by Milanka Reardon My first children’s book illustration job had a non-traditional start. Eric Bennett, the owner of a penguin gift shop in Western Massachusetts, found my portfolio on my website through a friend in one of my SCBWI critique groups. He was working on a sequel to his 2014 self-published book about a penguin (Noodles) and a fish (Albie). I had been asked to work on self-published books before, but I had been advised to be wary of agreeing to projects that did not have the commitment of an agent or a publishing house for all the traditional reasons: the risk of low sales, a high workload, uncertain paychecks, and stigma from traditional publishers. But the first Noodles and Albie had sold almost 1,000 copies already, and I was looking for an opportunity to expand my portfolio and gain experience. I decided to read the manuscript. In the sequel, Noodles and Albie’s Birthday Surprise, Albie is looking for the perfect birthday present for Noodles, whose birthday happens to be on Christmas Eve. Albie settles on a compass—just the device a frustrated Kris Kringle needs when his GPS fails and leads him off course! And as soon as I read the manuscript, my mind began working through illustration possibilities: mid-way through the book, Noodles and Albie visit an underwater amusement park. While the text did not describe it in much detail, I could already see the “Octowhirl” in my head—a giant octopus ready to spin the characters around as if the tips of his tentacles were seats on a ride. I was in. Traditionally, the art director at a publishing house chooses the illustrator, not the author. But working with an author in the self-publishing realm allowed me to learn a great deal about the process of visual story-telling, communication about the direction of the book, and working through contracts. I reached out to one of my Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education teachers, who gave me a sample contract that I could use as a guideline and adjust it to meet the specifics of my project. The contract specified payment details, including my upfront fee, when I would be paid, and what percentage of royalties I would earn if the book sold a certain number of copies. It also specified the finals timeline and the number of revisions I was willing to do. I made sure I maintained the right to my original artwork, that I would be able to use the illustrations for promotional materials, and that there was a “kill fee”—an amount we agreed I would be paid if I finished the illustrations and the book did not go to print. The part about maintaining the right to my original artwork was important to me. Aside from loving the story and having fun coming up with ideas for the text, one of the reasons I decided to take this particular self-publishing job was to add new illustrations to my portfolio that will hopefully attract art directors or future collaborators. Within days, the contract was signed and accepted. I was ready to start illustrating my first picture book! Now to the fun part - the illustration process! I was ready to create the main characters and did a lot of sketching. However, the images of Noodles and Albie were already set up in the first book. This was my first big dilemma: should I imitate the original book, or work on the characters in a way that felt truer to my own illustration style? Luckily, the author gave me artistic freedom. He said that he envisioned the characters a little bit older in the sequel. Instead of being a baby penguin with grey colors, Noodles is a spunky 6- or 7-year-old in this book, and his coloring is that of a one-year-old penguin: black and white. But I still had to work with the guidelines that the author gave me, such as the detail that Noodles always wears a blue baseball hat. In self-publishing, the author acts as the de facto art director. Here are some first sketches of the main character, Noodles: And this is how Noodles looks in one of the final sketches and the final painting in the book: Next, I started creating the world that my character lived in. I had a lot of fun with this. It involved a lot of research including a trip to the New England Aquarium with my nephews. I used this trip not only to research but also to see what excited the boys. I spent a lot of time observing, sketching and taking photos for reference at home. There were some sea creatures that had to be included in this world to create some drama in scenes where Noodles loses his compass and he and Albie chase it down. Also, the author wanted a Polar Kingdom underwater amusement park with an “Octowhirl” ride which was a great idea because the octopus’ movements at the aquarium were mesmerizing and I couldn’t wait to paint one! Here are some of the sketches and the finished paintings: Before I started the finished paintings, I completed a 32-page storyboard with the final sketches. The author loved the storyboard and the interplay of text and visual storytelling but he had definite ideas about what he wanted in this book. We worked back and forth and changed some things and added others. I was lucky that we had a good working relationship and that he trusted my judgement on most of the illustration process. It helped that I also respected his ideas. This process would be different when working with a traditional publisher because the author wouldn't be communicating directly with the illustrator. The art director would provide feedback to the illustrator. I was happy that Eric hired a book designer to put it all together, and after a few delays the book came out late last year. I was a little nervous wondering how the book reviews would go. Happily, the first book reviewer loved the book and actually said that her favorite thing about the book were the illustrations. I breathed a sigh of relief as other nice reviews followed. But the work wasn’t done yet. Promoting the book involved a book signing at a bookstore and reading to a classroom of second to fourth graders. I was nervous about reading and speaking to a classroom full of children but armed with a stuffed penguin, a compass and an extra-large sketch pad, I was ready. The children’s enthusiasm and excitement to draw penguins on my sketchpad put me instantly at ease. There were so many teaching points for the children and myself. This will probably continue in the fall of this year because promoting the book is part of the continuing process, both in self-publishing and in traditional publishing. Illustration for the cover of Noodles’ and Albie’s Birthday Surprise, written by Eric Bennett and illustrated by Milanka Reardon: Milanka Reardon is Co-Illustrator Coordinator for New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She recently illustrated her first picture book, Noodles' and Albie's Birthday Surprise by Eric Bennett. Her illustration of "A Beary Special Friend" won the R Michelson Galleries Emerging Artist Award at the NESCBWI 2016 conference. She lives with her family in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. You can see more of her artwork at MilankaReardon.com.
