Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Jackson.
Hi Danielle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thank you for having me! My name is Danielle Jackson. I’m an author and health education specialist in Atlanta, Georgia. I always knew I wanted to write a book, but novels were intimidating so I took the entertaining and exhilarating route and began creating my very own children’s books. My background is in nutrition and public health, thus I stayed in my lane of genius: healthy eating practices, gardening, and healthy self-care habits. My logic behind creating books around health and wellness included realizing that food topics can be a sensitive subject, especially for families. As well diet-related chronic disease states are among some of the primary leading causes of death within black and brown people.
I want to engage black and brown kids in conversations around food that are fun, creative, and educational. While giving them a voice that allows them to express their thoughts about the foods on their plate and their self-care habits.
Knowing why I wanted to write my book, I started writing my first book and creating my publishing company, Hello Legendary Press at the beginning of the pandemic. I had taken a self-publishing course that taught me everything from A to Z and I was ready to make my mark. From pen to publishing, my first book took me about six months. The process was tedious, rewarding, and unbelievable all at the same time. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the experience and each book has gotten better than the last.
Fast forward two years after I created my first book, I now have ten of Generational Health’s Favorite Children’s Books: five picture books and five activity & coloring books, all geared towards health and wellness activities. And the caveat is, I’m just getting started.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing worth having has a smooth road toward victory. The struggles include making a name for yourself, getting these self-published books out into the world, and not having enough hours in the day to do it all.
I was once told that being an author showcases a part of your soul. Now, I don’t know how true that is but writing and publishing my first book did put me in a vulnerable state. Of course, I loved my book but what if the world didn’t? I second guess myself many times, but I realized that this is my God-giving talent and I am walking in my Godly mission. So I put my books out into the world and people love them!
Marketing, OMG! Marketing is a beast within itself. Sidebar, I was never a fan of social media. For as long as I can remember, my only social media account was Pinterest. But once I started creating books, I needed people to see them and be curious about this movement that I was creating around Generational Health. So I learned how to post, do a boomerang, and show people who I am through a reel or a tweet.
Lastly, I believe many of us struggle with feeling as though there are not enough hours in the day. So I choose to make my publishing company a priority. Even if I sent one email, created one post, or sat down for 15 minutes to write a portion of my next story. I created the time.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Hello Legendary Press is a children’s book publishing company owned by myself, Danielle Jackson and my teenage son. We publish books that promote Generational Health. To us Generational Health is wholesome knowledge passed down through generations that has the power to decrease or eliminate diet related disease states. Generally, only 2% of high school students meet the requirement of vegetable consumption and 24% of black children in America are obese. Our children’s books encourage children ages 4-15 and families of color to become veggie lovers, community explorers, and healthy habit makers. Hello Legendary Press fosters a love of learning that does not compromise culture, curriculum, or creativity. We hope that Hello Legendary Press creates a sense of wonder in you so much that our children’s books become a part of your home library.
Mission Statement:
The Hello Legendary Press Mission to enable children to reach and expand their education and health consciousness potential to become Generational Health leaders.
Vision Statement:
To foster an individual love so healthy through literacy and learning that wholesome health knowledge is passed down to descendants to create the legacy of Generational Health.
I am most proud of the life that I have cultivated for myself and my family. Between me and my son, we have ten books that we published. That alone is a celebration! We continue to achieve our dreams and goals and aspire to become the best version of ourselves. We work at it every day, along with asking God to guide me through and he always does. We currently have a few things we’re working towards that will add value to our publishing company so we just take it one day at a time, delayed gratification vs instant gratification all day long.
The thing that sets us apart is we’ve cultivated a world where we don’t have to compromise. We provide our readers with culture, curriculum, and creativity. We don’t have to choose because our books represent us and our target audience looks like us so we create books that speak to our journey.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The publishing industry is becoming so diverse and I love it! So yes, this industry is changing and you will see more books from individuals who identify as BIPOC because of companies like Amazon KDP, and Ingram Sparks that allow self-published authors such as myself to publish our very own books. People are now able to tell their stories the way they want them to be told. No more knocking on traditional publishers’ doors asking for them to read your manuscript, you have all the tools available to create and publish your masterpiece.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hellolegendarypress.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellolegendarypress/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hello-Legendary-Press-LLC-105060388176552
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/press_hello
