Super U Podcast | Self-Publishing in 2025 with Sheryl Bass

Today, Erik sits down with Sheryl Bass. Sheryl holds a master’s degree in Social Work and has studied child development. She uses these insights to inform her picture book writing. She has had personal essays published in two books, Lost Souls: Found! Inspiring Stories About Chihuahuas (Kyla Duffy and Lowrey Mumford) and Second-Chance Dogs: True Stories of the Dogs We Rescue and the Dogs Who Rescue Us (ed. Callie Smith Grant). Her goal in creating Be-Kind Publishing is to produce lighthearted rhyming stories with gentle themes of teamwork and friendship. Her book, Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze, has earned eleven international book awards, including five first-place wins! This debut book also reached Amazon’s bestseller status seven times in the two years since it was published.

Need a sneak peek? Below are the main takeaways from the episode.

Episode Preview:

“When I first thought about self-publishing, I imagined myself alone in a room with a book called Self-Publishing for Dummies and figuring it all out by myself. But that’s really a misconception. You can absolutely find your tribe—there are Facebook groups and other online communities full of supportive people and organizations.

For example, April works with a network of vendors and has a list of about 12 illustrators she recommended. These illustrators work under something called “work-for-hire,” which is exactly what you want as a children’s book author. It means you retain all the rights to your characters. So later, if you decide to make a plush toy, a board game, or any other product featuring your characters, you still own them once the book is published.

I reviewed the illustrators’ websites and narrowed the list down to four whose styles I really liked. April then suggested I have each of them sketch the same scene from my book—just a simple black-and-white drawing. I paid each illustrator $50 for the sketch. From those, I narrowed it down to my top two choices. Then I asked my friends and family, especially those with kids, to vote on which dragon they thought was cuter and why. That focus group helped me make my final decision, and that’s how I ended up choosing Crying Animation and Ramesh Ram.”

About The Book: Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze

by Sheryl Bass and illustrated by Remesh Ram

A sick baby dragon feels terrible when his fiery sneeze causes problems for a neighboring village. Can they forgive and find it in their hearts to help the giant young dragon? Follow one brave little girl who enters his cave and confronts the dragon. After learning about his plight, she advocates for him with the townspeople. It will take problem-solving at its best to prevent further destruction and heal the ailing dragon.

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The Super U Podcast is hosted by #1 bestselling author and Motivational Speaker Erik Qualman.