.
My fiance lost his job last spring, so I've been pushed out into the work world. I've just been babysitting for a friend...for pennies...but it helps keept the roof over our heads. It has been a struggle to find new ways to save here and still survive. But somehow we are doing it. Maybe breaking into print...or html...will help us in this area.
My new focus, and perhaps the one I've been looking for all along, is writing for children. Since I've never really bought into the whole curriculum packages, and instead have always developed my own for my children. And now experiencing one of my children in ps, without missing a beat. I'm sure that what I've been doing works and will be successful. I just have to find that extra hour or two in the day to gather all my thoughts, pull them together, and place them into a workable format. Who knows, in a decade or two, homeschoolers everywhere could be quoting me and posting my face on their blogs????