Not winning a writing competition turned out to be the big break a Seymour man needed to get his first book published.
Brad Bott, a 1999 Seymour High School graduate, is the author of the children’s picture book “Just One Wish!” published in February by Pen It! Publications LLC.
The story tells the tale of a boy, Robbie, who acquires an old lamp and with it a magical genie, who grants him one wish. But that wish comes with certain rules and teaches Robbie an important lesson.
Bott started tinkering with writing shortly after high school, and that interest only strengthened while he was in college. He took as many literature and creative writing classes as he could.
“I think when I went to college, it really sort of solidified it, being in that environment and all the writing you have to do,” he said.
He started at IUPUC and then transferred to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, where he graduated in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in secondary English education.
Over the years, Bott has submitted his writing for different competitions and has had several of his poems published. He even self-published a book of poetry years ago.
When he saw a local publisher conducting a contest last year, he decided to enter.
“I was working on a story and thought, ‘I could tweak this a little bit, and it would probably fit the guidelines,’” he said.
So after reworking his short story into a children’s picture book, he submitted his manuscript last December to the contest through Scipio-based Pen It! Publications.
“I didn’t actually win the competition, but they liked it so much that they offered me a contract right there,” he said. “That was pretty cool.”
He had never thought about writing a children’s book before the contest, but he found the story worked perfectly for a younger audience.
Most of his story ideas start as a question or a “what if?” scenario.
“What if a kid found a lamp and the lamp had a genie in it and the genie wasn’t what he expected,” Bott said. “I usually let a story idea roll around in my head for a while before I even start writing.”
One of the most memorable moments so far in his writing career was when he got the final proof of “Just One Wish!” back. His hard work and commitment was now tangible.
“It’s pretty exciting,” he said. “A lot of people don’t see the behind-the-scenes stuff. It’s been 20 some odd years now that I’ve been writing and submitting, so it’s sort of like confirmation that I’ve been working hard and here’s something to sort of repay me for all that hard work.”
But Bott doesn’t write for recognition or a paycheck. In fact, it’s just a hobby right now.
He spent a couple of years teaching high school English and now works as a supervisor at Enkei America Inc. in Columbus, which manufactures fabricated aluminum wheel rims for the automotive industry.
Part of the reason he has focused on writing is because he hasn’t found any other hobbies or activities to get involved in, he said.
“Hopefully, this is the first step to building on what I’ve been working for,” he said of becoming a published author.
He recently conducted a book-signing event at Confetti in Seymour, where the public could purchase the book and get it signed with a personal message from Bott.
The book is available through the Pen It! Publications website at penitpublications.com and Amazon.
Although his family and close friends have known about his passion for writing, Bott said others may be surprised.
“Everyone’s been real supportive,” he said. “I think they are excited, probably a little bit more than I am, because it’s somebody in the community trying to do something. I feel like here, in Seymour, we have a really good base of people who support local. We have a lot of good local businesses that a lot of people support, and this is the same thing. It’s a small business, basically.”
He doesn’t know what his next book will be, but he’s got plenty of ideas and expects “Just One Wish!” to be the first of many to be published.
“I’ve got so many started,” he said. “I’ll get the first couple of pages and then set it aside and work on another idea. I just have to get them started because if I don’t, it just bugs me.”
He said he tries to write stories that he would want to read. Some of his favorite authors include Neil Gaiman and Robert Jordan.
“I actually do a lot of reading now on just writing, publishing and I’m getting into more of the marketing aspects of it,” he said.
His advice to anyone with an idea for a book is to just write it.
“Why not? If you have a story and think that it’s good enough to tell and even if you aren’t a writer, I feel like you can get the story down and there’s people who actually fix that for grammar and punctuation and all that stuff,” he said. “If it’s a good story, I think people will buy it.”
On his writer’s blog, Bott encourages other writers to not lose sight of their goals with a simple message: “Stay focused and write on.”
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Who: Brad Bott, author of the children’s picture book “Just One Wish!”
Age: 37
Hometown: Seymour
Job: Supervisor at Enkei in Columbus
Education: Graduated from Seymour High School in 1999 and from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in secondary English education
Family: Fiancee, Stephanie, and pet rabbit, Charlie
Motto: Stay focused and write on
Favorite authors: Neil Gaiman and Robert Jordan
Information: Visit Bott’s webpage at bradabott.wordpress.com or his Brad Bott Books Facebook page
To purchase “Just One Wish!” visit penitpublications.com or Amazon.
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