Teacher leaves classroom to publish picture books and help others do the same

GURNEE – Local author Vicky Weber always wanted to write children’s books but thought the dream was unrealistic. One day, she decided to dive headfirst into the industry to see what happened.

Within nine months, Weber became a bestseller, even writing a Step Into Reading book for Disney’s “Encanto.”

After a hard year of teaching virtually, Weber resigned from her job as an elementary teacher to spend more time with her family and to keep pursuing her author career.

“I found more success and joy working than I’d felt in a long time,” Weber said. “I knew it was the best decision for myself and my family.”

That was only the beginning. Weber received so many emails and messages from other aspiring authors with questions about how she did it that she started helping others become published. She knew from experience that researching publication was overwhelming and none of the information could be easily found in one place.

At Home Author was born. Weber has partnered with two other successful teacher-authors, Brittany Plumeri and Chelsea Tornetto, to start the coaching and consulting business.

“I wanted to provide a safe place that was lacking in the author community,” Plumeri said. “One that others could trust and know that at the end of the day, they’d walk away with exactly what they need. No loopholes or smokescreens. Just facts and support.”

With Weber as the self-publishing expert, Plumeri as design and social media marketing strategist and Tornetto as the traditional publishing specialist, the company already has helped hundreds of people write, publish and market their children’s books and make them stand out from the crowd.

For information on the business, email contact@athomeauthor.com.