She has never written fairy tales, but Yankton author Marilyn Kratz might agree that her writing career of 40+ years has at least a hint of a fairytale twist.

As she modestly shares details of her writing experiences, Marilyn notes that she was very surprised when the first children’s story she had ever written was quickly accepted for publishing to the nationally known children’s publication, “Highlights for Children.”

“Even after that first sale, I didn’t tell anyone I was writing,” Marilyn explains. “I had taken a 10 year break from my elementary teaching career to be a stay-at-home-mom while my children were young. I wanted a creative challenge, which led to completion of a mail-order writing course.

‘Highlights for Children’ was one of the markets recommended by the course. When I was ready to submit my story for publication, I decided I might as well start at the top. I was surprised and delighted when I learned they had accepted my work.”

Marilyn’s reserved, analytical nature compelled her to keep her writing success to herself until she had sold 10 children’s stories to “Highlights.”

“By then, I felt I could call myself a writer,” she says.

Marilyn’s writing efforts have resulted in more than 90 sales to “Highlights for Children” as well as sales to other children’s magazines such as “Cricket” Group, National Wildlife Federation magazines, Children’s Better Health Institute magazines and “High Five” and “Hello.”

Somewhere between raising a son and daughter, Marilyn found time to advance the Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education which she completed at Yankton College, earning her Master of Arts in Education at The University of South Dakota (Vermillion).

So, has children’s writing been her only focus?

“I enjoy all types of writing,” Marilyn says. “That’s what led me to start writing for ‘Living Here,’ ‘Nebraska Fence Post,’ the ‘Observer’ and various church school publications.”

Her creative ambition has also resulted in the creation of a play, “A Christmas to Remember,” which was performed by Yankton’s Lewis & Clark Theatre Company in December 2012.

“That was such a rewarding experience,” Marilyn says. “The story was one I had worked on for some time. A close friend wrote the musical score for the play and having it produced locally made all the work very worthwhile.”

During her writing journey, Marilyn has used her successes as stepping stones to new and larger projects. She produced her first children’s book in 1969, “The Garden Book ,” published by T. S. Denison & Co. It is now out of print.

In 1976 Marilyn wrote “Whose Garden?” which was published by Harvey House, now also out of print.

“In 2006 I had the pleasure of working with the late Stan Ray to write ‘WNAX 570 Radio, 1922-2007.’ It is a pictorial history book published by Arcadia Publishing,” Marilyn says. “In 2011, my ‘Umpire in a Skirt ‘ was published by the South Dakota State Historical Society Press.”

Marilyn’s latest book project led to publishing a collection of her weekly columns featured in Yankton’s “The Observer.” She titled the book, “Feed Sack Dresses and Wild Plum Jam.”

“I had such good feedback about the columns I wrote about growing up on the family farm near Scotland,” Marilyn says. “I used numerous columns that were published in the paper as well as some that I wrote just for the book. This book was self-published, which has been a rewarding but challenging experience. Since it came out in September, I’ve had a great response to it, which makes all the work and worry well worthwhile.”

Marilyn has found patience and persistence to be the most helpful skills in her book projects.

“It’s not easy to find a subject people want to read about,” she says. “It takes time to develop an idea, find a publisher and then produce the book. Once a work is accepted, editing and writing revisions are a big part of the process. Today’s publishers expect authors to be very active in promoting their books. From start to finish, producing a book is a lot of work.”

Teaching skills have played a significant role in Marilyn’s writing career, opening doors for her to offer presentations to other writers. Her engagements have included serving as an instructor at Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop and Chautauqua Institute in New York (1985 and 1988), speaking at Society for Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska, as well as at regional and local writers workshops and conferences.

“When I began writing, I didn’t even know any other writers,” Marilyn says. “I was pleased when I began meeting other writers and interacting with them. I’ve always learned so much from other writers’ experiences.”

There is no date in Marilyn’s calendar book that notes “it’s time to write less.” While she weaves her writing activities into the daily life she and her husband Ernest (Bud) of 50 years share, Marilyn expects to continue making the most of her creative drive.

“In writing for children, it certainly helps that I was an elementary teacher for 31 years,” Marilyn says. “To write for children, you have to understand what interests them and be careful to present a lesson and not to preach to them. To write about childhood memories, like I have in my columns, it takes, more than anything else, a good memory. It’s also important to love what you write about.”

The positive and appreciative feedback Marilyn receives from her writing activities also motivates her to expand her writing horizons.

She also finds it gratifying to encourage and support other writers in their work.

“If someone is just starting to write, the best advice I can give is just do it,” Marilyn says. “It doesn’t matter if you want to see your work published or just write for your own satisfaction, just do it. To be regularly published, you have to sharpen your writing skills. I’ve found it helpful to ask for advice or feedback from someone who’s successful in the areas I want to break into. Reading books about writing has also helped me.

“It takes a certain set of skills for each type of writing you do,” Marilyn adds. “Each time I’ve tried a new writing project it’s been challenging. However, in the end, I find it worth every bit of effort I invest.”