Please join me in welcoming writer William D. Holland back to the blog. If you missed the author interview with Bill or weren’t yet following Poetic Parfait, please check it out. Today Bill has a guest post for us. The idea for it came when I learned last week of the coloring book he recently released to the world, titled The Urban Farming Coloring Book. To this point, I had known him primarily for his fictional works and his excellent tips for writers. So, I asked Bill: “Why did you create a coloring book?” Here is his wonderful guest post in response to my question.
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Christy, thank you so much for the opportunity to share my little story with all of your readers.
So, why a novelist created a coloring book…that is the question.
I am, most definitely, a novelist. I have five self-published novels, another one nearly completed, and five novellas to my credit. I can’t even count the number of short stories I’ve written.
I love fiction! I am alive when I’m developing a story, every single one of my senses vibrating as I paint a scene.
So what in the world am I doing publishing a coloring book?

Author Bill Holland stands confidently as a talented author and creator of a coloring book. Photo used with the permission of Bill Holland.
Farmers Markets
Besides being a writer I’m also an urban farmer. My wife and I spend quite a bit of our time, during the summer, at farmers markets selling our quail eggs. Last year, while working our booth, I decided we needed another product to sell, something that would appeal to a broader crowd.
Take my love of farming, combine it with my love of writing, and you have a coloring book, an Urban Farming Coloring Book, one that not only has pictures to color but also has information on how to farm in an urban setting.
Each “chapter” covers a certain aspect of urban farming i.e. how to raise chickens, how to prepare the soil, how to raise quail, how to compost, and each chapter has a picture that relates to that information. I had great fun formatting the book, despite the formatting problems I knew would come, and I’m pretty happy with the results. Hopefully someone will agree with me and buy it.
How Do You Make a Coloring Book?
It’s really not that hard. You can use a sketch or you can use a photograph and change that photograph into a sketch using a program like GIMP or Photoshop. Then it’s just a matter of formatting it so it works with a self-publishing program like CreateSpace. It took me about a month of practicing and making mistakes before I felt confident in my ability. In truth, my first attempt failed miserably, as did my second attempt, but eventually I found the winning combination.
Guerilla Marketing
This is all a continually-evolving process for me, trying new things, attempting new marketing strategies, to get myself noticed. It would not bother me at all if my coloring book outsold my novels. Maybe the novel sales will increase because of the coloring books. Who knows? All I know is it doesn’t cost me a penny to try something new, and there may be rewards down the road.
And that, I guess, is my message to all of you out there who are struggling to find someone to purchase your books. Don’t be afraid to try new avenues in the marketing game. Don’t give up before the miracle happens. If traditional isn’t working for you, go non-traditional.
In my case, the worst that can happen is I’ll have fun coloring in my new book!
You can find my Urban Farming Coloring Book by following this link to Amazon, and you can follow along with my other efforts and writings on my blog, Artistry With Words.
Thank you, Christy, and thank you Christy’s followers.
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Why not? 🙂
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Why not indeed, Lelouisef?
Christy, thank you so much for letting me hijack your blog this week. You are a blessing as a friend and I’m a lucky man to count you as a friend. Hugs from Olympia!
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Fun post Christy. Nice to know more about Bill. Hugs all around.
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Thank you Teagan! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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Wonderful share Christy and well done Bill.. 🙂 we need more colour, and to connect both my favourite things, Nature and art is spot on.. 🙂
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Thanks so much, Sue! I had a blast making this book!
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🙂 Good to know, And I wish you every success 🙂
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A roadrunner…I love it….beep beep!
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Bill you continue to amaze me! You are so inspirational and so encouraging about others pursuing their endeavors and their logs. I just love the coloring book idea! When I was a child I was calling all the time. My twin sister is much more creative than me so she did magnificent jobs on the coloring pages. I can’t wait to see what you come up with next! You are just a road runner pursuing wonderful ideas and sharing them with others. I just adore you as a Facebook friend. God bless you real good. Lea Tartanian
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Lea, thank you so much. I do enjoy myself, and I want other to enjoy writing as much as I do..blessings to you always, dear friend.
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Great article Christy and congratulations Bill on the new venture, very interesting.
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Thank you Rolly! Imagine how boring life would be if we didn’t try new things. 🙂 Hugs from Olympia.
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Bel article….je te souhaite une bonne soirée ainsi qu’un doux printemps.

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Georges, thank you very much. I’m so glad you enjoyed my ramblings.
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Love farmers markets.. we have farm shops here and they are places to spend hours finding varieties of food that you would not see in the supermarkets. I think that a colouring book is a great way to market them to all generations..
