[Danielle Balocca]: Hey listeners, this is Danielle. And Shelley. Shelley is a radical Dravidian and racial equity activist.
[Chelli Keshavan]: And Danielle is a community mobilizer and change maker. And this is the Medford Bites podcast. Every two weeks, we chew on the issues facing Medford and deliver bites of information about the city by lifting the expertise of our guests.
[Danielle Balocca]: Join us in discussion about what you hope for the future of Medford. And as always, tell us where you like to eat. Thanks so much for being here with me today. If you don't mind just introducing yourself with your name, pronouns, and a bit about who you are.
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, thanks for having me. My name is Kat Bacardi. I'm she, her, and I am from Medford. I'm a first grade teacher in Arlington and a children's book author.
[Danielle Balocca]: Thanks, Kat. We hope to hear a lot more about you and your book and being an author. Before we do that, I'd love for you to answer the question that we ask everybody on the podcast, which is, what is your favorite place to eat in Medford and what do you like to eat there?
[SPEAKER_02]: My favorite place to eat is definitely Razzos. Big Razzos fan. My favorite thing to eat there is probably their homemade fusilli. Very good. And the blackened shrimp with mashed potatoes on the side.
[Danielle Balocca]: I've never eaten at Razzle. I've been there for like a christening or whatever, but we mostly drink. Yeah, but it's a nice place.
[SPEAKER_02]: Really good. They have really good pizza, too. Oh, check it out.
[Danielle Balocca]: Great. Okay, so if you could tell us a little bit about like how you became a children's author sort of like what this means to you and anything you think we want to know.
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so I teach first grade. I've taught in Arlington for about 11 years. And so I'm around children's books all the time. And a few years ago, I just kind of had a thought in my head that I would want to create my own picture book, but I had no idea where to start. So I started doing my research, and then I think it was It was June 2018 that I really started doing my research, and then I wrote my first manuscript for my first book, which is now The Little Ouch. So it really was just like a whole Google game. I had no clue where to start, what a manuscript was, how to submit to publishing companies, How to get an agent, it was just completely new territory. So I really just researched my way through it. And then a few months later, I submitted my first manuscript. And I learned very quickly that it was super competitive. I was a little naive going into it. So I was originally submitting to traditional publishing companies, not knowing, again, how difficult it was. So then after a little bit, I learned what a hybrid company is, which is kind of like a mix between traditional publishing and self-publishing. And I ended up landing a contract with Mascot Books. They helped me publish my first book, The Little Ouch. I think it was two years later, that book came out in 2020. And then two years later, my second book, Twin Time, came out. And two years later, my third book, Ollie and Stella, came out.
[Danielle Balocca]: Can you tell us about what each book is about? So what is The Little Ouch about?
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so I actually have them here. The Little Ouch is about a little girl named Penelope who is afraid to get her flu shot. So I started writing that one. It's based on me as a kid screaming my head off at Medford Pediatrics. So I wrote that one because I realized how many of my own students also had a fear of going to the doctors and getting shots. Um, we had a flu shot clinic at our school and a lot of the kids really had a tough time with it. So, um, I realized that other kids could benefit from this kind of story and just helping them overcome their fear. So I created Penelope as the main character. And, um, it's, that's, that was a special one for me. Cause that came out right in the middle of COVID. So it ended up like really being relevant at that time with the vaccine. Yeah, everything coming out. So that was nice. And that's actually in all major Boston hospitals in Boston. So it's available for child life specialists and nurses. All the pediatric units have it. So that one's nice because every fall, it feels like it's relevant with the flu shot clinic and kids getting sick, like having to frequent the doctor more often. And people share really sweet stories of how it helps their kid or how they read it on the way to their appointment. Or I have a little girl who always reaches out to me when she has to undergo her chemotherapy sessions. She brings it for every single one. Sometimes kids read it when they get their ears pierced. There's like so many sweet stories. So that was a nice first one. And the second one is about twins. Yeah, the second one is about me and my twin brother and, um, my whole family is in this one, which was really special to make. So it's me and my twin brother, Chris, my older brother, Nick, my older sister, Lauren, and my parents. Um, so when we were little, we were crazy. And it's all, um, it's all about how we used to kind of mess with my older brother and sister, and there's all little true stories kind of woven into it. So it's basically about how, um, the twins learn to use their double brain power for good use instead of goofy tricks, instead of pranks. Um, and again, this was a special one to make, cause I got to kind of reflect on my childhood a little bit. And we have our tree house in here and hillside candy store. used to be up right in Medford. And that was a spot we would always go to when we were little. So that was cool because I gave my illustrator photos of us from our childhood so she could kind of accurately depict us as the characters. So my parents got a kick out of seeing themselves as characters in that one.
