Alison Garwood Jones

Getting the word out about an independently-published book takes persistence and the forward lean of a battering ram. It also takes a set of clear targets.

I LOVE LIBRARIES

From the start, I wanted I MISS MY MOMMY, my illustrated book for orphaned adults struggling with grief, to be available in libraries, starting in Canada. It’s personal. I am a huge user of the Toronto Public Library.

I started by pitching to earn a listing in Whitehots, the catalogue Canadian librarians peruse when they have the budget to go shopping for new titles.

I earned a spot. Yay!

But my listing didn’t come with a book cover image, a throw to my website, or an ISBN  — just an N/A in all fields. The customer service rep was unable to correct the issues.

Having provided all of this information in my application, I wondered if my self-publishing status was resulting in this latest wah-wah-wah moment.

ENTER KIRKUS

By mid-August, I discovered that I MISS MY MOMMY had been awarded a star by Kirkus Reviews.

Established in 1933, Kirkus Reviews is the New York-based literary magazine synonymous with the gold standard of book reviews. A few Google searches helped me understand what the star meant. Of the over 10,000 books reviewed every year, ten percent earn the star.

Did this mean I could stop pushing and sit back? No. While the Toronto Public Library has already said yes to carrying my book, now it’s up to me to approach the purchasing departments at the libraries in Hamilton, Vancouver, Halifax, and more to ask if they will too. I’m good with that. I like the feeling of representing myself.

Oh, I went back to Whitehots and mentioned the star. Within five minutes, my listing went from a string of grey N/A’s to full-on technicolor.

THE REVIEW

Now the review. I thought it was sharp and very fair. I’m glad the reviewer and the editors understood and celebrated the spirit of my book. They did wonder, however, if I’d lost the plot when I included Trump and Putin in my lineup of grieving orphans.”Can their personalities be boiled down to a reaction to grief?” they asked.

This question is exactly why I included them in the book.

My book is available at PenJarProductions.com. It’s printed and shipped by the nice folks at Lulu Press.