How I helped Kathleen Templeton publish an award-winning book
- Colleen McCubbin
- Aug 27
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 30
Kathleen Templeton was a first-time author with a story idea about grief to help children and those who love and work with them work through the loss of a parent. Her fictional chapter book is deeply personal, rooted in her own experience of losing her mother suddenly when Kathleen was nine.
Kathleen came to Siretona with a sense of urgency to get the book out into the world.
We slowed her down and helped her make a strong launch plan.
We edited her book to excellence.
We encouraged her to take the risk on a Kirkus Review (she got a good one!).
We pointed her to an awards program and she has won FIFTEEN awards … and counting! Most recently she was shortlisted for The Word Awards in Canada.
We helped her start her own publishing company, Lemons & Sunshine Press.
If you are an aspiring author who wants to publish an award-winning book that readers love, we'd love to help you.
We have a process and a community to help you finish, produce, and promote your book. With two decades in publishing and book selling and genius for strategy and solutions, I can help you discover what's right for you and your book. Kathleen calls me "the book sherpa."
"I could not have polished my manuscript if it hadn't been for the talented Colleen McCubbin at Siretona Creative. Colleen, you worked tirelessly to teach me everything a new author-publisher needs to know to polish and successfully launch a book into the world. Your encouragement on hard days was valuable and wise. You started as my coach but became my friend." (from the "Acknowledgements" in Jar of Tears by Kathleen Templeton)
When we slowed Kathleen down, she took amazing notes, with a little notebook she referred to as her "Book Book" and a binder full of lists and charts and emails and other important information. She set up her office to support her success and regularly gave me video tours and once in person to demonstrate her progress. I was so impressed with her thorough organization, that I asked if she would write a course with me. She said yes, and Publishing Pathway was born!
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