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Smorgasbord, thank you kindly. I agree with you, the markets are wonderful local venues where great treasures await!
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Lovely idea, to create a colouring book. I am involved in a Sunday School and we are always looking for new and interesting colouring books. Colouring in by adults has also become very trendy.
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It has for sure, Robbies….that is why I tried to make this a coloring book for children and adults. Best wishes to you!
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Great article. So nice to see friends helping one another. Best wishes to both of you.
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Thank you Sally! I always love hearing from you, my talented friend.
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Sounds fun to create, to sell, and to color!
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It’s a win-win-win, D. Wallace. Thank you for the comment.
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Great post and thank you for sharing Christy.
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Mary, I appreciate the kind words. Thank you very much.
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What fun! I love that Bill created a beautiful coloring book – and a wonderful niche product – farming and coloring books. 🙂 So glad to have Bill over here and two of my favorite people are here in one spot. I hope lots of those coloring books sell. I’m wanting to do the same with my own. Though sheesh…hand-drawing takes fo-evah. LOL.
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Lil Sis, I wouldn’t have attempted it if I had to do the drawings. No way, no how! LOL Thanks dear friend.
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Great interview!! Loved it xo
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Wonderful post and guest post, Christy and Bill! Always have to be open to new ideas!
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Thanks so much, syl65! I’m a big believer in no idea being a bad idea when it comes to marketing.
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You’re welcome and I appreciate the inspiration.
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Exactly, Syl! I’m loving the enthusiastic responses to Bill’s guest post and book here 🙂
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A fun and inspiring post, Christy!
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A coloring book is always a good idea 🙂 Great venture and so glad you are promoting such initiatives!
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Thank you Prajakta! It may not work, but I’ll never know if I don’t try.
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Personally, I am a huge fan of coloring … Good luck to you 🙂
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Thnak you so much for great share Kristy
Kisses
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And thank you, Voulaah, for taking the time to read my thoughts. I appreciate it very much.
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you are very welcome dear
kisses
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Fabulous! I like the inventive marketing approach. Best of luck! It’s interesting because I’ve been seeing more coloring books at our local bookshops. Like Billy’s they are not the old fashioned type, but modern images that teach.
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Yes! Teaching imagery. Exactly. I’m joining you Resa in applauding Bill’s new project!
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Thank you Resa! It is a grand experiment, and I hope a successful one.
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Fun and fantastic idea!
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Thank you very much, Bette!
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Brilliant! Great post, and excellent idea for alternative projects. Congrats!
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I appreciate that very much, Raymond. Worse thing that can happen is I color come pictures. LOL
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oops, “worst”
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Christy, this is a wonderful guest post! Lovely to ‘meet you, Bill and I’m fascinated by your change of book publishing but kudos to you for this colouring book! Tapping into a hugely popular market (I have a couple) whilst keeping to a subject you know. Best of luck with your book. 😀
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Annika, lovely to meet you too, my new friend. Thank you so much for taking the time tor read about my venture.
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Brilliant idea. Coloring books appeal to all ages. I’m all for combining graphic art and the written word. Thanks for introducing Bill Holland to me, Christy.
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And Vivachange, thank you for taking the time to read about my idea. I appreciate it very much.
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I’ve been to my share of farmer’s markets. Nowhere else will you find delicious fresh food such as what I’ve gotten at these various markets. Best wishes to Bill on his coloring book. Coloring has become one way many adults unwind.
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Macjam, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I know I love to color, and if that’s true for a 68 year old, it just might be true of other adults. Anyway, I guess we’ll find out.
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Awesome and fun post. You never disappoint.
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Thank you very much, ahavaha! I agree, Christy never disappoints.
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What a fantastic post and interview! It was nice to learn about Bill and his reason for diversifying into creating a coloring book. And I appreciated him sharing the process. Good food for thought. Thank you. ❤
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dgkaye, I’m a big believer in writers sharing with other writers. We all benefit from a free exchange of ideas. Thank you for stopping by.
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You are absolutely right. That’s the plan I follow too. 🙂
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Actually makes so much sense to me, wish I came up with the idea.
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aFrankAngle, it’s there for the taking. Give is a try and think of me when the profits roll in. 🙂 Thanks for the visit.
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give it a try, not give is a try…duh!
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Billy … that’s funny because I don’t have much artistic talent to do it … but I can color. 😉
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That’s cool. Artists need to stretch their wings.
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I totally agree, Jay! Thank you!
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https://worldphoto12.wordpress.com/2017/03/22/onore-e-gloria-2016-cani-e-soldati-dallantichita-a-oggi/
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Thank you worldphoto12
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Thank you Billybuc
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I totally like it!
