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The Paper Waiters ended 2012 with a joyful bang - book contracts for Robin and Brianna! Their celebratory posts were delightful reading. Full of !!!!!.
Such stunning good news deserves a back story. Now that the confetti has been swept away, the band has packed up, and the fireworks are ash, I'd like to ask Robin and Brianna a few questions.
1. How long did it take you to write the manuscript that just sold?
2. Who/what influenced your revisions?
3. Anything else about this success story you'd like to share?
So . . . take it away, Robin and Brianna.
Happy New Year, Paper Waiters! I am so excited to be starting off the new year with some good news... some VERY good news! My picture book, Mystery at the Miss Dinosaur Pageant has been... acquired by Caroline Abbey of Bloomsbury Children's Books!! Yay!!!!
I am so excited I finally get to share my good news. This fun and wacky picture book is near and dear to my heart and I would like to extend a huge thank my awesome Paper Wait critique group for guiding me through revisions (and for believing in it when they first saw an early draft!). And a huge thank you to my awesome agent, Teresa Kietlinski, for believing in this story and helping it to find the right editor!
So please help me celebrate! Take a piece of cake, a scoop of ice cream and join the party!
Can't wait to celebrate lots more good news for all the wonderful Paper Waiters in 2013!
Okay, so, I wasn't going to post this quite yet since I'm sure everyone is busy with the holidays but I can’t hold it in any longer…
I HAVE A BOOK DEAL!!!!!! Balzer + Bray is publishing my debut YA, The Promise of Amazing, in 2014!!! Champagne for everyone!!!
I’m still pinching myself.
In honor of this and in the spirit of Christmas, I’m having a GIVEAWAY!!!
In the comments section, tell me which writers have influenced you and why and I’ll randomly select someone to win a $25.00 Amazon gift card! Okay, my turn:
One of the writers who has influenced me is fellow Jerseyan, Judy Blume. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret was the first book I remember falling in love with. I lived in that book. It was also the first book I read over and over again. What struck me most about that book was the way it made me feel. I was going through some of the same things that Margaret was going through…trying to figure out where I fit in, who my friends were, getting a bra, (worrying about having something to fill out said bra!), and going to my first boy/girl parties. These were thrilling, yet sometimes, scary events! Reading about someone going through those same things made me feel that all the emotions, the highs and lows, that I was experiencing were…normal.
This is what I aspire to do in my own work - to create characters and stories which grab you by the collar and pull you into their world. To laugh, cry and maybe even recognize yourself there.
So how about you, Paper Waiters? Which writer has influenced you? Any comments left before midnight on December 24th will be eligible for the giveaway!! (Just make sure to include an e-mail address so I can contact you!)
Oh, and I apologize for the overuse of exclamation points...but I just can't HELP IT!!!!!!
Just received copies of the December HIGHLIGHTS with my story "Why Bears Sleep All Winter: A Tale from Lapland."
LAPLAND?
No, I have no ancestral family stories from Lapland. I found this charming story in a tattered second hand volume of Scandinavian folktales published decades ago. The moral of my discovery (ditto the folktale) is to do good works. I was volunteering at a church book sale when I pulled the volume from a dusty donation box.
I've always loved the how or why (pourquoi) stories. One of my favorites is the old African-American one called "Why Dogs Hate Cats." The story begins with dog and cat best of friends until the day they go to town and buy a big ham. On the hot, dusty road going home, they take turns carrying their prize dinner. When dog carries the ham, he always chants, "Our ham, our ham," but when cat carries the ham he always chants, "My ham, my ham." Well, you can see it coming - not far from home cat climbs a tree with the ham and eats it all. Dog declares, "I can't get you now, but when you come down out of that tree, I'm going to chase you 'til you drop."
What's your favorite folktale?
My retold English folktale "Five Foolish Brothers" appears in the August issue of HIGHLIGHTS.
