Anything that gets kids reading deserves an A+. Maria Dismondy decided to roll the dice, leaving behind her secure teaching job for the world of being a writer. And it has paid off for her in spades. Not only selling thousands of copies of her books but also spreading a positive message to over 20,000 students. Her latest book, Buddy the Bucket Filler, is now for sale.

Links:

Her Website: https://mariadismondy.com

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@cardinalrulepress

To get these episodes sent directly to your inbox, visit https://totalmichigan.com/join

I don't know if it was so important to getting people to

2

buy my book, but it was getting the

message of the book into the world.

3

If you look at the current society

and things that you'd like to change.

4

I think one way you can do that

is by educating youth and gearing

5

them in a different direction.

6

that is one of the biggest advantages is

helping our youth do something different.

7

So you don't see what we're seeing.

8

Cliff Duvernois: Hello everyone and

welcome back to Total Michigan, where

9

we interview ordinary Michiganders

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

10

I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois.

11

And this introduction is

going to take me a minute.

12

So just sit back and relax.

13

We got an award winning author

with us today of 11 books, and you

14

probably know some of the books.

15

Some of our early ones, actually a

"Juice Box Bully, Empowering Kids

16

to Stand up to Others", as well

as "Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun".

17

Which makes me just want to try that.

18

Okay.

19

Having the courage to be who you are.

20

And of course she's here talking about her

latest book, "Buddy, the Bucket Filler".

21

And she's been featured in the

Detroit free press NPR, Fox News,

22

Time, and the list goes on and on.

23

She owns her own publishing company.

24

And if she wasn't busy enough

with her husband and kids.

25

She's running a non profit.

26

Ladies and gentlemen, please

welcome to the show, Maria Dismondy.

27

Maria, how are you?

28

Maria Dismondy: Great.

29

Thanks for having me.

30

That was really fun.

31

And if I was having a bad day, I would

just need you to say that one more time.

32

Cliff Duvernois: I'll have this

on audio so you can listen to

33

it as many times as you want.

34

Bad day play.

35

Yes, exactly.

36

All right, let's talk about you.

37

What do you want to know?

38

Where are you from?

39

Where did you grow up?

40

Maria Dismondy: I grew up in

Michigan in Canton, Michigan.

41

Okay.

42

And then I went to

Michigan State University.

43

And, then now I'm in Novi.

44

Cliff Duvernois: So what did you

study when you went to Michigan State?

45

Maria Dismondy: Elementary education

and English as a double major.

46

And I thought I was going to be

a teacher for my entire life.

47

Cliff Duvernois: What made you think

you were going to be a teacher?

48

Maria Dismondy: because I played teacher.

49

My, all the time when I

was little and I loved it.

50

Cliff Duvernois:

Everybody's playing house.

51

You're playing school.

52

Maria Dismondy: I was playing

school and I loved it.

53

And I loved children.

54

And I thought that you went to

school and you became something.

55

And that's what you did

for the rest of your life.

56

Cliff Duvernois: So

you get out of college.

57

Now, did you actually become a teacher?

58

Maria Dismondy: I did and I loved it.

59

So I taught for 11 years and

that's where I went on the journey

60

of writing a children's book

was when I was in the classroom.

61

Cliff Duvernois: Oh, interesting.

62

Okay.

63

Now, had it always been your

thought to write a book?

64

Maria Dismondy: No, no.

65

Apparently I don't have plans.

66

They just Come to me.

67

Come to me!

68

No, I, I taught in Plymouth, Canton

and my classroom was super diverse.

69

I had a lot of, Indian American students.

70

They were so kind.

71

Their families invited me

to their home for dinners.

72

They gifted me saris,

these beautiful gowns.

73

They would send in food with

their children to give to me.

74

I mean, there were just

these amazing humans.

75

And so I always, when I chose books

to read to my students, I wanted

76

to make sure I was representing

the whole picture of my classroom.

77

And it was really difficult in the

78

A lot of books that talked about courage

and these character traits featured

79

teddy bears and dinosaurs and cats.

80

There wasn't a lot of

realistic fiction at the time.