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I appreciate that, Cecilia! Thank you!
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thank you for reblogging, OIKOS!
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how fun! we writers are capable of all sorts of stuff 🙂
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Oh, we are for sure, da AL! Thank you so much!
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Incredibly innovative! 🙂
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Thank you once again, Ka Malana. I appreciate your kind words, my friend.
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Christy, my dear friend, thank you so much for the opportunity. You have some great followers here, and it was nice to meet them all. Hugs from Olympia!
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So happy that you had a great experience here at the blog, Bill! The readers adore you, as do I 🙂
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Aww, Christy, you’re a doll!
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Great idea with the coloring book!
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Thank you very much, Mathias!
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What a wonderful blog post, Christy! Who doesn’t like a coloring book? There are so many fantastic colorful jelly pens available – not like when I was a kid 🙂 I like to take a 10 minute break and color another square inch. Great idea, Bill 🙂
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Thank you inesephoto! I find it to be a great way to relax and unwind…hopefully others will find the same in this book.
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I can’t believe how popular coloring books are getting!
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For sure they are, Jacqui! Maybe I’ll catch part of that wave. Thanks for the comment.
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It sounds like an interesting thing to try. 🙂
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Well, Bun, it has definitely been interesting. Now, hopefully, it will be successful. Thank you!
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I’m feeling encouraged
to bring out my crayons 🙂
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Then my job is done, Smilecalm! LOL Thanks so much for visiting my ramblings.
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The colouring book idea is great, especially as colouring books as a whole are very popular at the moment. I like the idea of combining the pictures with various aspects of urban farming, which makes it an educational resource as well. I hope it sells well for you. 🙂
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Thank you milliethom! It is selling well, certainly better than my novels. I’m not sure if I should be pleased or discouraged by that fact. LOL
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How did I miss this post? One of my favourite people interviewing another one of my favourite people.
I’m so proud of you, Bill, with your colouring book. It’s very entrepreneurial of you. Wishing you all the best with this book. I must check it out, as my daughter and teenage granddaughter both love doing colouring, plus the info looks most interesting. As for the keeping of quails, I’ve heard from fellow blogger, Sherri Matthews, that incubating and hatching these birds is quite a challenge. You might enjoy this old post of hers, in which you will see a picture of two successfully hatched one-hour old baby quails in her daughter’s hand. https://sherrimatthewsblog.com/2015/07/10/five-photos-five-stories-challenge-day-two/
Thank you, dear Christy, for featuring Bill on your blog and sharing the word about his latest project. I’m reading his first novel of the five at the moment. It’s quite scary, but luckily I’m used to reading Nordic noir, so am surviving the experience! He’s a very talented writer. I told him his style and subject matter reminds me of the works of bestselling Norwegian author, Jo Nesbo.
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Aww, Sarah, thank you for your kindness. The sales of the coloring book are skyrocketing, I’m happy to say. I’m working on another in my spare time, so I must be pleased. As for the quail, we’ve been incubating them for three years now and we have it down to a science, so to speak. It is tricky when you first start out, balancing temperature and humidity, but once one gets accustomed to it, the hatch rates are excellent.
Again., thank you for your kindness and friendship.
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I like that word “skyrocketing” when it comes to sales 🙂 Not something I’ve experienced yet. Perhaps I need to make a colouring book about growing fruit and vegetables on the allotment we have, and the recipes I invent with the produce. If you do a search for “allotment” on my blog, quite a number of posts will come up that you’ll probably never have seen, as I wrote them before I knew you. Being into urban farming, you might find some stuff that interests you there.
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I will do that, Sarah, and yes, I believe a coloring book just might help your personal sales…give it a try!
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Thanks Sarah for supporting Bill and I in our projects~! What wonderful friends I have in you both. Yes, Bill warned me about the scary books and instead suggested I read his “Resurrecting Tobias,” which I have a copy of and plan to read soon. I’m not one for scary reads! You take care over there and keep the light on at night if the read makes you squirm a bit!
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Lovely post enjoyed reading it
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Thank you very much, girlandworld! Blessings and peace to you!
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Because he wanted to turn over a new leaf…plow into new ground? 🙂
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Haha 😉 Thanks for reblogging Bill’s post, Jonathan. May your day BLOOM with creativity!
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Petaling fast as we can! 🙂
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OH you 🙂 🙂
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
TO SEE THINGS LIKE A CHILD—HELPS IDEAS TO GROW AND BEAR (HOPEFULLY) GOOD FRUIT! 😀
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Farmer’s markets are fun and so is coler!
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