Kristen Otte of Dayton has loved to read and write for as long as she can remember but about six years ago, she looked in to publishing for the first time.
“I got involved in a writers group and started writing a lot more than I had been,” Otte said. “I took some online classes and started to write short stories because this forces you to tell a good story in a short format.”
Otte also knew from classes and other writer friends that it’s easier to write about what you know, so she started first writing about her dog. Other members in her writers group suggested she think about writing children’s books.
“My group suggested I could modify the characters and make them more playful,” Otte said. “And that’s where my first chapter book series, The Adventures of Zelda, got started.”
Otte said her “Zelda” chapter books are aimed for the 8-10-year-old set — “after picture books and before young adult novels.”
“Each chapter tells a story from the first person perspective of a pug dog,” Otte said. “I love that my stories make kids laugh. This is especially great for reluctant readers because it keeps them reading.”
And it has also kept Otte writing. Her sixth “Zelda” book was published last summer and they are selling well and continuing to entertain kids with the main character’s antics.
After publication of the sixth book in the series, Otte gave birth to her son, who just turned a year old, and she decided to take a break to focus on him. During that time, she started looking at her next series of books aimed at older elementary-aged kids. She researched what older kids were most interested in reading and looked at common themes and found, again, that humor was very popular.
“A lot of popular books also have characters that aren’t the best kids,” Otte said. “In fact they were sometimes kind of mean.”
But Otte didn’t want to write a book that featured a main character she wouldn’t want her own son to read about and, after talking to several of her friends who are teachers, found they had the same concerns. That’s when she came up with the concept for her next book — Alien Kid.
“I wanted to write a funny series for older kids and create a character that makes mistakes but that wasn’t always looking to make fun of others,” Otte said. “Alien Kid is from another planet and is trying to keep his secret.”
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Otte has enjoyed having the flexibility to self-publish her books with the help of several mentors.
“I tried the traditional route (of publishing) for a while, but I knew the Zelda book wasn’t going to sell that way,” Otte said. “A pug as the main character is not what publishers are looking for.”
With traditional publishing, a prospective author must first find a reputable agent who will then attempt to “sell” his or her story to the various publishing houses. This is often a daunting, expensive process, especially for fledgling authors.
Though self-publishing requires more work from the writer’s end, there is also more control over the process. The writer decides who to hire for editing, cover design and how to publicize the book.
“Amazon.com is a big player in this (self-publishing)” Otte said. “They have their own service and anyone can upload their book as long as you know how to convert it to an E-book file.”
Other companies are also involved in the self-publishing industry, including Barnes and Noble, and Apple.
“A lot of traditional publishers are starting to pick up independent authors,” Otte said. “You might get noticed and they may bring you on. My first book in 2013 was trial and error because you can’t just put a book out there and expect it to sell. I’ve learned a lot over the years to get my books in the hands of as many kids and parents as possible. It’s the best way to get the word out.”
Otte visits local schools and talks about her books and her first book is free on Kindle and iBooks.
Contact this contributing writer at banspach@ymail.com.
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Online: For more information about Otte's books, go online to www.kristenotte.com.
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