81

And I thought, huh, maybe I should

write a book that talks about courage

82

and is from the perspective of a real

human child and has a diverse classroom.

83

And so that's what I did.

84

Cliff Duvernois: So your first

book, "Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun".

85

So I got to ask the question

because I was reading up on

86

"Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun".

87

Is that semi autobiographical?

88

Maria Dismondy: Semi.

89

Yes.

90

it, this is my hair and we're

at the end of summer right now.

91

It's huge.

92

And yes, I was teased for my big hair.

93

I was teased for the weird foods

that I ate, which I still do.

94

yeah, it really, it, it sparked

the inspiration for the story.

95

It really did.

96

I was teased for who I was and I tried to

change to, make other people like me and

97

that didn't work because I am who I am.

98

and so yeah, that's where the story

was inspired from, definitely.

99

And my mom really did give me

"Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun"

100

for lunch and I loved it.

101

and she had to duplicate it, but the

reason she gave it to me initially

102

was because she didn't have any bread.

103

So she thought, okay, well, I'll

put my leftover "Spaghetti in a

104

Hot Dog Bun" and she'll eat it.

105

So quirky.

106

Cliff Duvernois: Oh, I love that.

107

So you've had the idea for

"Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun".

108

You put it together in a book.

109

Sales take off.

110

You have gotten a lot of

love for this book online.

111

I checked Amazon and it's like 2,

900 plus four and five star reviews.

112

Maria Dismondy: Yeah, it might be around.

113

Yeah, something like that.

114

Yeah, it's interesting.

115

I think teachers and families

just connected with the character

116

because she is in this situation

where someone's being unkind to her.

117

And then that person needs help.

118

And she knows the right

thing to do is to help him.

119

So I think people can connect with that.

120

And again, like I said, in 2006,

121

was released, there weren't a

lot of realistic fiction books.

122

So it made a name for itself.

123

And even today, after writing 11 books,

I don't think it's the most well done

124

book of mine by any means, but it's

still selling more than any other title.

125

Cliff Duvernois: Were you really

prepared for the reception

126

that you got from this book?

127

Maria Dismondy: No, I was not and

My dad was mad that I quit teaching,

128

that I resigned from teaching.

129

Because he said how are you

gonna have health insurance?

130

And I said, I'll figure it out But I

started to realize gosh I can write

131

and speak at schools and I can make an

income that is very close to what I was

132

making as a teacher and do less work.

133

And at the time we were starting

a family and so I just took

134

the risk which It's a big risk.

135

And, my husband believed in me.

136

So that was, helpful.

137

We were living in a one

bedroom home at the time.

138

And, I found out I was pregnant right

when the book was about to come out.

139

So it was a big risk to do

this and to leave that income.

140

But we did it.

141

Cliff Duvernois: And you talked

before about speaking engagements.

142

And I know that you've been to a lot

of schools talking about your book.

143

How important was that to

getting people to buy your book?

144

Maria Dismondy: I don't know if it

was so important to getting people to

145

buy my book, but it was getting the

message of the book into the world.

146

That was my goal and I'm not really

sure how people bought the book.

147

Maybe they heard about

it from their friends.

148

We have surveyed people and word of

mouth has always been our number one

149

answer on how people find our books.

150

But, right before COVID, I had a

really busy, lineup the year before.

151

And I think it was in four weeks,

I was in front of almost like 15 to

152

20, 000 children speaking in schools

with the message of these books.

153

So that to me is Whoa, I know the world

is really big and people get overwhelmed.

154

What can I do to make a difference?

155

But I really felt the needle moving

when I was going into schools.

156

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah, if you're talking

in front of 20, 000 people, that's a lot.

157

Maria Dismondy: And little people like

little friends who are growing up and who

158

are going to be our leaders and they're

going to be raising other humans and

159

they're going to be shaping our world.

160

So it just felt really important

to me and I love my job.

161

Cliff Duvernois: When did you start

doing the speaking engagements?

162

Maria Dismondy: First book in 2008.