[Danielle Balocca]: That's awesome. I also have a twin. Oh, really? Yeah, we've never written a book about ourselves. But no, that sounds really fun. Yeah, is it twin boys? Twin sister, yeah.
[SPEAKER_02]: Twin sister, yeah. Wow, I love that.
[Danielle Balocca]: And then remind me of the third book.
[SPEAKER_02]: The third book is Ollie and Stella. This one just came out in the fall. So this is about my nephew, Oliver, and his puppy, Stella. And they live down in Florida. So it's all about their sweet little friendship and all the adventures they go on down in Fort Lauderdale. So I wrote that for my sister and her and her husband are in it. And it's funny because now Oliver's at the age, he's almost two, where he's starting to really see himself in the book and realize that the book's about him. So it's really cute in there. New Baby Sister just arrived three days ago. So that's exciting for them. But this book, I actually went a different route for. So my first two, I published with two publishing companies, Mascot Books and Orange Hat Publishing. They were both fantastic. And the way that that works is you put up your own investment, but then they assign you your team. So you have your editor, you have your marketing agent, You have your designer, they handle shipping distribution, your ISBN, and they handle getting you on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. And then you're really in charge of running your own events and reaching out to bookstores and libraries and advertising and everything on that front. But I decided to self-publish Ollie and Stella because just from a royalty standpoint, the cost of paper and printing and everything obviously went up with inflation. So my royalty really went down. And I felt like it was so much work that I poured into these that I just felt like I should be making a little bit more. So I ended up finding my own printer. out in China and I was very lucky. My illustrator stayed with me and she illustrated all three. And then I found my own editor and designer and I kind of found my own team. So that was really fun to make because it was definitely a learning curve from the first two where I had to really manage everything myself.
[Danielle Balocca]: It sounds like you learned a lot in that process and you're kind of set up to kind of figure it out on your own for the third. Is there any advice you would give to people who maybe are interested in trying to write their own books or kids books?
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so I actually have, I was getting so many questions from people saying like, you know, I've always wanted to write a children's book. Do you have any advice? Can I have a call with you? So one of my friends and I started, she's also a local author, my friend Lindsay Cadigan, she and I started doing author coaching calls, which I still do kind of on the side a little bit. So the way that works is I, I present a little slideshow to them and I basically break down the different, there's three paths to publishing, so I teach them about the different paths to publishing, teach them a little bit about manuscript writing and how to submit to those companies, things to keep an eye out for, kind of just like about the logistics and then the process, different resources, And then once I work with a client, I usually write them a plan specific to what they're looking for. So for example, I had someone I was working for last week and she was really needing help with her social media. She wanted to build her brand. So that was kind of her goal was I was really working with her on how to how to like build up or how to use the Instagram algorithm to kind of work for her and get more followers, get more traction, how to create posts, Just like little tips and tricks about that and then she also needed help with event planning so how to reach out to bookstores and libraries, and how to create different marketing tools like bookmarks and sell sheets and things like that. So that is one thing I do. And I always point people in the direction of my other little product that I created. And it's being sold on Amazon. So that's a little journal with guided prompts in it. And it's called The Aspiring Author Planner. And again, I made that because so many people were asking, I don't know how to get started. So there's some guided questions in there. It's small. It can fit right in your purse. and there's some questions in there and um I'm trying to think what else there's there is like a few little graphic organizers guiding questions on how to write like specific details about characters and plot and dedication and just like all the different steps to writing um so yeah that's that's one thing I always kind of encourage people just to check out if they felt like they needed some guidance but I do always tell people The one piece of advice that my publishing company gave me was ignore the naysayers. So that kind of stuck with me because if you tell someone like, oh, I'm writing a children's book, they kind of laugh. Or I guess now it's a little more common, but at the time, there were a lot of people that said there's no need for this story. Like when I wrote The Little Ouch, which ended up being ironic because then the pandemic came out and there was like a huge need for it. So you just have to really stick to your gut and believe in yourself. And it is hard. It's a tricky journey. But ever since COVID, a lot of people have learned to self-publish. So I feel like everyone was stuck in their house, everyone started writing, and people realized that they didn't necessarily need to go the competitive route and discouraging route of submitting to a traditional publishing company or an agent. They could just learn to self-publish. So Now there's like a huge influx of writers that are self-publishing their own books for free or just kind of like on their own. So it is definitely easier. It's definitely possible and it's easier than it used to be in the past.
[Danielle Balocca]: What's the like ballpark of the cost to self-publish a book?
