Author Wrote His Own Ticket Tenacity Helps Cda Man Sell 80 Million Kids’ Books
If Stephen Cosgrove ever writes the story of his life, the moral will go something like this: If you really want things your way, bend your head and charge right through all those obstacles that hinder - don’t let anything stop you.
Every Cosgrove story ends with a catchy moral. They must be popular - he’s sold more than 80 million children’s books since 1974. He created the well-known pink sea serpent Serendipity, the name he also gave to his best-selling series.
“Serendipity has a long history of promoting a general feeling of well-being and goodness among people,” said Doug Whiteman, president of the Putnam Publishing Group’s young reader’s division in New York.
Putnam owns Serendipity now and recently relaunched the series that began Cosgrove’s career.
“It’s something we’re not embarrassed to have in our line, something we can really be proud of,” Whiteman said.
Cosgrove believes every tale should teach a lesson.
“Every story must have a resolution - a moral where the central character resolves his problems,” he said, leaning across the enormous desk that fills his office in downtown Coeur d’Alene.
At 50, Cosgrove is in the resolution period of his own story now. He recently opened his own publishing company, sold 2 million books last year and is about to launch a new series into the market.
Idaho’s Legislature proclaimed its appreciation this year of the values his books present to children.
“He makes a very moral message and gives an example that’s gentle and kind in life,” said Rep. Don Pischner, R-Coeur d’Alene, who sponsored the proclamation.
Cosgrove is as happy as a new bridegroom with Nancy Smith, whom he married four years ago. He’s conquering debt and back into favor after a decade as an outcast in the publishing world.
“I’ve got my wings out,” he said, flashing the confident smile that opened doors so quickly for him 20 years ago. “People are calling. I’m rekindling relationships.”
Cosgrove writes from experience when he fills his books with messages about perseverance.
He was born in Spokane, raised in Boise and was an enigma to his parents. They understood his athletic brothers, but not the precocious boy who wanted to act, sing, write.
“I was the family joke,” Cosgrove said. “I learned to defend myself by hiding, making light of it.”
Cosgrove sunk into creative seclusion after his fourth-grade teacher tore up the boy’s work in front of his class after reading it aloud. Cosgrove had written an imaginative poem to fulfill a writing assignment about his heritage. The teacher didn’t want “creative trash.”
He studied theater in college for awhile, then eventually landed in a job in Seattle.
At age 22, he began writing. He lacked the confidence to share his work, and would arrive at work at 4 a.m. to write privately.
He was vice president of an investment company a few years later when he finally drummed up the courage to share his writing.
He wanted a special story with morals and values for his 3-year-old daughter Jennifer. It had to have substance and sound good read aloud. He found nothing he liked in bookstores, so he wrote his own tale.
The New York publisher who read the story and two others Cosgrove sent wanted to cut the morals at the end. Cosgrove refused.
“I used to be really pompous, very idealistic, really stupid,” he said. “I was cocky enough to say, ‘If you don’t want to do this, I’ll do it myself.”’ The publisher laughed at Cosgrove’s intention to publish out of Seattle. Six months later, Cosgrove had published and sold 100,000 books.
He’d made a fortunate mistake. Cosgrove believed he’d ordered 100 books - 25 of each of four titles. He planned to use the books as samples with major book buyers.
But he’d failed to read the small print that explained that each unit he ordered contained 1,000 books. The printer filled the order, pleased that Cosgrove, who introduced himself as the president of Serendipity Press, wanted a local rather than an international printer.
Cosgrove’s order overflowed his two-car garage.
“Suddenly I owed $40,000,” he says. “I was sweating bricks.”
With a few phone calls within three hours of delivery, Cosgrove had sold 12,000 books to a bookseller popular nationwide in shopping malls.
With two more phone calls, he reached the senior buyer of children’s books for the entire chain. Cosgrove led the buyer to believe they’d spoken previously and that he’d promised the company “first shot” at his books. Then he guaranteed to buy back whatever didn’t sell.
The man ordered 98,000 books.
