 Photo Credit Courtesy: Trevor Romain Read Trevor Romain's story on resilience as a storyteller with publisher rejections to how he sold over 200,000 copies of children books: I get asked almost every day how I got my first children's book published back in the late 1900's. It wasn't simple and I had to work my backside off to make it happen. Just because I have books in print doesn't mean I automatically get every book I write published. I can say the same about almost every one of my 50 or so books. Even the small-print books that we released through the Trevor Romain Company, weren't a walk in the park. I did learn that putting your heart and soul, and then some, into something you are passionate about, and obsessed with, normally ends in a positive result. Not always exactly how you envisioned or planned though, but often in a better form. More than anything else, I realized that discipline, tenacity, patience and never taking no for an answer is how to get passion projects off the ground. I got over 400 rejections, for various book projects, before I landed up getting published by a major publishing house. The more I was rejected, the more I was determined to prove the rejectors wrong. I harnessed my frustration and anger and put it into the work. Make no mistake I did cuss a lot and throw manuscripts in the fire, and drink too much coffee, and wish flea infestations in the rejectors armpits, but I did realize that my favorite African proverb is true. 'Little by little, a little becomes a lot.' I must say, my early work was mediocre at best, but somewhere deep in the writing the publishers saw my energy and enthusiasm. I still cringe a tad at some of the illustrations I did for my very early books and, to this day, some of my publishers believe my style of illustration does not fit some of the books I write. And they are correct. I totally agree with them. I am thrilled to say that I listened to my editors at Free Spirit Publishing when they suggested revised versions of my Laugh and Learn book series, with new illustrator Steve Mark, including 'How To Do Homework Without Throwing Up' and 'Bullying Is A Pain In The Brain' (Pictured.) And boy am I so glad they did. These books have been in print for over 20 years and my black and white line drawing were tired and old fashioned. The new series is climbing back up the charts and that would not have happened if I had been arrogant and pig-headed like I was as a young writer who thought he knew everything. I would never be in the position I am in today if I hadn't learned to take criticism and to use it as a tool to help me make better decisions, and do better work, instead of thinking of it as a slight and a personal judgement. Rejection to me is just permission to go out and prove the rejector wrong. The Free Spirit series re-launch is wonderfully illustrated by Steve Mark. I am thrilled to say that combined, just these two books alone have sold over 220 000 copies and have been translated into 18 different languages. I'm happy to say the other books in my series have been updated too. Thank you to my fantastic editors Elizabeth Verdick and Eric Braun for helping me, a bona fide knucklehead, turn a bunch of crazy ideas, and impossible dreams, into real books that help kids face some pretty tough life situations.
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 [This giveaway is now closed!] We’re thrilled to give away 3 copies of "True or False? Tests Stink" books courtesy of Emily Dawson, who serves as a board member for the Clear The list Foundation.
To Enter, you MUST: -Leave a comment on this blog post on why you deserve to win this book! For additional entries, leave a separate comment below for each of the following tasks that you complete:
Each comment counts as a separate entry -- that's 6 chances to win! Entries must be received by 11:59pm CT on Sunday, February 28, 2021. [This giveaway is now closed!] The winners will be contacted via email on or around Monday, March 1, 2021 and will need a response within 48 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen. In two weeks, winner recipients who accept the book prize also agrees to write a book review. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. Winners must reside in the U.S. and be at least 18 years of age or older. Find more books written and illustrated by Trevor Romain here!  [This giveaway is now closed.] We’re thrilled to give away 3 copies of "The Other Side of the Invisible Fence" book courtesy of Emily Dawson, who serves as a board member for the Clear The list Foundation.
To Enter, you MUST: -Leave a comment on this blog post on why you deserve to win this book! For additional entries, leave a separate comment below for each of the following tasks that you complete:
Each comment counts as a separate entry -- that's 6 chances to win! Entries must be received by 11:59pm CT on Sunday, February 21, 2021. [This giveaway is now closed.] The winners will be contacted via email on or around Monday, February 22, 2021 and will need a response within 48 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. Winners must reside in the U.S. and be at least 18 years of age or older. Find more books written and illustrated by Trevor Romain here!  [This giveaway is now closed!] We're thrilled to give away 3 copies of "Under the Big Sky" hardcover book courtesy of Emily Dawson, who serves as a board member for the Clear The list Foundation.
To Enter, you MUST: -Leave a comment on this blog post on why you deserve to win this book! For additional entries, leave a separate comment below for each of the following tasks that you complete:
Each comment counts as a separate entry -- that's 6 chances to win! Entries must be received by 11:59pm CT on Sunday, February 14, 2021. [This giveaway is now closed!] The winners will be contacted via email on or around Monday, February 15, 2021 and will need a response within 48 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. Winners must reside in the U.S. and be at least 18 years of age or older. Find more books written and illustrated by Trevor Romain here!  [This giveaway is now closed!] We're thrilled to give away 3 copies of "Stress Can Really Get On Your Nerves" book courtesy of Emily Dawson, who serves as a board member for the Clear The list Foundation.
To Enter, you MUST: -Leave a comment on this blog post on why you deserve to win this book! For additional entries, leave a separate comment below for each of the following tasks that you complete:
Each comment counts as a separate entry -- that's 6 chances to win! Entries must be received by 11:59pm CT on Sunday, February 7, 2021. [This giveaway is now closed!] The winners will be contacted via email on or around Monday, February 8, 2021 and will need a response within 48 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. Winners must reside in the U.S. and be at least 18 years of age or older. Find more books written and illustrated by Trevor Romain here!  We're thrilled to give away 3 copies of "The Art of Caring" book courtesy of Emily Dawson, who serves as a board member for the Clear The list Foundation.
To Enter, you MUST: -Leave a comment on this blog post on why you deserve to win this book! For additional entries, leave a separate comment below for each of the following tasks that you complete:
Each comment counts as a separate entry -- that's 6 chances to win! Entries must be received by 11:59pm CT on Sunday, January 31, 2021. The winners will be contacted via email on or around Monday, February 1, 2021 and will need a response within 48 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. Winners must reside in the U.S. and be at least 18 years of age or older. Find more books written and illustrated by Trevor Romain here!  Launched in January 2020 with the vision to share bitesize stories on hope, inspiration and collaboration presents the Trevor Romain Podcast hosted by best-selling children's author, award-winning illustrator and sought-after motivational speaker Trevor Romain. Whether you listen to learn, to escape, or to discover, each episode uncovers in-depth stories from Trevor Romain's most enriching experiences. The podcast also received a nomination at the 2020 WeGo Health Awards for 'Best Podcast'. In picking some of the year's best podcast episodes, below are the most listened to episodes to date that continue to resonate with listeners across the world through heartwarming stories to give you hope in humanity in a very transformative year. 5. Episode 9: It Will Go Over In this episode Trevor shares a very powerful and uplifting story about how his mother comforted him during a time when he thought he was going to die. The episode concludes with a warm and touching segment in which Trevor interviews his mother during a recent visit to South Africa where she lives. Listen Now! 4. Episode 16: The Listening Season In this episode Trevor talks about spending time on a train with a soldier who has found a unique way of managing nightmares created by his struggles with PTSD. This simple yet powerful and poignant story helps us to appreciate the value of not only listening, but hearing what we are listening to. Listen Now! 3. Episode 13: Yours, Mine and Ours In this episode, Trevor talks about being a child and watching his father paint and how they managed to work together, and keep their creative bond intact, even after his father passed away. Listen Now! 2. Episode 2: It's in the Giving That You Receive In this episode, Trevor Romain has more than a million copies of his books in print in twenty-two languages. Many of his books are designed to help kids become happier, healthier and more confident. Trevor has worked extensively with terminally ill children, kids in orphanages, children in refugee camps and military kids. In this episode, Trevor talks about how he started his work with traumatized kids and how one small interaction, at a children’s hospital, changed the course of his life and career. Listen Now! 1. Episode 1: The Power of Kindness In the premiere episode, Trevor Romain talks about The power of Kindness — little by little, a little becomes a lot. Trevor Romain shares the story of how one boy’s small act of kindness changed another boy’s life and how the positive ripple-effect has radiated out to half a million children across the world. Listen Now! Learn more about the Trevor Romain Podcast and if you're already a listener, leave a review and tell us here for the opportunity to be featured and receive a small 'thank you' gift from Trevor for your time.  [This giveaway is now closed!] We're thrilled to give away 1 set of copies of "Taking the 'Duh' Out of Divorce", "How to Do Homework Without Throwing Up", "Bullying is a Pain in the Brain", "What on Earth Do You Do When Someone Dies?" and "Cliques, Phonies, & Other Baloney" books courtesy of Emily Dawson, who serves as a board member for the Clear The list Foundation.
To Enter, you MUST: -Leave a comment on this blog post on why you deserve to win this journal! For additional entries, leave a separate comment below for each of the following tasks that you complete:
Each comment counts as a separate entry -- that's 6 chances to win! Entries must be received by 11:59pm CT on Sunday, December 13, 2020. [This giveaway is now closed!] The winners will be contacted via email on or around Monday, December 14, 2020 and will need a response within 48 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. Winners must reside in the U.S. and be at least 18 years of age or older. Save 15% off in our store with promo code 'HeardThat15' here!  It's Trevor here! Many people have said, with what appears to be a genuine smile, ''What do you want for your birthday?' For those who mean it sincerely, and aren't just doing the Facebook dance, I do indeed want something for my birthday. More than want. It's something I need, for my birthday. I need a bit of help.
 [This giveaway is now closed!] We're thrilled to give away 2 copies of "Go Read" softcover books courtesy of Emily Dawson, who serves as a board member for the Clear The list Foundation.
To Enter, you MUST: -Leave a comment on this blog post on why you deserve to win this journal! For additional entries, leave a separate comment below for each of the following tasks that you complete:
Each comment counts as a separate entry -- that's 6 chances to win! Entries must be received by 11:59pm CT on Sunday, December 6, 2020. [This giveaway is now closed!] The winners will be contacted via email on or around Monday, December 7, 2020 and will need a response within 48 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. Winners must reside in the U.S. and be at least 18 years of age or older. Find the "Go Read" hardcover and save 15% off at checkout with promo code 'HeardThat15' here! |
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February 2021
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