Jake Shares His Thoughts About Being A Best-Selling Author

When I’m asked how I feel about the success of my book, One Wants to be Letter, my mind often blanks, and I don’t know how to answer the question. The answer is that I feel good, but a lot of the time, I’m not sure how to elaborate. Probably because I tend to overthink almost everything. So, I’m going to interview myself. 

What do I feel good about? 

I feel good that this book could open up the imagination of young kids. I was 4 years old when I came up with the idea of One, and would frequently come up with ideas for books and movies. A lot of my ideas were heavily based on other books and movies I had seen. I do remember coming up with an idea called Galaxy Wars. When I was young, I drew on what I knew. 

When did I come up with the idea for the book? 

I don’t remember the exact moment I came up with the story as it was 13 years ago. I do remember coming down to my dad in the morning and telling him about the idea. I described a story where the number One wants to be his friends, who are all letters. We began coming up with ideas. My imagination flourished and I had a lot of inspiration. 

How does it feel to be an author? 

I hope that this story can give kids the inspiration to create as I did. I discovered and created. I felt very excited to see the book come together after the project resurfaced. Seeing the final drawings for the first time felt incredible. It was really cool to see and the illustrations looked amazing — thanks to our lovely illustrator Gregor. 

What does the success of the book mean to you? 

I’m really glad the book has resonated with so many people. I sometimes wonder how my 4-year-old self would react if he saw the success of the book today. Many people have shared positive things about the book, like how some kids have trouble with numbers and letters and this book has made it simpler while also giving them a good message about uniqueness. 

It’s a great thing to see.