Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, June 27, 2012, Pages 1 & 3

One attraction for the upcoming Ayr Days celebration is a book signing by two authors with ties to Ringgold county.

Janet BARKER KNEDLER of Topeka, KS and Mary MARTSCHING of Mount Ayr will sign books and answer questions at the event to be held at the Mount Ayr Public Librrary.

(This week we will profile KNEDLER and her journey to becoming a published author. Next week we will present a similar interview featuring MARSCHING.)

Former Mount Ayr resident Janet BARKER KNEDLER of Topeka, KS, has written and published a children's book entitled, "The Funtastic Adventures of Smoki."

Smoki is a rescued shelter dog who doesn't mind being dressed up or living with cats. She dreams of adventures and sometimes they come true.

KNEDLER is the daughter of Guelda and the late Marshall BARKER of Mount Ayr.

Rec-News: Please describe your most recent book.

JK: "The Funtastic Adventures of Smoki" is about a real dog (our grand-dog) who lives with her family in South Dakota. She was rescued from the pound about 11 years ago and is like one of their children. She somehow understands what they say to her with just words and lets them dress her up in clothing without minding at all. In this book, she dreams of going places, places she has been and dresses accordingly. Anyone who likes dogs, I think would enjoy this book, and it was written with little children in mind.

The story was actually started by my son and his family who gave me a home-made book about Smoki for my birthday because I had been so astonished by how much this dog understands human words. She is really a funny, family dog.

Rec-News: How many books have you written?

JK: I have written several books that I haven't tried to publish yet. They are just waiting on KMEDLER book signing part of Ayr Days celebration the back burner because I really haven't had time to try and get them published. It takes a lot of time to follow the correct protocol when contacting and submitting to publishers. You are supposed to only submit to one publisher at a time and it usually takes six weeks or more to hear from them whether they will accept your submissions. If they dont, then you start all over again.

Rec-News: When did you begin writing?

JK: I first found writing fun and interesting in fourth grade, many years ago. I loved to write mysteries and would just write them on my own and show my teacher. Several times she would read the stories for the whole class. I still have my autograph book, where Mrs. JONES wrote: "I will remember you fondly, when, in the future, you will go down as a famous author." I don't know about the famous part, but I did finally author a book. I have written several articles for small publications. I love to write children's stories and poems. I wrote several children's poems for my son's class when he was in first grade and the teacher liked them so well, that she wanted me to keep writing. Years ago, I tried to have them published but finally got burned out. What helped me try again was the fact that I read where the author of "Roots" got rejected several times over several years before he was published.

Rec-News: Where do you find your subjects/storylines?

JK: I like to write about every-day happenings. Animals are probably my favorite things to write about. I have several poems about children and animals but have read where rhyming verse isn't easy to get published anymore. Publishers like self-help books or something that teaches a lesson. I don't always agree with that because I like to read for the enjoyment and entertainment.

Rec-News: What is the greatest challenge for a beginning author?

JK: I knew it would be very hard to get published, and after talking and contacting publishing companies, you really get disappointed when it seems like the only people that get published are celebrities. My book was published through Mennonite Press, Inc. They are a large printing/self publishing company. I had contacted several publishers, and they wanted more education in the book, so I included a map on certain pages for children to see where the states are located for Smoki's travels. Several publishing companies really enjoyed the story [Page 3] and where the adventures take Smoki, but most of them weren't accepting anything submitted for children's books until 2014 or beyond. I talked to several self-publishing companies, and they said this is the way most people are going now because there are over 270,000 books submitted each year and only about two percent ever get published. It is very hard, so you need to be patient.

With my book, I had several photos to submit along with text. Getting the publisher to accept the photos was challenging. The photos had to be a certain pixel, certain size and formatting it correctly took several tries. Mennonite Press was nice to work with and patient with me.

Rec-News: Describe your writing "routine."

JK: I write at different times. Most of the time my ideas come while riding along the road on a vacation, especially, the poems about everything and anything. I try to keep a notebook to write them down, so I won't forget them.

Rec-News: In your opinion, are writers born or can they be made?

JK: I think some people are just born with the ability to write, being musical or being an artist, etc. I didn't especially love English in school, but I did like spelling and grammar. Spelling is especially important when trying to get published or even writing a resume. I worked several years with government and state publications for the Kansas State Historical Society with the library division. I learned a lot about how to read the print included in the publications that you usually don't pay any attention to, such as issue and volume numbers, call numbers, publishers, etc. It was all very interesting.

Rec-News: In your opinion, is writing more inspiration or perspiration?

JK: With this book, trying to get everything formatted, photos included, and talking many times with the publisher on changes, etc... I would say inspiration 20 percent and perspiration 80 percent.

Be prepared to make lots of changes, be able to format correctly, spend lots of time talking to the publisher and understand the language of the publisher as far as what you will need for the book. You need an ISBN number so publishing companies or stores can link your name with the books you write. Also a barcode and Library of Congress number are usually included in the book, if you are planning on selling in book stores.

In this day and age of digital and computer technology, it helps to get your information out to the public. I have "The Funtastic Adventures of Smoki" on www.amazon.com to see a few pages before purchasing and also www.mennonitepress.com has pages to view from the book. You can also contact janylynpublications@yahoo.com for information on purchasing a book or come by and see me at the Mount Ayr Library from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. for a book signing on July 20 for Ayr Days.

Photograph courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, July of 2013