The Many Voices of Sacred Heart

Libby Talbot '23: on Publishing

Why did you decide to self publish and what was your journey like?

I originally was looking to publish with a company, but it was very hard to find a company to take a manuscript without an agent or who would publish my category of work. Also, pricing was a factor, and Amazon seemed to be the easiest and most practical way for an author of my age to publish a book. Since I am very new to publishing, I decided to take it upon myself and take the self publishing route. It was very difficult and tedious to continuously read the book and look for errors. Sometimes I just wanted to give up, but I told myself that one day I would be a published author. So I continued to push through. 

Tell us about your book: 

Hats is a YA novel about teenager Jack Degree who recently has moved to a new city. Although he does not like the idea of being the new kid, he cannot complain, as his younger sister  has been suffering from leukemia. As the man of the house at a young age, Jack has to deal with a load most teenagers do not. He learns to rely on family, friends, and his faith to get him through the hardest moments he has ever come to face. A sweet, innocent story about a family who deeply loves each other and sticks together throughout anything. 

View more info or buy the book here >

What inspired you to write a young adult novel?

Writing has always been a passion of mine ever since I was little. Story ideas just seemed to bounce off of anything I came upon in life, and I loved connecting them to the paper. My main goal was just to write a book, and it didn’t matter what age. However, I tended to write books with main characters around the same age I was. I had a habit of inventing many stories, but losing interest in them quickly and moving on to the next story. When I started Hats in 8th grade, I was around 13-14 years old and this was the first story I really stuck with. Therefore, my main characters were young teenagers. As I expanded upon the book in my high school years, I was able to better relate an authentic teenager experience to my teenage characters. 

How did Sacred Heart help or encourage you to pursue your creative writing journey?

Many of my English teachers supported me in my journey. My seventh grade ELA teacher, Miss Turner, encouraged my love for writing and shared that spark with me. My 11th grade AP Language teacher, Mrs. Stair, helped me connect with my writing and was able to teach me the value of incorporating emotions in writing as well. My 10th and 12th grade pre-AP and AP Lit teacher, Dr. Jacobi, showed me how to formalize my structure and professionalize the words I chose to use. As well, Sacred Heart allowed me to enter poetry and short story contests, my first attempt at sharing my writing with others. 

The class of 2023 had the greatest impact on my journey. They supported me endlessly and would always check in on the progress of my stories. They remembered the details of the characters, and enjoyed listening to what sometimes would be repetitive ideas. Over the course of five years, my friends would even give me suggestions or tell me when something didn’t make sense. They were just as excited about this accomplishment as I was and truly showed their support in every way they could. They understood the silliness in me that only comes out with the people I trusted the most, and they stuck by their crazy writer friend with all of her crazy ideas! 

My 20 years from now (accomplishment) in the yearbook says I will be a published author and now it has come true!

These girls understood how important creative writing was to me, which is something I will never forget.