Photo by Marcia Keough
Today we’d like to introduce you to Janet Sever Hull.
Hi Janet, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always written stories for as long as I can remember. At some point, after I left home, my mom gave me a box of school papers she had saved. There were essays I had written as early as second grade. During my senior year in high school, my journalism teacher entered a feature story I wrote for our school magazine in a national writing competition. The competition was sponsored by the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association. My story was called “From Tennis Team to Wheelchair Life” and it won the competition. I’ve always wondered why they didn’t offer a scholarship as part of the prize for winning. I attended and graduated from Purdue University but didn’t major in journalism or writing. I was a staff writer for the Purdue Exponent daily student newspaper during my years at Purdue. After college, life got busy with marriage and a career. I still wrote regularly but thought of it as just a hobby. In the fall of 2001, I wrote a story called “The Button Box” for a local writing competition sponsored by the Kalamazoo Gazette in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where I lived at the time. My story was about my family’s button box that had been passed down through the generations. It took first place in the “personal memoir” category and was published in the newspaper on Christmas day. I was so disappointed because I thought no one would read the newspaper on Christmas day. Boy, was I ever wrong! For four years after my story ran in the paper, people called me on the phone and sent me snail mail letters telling me how much my story had touched their hearts. (Remember, this was in the time when everyone had phone books with published phone numbers and addresses and lined phones. Very few people had computers and cell phones.) Many people suggested that I turn my story into a book.
At Christmas of 2012, my adult children suggested that it was time for me to do something with all of the writing I had done over the years. I thought about their words and agreed. I shopped my story to several small publishers and got some nice rejection letters. One small publisher in Oklahoma was interested and sent me a contract. I called to talk with them and asked about creative control of how the final book would look. I was told that they wanted my words and that they would take care of the rest. I had a picture in my mind of how the book would look, and I didn’t want cartoon-looking illustrations. I wanted realistic ones in vibrant colors. They basically said, “too bad, so sad,” so I said, “thanks but no thanks,” and decided to self-publish. I established my own publishing company called “Walk Down the Lane Publishing.”
In April of 2013, I attended the North Texas Book Festival with the goal of finding an illustrator. As I talked with the different authors who were there that year, I asked each one if they knew of any local artists/illustrators who might like to illustrate for a first-time book author. I came away with the name of Vicki Killion Guess, a Grapevine, Texas artist and art teacher. I called Vicki and told her about my story. She said she was interested but would like to read it first. After I sent her the story, she called me right away and said she would love to illustrate my story!
“The Button Box” was published in 2014 and was a finalist in the national Best Book Awards in 2016. After the first book was out, Vicki asked me if I had any more stories because she wanted us to keep working together. I gave her two more stories, and they became our next two books, “Which Came First?” and “The Day Turkey Came to School.” Both books won “Best Children’s Book” at the 2017 and 2018 North Texas Book Festival, respectively. Since then, we have published “The Halloween Scare” (2021) and a Christmas story for adults called “The Christmas Church.” (2022). We are currently finishing our next book, “Love Hearts,” which will be published in early 2023.
Besides writing and publishing award-winning books, I’m a fierce believer in the importance of literacy, and I support literacy by donating books to libraries around the country and through my work for the last five years as a board member of the North Texas Book Festival. At Christmas, I partner with Pilots for Kids and hand out books to children in local hospitals. My hope is that children of all ages will grow up loving books and reading!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Self-publishing is not easy. When you self-publish, you pay an illustrator, a graphic designer, an editor, and a printer. You also do your own marketing, selling, and shipping of books. It’s a lot of work but is also very personally rewarding when someone tells you how much they have enjoyed a story or that it made them laugh or think of their own childhood! My books are known primarily in Texas and in Indiana, and Michigan, where I lived until I moved to Texas 12 years ago. They sell through my marketing on social media, and at stores I’ve contacted over the years. I’ve had many people share my books with friends all over the country so I’ve gotten orders from places I’ve never expected. I’ve always wondered what would happen if my books were better known throughout the country!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I write early in the mornings…usually from 5:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., then I go to my day job as a Senior Living Manager at a retirement community in Denton. I work with 200 independent residents connecting them with the right homes and resources to remain independent as long as they are physically able. On weekends and some evenings, I book events and signings.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
My books are very descriptive and fun to read. People can relate to the stories in them. Adults enjoy reading them as much as children do. People who know my books know they are getting a good quality product that will take them on a story journey. For my personal success, perseverance…slow and steady wins the race! My hope is that people will pick up my books and find something personally meaningful in the stories!
Pricing:
- $19.95 for my hardcover books
- $10-$12 for my softcover books
Contact Info:
- Website: www.janetseverhull.com (author website) www.walkdownthelane.com (blog)
- Instagram: @janetseverhull
- Facebook: Janet Sever Hull
- Twitter: Janet Sever Hull
Image Credits
Jeff Hull
Paige Sever