163

I started doing the speaking

164

Cliff Duvernois: And where

did the idea come from?

165

For doing speaking engagements come from?

166

Maria Dismondy: Being a teacher.

167

yeah.

168

So I had been a teacher sitting in

the room when authors had come in.

169

I was part of helping to find authors.

170

And I saw the crazy prices

that we were paying.

171

And, I thought, I could do this

for a lot less because I'm not as

172

experienced, but I can totally do this.

173

Cliff Duvernois: And what was

it like going out and giving

174

that first presentation?

175

Maria Dismondy: it was scary,

but I'm not afraid of risk.

176

I got the adrenaline going and everything.

177

But, I think the hardest part

is I like to get feedback.

178

And so I have to like mentally prepare

myself for constructive feedback.

179

But that's what really helped me to become

the speaker I am today is from those

180

teachers giving that feedback to me.

181

Cliff Duvernois: And so you've got

Spaghetti in a Bun out there, and you've

182

got 10 other books that are out there.

183

You've reached, you've

released the, what was it?

184

The pink tiara?

185

Maria Dismondy: Yeah, Pink Tiara

Cookies for three, a lot of them

186

are from my personal experiences.

187

So I grew up in a neighborhood

and it was the three of us.

188

There was three friends.

189

And one always felt left out and it seems

as though, I have my own children now, it

190

seems as though I can see that threesome

is like a, is a tricky, it's a triangle.

191

So I guess I take my own personal

experiences and put them into

192

these realistic fiction stories.

193

Cliff Duvernois: Where

do you say to yourself?

194

Hey, I think this would

be a good idea for a book.

195

Maria Dismondy: I actually do my research.

196

And I look to see if there's

anything like it out there.

197

And I make sure that if there

is, I'm doing it differently.

198

And really the goal is that there

isn't anything out there like that.

199

And that's when you release it,

200

Cliff Duvernois: And between all these

books and the speaking engagements

201

that you're doing, just a ballpark

number, how many of these speaking

202

engagements do you think you've done

over the last, what, 15, 16 years?

203

Maria Dismondy: Yeah.

204

I'm not sure what the answer is.

205

But, if you take 10 years and

I was doing about 60 a year.

206

Whoa.

207

huh.

208

Nice.

209

Yeah.

210

That's a lot.

211

Yeah.

212

It was really tiring too.

213

I actually, I got to the point

where I was like, Ooh, I'm tired.

214

This is tiring.

215

And, I said I wasn't

going to do them again.

216

And so I, it's been about two or three

years that I've done speaking like

217

in school speaking engagements, but

I recently got an offer for a school

218

that was two miles from my house.

219

And I said, how can I turn this down?

220

So I'm back in it.

221

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

222

Very short commute there.

223

Yeah.

224

Nice.

225

I'm back.

226

And on top of all of this, as you're

going about and releasing these books.

227

At some point, you decided to

start a publishing company.

228

Maria Dismondy: Yes,

again, not in the plan.

229

So I hope people are

hearing the theme in this.

230

don't plan out your life because, you can

have these awesome detours that you go

231

down and they take you to great places.

232

yeah, I really.

233

I was getting tired of the limelight.

234

me, me, me, me, me, like

that's not who I am.

235

so I thought, what if I could teach

others and give this gift to others?

236

And so I started Cardinal Rule Press.

237

I don't, I think the year.

238

I'm not going to be able

to give you the year.

239

Maybe 2015, 2016.

240

And people submit their manuscripts

to us and we have a team of

241

individuals who look through them.

242

And we decide what we're going to publish.

243

And so it's really great because

I'm allowing other people to use

244

their voices and experiences and

get those messages into the world.

245

Cliff Duvernois: And your latest

book, Buddy the Bucket Filler.

246

So talk to us a little bit about that.

247

Maria Dismondy: Yeah.

248

So again, I was walking, the dogs,

we have two dogs, and, I was telling

249

my husband about a mentor friend of

mine and, she was a publisher as well.

250

And she had called me about some

technical issues she was having.

251

And we were talking and she just

said how she was tired and she

252

was thinking about retiring.

