A month ago, I clicked “Publish” on my very first children’s book.

If I’m being honest, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I started the process—or what would happen next.

I imagined there would be a sale or two. Maybe a few sweet congratulatory messages. And while those things did happen, I was surprised to discover that most of my attention quickly shifted to the backside of publishing.

There were metadata updates, proof copies, website edits, Amazon dashboards, and me refreshing pages far more often than I’d like to admit.

Publishing a book has been one of the most rewarding—and humbling—things I’ve ever done. The creative ideas that had lived only in my head for years finally found a paper home, and there is something incredibly fulfilling about that.

Here’s what the first month has looked like.

The Wins

By the end of June, three Fableway Forest books and the first Forest Explorer Activity Book were officially available.

Mind. Blown.

Book four has now gone live on July 1st. This book tried to take me out with its endless revisions and constant rejections, but we made it.

The Hedge Burner officially launched with a brand-new website, blog, and newsletter. Subscribers are still few, but hey…if you’re reading this, feel free to hit that subscribe button. 😄

I also set a sales goal for myself—and somehow exceeded it. That genuinely surprised me because, right up until launch day, very few people even knew the books existed.

What started as one idea has grown into something much bigger. Holiday books are already in production, complete with coordinating activity books.

And because apparently I don’t know how to slow down, I also outlined and started writing a novel.

Just typing that sentence makes my own eyes go wide as I wonder whether I’m qualified to do such a thing.

The Surprises

Writing the book turned out to be only a small part of publishing it.

Illustrating is an incredibly time-consuming process, and every page has the power to either strengthen or interrupt the flow of the story.

I learned about ISBNs (and how expensive they are), distribution options, websites, newsletters, SEO, metadata, social media, proof copies, and more publishing terminology than I ever expected.

Let’s just say there was a learning curve.

Actually…it felt more like a roller coaster.

The Hard Parts

There were moments I questioned everything.

Production delays.

Waiting for books to go live.

Learning entirely new platforms.

Refreshing dashboards…a lot.

Wondering if anyone would actually read something I’d poured so much time into creating.

Those moments are real, and I think they’re worth talking about because they’re part of the journey too.

Nobody wants to spend months creating something only to send it out into the world and hear nothing.

The nerves were definitely nerving.

The Numbers

I’m learning not to measure success only by sales.

Every order has a real person behind it.

Every subscriber chose to spend part of their day with me.

Every encouraging message reminds me why I started.

Those things matter just as much as the numbers on a dashboard.

The Biggest Lesson

You don’t have to know everything before you begin.

Read that again.

It’s true.

If I’d waited until I understood publishing, websites, email marketing, SEO, and distribution, none of this would exist. I’d still be sitting with a head full of ideas instead of books sitting on shelves.

The only reason I know more today than I did a month ago is because I started anyway.

Looking Ahead

Over the next few months, Fableway Forest will continue to grow with new adventures, seasonal books, and more stories from the forest.

The Hedge Burner will keep documenting the journey—the successes, the mistakes, the lessons, and everything in between.

And eventually, I’ll launch the first of what I hope will be many novels.

One month down.

Many more adventures to come.

I have no idea what this post will look like a year from now when I come back and read it. I hope I’m smiling at how much there still was to learn. But no matter what happens next, I’m grateful I had the courage to start.

Thank you for being here at the beginning.

Your friend in the hedges,

Morgan