Publishing 1st children’s book a labor of love

KAPA‘A — Elizabeth Sancho’s dream of becoming a published author took nearly 10 years to realize.

Before publishing her book, Sancho, a fourth-grade teacher at St. Catherine School in Kapa‘a, combed through all of the fine details of her debut children’s book, “The Sailor and the Mermaid.”

Creating the narrative for Sancho’s debut offering was a portion of the creative process that came naturally for her.

Making the 36-page book packed with lively illustrations and colors to stand out in a competitive marketplace required more time.

Deciding to self-publish the book, Sancho published a physical run of the book in June of 2019.

Sancho said she has plans to expand the distribution from its short run two years ago by printing on digital formats and developing an audio recording.

Before creating the book, Sancho sought the advice of Judah Freed, a well-established author and journalist on Kaua‘i.

“It’s been a long journey,” Sancho admits. “I started working on this project when my daughter was 10 days old, and finished the first round when she was 10 years old.”

Sancho, who found an experienced illustrator, Marco Cannella, on a Craigslist.com post, said they only met a few times to discuss the layouts.

After meeting with him to discuss the project, Sancho gave Cannella creative license to create illustrations that would sync with the narrative.

The narrative, a timeless classic that takes place in Hanalei Bay and includes the Amalfi Coast of Italy where the sailor meets a mermaid, was a process in the making.

“(Writing children’s books) is where my heart is,” Sancho said. “I can read children’s books again and again. I can read to my students, and it just brings joy to the world.”

A teaching lesson

Sancho, who said she wants to create more children’s books in the future, teaches her students the art of writing.

The author spearheads a program at St. Catherine called Studentstreasures, a student publishing program that helped create more than 15 million young authors.

“I would say to my students our motto in our writing workshop is, ‘when it is done, you’ve only just begun,’” Sancho said. “The whole writing process is a series of events and, truly, the first draft is just the beginning. You have to do lots and lots of drafts, and it’s good to edit.”

For Sancho, seeing the children publish their finished product is gratifying.

“When they complete it, it’s amazing, and I am so proud of them,” Sancho said. “When they get their first book, it is all worth it (going through the editing process) at the end of the day.”

Sancho said this is just the start of her writing career.

“I feel like this is a life-long dream come true,” Sancho said. “I had to learn the process and go for it. Now I know I can do it.”

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Jason Blasco, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.