253

And she wasn't sure what to do

with her publishing business.

254

So I'm telling this story to my husband.

255

Husband as we're just walking.

256

And he said, you should buy it.

257

And I was like, I don't have enough

money to buy a publishing company, . And

258

he's you don't pay for all at once,

you take out a loan, you buy it.

259

So I bought it.

260

So I bought her company.

261

So the bucket filler books

are, from Carol McLeod.

262

She used to live in Michigan

and now she lives in Florida.

263

And so in July of last

year, I bought her company.

264

She retired.

265

And she said, you know what?

266

I think we should do a book together.

267

And so that's where this book was born.

268

Cliff Duvernois: And what's

the idea behind the book?

269

Maria Dismondy: Yeah, so bucket

filling is the idea that Carol,

270

got many years ago at a conference.

271

She was inspired that we all walk

around with these invisible buckets.

272

So I actually want to turn to the page

that shows you what kind of You want to

273

imagine as you're going through life.

274

So here we are.

275

We're at a restaurant.

276

You can see all these invisible buckets.

277

So everyone has this invisible

bucket and there's hearts and

278

stars when you're feeling good.

279

You've got good thoughts and feelings.

280

And sometimes your bucket is empty

and that's when you don't have

281

those good thoughts and feelings.

282

So the whole concept around bucket

filling is that when you do and say

283

nice things to others and to yourself,

you're filling your bucket and it's full.

284

So it's a visual for children.

285

And when you're not kind to others, you're

dipping into their bucket, and you're

286

taking those things away from someone.

287

And if you're not kind to yourself,

you're taking things away from yourself.

288

And then there's also a lid, you

can put a lid, those are like the

289

boundaries we can set for ourselves

and we can help others to set as well.

290

Carol, her and I both published

our first books around the same

291

time from the same publisher.

292

So we have known each other for years.

293

And the bucket filling concept went crazy.

294

And, her books alone have

sold 3 million copies.

295

Nice.

296

Yes.

297

And so that's where we, she said, I want

to write a book with bucket filling.

298

And I said, you've never written

a realistic fiction book.

299

So let's combine my craft

with yours on bucket filling.

300

And that's where this book came in.

301

Cliff Duvernois: Absolutely.

302

Love that for our audience.

303

We're going to take a quick

break to thank our sponsors.

304

And when we come back, Maria is

going to continue to dazzle us

305

with the life of a writer and all

the goodies that comes with it.

306

We'll see you after the break.

307

Are you enjoying these amazing stories?

308

Michigan is full of people that are

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

309

If you want these amazing stories

sent directly to your inbox,

310

head over to total michigan.com.

311

Enter your email address

and get them today.

312

What are you going to get?

313

I'm glad you asked.

314

First, you're gonna join our awesome

Michigan community Second, you

315

will get an email that includes

the top five interviews from the

316

show sent directly to your inbox.

317

Third, you're gonna get exclusive behind

the scenes information about the show.

318

There's a lot of things that are happening

to grow this movement beyond the confines

319

of just a radio show and a podcast.

320

You'll get advanced notice

of upcoming guests and early

321

access to their interviews.

322

Now to get all these goodies, just

head over to total michigan.com/join.

323

Enter your email address and

join our awesome community today.

324

Hello everyone.

325

And welcome back to Total Michigan,

where we interview ordinary Michiganders

326

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

327

I am your host Cliff Duvernois.

328

Today, we're chatting

with award winning author.

329

Maria Dismondy.

330

Just real quick, I have to give a shout

out to the people at Charlin' Used

331

Books in Frankenmuth for allowing us

to use their place to record today.

332

So make sure to show them a

little bit of love when you're

333

going through Frankenmuth.

334

Maria, so before the break, we were

talking about Buddy the Bucket Filler.

335

and, you were actually telling me some

interesting facts actually about the

336

book, and I want to make sure that

we capture those for the audience.

337

So, if you would...

338

Share with us those facts.

339

Maria Dismondy: Yes, I think it's

important to note that the book is

340

actually set on a cherry farm in Michigan.