I enjoyed finding a new way to portray the problems of these thickheaded siblings. Love those noodlehead stories! No wonder they've lasted for centuries.
Ever try to write a rebus for a magazine? You need to tell a story with a defined beginning and middle, plus a delightful surprise, or twist, at the end. You have roughly 100 words to do all this. It helps to include some suspense, and you must make sure every line has a few words that can be represented as pictures. Some of the pictures, often nouns, need to be repeated throughout the story, but the repetition can't make the story as dull as "See Spot run." Here is a sample rebus story by Mike Carter from Highlights.
Have I tried to crack the rebus?
You bet. I have a folder full of rejected rebus stories. The rebus has the charm of a puzzle easily solved - for the reader, that is, not the writer. My weak spot is plotting that surprise ending and writing it with punch, but I persevered because I loved these stories as a child and they're still favorites with beginning readers.
My most recent rebus tells the story of a girl putting a favorite book in a special place so she'll remember to take it on vacation and then -you guessed it- she forgets where, and searches for the book when it's time to leave.
Highlights is buying it for their rebus page! Smile.
Maybe you've never tried to write a rebus, but what do you struggle with? Plot? Dialogue? Description? Backstory?
"Do not moralize."
"Do not try to teach a lesson."
For years, writers for children have heard this advice. And yet, some of the popular classics for the youngest audience moralize - THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT, THE POKY LITTLE PUPPY, or THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD. Ouch! That moralizing is painfully overt.
For the last year, I've been fascinated by researching and retelling folktales. What about the morals in folktales? They can be in-your-face like that little engine chugging over the mountain, or they can be more complex. Consider two pourquoi stories with very different explanations of why bears hibernate.
The American folktale paints the bear as a mean, loud mouth bully. Sick of the bear, one fall night the animals of the forest wait for it to climb into a hollow tree stump and fall asleep. They stuff the stump's opening with tree branches and rocks to keep it dark inside and rejoice because they're rid of the bossy bear. In spring, the animals wonder if the bear is still alive. When they remove the tree branches and rocks, sunlight wakes the bear. Now it gets complicated because the bear announces his long sleep pleased him; it's the most comfortable winter he's ever had. Are we to believe him, or is he saying that, as a bully might, to save face?
So the bully bear gets months of time out for anti-social behavior, but he says he's happy. What's the underlying moral if we believe the bear? Revenge doesn't pay? And if we don't believe the bear, or leave out the bear's dialogue in the retelling, what then? Bullies get what they deserve?
The other folktale is from Lapland. In this story, a helpful bear performs a kind deed and as a reward Ukko the Thunder God grants the bear the gift of winter sleep. Bears will no longer need to worry about searching the frozen tundra for food during the long winter. This is an uncomplicated story. The kind bear is rewarded for thoughtful behavior. The underlying moral is simple. Straightforward.
I sold the retold tale from Lapland to Highlights.
But I'm still figuring out how to retell the other story. There is something super satisfying about playing a trick on a bully, but how do I deal with that bear?
I have an agent.
Pinch me.
Ouch!! Not that hard.
It’s been about a month since I got “the call” and I’m still in a state of befuddled euphoric bliss.
I can now say my work is represented by Tamar Rydzinski of The Laura Dail Literary Agency.
I’m pausing to let it sink in, again.
Getting the call (or should I say, the first call) is something every writer dreams about at some point during their journey. I never truly visualized “getting the call” but I know I’ve sat rapt, listening round the writer campfire to others spinning yarns about it. And there I was stuffing my face with S’mores, wide-eyed and asking - What’s it like? The phone rang and what? After you picked yourself up off the floor, how did the conversation go? Always left wondering, as I licked the chocolate from the corner of my mouth, what it would be like when (and if) I got my own call.
I wish I could tell you. I wasn’t here for it.
I was standing in line at the DMV, hoping I had all the right paperwork to renew my registration.
