Lee Ann Rubsam: Homeschool Mom Becomes Published Author

Lee Ann grew up loving horses. This wasn't the typical 5 year old playing with My Little Pony. It was more akin to obsession. She had horse pictures in her room, read horse books, watched horse movies and collected the infamous Breyer horses.

There is one sad story, in which Lee Ann was given a chocolate horse figurine. It was too beautiful to eat, so she left it sit on her dresser until it crumbled to pieces (the sad part being all the chocolate that went to waste).

All through high school, Lee Ann saved every penny she could get. Was she saving for college or a car? No. She was saving to purchase a horse she could call her own.

And she accomplished her goal. She bought herself a gelding and nicknamed him "Harry" (She may be an author now, but then she was not so good with names). They had many happy rides together.

The point? When Lee Ann set her mind to do something, she stayed focused until it was accomplished. This paid off much later, when she decided to start her own company.

When Lee Ann's first child (that's me!) was headed toward Kindergarten, the Rubsam family was faced with a serious decision. Lee Ann and her husband, Paul, weren't too thrilled with some things being taught in the public schools and none of the local private schools were really jumping out at them.

One thing did catch their interest: Homeschool! The movement was new and there wasn't a lot of info available, but they decided to give it a shot. With a little help from the experts at the time, they launched into this new frontier, using Alpha-Omega curriculum.

Interested in reading about my experiences growing up homeschooled? Check out this article I wrote:

Growing Up Homeschooled

Homeschooling was trucking along well. But Lee Ann wasn't satisfied with just one curriculum. She began to pull her own resources together and mix and match the materials that best suited her family's needs. Unfortunately, as she compiled her homeschooling portfolio, one type of material continually alluded her: character building curriculum.

What Lee Ann wanted was something specific. She wasn't looking for Bible studies or Bible stories. She wasn't looking for self-help material either. She wanted a resource that would teach Biblical character traits, using Scripture as the foundation. And it just didn't exist.

Instead of throwing her hands up and saying, "Oh well," like most of us would, Lee Ann said, "OK then, I'll just write my own curriculum!" And just like that, Character Building for Families was born.

She wrote the lessons she needed for each week and used them on her "guinea pig" child (that's me!). As she wrote, a whole book was created and it was exactly what she had been looking for. What if other people were looking for the same thing?

When Lee Ann's Character Building for Families curriculum was complete, she began to shop it around to various publishers. Unfortunately, getting published was harder than she'd realized. Companies that claimed they would publish for you only wanted your money. And no one wanted to print it the way a homeschool mom would want it.

Again, instead of throwing her hands up and saying, "Oh well," like most of us would, Lee Ann said, "OK then, I'll just start my own company and publish myself!" She decided to call her company Full Gospel Family Publications.

Using a local printer, Lee Ann published the first run of Character Building for Families, using a format that was exactly what a homeschool mom would want. She then placed ads in homeschool magazines and newsletters. A few orders trickled in here and there.

And that's the way it was the first couple years. Some of us would have given up, but not Lee Ann. Remember that whole tenacity thing, with the horse? Yeah. Lee Ann stuck to it, trying new marketing techniques, sorting out what worked and what didn't, networking and utilizing the World Wide Web (little flashback there).

And then something marvelous happened. A homeschool curriculum distributor contacted Lee Ann wanting to become a reseller of her product. Then another distributor called, and another. The question was no longer, "Will we be able to sell all these books sitting around?" Now the concern was keeping enough books in stock to satisfy the need.

As if the success of Character Building for Families wasn't enough, Lee Ann published Character Building for Families 2 for those who just couldn't get enough!

As Lee Ann's children grew, they became more independent with their school work, which freed her up to be more active in her local church. The various ministry responsibilities she participated in brought an awareness of needs within the church world. She began to write to teach the things she was learning.

At first, Lee Ann simply wrote articles to post on her website, but soon the publishing bug began to bite. Churches were already using her Character Building for Families curriculum for Sunday School and Christian Ed classes, so she began to wonder if they might like some of her other material as well.

So Full Gospel Family Publications expanded its focus from homeschooling to the Christian community at large. Lee Ann began to publish mini-books, which were perfect for everything from gifts to personal use. A couple of her most popular books continue to be Encouragement from God's Word and The Names of God. She has also developed extensive teaching on Intercession.

That's how an average homeschool mom became a published author. Lee Ann saw her goal and she stuck with it until she accomplished it. And she continues to stick to each new goal she sets for herself.

If she can do it, maybe you can too!