341

So both the author and I, Carol and I both

grew up in Michigan and live in Michigan.

342

Well lived for her.

343

And yeah, so we thought it was

really important to bring a

344

part of Michigan into the story.

345

Cliff Duvernois: Now, is this

bringing Michigan into your stories?

346

Is this something unique to this

book, or has it been a theme

347

throughout your other books as well?

348

Maria Dismondy: No, it actually

is unique to this book.

349

And, as authors, we like to add what we

call an author's wink into our stories.

350

It's something special.

351

So actually, my dogs are in this story.

352

And if you purchase or go to the

library and get "Spaghetti in a Hot

353

Dog Bun", there's a cardinal that's

hidden on almost all the pages.

354

So those are author winks.

355

A couple secrets to

share with your audience.

356

Ooh.

357

And what does the Cardinal stand for?

358

traditionally a Cardinal is a, reminder

of someone that you lost and, yeah.

359

And so I always loved Cardinal.

360

So I put it in my first book and

I named him a company after them.

361

Cliff Duvernois: And if you didn't

have enough on your plate already,

362

here we go with the nonprofit.

363

Talk to us.

364

What is the nonprofit?

365

What is it about?

366

Maria Dismondy: many years ago,

my girlfriend and I met Keys.

367

We started Making Spirits

Bright, and we just knew that

368

we were blessed in our lives.

369

And we wanted to do something for others.

370

And then life we worked on

it for a couple of years.

371

Life took off took over.

372

We put it aside.

373

And so more recently, I

just said, you know what?

374

I want to bring this back, but

I want it focused on books.

375

So Making Spirits Bright is a

non profit here in Michigan.

376

And we are dedicated to getting

books into the hands of children

377

who don't have access to stories.

378

A lot of times you hear

them called book deserts.

379

so we're trying to Go into those deserts

where they don't have books and fill them.

380

And we're right now, I, we're

partnering with some really cool

381

partners in Detroit, two different

partners that I can't mention yet.

382

But if you check out non, our nonprofit,

you'll find out soon, but we are doing

383

book donations, book drives, we're

getting books and we're sorting them.

384

And we're don't, we're distributing

them and it's really great.

385

Cliff Duvernois: So you

just give away the books.

386

Maria Dismondy: Yes, and I'm hoping that

we can also provide tutoring with that.

387

So I'm just in the beginning

phases of redeveloping it, and it

388

literally keeps me up at night.

389

And I can't stop thinking

about it, and it's joyful.

390

So you said You said something,

around the fact that as if you

391

didn't have enough on your plate.

392

I, I thrive on these things.

393

And they bring me such joy.

394

It's not, it doesn't feel like work.

395

And so you talked about, the

whole podcast is about, and the

396

whole show is about ordinary

people doing extraordinary things.

397

Like these people aren't doing

them to be extraordinary.

398

They're doing them because

they, they feel this joy.

399

Doing these things certainly.

400

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah, and that's

actually the next question that I

401

want to ask is because you do have

a lot on your plate Yes between

402

writing books, publishing books, your

nonprofit, you've got three kids,

403

Maria Dismondy: three kids, two

dogs, a husband, who's awesome.

404

Yeah, but I have a team.

405

I've built a business with a team.

406

And so I'm not alone.

407

And volunteers with the nonprofit.

408

And, a focus, right?

409

So I've core values and anything that

kind of is outside of those core values.

410

It's easy to say no.

411

Cliff Duvernois: So then how did you

go about putting your team together?

412

Maria Dismondy: slowly but surely, I,

the first distributor that I worked

413

with said, tell me about your team.

414

And I said, there isn't a team.

415

And they said, you can't

be doing this by yourself.

416

And I said, Oh, I am.

417

And at that point when I got off

the phone, I was like, maybe I

418

shouldn't be doing this myself.

419

So I started with a virtual assistant.

420

And then it just grew from there.

421

But everyone that I work with is remote.

422

We have some interns from U of M,

Michigan State, Ohio State right now.

423

and our team, no one on

our team is full time.

