Before Dr. Seuss and Charles Schulz

Before the world had Dr. Seuss and Charles Schulz, and their characters’ spinoff products, the world had Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit. Although she wrote her children’s classic, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, in 1900, it didn’t find a publisher until 1902 when she was 36 years old. That publisher was Frederick Warne & Company. Even though they published it, they didn’t think it’d be much of a success.

The youngest brother in this company, Norman Warne, was given the book as his first project. He recommended to her that her drawings be in color; she recommended that, when published, the book would be small enough to fit in a child’s hands.

Well, we all know what happened. The book became a hit, and she followed this up with a Peter Rabbit doll in 1903. Such spinoffs made her a wealthy lady, indeed.

So, we’ll never knows what will happen with our books if we don’t try. Therefore, don’t listen to naysayers. Pursue your dream…and write, write, write.

BBC did a wonderful series on Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit, a mixture of live action and animation.