"You must never give up. You never know what else will develop". What Roland Gitschner formulates as the conclusion of his children’s story about a small pear is also emblematic of himself. He has submitted his manuscript to 20 publishers. 20 times it was rejected.
It seems almost like the classic way to a book. Many authors before him have had the same experience. Never give up! Joanne K. Rowling has run off her heels to find a publisher for "Harry Potter" to find. The manuscript was too thick, he said. Not interesting for young people. Quite a few so-called experts will have bitten themselves in the backside posthumously because they had underestimated the potential of the story.
Of course, with "Harry Potter Roland Gitschner does not want to be measured. It is too early for that. The rejections he has received from children’s book publishers, however, coincide with those of his English colleague. "A frahling answered me that he could not imagine that a pear would be a figure of identification for a child," he says at the end of the story, Gitschner says, shaking his head. At least Gitschner’s son could identify with the sweet little fruit.
Bedtime story
As a little boy, his father told him a bedtime story about a little pear that doesn’t want to grow up. After all, she knows about the fate that threatens a beautiful, juicy pear. So it stays on the tree for a long time, until it finally becomes the biggest of all pears. And at some point it falls to the ground. "Oh dear, either I’m rotting now or will soon be eaten by humans or bees", thinks the pear.
The next day, a person actually picks them up and takes them home. But there she is placed in a fruit bowl, together with grapes, apples and bananas. And now it dawns on her that she is the star of a still life that a painter wants to capture on canvas. "Now she can still be seen in many years to come. And that was her most ardent wish", it says at the end of the story.
Lovingly illustrated
Children’s book stories live from good images that draw children into the story. "An acquaintance of mine had a friend who was good at drawing", Roland Gitschner tells. Twice the amateur author and the amateur painter Martina Moller met, then ten pictures about the life of the little pear were ready. Gitschner is highly satisfied. "The pictures are painted with great love", says the 50-year-old, who works professionally as a severely handicapped assistant. Another acquaintance, Hellena Lehmann, then put the picture and text together and digitized the book master. Then it went to the publisher epubli.
The company, founded in 2007, publishes books in the so-called "book-on-demand" format-process out. The book is given an ISBN number and can be ordered from traditional and digital bookstores and, of course, from epubli itself. There is no need for printing subsidies, for which the author has to pay in advance. The book is only printed when ordered and paid for by the reader. The price is set by the publisher. The hardcover version of the book costs 15.90 euros, while the 16-page hardcover version is considerably cheaper at 8.60 euros.
More books to follow
"I never thought of writing a book", says Gitschner with a laugh. He holds his book in his hands and still can’t believe that he has actually become a book author. He has meanwhile completed a second project. "The little earthworm who didn’t like water", it will be called. Martina Moller is once again his illustrator. Currently she is busy with the sketches. "I have a third story all ready in my head", Gitschner follows up. "None of my stories develops in a straight line", he reports, without revealing the content of the stories in advance. "You never know how it will turn out. Good stories often develop differently."
This could also be emblematic of his own life story. A start has been made as an author. It’s still just a hobby, but it could soon become something more. After all, good stories develop differently.