[SPEAKER_02]: So it depends, because some people, there are people I know who have self-published a book completely for free. So you can self-publish a book on Amazon KDP for free. So for example, the Aspiring Author Planner I made, I published that for free. I just made it on Canva. followed the editing guidelines, and then I just uploaded it to Amazon KDP. So it's strictly being sold on Amazon. But then other people will hire an illustrator, and then they hire the editor, and you hire your team. So it really is such a range. I self-published Ollie and Stella. So with that one, after I paid my illustrator, my printer, my designer. I think like my whole team really once everyone was paid out, I think that one ended up being about maybe $3,000 to $4,000. But then the hope is that you make the money back. So after I publish each book, I have a big book launch party. And whenever you sell a book in person, you will make the full. The hope is that you make the full retail price back. So these books retail for $18.95. So when I sell them in person, whether it's at a book launch party or if I'm selling them for a school visit, or like a farmer's market or craft fair, whatever it is, I make the full 18.95. So you do make your investment back. And when you sell to bookstores or libraries, you would sell it at a wholesale discount. So the bookstore obviously makes their cut and you make yours.
[Danielle Balocca]: Wow. So it sounds like, you know, there's the themes vary a little bit in the three books, but is there sort of like a hope that you have for kids that are reading your books or for parents who might be thinking about buying them? Like, is there kind of an impact that you hope to have with these books?
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so I mean one author that I read to my students sometimes is Patricia Polacco, she also writes about her family. Because there's so many children's books out there and they all have different meanings and messages and themes and characters and settings and um it's really cool to see kind of like what people can put out there these books are obviously based on my family so it's the inspiration really came from like mostly my childhood for the little ouch and ollie and stella and i'm sorry for twin time in the little ouch um ollie and stella came from my nephew and his puppy. So definitely all family-based. Honestly, one of my favorite takeaways from it is just sharing them with my students. So it's cool for them, any young kids, it's cool for them to see what you can achieve. So my students are in first grade, they're 6 turning 7. And it is really sweet. It's really cute hearing their commentary on it. I think it's like the coolest thing that I've written three books. And we have them up on a little display in my classroom that says Dream Big. And they always talk about how I want to write a book or I started writing a book. So I hear from a lot of my older students, my previous students who are now in middle school and high school, And they've reached out to me and said, you know, I started writing or I've been following your journey and it made me want to write a book. So it's really nice to hear that. So I do hope that the kids in Medford feel inspired and just know that if they have a dream or a passion, they should totally follow it. Even if they have no idea where to start, they should hold on to it.
[Danielle Balocca]: I think it's also impressive that you're doing this all having a full time job as a teacher. It's a big load.
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you. It's nice too, because they're both so related. It's kind of funny, like when I wrote the little ouch, I read the manuscript to my students to kind of test the parts that they liked or the parts that they laughed at. And I did the same thing with Twin Time and they loved just being involved. So it was kind of nice to have an audience, like the targeted audience right in front of me where I could read it and then kind of gauge their likes and dislikes.
[Danielle Balocca]: A captive focus group you have there. Yeah. And so where can we find your books? Or are there any events that you have coming up?
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so the Little Ouch and Twin Time are on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Target. And they're all in local bookstores. So Ollie and Stella is being sold online, but just through my website. So really, if you go to my website, it's www.thelittleouch.com. And you click on my bookshop, there's links to purchase all three books. But there is a new bookstore in Medford. They have to give a big shout out to because we're so excited about it. It's Moon and Back Bookstore. It's adorable. It's right in West Medford. She has all three books there too. So I definitely encourage people to go shop local and support that new small business. And I have an event coming up at her bookstore on, I think it's Saturday, April 19th. It's at 2.30 and kids are encouraged to come by. I usually do a little story time. So that time I'll read Ollie and Stella and kids are invited to bring their favorite stuffy. And I usually give out some coloring pages and stickers and bookmarks and things like that. So it'll be a fun day.
[Danielle Balocca]: That's cool. Thank you. Is there anything else that you want us to know about you?
[SPEAKER_02]: I think that's it. Yeah, but thank you so much for having me. And I do just I do just hope that it's it's something that's inspiring for the kids in Medford and that they know if it's a passion they have, they should they should follow it.
[Danielle Balocca]: So thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. The Medford Bites podcast is produced and moderated by Danielle Balacca and Shelly Keshaman. Music is made by Hendrik Giedonis. We'd love to hear what you think about the podcast. You can reach out to us by email at medfordpod at gmail.com, or you can rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much for listening. Guys, what's the name of the podcast? Medford Bites. Medford Bites. Good job.