424

So everyone is doing what brings

them joy with Cardinal Rule Press.

425

But then a lot of my team members

are also running side gigs too.

426

These creative businesses of their own.

427

Cliff Duvernois: Got you and

how has your experience with the

428

virtual assistants been going?

429

Maria Dismondy: Good really

good Yeah communication.

430

I think it's hard to be a team

where you're meeting on Zoom.

431

But that's all I've ever known and

it works for me as a mom because

432

I'm always there for my kids.

433

I'm at home when I'm working and

434

Cliff Duvernois: So one of the things

that typically comes up, especially

435

if you're building a team, because I'm

starting to understand now how your

436

book business is being structured.

437

Some of the hardest things to do

is when you first get that first

438

assistant, because you're so used

to when you're doing everything

439

yourself, you can control everything.

440

Oh, yeah.

441

Then all of a sudden now

you're bringing somebody in.

442

So the first question I got for you is

I know that there's a key difference

443

between hiring a virtual assistant.

444

In the states versus overseas.

445

Yeah.

446

So you said you've got assistants

that are at U of M and Ohio state.

447

so clearly you're in the U S.

448

Maria Dismondy: No, I have some

out of the country as well.

449

Oh, interesting.

450

I do.

451

The first virtual assistant I ever hired.

452

She's still with me today, Lisa May.

453

And she's in the Philippines.

454

And the reason I hired her is because

I had a friend who was already

455

working with her for many years.

456

So I brought lisa May onto the team.

457

And I have trust issues and,

she's a loving, caring person.

458

you're an entrepreneur.

459

We all have trust issues.

460

She's a loving, caring person.

461

And I make a lot of mistakes in my life.

462

I never went to school

to be a business owner.

463

I've made so many ridiculous mistakes.

464

So when I bring on team members

and they do make mistakes,

465

it's like a no brainer to me.

466

So I'm not one of those people who's

Oh my gosh, they made a mistake.

467

They're a bad hire.

468

So it's been easy for me in the fact that,

when people make mistakes, it's okay.

469

But I have hired a few people

that haven't worked out.

470

Because, once again, I'm having

to learn all these things through

471

podcasts and through audiobooks.

472

Like, how do you, how am I

supposed to be a business owner?

473

how do I run a non profit?

474

so it's all education, learning,

and trying, trial and error.

475

Cliff Duvernois: Hey,

experience is a great teacher.

476

Sure.

477

When you're going out and getting your

first VA, the lady that you hired from the

478

Philippines, Lisa May, what were some of

the responsibilities that you gave her?

479

Maria Dismondy: Areas

that were my weaknesses.

480

So spreadsheets and, numbers, things that

I really didn't have in my wheelhouse.

481

So taking my strengths,

keeping my strengths with me.

482

And then giving her my weaknesses.

483

Cliff Duvernois: And what are some

of the other jobs and tasks that

484

you've come up with along the way?

485

Because I usually, when I talk to an

author, spreadsheets doesn't come up.

486

No.

487

And it's all about the words.

488

It's all about paper, pencils.

489

So.

490

Maria Dismondy: Well, because

if authors want their books

491

to sell, you have to market.

492

And marketing includes spreadsheets.

493

Stop.

494

Stop.

495

I know.

496

Marketing is a big part of it.

497

Marketing.

498

What is this?

499

I know.

500

Yeah, I've had a lot of really good

mentors along the way who've taught

501

me that writing is a business.

502

And if you're doing writing for a

hobby, that's wonderful, but you might

503

not sell books unless you're one of

these amazing people I'm looking at

504

like James Patterson or something.

505

Cliff Duvernois: Oh, that, that could

be a whole other podcast right there.

506

I don't even want to.

507

Yes.

508

Don't even want to roll down that road.

509

Yeah.

510

I admire his success.

511

I will say that.

512

I'm not putting him down.

513

I admire his success.

514

Do you think that there's any advantage to

writing children's books over adult books?

515

Maria Dismondy: I do, because I think that

you're really connecting with our future.

516

If you look at the current society

and things that you'd like to change.

