Check Out My Newest Guest Post From Tara Lala Plus Check Out Her New Book Luella's Library & Enter A Giveaway! #LUELLASLIBRARY ~

This post is sponsored by Expound Publicity. The review and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal views.

Step-by-Step Guide for Publishing 5 Books By Author Tara Lala

How I published 5 books before age 22

*At age 14, the summer before my freshman year of high school, I wrote the first draft of my first book, Twincesses

*I found an editor and she gave me a lot of edits on the plot of my story. We sent multiple drafts back and forth until she thought it was ready to be sent to a publisher

*I found a publisher: Mascot Books. Mascot accepted my manuscript and I started the publishing process

*Publishing process includes: grammatical edits, choosing an artist to draw the cover, and re-reading the manuscript several times once it’s in a book format to make sure there are no typos or other errors

*At age 15, the summer before sophomore year, I began writing the first draft of my second book, Tails from Down Under

*I hit a writer’s block, and didn’t finish the book until a year later, the summer before junior year

*I sent my manuscript for Tails from Down Under to the editor. We followed the same process as Twincesses

*Twincesses released when I was 17

*Mascot Books accepted the manuscript and we began the same publishing process together

*At age 17, the summer before senior year, I wrote my third book, An Alani Adventure

*Tails from Down Under released when I was 18

*I sent my manuscript for An Alani Adventure to a new editor, as my old editor began working on her own personal projects. My new editor and I followed the same process as I did with my previous editor

*Mascot accepted the manuscript and I began the same publishing process with them

*At age 19, when I was a freshman in university, I wrote a short story called Minty the Mischievous Elf

*I worked with the same editor as An Alani Adventure

*An Alani Adventure released when I was 20

*When I sent my manuscript of Minty to Mascot, they said I needed to either shorten it to picture book length, or lengthen it to a novel. They suggested doing a novel, because that’s what I was used to. But my goal was to have a bedtime picture book.

*I shortened my story into picture book length, and Mascot accepted it. For the publishing process, rather than spending time re-reading for errors, the main focus was communicating with the artist, who played a large role in the book

*I chose my artist, and she did a wonderful job bringing my vision to life. The book was sent to print once she had finished her illustrations

*At age 20, I wrote my fifth book, a picture book, Luella’s Library

*After writing it, I found out my new editor had also stopped editing and was pursuing personal projects

*Because it was a picture book and less heavy on plot details, I decided to not find a new editor and let the editors at Mascot have a look

*Mascot accepted my manuscript, and made minute fixes to the story. We went through the same process as we had with Minty the Mischievous Elf, and this time I chose a new artist, who also did a wonderful job bringing my vision to life

*At age 21, Minty the Mischievous Elf released

*This September, just a couple weeks before I turn 22, Luella’s Library will be released

ABOUT THE BOOK

Luella’s Library
Written by Tara Lala
Illustrated by Francesca Pesci
Ages: 8-10 | 38 Pages
Publisher: Mascot Kids (2025) | ISBN: 979-8891384798

Publisher’s Book Summary: Luella loves to read books, but her best friend, Lino, doesn’t.
What Lino soon discovers is that the books in Luella’s library are magical! When one of her books transports them to an enchanted land, they have to face unexpected obstacles and help new friends.

Will Luella and Lino complete their journeys along the way? Will they be able to help their new friend find his way back home? Or will Lino choose his phone over the adventures Luella’s library has in store?

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Bookshop.org

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tara Lala lives in Los Angeles, California. She has enjoyed writing since she was five years old, and is now attending the University of Southern California. She wrote Luella’s Library when she was twenty, and hopes that her readers will be inspired to put down their phones and pick up an exciting new book to read. You can check out her other books: Twincesses, Tails from Down Under, An Alani Adventure, and Minty the Mischievous Elf. Follow her on Instagram at @taralalaofficial for more!