I also sent the illustrator the complete story so she could imagine scenes and understand the book.
​Below is what the illustrator came up with for sketch 2. She added in some pups which was perfection. 

Just about every morning I'd jump out of bed and fire up my computer to see what she drew up (she used the Procreate app to illustrate). Seeing what she came up with was truly my favorite part of the project. She really understood the story and what I was looking for, so there wasn't too much back and forth. We'd discuss minor tweaks and I provided direction around the characters - I wanted diverse children of all abilities in the pages, for example. Beyond that, I gave her the artistic license to interpret of the words of the story.
After all the sketches we finalized, I chose a color palette. When the color was added, that's when the magic happened. Below is sketch 2 in full color. 

The last step of working with the illustrator was creating the book cover - and we all know how important a cover is. That's a whole other post in itself, but here's the finished front cover. 
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When I came up with a children's book story idea two years ago, I resigned to the idea that if an editor at a big publishing house didn't offer me a deal, the book would never see the light of day.
 
So I did the things aspiring authors do; I joined the SCBWI and pored over advice on how to submit queries. I researched publishers and agents and painstakingly crafted query letters to sell my idea to elusive book editors, who I imagine sit at mahogany desks behind heavy velvet curtains and collect  bad manuscripts to use as kindling.
 
Over the course of a year, I submitted a few queries and followed published authors' advice on what not to do: Don't submit to multiple publishers simultaneously! Don't mention that this is your first book! Don't be annoying by following up! And for goodness sake, don't expect a response!
 
In the meantime, I read stories about bestselling authors who received hundreds of rejection letters before someone gave them a shot. Those stories are simultaneously inspiring and deflating. How long could I send out query letters and cross my fingers in hopes that someone would see the potential in this story? 
 
The first steps to self-publishing a children's book
 
Trying to get a first book published as an unknown author is soul-sucking journey that is not for the faint of heart. As a full-time journalist, mother of two small kids and, frankly, someone with control issues and very little patience, the decision to take matters into my own hands was an easy one.
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I simply wasn't going to leave the fate of my idea in someone else's hands. It's 2020, my friends, and the path to successful self-publishing has been paved by many intrepid writers before me.

I tried to talk myself out of this path because, hell, I didn't know how to do any of the many things that had to be done. I had zero clues about how to hire an illustrator, a book designer, or how to launch and market a book. But guess what? Google will share all the answers and direct you to the people who do know if you simply type the questions and take the steps.

Self-publishing resources 
The first resource I found was Yvonne Jones’s excellent e-book, How to Self-Publish A Children’s Book, which laid out the road map in a way that made me realize I could do it. In that book I found the answers to questions that held me back from trying to self-publish on my own before. I learned the ins and outs of working with illustrator. I absorbed book marketing tips and templates to do things like create a detailed book launch plan. I also participated in Jones's Children's Book University for instructional videos and more resources.

Then I devoured Tim Grahl's book marketing guide, Your First 1,000 Copies, and subscribed to his Book Launch Show podcast. I decided to publish using Ingram Spark, and binge-listed to Ingram Spark's Go Publish Yourself podcast. I read Joanna Penn's How to Market a Book. I ​researched tools and invested in Publisher Rocket, which makes it simple to identify the right Amazon keywords to get your book in front of your target reader. 

Not all of those resources are specific to children's books, but taken together, those books, podcasts, and tools provided all the information I needed to move my sentences out of a Word document and into the fully illustrated children's book that became  available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indie Bound on April 7, 2020.

The Secrets of Santa's Trackers hit #1 in two categories on Amazon's Best Sellers lists. That list changes constantly, but now I know what to do and how to do it. I'm playing the long-game here, and will continue trying new ways to share the book with potential readers.
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Getting it out into the world took time; holiday breaks and weekends and late nights in between my real job and my responsibilities as a mother and a wife. But it wasn't work. I loved every minute of the learning process (and I still have so much more to learn).

The point here is that not knowing how to do the thing you dream of doing is no reason not to start. The information you need is available for the taking if you are willing to put in the time and  take the steps to make it a reality. 

Go take your first steps and most importantly, enjoy the journey.
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-Bridget