After I got home and got the message, I had to listen to it twice. As I listened, my husband came in and launched into a story, when he noticed my glazed over expression he asked me what was wrong. I didn’t even know what to tell him. I got this call. From the agent I sent my manuscript to. I need to call her back. Even as a non-writer, he knew that was big news and told me to call right away.
But I can’t. I explained. I have to pick up X from the bus in five minutes and take X to the doctor and my senses seem to have disappeared as well, but if you see them, scoop them up and put them in a Ziploc till I get home, Okay?
Bus stop and doctor visit later, my senses still not found, I steeled myself to return Tamar’s phone call. You see, I can’t just collapse into joy. I have to analyze the hell out of it. What if it was just a courtesy call? What if she liked my manuscript but it needed a ton of work and wasn’t quite ready? After chasing my tail for awhile, I finally took a deep breath and called.
Tamar loved my manuscript and wanted to take me on as a client.
I still smile when I replay that part of the conversation in my mind.
Lest you think I’ve collapsed into joy, think again. This call is only the beginning. At the moment I’m in a second round of some minor revisions, tweaking a bit here, fine-tuning a bit there. And then my baby goes back to Tamar, for another look. When we’re both happy, my manuscript will go out into the world. And I’ll be sitting here (writing of course!) and hoping for another call.
Next time, I hope I’m here for it!
Okay, so when I was a little kid, we got to my grandmother's house on her birthday.
"Open your necklace, Nona," I told her.
This often told family story always reminds me how hard it is not to tell people something I'm really excited about!
Well, for the past few weeks something very exciting has been happening, and now I can finally let it out...
My picture book, "Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?" is going to be published by Random House!
Maybe I didn't keep it such a secret after all. You all probably heard my screams of joy when I got the critique and emails that brought me to this exciting moment-- even if you live nowhere near New Jersey.
Right now, it is all so exciting, but also rather unreal feeling. I have been working and dreaming for this for seven years (I went back through my old writing emails to trace my path to publication), and now it is actually going to happen.
I am sure there will be lots to do in the weeks and months ahead, but today is a day to celebrate.
So please take a virtual piece of cake and a virtual scoop of ice cream and join me in my celebration! I look forward to joining all of you in yours real soon! :o)
Last year I submitted one of my retold noodlehead folktales to an editor at a magazine I've been published in before. I've had good luck with my retellings of stories about fools - young readers love to say, "I know better than that!"
The editor, who was about to retire, sent back a cordial note saying it was "a funny idea," but the plot lost suspense early on because the reader could guess this fool would never find the possessions he was looking for. She also couldn't believe the fool could be SO clueless he wouldn't recognize his lost property when he saw it. She offered to have me resubmit.
I set about revising the plot to fix the suspense problem. When I resubmitted to a different editor, I got back a nice note saying she found the story "interesting . . . but a bit depressing." The fool in this revision still searched all day for his missing property and never found it, and I had belabored his long walks in the hot sun. As often happens in revising, you fix one thing and ruin another. I hadn't paid attention to the tone of the story. The light, foolish touch had disappeared and at the end the fool is resigned to his loss, which leaves the reader feeling gloomy. The editor was right. It was a downer. I e-mailed and asked whether she would be willing to see a revision. Lucky for me, she said yes.
In my second revision, I carefully balanced plot and tone - the fool still faces some hardship searching for the lost property he never finds - but I shortened and lightened the descriptions. Most importantly, the ending now has a humorous twist. The fool, rather than being resigned to his loss, is hopeful. He has a plan to solve his problem. This plan elicits smiles, for even the youngest reader will see his foolish plan won't work.
And how does this blog tale end? I sold the story and have renewed respect for the tricky mechanics of revision. Now that's not foolish!
It's possible. For those of you who have followed this blog, you might remember the article I did on Sydney Martin. She is an incredible young girl who has over come a rare blood disorder and turned it into a way to education and comfort others children. The story I submitted would be featured in "Gallant Kids" section of Highlights Magazine. I received an email this AM to work out a few final kinks, and a promising note that a contract could develop very soon!
