Guest Blogger: Bobbie Hinman: You Are Never Too Old To Follow Your Dreams

You Are Never Too Old To Follow Your Dreams

By Bobbie Hinman

What do you mean, “You’re too old to start a publishing company!”?

Sixty-three isn’t old!

In fact, my years of life experience have finally given me the knowledge (and admittedly, the guts) to do something that I have always wanted to do – write children’s books. I wrote several small books in college and thus began my love of children’s literature. I didn’t have time to do it right after college. I was too busy teaching and putting my husband through school. I didn’t have time to do it while I was raising a family. I always put their needs first, knowing that my time would come. And this is just the right time.

My ideas for a series of fairy books grew out of the need to explain to my ten precious grandchildren the answer to some of the universal mysteries of life, such as “How did my hair get so tangled while I was asleep?” and “Whatever happened to my other sock?” I could have submitted my ideas to other publishers and waited for the rejection letters to roll in. No, I wasn’t being overly pessimistic. It’s just a known fact in the book world that a number of rejection letters almost always precede that special acceptance letter. At 63, I didn’t want to waste any time. I decided to form my own publishing company. My other motive for going this route in place of traditional publishing was that I wanted to retain control of all of the decisions about artwork, design, and all the other headache-producing decisions. I wanted excitement, work and challenges.

My children are grown and it has become increasingly important to me to leave them a legacy, one that isn’t measured in dollars and cents, one that will leave them something that they, in turn, can leave to their children.

   I have returned to my educational roots, started my own publishing company, and have released two children’s books. The Knot Fairy explains one of the universal mysteries of life – “How did my hair get so tangled while I was sleeping?” The Sock Fairy reveals the answers behind the dilemma of missing socks. Soon, my third book, The Belly Button Fairy will be released. In just a few short years, my books have won a total of eleven children’s book awards. But the real award is seeing the pride in my grandchildren’s eyes and knowing that this legacy will live on, and that I have taught them two valuable lessons in life:

(1) you can do whatever you want if you just work hard and never give up; and

(2) It’s never too late to follow your dreams.

Visit Bobbie Hinman at:

http://bestfairybooks.com

http://bobbiehinman.blogspot.com