GILROY
– Karen Beaumont’s latest children’s book,
”
I Like Myself,
”
is an easy and delightful read. The process of writing it,
however, wasn’t always so.
GILROY – Karen Beaumont’s latest children’s book, “I Like Myself,” is an easy and delightful read. The process of writing it, however, wasn’t always so.
The San Martin-based author would know. She’s published five children’s books and is a featured author this month, with books prominently displayed in Barnes & Noble stores across the nation. On June 19, she’ll sign and read from “I Like Myself” at the Gilroy bookstore located at the new Gilroy Crossing shopping center at U.S. 101 and Highway 152.
“No one would believe what goes into a children’s book,” said Beaumont, who declined to give her age. “There’s the misconception that it must be easy because you’re writing for children. It’s a real fallacy.”
Instead, the process takes years of dedication and constant effort, and then some more tweaking, Beaumont said.
She’s had 30-minute discussions with her editor over punctuation: Would a particular sentence be better served by a semi-colon, comma or dash? Behind-the-scene issues like story idea, target age group, narrative arc and length are considerations that belie the simplicity of children’s books.
It’s all a labor of love for Beaumont.
Her career in children’s books has been a long process that is “just now starting to pay off.”
“Writing and submitting, writing and submitting and getting rejected – it’s a big, huge test of tenacity,” Beaumont said. “You can’t be too ego-bound and you can’t be too sensitive to criticism.”
Beaumont remembers when an editor “totally ripped apart” one of her manuscripts and advised her to rewrite the entire story, keeping just one verse.
Now, she’s sold 11 books to publishers, three of which were published this year.
Inspiration to try children’s book writing came from her two daughters, now both in college. When they were little girls, Beaumont would bring them to the library and check out as many as 70 books.
“I begged them to let me read more to them,” she recalled. “At the time I arrogantly thought, ‘Well if this is it, I can do better.’ ”
Beaumont took a day-long children’s writing seminar in 1985 and mustered the courage to start submitting her work four years later. In April 1997, her first book, “Louella Mae, She’s Run Away,” was published.
While the irregular hours and unpredictable paychecks of children’s writing have been trying, Beaumont has no regrets.
“When I’m writing, I’m the happiest I could be,” she said. “Knowing that your words will make a child laugh or learn how to read or be nicer to their friends, that intrinsic value is reward enough for me.”
“I Like Myself” encourages readers to accept themselves the way they are. While it has a message of self-affirmation, Beaumont says she didn’t start out with any didactic intentions.
“I like to entertain, and if there’s more, that’s a bonus,” she said. “I don’t like preachy books. They go in so heavy-handed; it’s condescending to kids’ intelligence. It’s too pat and too predictable.”
Instead, Beaumont prefers to let rhyme, rhythm and wordplay color her stories, while characters and plot lines develop themselves. She compares her writing process to “splashing in word puzzles.”
“It’s not anything that I ‘left brain,'” she explained. “I’d call it almost a spiritual process. It kind of directs you.”
Beaumont plans have two books come out every year and hopes to do more author presentations at local elementary schools.
“I see myself writing until I’m 100-and-something,” she said.
Karen Beaumont will read and sign books at Barnes and Noble at Gilroy Crossing June 19. The event will begin at 2 p.m. Details: Contact Barnes and Noble at 846-5777.