Cosgrove knew he’d found his calling and chose the hectic self-publishing world over his marriage.
He added his colorful $1 paperback tales to the market at a time when children’s books were primarily hardback and expensive. He filled his stories with fantastic, lovable creatures that entertained children as they taught lessons.
Artist Robin James made Cosgrove’s characters endearing by giving them innocent teardrop eyes under rich eyelash fans.
By 1978, Cosgrove had 16 tales on the market and sales nearing 2 million. He’d also had a bellyful of self-publishing.
Cosgrove signed Serendipity over to Price Stern Sloan Publishers Inc. in Los Angeles and turned his full attention to writing. He wrote 56 more Serendipity books and 52 Bugg books, with fuzzy crawling and flying insects that were anything but creepy.
“PSS was doing a generic product, then along came Stephen Cosgrove who developed Serendipity,” said Dick Jacobs, whose company, S.R. Jacobs in Indianapolis, matches printers with book publishers. “That put them on the map. … It was phenomenally successful.”
Seven years passed blissfully before Cosgrove fell victim to budget cuts. To save money, the company cut his newest illustrator. Cosgrove vowed to save the man’s job. But he finally had reached a brick wall his well-chosen words couldn’t tumble.
He took his work to another publisher while under agreement with Price Stern Sloan. The publishing world frowned at him.
“My career went into the toilet. It was a hard lesson,” he said. “I thought because I was so successful with Serendipity I could go anywhere. I couldn’t. It’s a very small community, nasty.”
Price Stern Sloan honored Cosgrove’s contract but rejected most of his work, allowing him to sell it elsewhere. By 1991, he’d written 200 children’s stories and wanted back some rights to Serendipity.
Instead, the publisher chose not to offer him a new contract.
Never at a loss for ideas, Cosgrove created Treasure Trolls - shaggy dolls with jewels for navels.
But battle fatigue had dulled his business sense. He had signed no formal agreement with the toy manufacturers, battled in court for his earnings and settled for enough to pay his attorneys.
A year later in 1994, he created Earth Angels for Checkerboard Press. At the company’s suggestion, Cosgrove moved from Seattle to a smaller city where he could focus. He chose Coeur d’Alene.
But nine months into the project, Checkerboard succumbed to budget woes and defaulted on all its contracts with Cosgrove.
The author was left with 12 new books, no publisher, no income and a sizable debt.
“I didn’t know how I’d survive. It was a low point in my life,” he said. “So I dug my heels in and decided that some power was taking me back into publishing whether I wanted to go or not.”
Cosgrove moved his computer, trolls and merry-go-round chicken, wooden treasure chest and life-sized, fake rhinoceros bust into his Coeur d’Alene office.
Then he did what he does best - he picked up his phone and enchanted booksellers. His persistence earned him a deal with WalMart.
Two million Earth Angels books hit the market in nine months last year. They were published by Nancy Smith Studios, Cosgrove’s new home and a one-man operation.
He’s still in debt, but making headway.
“I’ve been beaten up. Still, you have to remember it’s a path and it’s all going somewhere neat.”
Workday interruptions from his teenage stepson Matt delight Cosgrove. The two snowboard and play paintball together.
His wife, Nancy, edits his work from a parent’s perspective. He still doesn’t like his writing changed, but admitted Nancy usually is right.
This year, he plans to add two new picture book series to the market. “The Flutterbyes,” illustrated by Diana Bonin, are the cuddly favorites he started 20 years ago.
“The Horses of the Tapestry” are tales about tiny horses that come alive on a tapestry every full moon when a little girl makes a wish. They’re illustrated by Coeur d’Alene artist Loretta Jenkins.
“I see no reason why he can’t recreate another Serendipity experience,” print-broker Jacobs said. “He’s a very creative man.”
Of course, Cosgrove’s characters still overcome some sort of personal dilemma and every story ends with a rhyming moral. That’s Cosgrove’s way, on paper and off.
“I’ve always had blind luck,” he said, smiling like a man who’s used to getting his way. “It’s serendipity. My whole life is serendipity.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo