It has been just over two weeks since we went public with our campaign to fund the publication of These Precious Little People, and we are already over a quarter of the way to reaching our target. My husband often describes me as a ‘glass half empty’ type person, so it has been hard at times recently to focus on how far we have come rather than how much there still is to raise. I am sometimes reminded of how I felt at the start of my rainbow baby pregnancies, when I was just filled with fear and self-doubt that I could bring a healthy, living baby safely into the world. I nicknamed our son ‘the acorn’ when we were pregnant with him, partly because his big sister Esme is buried under a beautiful oak tree in Epping Forest, but also because I wanted to try and have faith that, from the seed we had planted, something strong and mighty could grow up with us. According to legend, the acorn is a symbol of how hard work pays off over time. Nestled deep within the acorn is the potential for a great feat. As a tiny seed, it is nourished by the earth and warmed by the sun… and in time grows into a majestic oak. Like acorns, life’s great successes occur through many small tasks.
The legend's message is that acorns can be a reminder to you that mighty things can come from humble beginnings. On that note, back to the book. The pre-order stage of this project is absolutely crucial to its success. Without the backing of people willing to part with their hard-earned money ahead of publication, we will struggle to get the book printed, let alone help the charity that has so generously funded work on the book so far recoup its investment. We decided early on to self-publish this book. For me, it is too lengthy a process, and with too little prospect of success (especially given the difficulties currently faced by even the largest and most mainstream of publishing houses in this economic climate), to take a chance that anyone would have been willing to publish this book. Perhaps it was my pessimistic mindset speaking out too loudly, but I know from my research just how far we as a society have to go in terms of accepting that children not only grieve, but need and deserve decent bereavement support resources, and I didn’t want to have that potential delay to getting this out into the world to those families who want access to it sooner rather than later.
So, that is where you all come in. Think of the donation drive as a crowdfunder – a GoFundMe or Kickstarter style fundraiser (but without us having to sacrifice some of the donations that come in to those organisations through the platform fees they charge) – Joel The Complete Package have kindly agreed to set aside the money raised through the Golden Giving page set up to get this book published. The money donated will help us approach printers with a decent budget, so that we can come away having achieved the publication of this book more cost effectively, and with a better prospect of it reaching all the families who will learn of its existence and be able to access a copy when they need it the most. The large part of the costs involved in self-publishing are the set-up costs to print. This is why print-to-order publications are often either low quality, high cost, or, worse-case scenario, both. We want to have a good chance of ordering a decent amount of high quality books for our initial print run so that ultimately the cost of each book will remain affordable for anyone who would benefit from a copy. It is important to us – and we hope to you too – that the finished product will do tribute to our vision of creating a valuable support resource that is reflective of its importance to all the families that it is going to help. We would love to get as close to our fundraising target as possible, so we hope that people can continue to get behind the project and share it with their friends and families to keep spreading the word and getting that total continuing to head upwards. For just £7.50 you can secure yourself a copy of the book when it is published. For a donation of £20 or more you will not only get a copy of the book, but you have the opportunity to request that the name of a baby or babies is included on the dedication page within the book. All preordered books can be signed by me, the author, and you can also have them dedicated by hand to a child or children of your choice, at no extra cost.
And for those who might be wondering, my son, formerly known as the acorn, that tiny little seed that was planted with such timid hope, always gets comments from those who meet him on how tall he is for his age (some people even mistake him for having started primary school already – he is due to start in September 2019). For a precious little person grown by an anxious mum experiencing both hope and terror during the time he was growing inside of her, he’s proving to be a pretty magnificent little oak already, as is his little sister, whose name means oak tree in Hebrew.