It has been a long wait, but if it turns out successful, then it was well worth every second. I'll keep you posted.
Getting published in Highlights had long seemed one of the greatest possible achievements to me as a children's writer. So you probably heard the screams a few years ago when my SASE came back with a contract accepting three of my poems about the Jewish holidays.
Well, the first one is now out in this December's issue and I'm so pleased and excited I just had to share!
I can't type it here myself because I sold all rights to Highlights but I was thrilled to find a link to it online. Please check it out: The dreidel's dance.
And, as usual as a writer, as I'm celebrating my good news, I still get to aspire to how far I have to go as I read Eileen Spinelli's incredible Christmas poem in the same issue! Please check it out: The Christmas Story.
I'm honored to have an autographed poster of Eileen's beautiful poem, "The Joy of Reading," on my son's bedroom wall (the one thing I ever won bidding at an auction!). She is such an incredible poet!
Celebration and aspiration... two of the emotions that keep me going as a writer. Please let me know when I can celebrate (or aspire) with you!
P.S. Make sure to check out all this week's wonderful Poetry Friday posts at http://wildrosereader.blogspot.com/.
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Thanks so much for asking these questions, Gale! Here are my answers:
How long did it take you to write the manuscript that just sold?
My picture book manuscript, Mystery at the Miss Dinosaur Pagaent was written and revised over the course of many years. I was excited to look back at our blog and discover a post I wrote about the many times I had revised this manuscript: “How Many Times Can I Revise 500 Words?”. Now I am thrilled to be able to share my happy ending to that long ago post.
When that blog post left off, I was attempting to turn my rhyming picture book into prose. I worked on that attempt for a while longer. Eventually though, I decided that this manuscript really did need to be written in rhyme. So I went back to my rhyming version and polished it up once more. Then I did at least one more substantive revision to add depth to (and several stanzas about) my protagonist.
Some time later, I signed with my wonderful agent and she loved my rhyming manuscript (Yay!). But she wanted me to polish it up further. She especially asked me to shorten up my ending. I went on for too many verses after my story was really over. At first it was hard to take away whole stanzas I loved, but soon I didn’t miss them.
And currently, my wonderful editor, loved the manuscript and brought it to acquisitions. (Hooray!) She too has requested revisions. (She has such a wonderful vision for the manuscript, and I am so thrilled to be working with her on these revisions!)
So, how many times CAN I revise 500 words?.... Obviously a lot!
Who / what influenced your revisions?
My revisions were influenced by so many wonderful critiquers including: my amazing critique group, The Paper Wait, my awesome agent, Teresa Kietlinski, super kidlit author, Cynthea Liu, and my wonderful new editor, Caroline Abbey.
Thanks so much to all my awesome critiquers! You have all helped me to move the story forward in amazing ways!
Anything else about this success story you’d like to share?
I guess I’d just like to share a word of encouragement with everyone out there who is working on a story. Don’t be afraid to be yourself in your writing! That is what will make your story special and unique. Write the story that only you can write. And don’t be afraid of revision. Some of my stories required less revision, some more. But the many revisions I went through with this story made it the story it is today (which is incredibly better than the story it was in the very first draft!). Those revisions made it the story I’m so excited that you’ll be seeing in bookstores. Hopefully in 2014! Yippee!
Thanks so much for letting me share!
Thank you, Gale!! I'm still in the *pinch me* phase, not sure that ends...
How long did it take you to write the manuscript that just sold?
THE PROMISE OF AMAZING took me about a year and a half to write. There was some pre-planning, an outline, fooling around with scenes and a lot of staring off into space, but the serious nitty-gritty writing took about six months for the first draft and a year going back and forth revising with my agent until we thought it was just right.
Who/what influenced your revisions?
