VVSD Alum-Turned-Author Tells Wood View Book Club to ‘Go for it’

Editor's Note: The following is a release from the Valley View School District.

“Go for it.”

That’s the advice children’s author and publisher Demika (Carswell) Caldwell gave to the Tuesday Morning Book Club July 26 when she was asked how someone makes a career out of writing.

“Some people think writing isn’t a career because you don’t make much money,” the , and Romeoville High School graduate said before her presentation to the students. “But if it’s your passion and it’s in your heart that you want to write, you should write because a lot of people don’t do it and they regret it when they get older.”

A graduate of Columbia College with a degree in marketing and communications, Caldwell grew up in Bolingbrook and worked for Kraft Foods for nearly eight years after she got her college degree. She now lives in Chicago.

“Pretty much all my life I’ve been writing,” she said. “I did some writing at Kraft but it wasn’t what I would call creative writing. It was more corporate writing. I wanted to do creative writing.”

So Caldwell drew on her experiences as a mom to write what she calls “the Kennedy series” featuring real-life occurrences with her now 7-year-old daughter, Kennedy. Her first book, Manners Stink, is available at Amazon.com and her second book, Stinky Boys, is written and at the printer. She is also planning a second series “Princess Emma Candi” featuring experiences with her younger daughter.

“I love creating stories people will like,” Caldwell told the students. “I want a positive message to come out of each book so you can walk away learning something.”

Other advice she gave to the Book Club members:

• Read about and write about things you like to do.
• Develop stories off things that happen to you and your family.
• Bring it to life with pictures, especially if you are a good illustrator.
• In order to do anything well you have to review it over and over again.

“More and more young authors are getting their books published because kids like books written by kids,” Caldwell said. “Go for it. Do it. Just do it.”

More information on Caldwell is available at www.demikacaldwell.com.