517

I think one way you can do that

is by educating youth and gearing

518

them in a different direction.

519

So I do.

520

I think that is one of the

biggest advantages is helping

521

our youth do something different.

522

So you don't see what we're seeing,

like warm winters in Michigan.

523

Cliff Duvernois: Oh, my goodness.

524

And one thing I noticed, too, is that you

chose not to do, not to have a pen name.

525

Correct.

526

You used your real name.

527

Correct.

528

why did you make that decision?

529

Maria Dismondy: I don't even know,

but going back, maybe I would

530

have done a pen name, actually.

531

What's the advantages of that?

532

so then people don't know

me when I'm out in public

533

or at the grocery store.

534

Cliff Duvernois: you're kind of out there.

535

If you take a look at your Amazon

author profile and everything

536

else, you got pictures and Facebook

537

Maria Dismondy: and, or when my son

Googles me, he learned how to Google.

538

And I think like second grade, he's

mom, I Googled you and there's a

539

lot of pictures of you out there.

540

So that's, I think probably

even to protect my children too.

541

So if you notice on my social media,

my kids are not featured anywhere.

542

I think there might be one picture out

there that I'm still trying to take

543

down from a podcast interview I did.

544

Early on, but I just made it a

point that I want their digital

545

footprint to be their own.

546

And I don't want it to be

developed by their mom.

547

So that's another reason a pen

name would have come in handy.

548

Cliff Duvernois: What has been

some of the, most effective

549

marketing that you've done?

550

Maria Dismondy: It's huge.

551

It is so big when it comes

to, writing books, marketing.

552

And one of the biggest things I think we

were talking about it, was word of mouth.

553

And so we did surveys.

554

We've done a lot of

surveys with our readers.

555

How did you hear about our books?

556

word of mouth.

557

The big question is how do we get

people talking about your books?

558

So we give books away.

559

All the time.

560

We're very generous with our books.

561

We provide free programming

for schools and for teachers.

562

So they, come on and they hear

our author panels and they hear

563

our authors reading stories.

564

We have our books for free on YouTube.

565

So we're not stingy with our

books and people start talking

566

about us because we are generous.

567

Another way is grassroots

marketing, so social media.

568

We don't pay for a ton of ads.

569

We just started doing

Facebook ads a few years ago.

570

But besides that, we're grassroots style.

571

We're just posting and authentically

sharing and, trying to get people

572

to connect, with our books.

573

Cliff Duvernois: And that is one of

the things that I did notice when

574

I was going through your website

and taking a look at your books.

575

Is that it seems like every book that

you have written below that you have

576

a bunch of pdfs free that are free,

given away so the one of them was, I

577

think it was for the Juice Box Bully.

578

There was a thing called the promise.

579

Maria Dismondy: Yeah.

580

Yeah.

581

Oh, good memory, Cliff.

582

Cliff Duvernois: See?

583

See?

584

That's great.

585

Yes.

586

It was like the promise, and I think

it was something where like a kid would

587

read that, sign it, Hey, I promise I'm

not going to be a bully or whatever

588

it is, and sign their name to it.

589

Maria Dismondy: And classrooms

use it all the time.

590

And we have our reader's guides that are

free, because teachers do not want to

591

spend their own money on all these things

and they do because they're amazing.

592

Cliff Duvernois: It's not only

money, but it's time as well.

593

Maria Dismondy: Money and

time to develop all of this.

594

So yes, we develop lesson

plans around all of our books.

595

At the beginning of all of our stories,

we have questions for parents and

596

caregivers on the copyright page.

597

So I know I'm really tired at night.

598

I usually check out around 7 38.

599

But if I'm reading a book to my

child, I can go a little bit deeper.

600

And I don't have to think of the

questions because they're here for me.

601

So in all of our books, we

provide questions to ask before,

602

during and after reading.

603

Because it's great to read a story.

604

But if you want to take it to the next

level, questioning with children is huge.

605

So these are just some of the things

that we've done that have worked to

606

get people talking about our stories.

607

Cliff Duvernois: I'd also think, too,

that would be a great way for parents

608

and kids to engage with a book,

rather than just read it and say,

609

okay, night night, you actually...