Hmmm...like Brianna I relied on my fab critique partners and my amazing agent, Tamar Rydzinski, to steer me on the right course! The characters also heavily influenced my revisions!! One character in particular evolved in a way I hadn't seen him evolving. I LOVE when that happens!! I also run things by my son, who is my pop culture reference guru...he's sick of me asking "Would you say this?" but he's invaluable!! I'm currently waiting for my editorial letter from my editor, Donna Bray. I'm so excited to be working with her!!
Anything else about this success story you'd like to share?
If someone had told me it would take me 15 years of working on my craft and subbing to get to this point, I might have run away screaming!! And if I'd done that, it would have been my loss. I LOVE being a writer. Get giddy walking into a book store. Adore meeting other writers and swapping war stories. ENJOY the process. Every so often take a deep breath and be thankful for all of it. I know that sounds airy fairy, but that can get you through the roughest times. And publication isn't a destination - it's a continuation of the journey! I'm excited that I can say "my book comes out next year" but I know between now and then, there will be a lot to do!!
And I'd like to give a shout out to my other 2014 debut authors!! You can check them out at http://onefourkidlit.wordpress.com
Brianna and Robin, Thanks for answering my questions. We all like to bask in success!
Revision? Never ending. First the critique group, then the agent and now an editor!
Last question: do you think your book would have sold if you hadn't had an agent?
Gale,
Great idea for a post!
Brianna & Robin,
Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed reading about your paths to publication. And your words of encouragement were well appreciated. Congrats to you both!
Gale - That last question....
Do I think my book would have sold if I didn't have an agent?
No. I can't say enough about working with Tamar and I think in the current climate of publishing having an agent is truly important. When I first started subbing, way back when, when snail mail was still the way to go, editors were more accessible. That's not to say you CAN'T make a sale without an agent but I think it's more difficult.
Tamar was instrumental during every step of this process. I think it's important to note that my first manuscript which she subbed did not sell. As a newly agented writer, I was nervous this meant we'd part ways...on the contrary, she was incredibly helpful, encouraging me to write something new. From my first convoluted outline to our final edit before subbing, she was there to advise me along the way.
Agents do more than just sell your manuscript for you. They advise. They nurture. They deal with your neurotic questions. They are your liaison and help sort out confusing contract terms!!
I seriously could not imagine this happening without her!!
Thanks, Sharon!
And Brianna - WOW - Picture books are so difficult!! I can't imagine how hard it must be to revise 500 words, again, and again, and again. Well, and to have a story with 500 words!! It sounds like such a fun project!!
Such an informative and inspiring blog! Thank you Brianna, Robin and Gale. So much good advice, I don't know what to say, except that... I'd better get back to my writing!
Great last question, Gale!
My agent was definitely critical to selling my book. Teresa worked with me to make sure the manuscript was as polished as possible before she sent it out. Then she sent it out into the world (something I was often reluctant to do on my own-- see my post on "submission indecision"). And because of her knowledge of editors and the industry, she was able to match my manuscript with the perfect editor!
And I completely agree with Robin-- editors do so much more than sell your manuscript for you. Teresa is such a wonderful advisor and supporter of me and my work! Having this relationship with her is incredible!
I definitely feel that I am very lucky as a picture book writer (who is not an illustrator) to have signed with an agent. And such an amazing agent as Teresa (who knows and loves picture books so very much!).
Whoops! In that last post I meant "agents do so much more than sell your work for you". :o)
Sharon and Julie-- So glad these answers were helpful and encouraging!
Robin-- Loved reading your answers to Gale's awesome questions! And, oh my goodness, I think YA is sooooo difficult. I am so very impressed by what you do! (Believe it or not, I really do love revising 500 words over and over until I get them just right. :o) )
Congratulations to Brianna and Robin. Happy for you ladies!
Thanks so much, Robin and Brianna. And thanks to Gale for asking the questions. It's so important to remember to enjoy the process. It makes the rewards that much sweeter!