Dummy Fairies Australia

Lots of little updates for you all!!!
So as a lot of you will know, a big focus of mine this year has been figuring out how to get my Dummy Fairy story published and oh lordy what interesting things I have discovered!!

First I attended an online 2 day course called Pitch perfect, teaching me the basics of what to include when submitting a book to agents and publishers. It was a great course.

Then I attended an Author & Illustrator event at the Docklands library. What a stunning Library!! Afterwards I nervously introduced myself to a literary agent who I really liked and immediately pitched my story to her that evening. Got my first rejection but she was super lovely about it.
Then I applied for a 'Picture Book Matchmaker event' where I would be given the opportunity to pitch my story over zoom to one of 7 children's book publishers. It was a lengthy application and I found out on Monday I wasn't successful in getting a spot in that event 😥.

My latest thing I did over the weekend was enter my story in the CYA Aspiring Author competition. My story will be judged by publishers and given proper feedback and critiques on it which I'm really looking forward to reading.

In the meantime there are 2 more openings available to submit my work in May. One to Five Mile Press, another to a different literary agent who is open for submissions only a couple times a year.
I am actually floored by how this industry is operating. Last night I discovered that Allen & Unwin, one of Australia's leading Independant publishers, only accept Children's book submissions once every 2 years, during a special 2 week event. Last year over 600 submissions came in (not surprising) yet just 2 books from that intake were published. Their next opening is in 2027. 🫠🫠

I can TOTALLY see now why author's self publish, but that feels like a task I am not yet desperate enough to tackle.😂
So anyway, that's the bulk of what Ive been up to!! Lots of fascinating learnings and I've only been actively trying to get this thing published for 3 months!! Fingers crossed maybe the next 3 months might feel a bit more promising. Hope you are all doing wonderfully and getting in early with a Happy Easter!! Xx

Hi! I'm Julia (The Dummy Fairy🧚‍♀️)

I like to help parents who are in need of some magic!
Dummies are a MARVELLOUS creation, so great infact that they often require a creative approach to dispose of them because they are so very very loved!

So loved that they can become detrimental...

So when the time is right, I'm there to help.

To appear, to distract, to offer a gift, a story and a memorable happy experience.

It's easy, it's fun and it works.

So in other words, I run a professional dummy removal service, the Dummy Fairy sounds better though! 😂 🥰🥰✨️✨️

No doubt about it, I love a chance to dress up!!
Over the weekend my husband and I attended a 'Anything but clothes' themed 40th and it was a fun chance to reminisce about all the other quirky costumes I've doned over the years. So here are a few of my favourites! Proud to say that I have worn my Dummy Fairy costume the most and still LOVE that it was mostly made from my own wedding outfit. ✨️💛🌿

If you haven't checked out the beautiful new Children's space at Bayswater Library, it's high time you do!
So lovely catching up with my friends at today so I can borrow these new reads for this week's bedtime stories. I havent read any of them before... See any favourites in there? X

Ok I have a serious question... Is it ridicilous, or brilliant, to start offering doorstep Dummy Fairy visits that ALSO include a song on a mini cupid harp?
Could I even carry a harp with me without it getting tangled up in my wings, wand and basket?
Do children even like listening to songs on the harp?
I want to know! I'm considering a downsize from my current harp and thought how adorable a mini cupid harp would be... So much more portable. Can you see this as a thing? 🤔✨️🧚‍♀️🪉

All the entries so far for the 'Guess how many dummies' competition!!
Someone is super close but I haven't received the correct answer just yet!!
🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️
The 3 clues:
The bucket weighs 1.479kg
It's an even number
& It's higher than 91. 🙌🙌
🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️
These are all the dummies I've collected so far.
2 days left to have a guess than the closest entry wins $50 off a dummy fairy doorstep visit which is almost 50% off!! What will your guess be? X💛💛💛

Time for a competition!! 🙌🙌🙌
Guess how many dummies I've collected so far and you can win $50 off a dummy fairy doorstep visit! ✨️✨️✨️ These visits are currently priced at $100 plus travel, so that's almost 50% off your booking!!! 🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️

I'll give you 3 clues.
1. My little Fred guessed 91 dummies. He was incorrect, there's more in there.
2. The bucket weighs 1.479kg.
& 3. Its an even number 💛💛

The closest or correct answer wins!
Entries close next Saturday as I'll be collecting even more dummies then. 👍
Happy guessing!

X # # #

Enrolled myself in the 'Pitch Perfect: Picture Books with Erica Wagner' online course today hosted by and soaked up every second of it!!

I have an awfully big to-do list which is perfectly timed with my boys all returning to school & kinder tomorrow! 🥹🥹

1st thing on my list: Try to place my Dummy Fairy story within 16 'spreads' to see if it falls nicely within a normal 32 page Children's Book! 👌🙌📚

Ok so I've discovered a thing, that is fast becoming a thing and it makes great sense! ✨️✨️
Families are hiring me for a Doorstep Dummy Fairy visit very close to, or on the actual day of their child's 3rd birthday. Here are 3 reasons why this is a very very good idea.

1.✨️✨️ 3 year olds love to feel like they are growing up!! If saying goodbye to the dummy is something special that '3 year olds' get to do, this 'I'm so big now' mentally is a wonderful headspace for them to be in during this often tricky milestone.

2.✨️✨️ 3 year olds believe in Fairies and make believe more readily than other age groups. It is SO exciting for them to have a real life Fairy appear on their doorstep.

And 3. ✨️✨️ Birthday gifts, birthday parties and birthday guests are the perfect distractions to help your little birthday boy/girl if they need some comfort or a tool to help take their mind off their much loved dummy when it's no longer there.

So there you have it!
Now I still firmly believe that the perfect time to say bye to the dummy is when the parent is ready, however if the kid is nearly 3, then definitely build up the excitement and book it in close to their birthday. It works wonders. 🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️

How lucky am I!?! 🥰🥰
The main thing my 7yo son wanted to do this week was to bake me a cake. Blessed and full 😍😍.
Happy last week of school holidays everyone # # #