610

Maria Dismondy: Yeah, the stories start

to come out when you ask questions.

611

oh, how can you connect

with the character?

612

Like in The Juice Box Bully, how

can you connect with the character?

613

Oh, some school said

something to me today.

614

And I felt like they were bullying me.

615

You just never know.

616

And those questions correct.

617

They help engage the adult and child.

618

Cliff Duvernois: So I'm loving

the creativity for this.

619

And what you're doing is unique

because I haven't seen that before.

620

Where did the idea come from?

621

Maria Dismondy: This specific idea before,

during and after I did it as a teacher.

622

I don't know.

623

I learned it as a teacher that when

you read to children, you should ask

624

questions before, during and after.

625

I don't know who, maybe my teachers

at Michigan State University.

626

I'm not sure.

627

Cliff Duvernois: but to actually

incorporate that into a book.

628

Maria Dismondy: I don't know.

629

maybe I'm not sure.

630

I wonder if Dolly Parton's

Imagination does that.

631

They might do that.

632

I don't know.

633

Cliff Duvernois: So I gotta ask,

what is Dolly Parton's Imagination?

634

Maria Dismondy: Dolly Parton has this

book system where she sends a book to

635

the child to children ages, 0 to 5.

636

One Book per month until

they're five years old.

637

And my children were part of that.

638

And I don't know if she did

before, during and after.

639

All right.

640

but I also think a copyright

page is pretty ugly.

641

And so this kind of jazzes it up as well.

642

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah, it is.

643

use every page that you can.

644

It's all real estate.

645

It's all real estate.

646

It is.

647

It is all real estate.

648

so what's next?

649

What is next?

650

I know you just came out

with Buddy the Bucket Filler.

651

Maria Dismondy: We have some really

great titles coming out next year

652

that we're super excited about.

653

A story about choice, that's a little

girl and, a military family story.

654

We have some really

great things coming up.

655

Another one, a foster family.

656

And Yeah, and it's so cool because I can

curate these books by simply saying to

657

our acquisitions editor, we need a book

about foster families because there's not

658

enough books out there that are quality

books about, what children go through

659

and what does the family go through.

660

And so his eyes are open

looking for these things.

661

Cliff Duvernois: Just the fact that

you have an acquisition editor is a

662

testament to how much you've learned.

663

Maria Dismondy: Yes.

664

Yes.

665

Kudos to you.

666

Thank you.

667

What is next?

668

I believe in growth.

669

And so this year, I have been

traveling to different trade shows.

670

And Thank you.

671

Given that we're really

small, it's been scary.

672

I said I wasn't afraid, but it

has been scary and intimidating

673

being with some of these really

big publishers at these events.

674

But, I went to something called the ABA,

American Booksellers Association, ALA.

675

Those are librarians.

676

I'm expanding.

677

That's next level for me.

678

Cliff Duvernois: Maria, if somebody is

listening to this interview and they

679

want to get your books, they want to

check out more, especially all those

680

like yummy free resources that you

give away with your books as well.

681

Where's the best place

for them to do that?

682

Maria Dismondy: I say go to our website.

683

Support a small business.

684

However, if you have a bookstore

in your area, you should always

685

go to your local bookstore.

686

I think supporting these indie

bookstores is really important.

687

And yeah, our website has

all those free things on it.

688

And if you don't have access, you

don't have the money to buy the books.

689

You go to your library because

libraries are amazing, or you go on

690

YouTube and you can hear our stories.

691

Cliff Duvernois: Maria, thank you so much

for taking time out to chat with us today.

692

Really do appreciate it.

693

I thank you Cliff.

694

And once again, I do want to give a

shout out to the people at Charlin's

695

Used Bookstore and Frankenmuth

for letting us film here today.

696

And as usual, you can always

roll on over to total michigan.

697

com click on Maria's interview, and get

all the links that she mentioned above.

698

We'll see you next week when we

talk to another Michigander doing

699

some pretty extraordinary things.

700

We'll see you then.