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~ By Amanda Smith We are excited to visit with author and illustrator Matthew Cordell at 24 Carrot Writing. Matthew has illustrated poetry, novels, and picture books for children including Special Delivery by Philip Stead and the Justin Case series by Rachel Vail. He has also written and illustrated several picture books himself, including Another Brother, Hello! Hello!, Wish, and Dream. Matthew’s books have been recognized as Best of the Year selections by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe, and his first wordless picture book, Wolf in the Snow, was awarded a 2017 Boston Globe-Horn Book honor award. Thank you, Matthew, for answering all our questions about the making of a picture book from an illustrator's point of view. We are honored to learn from you. Tell us a little about your journey to becoming an illustrator. As long as I can remember, I’ve always been drawing and making art in some capacity. I was never particularly into sports or some of the things other kids grow up interested in. Art and drawing was always my thing. As a boy, I was really excited by comics and comic art like Spiderman and X-men. But by the time I got into high school, my eyes were opened to fine art and I learned about all different kinds of art-making—painting, sculpture, printmaking, etc. By the time I needed to choose a college major, I knew it would have to be art or something art-related. Trying to be sensible about it, I put my name down for graphic design. (I wasn’t entirely sure what “graphic design” was, but I knew it was a career where I could be creative.) Throughout college, I learned more about graphic design and came to love it. I also continued taking classes in drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. I loved it all, really. And by the time I graduated, I wanted it all. I wanted a career in graphic design and I wanted to draw, and paint, and show my work in galleries and ultimately museums. And with lots of work and persistence, I was on my way to success in both. I got my dream design job at one of Chicago’s top design firms. And my drawings and paintings were being represented by an excellent gallery in the city. However… Once I got a taste of what both were really like… I realized neither were for me. The design world was too buttoned-down for me. The art world was too pretentious. I was at a loss. What I’d always wanted, I’d gotten. And I didn’t like it much at all. Around that same time, I started dating a young woman named Julie Halpern who was a writer and an elementary school librarian. She had an idea that we should collaborate on something. She thought we should do a picture book together. But I thought that sounded like the most uncool thing ever! To be fair, I’d been out of the picture book game since I was… I guess 6, 7, 8 years old. I had no real idea what picture books were, but in my mind they were wholesome and moral-driven, and not terribly interesting or inventive or inspiring. And, of course, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Julie started feeding me classic and contemporary picture books from her library. I was blown away by the quality of illustration in these books. I was particularly drawn to the more expressive and loosely drawn illustrations of those like William Steig, Bernard Waber, and Jules Feiffer. And I became excited about the idea of a completely different audience: kids, parents, and educators. So, Julie wrote a manuscript and I put together some drawings, and we submitted our book idea to 20 publishers at the same time. One by one, we were told “no”, until we had a stack of 19 rejections. The 20th and last letter came from Houghton Mifflin. Theirs was a “maybe” that turned into a “yes.” And eventually, our book, Toby and the Snowflakes was published in 2004. Once I began working as an illustrator with the folks at Houghton, and later, at one or two other publishers, I was hooked. I was hooked on the kindness and warmth of everyone in the business. I was hooked on the idea of making art that could be appreciated in an intimate setting and acquired at an affordable price. I was hooked on the idea of making art that would be in the hands of and before the eyes of children—a funny, fun, fresh (and not horribly jaded like us grown-ups) audience for me. I was hooked, and from that point on, I did all that I could to eventually make children’s book illustration my full-time job. When you first receive a manuscript to illustrate, what is your process? In the very beginning, it’s just some vague planning. And it’s not intense work right away, which makes for a good ice breaker. I’ll work out the trim size and number of pages and page breaks. I print out the manuscript and I read it through several times. Then vague images tend to materialize in my mind and I’ll jot down some notes in the margins. Before I draw anything in detail, I begin with character sketches and share them with my editor and art director. Nothing can or should take place in terms of work, until we’re all in agreement about the look of the main characters. (Which is, by the way, maybe my favorite part of the process—designing the characters for my books. It’s a fun problem to solve. Are they children? Animals? Something else? What are they wearing? Are they wearing clothes at all? What are the colors? The proportions? What else?) Once the characters are hammered out, I’ll go through and sketch out all the pages in the book. The first dummy is sent to the publisher and there will be several rounds of notes, and changes, and back and forth until we’ve got an approved sketch dummy that’s ready for final art. You have written and illustrated your own books as well as illustrated books authored by other writers. Can you speak a little to the pros and cons of illustrating someone else’s story, versus a story you’ve written yourself? I consider myself an illustrator first, who’s occasionally given permission to write my own stories. Writing has never been super easy for me, I guess mostly because I haven’t spent the better part of my life trying to uncomplicate it (unlike drawing). So, writing my own books is often a struggle, in one way or another. But it is extremely validating when it works (when something I write gets published). I do love having 100% ownership of a book. In terms of the finished piece and the assemblage of the thing. As I’m writing, I’m also aware, in some respect, of what the pictures are ultimately going to look like. The two different parts of assembling this puzzle are coming together organically and somewhat simultaneously. And having control over both the words and pictures is a rather satisfying thing to have. Working on someone else’s manuscript is also validating and challenging in its own ways. I like to collaborate with like-minded individuals to put some squished-together piece of art into the world. There is not a lot of direct contact between author and illustrator in most cases, but the collaboration is still intact. Two names are on the book and two different skill sets have been combined to bring this new book into the world. There are some worries. Like, “is the author going to like how I bring her/his story to life visually?” What if someone really didn’t like what I did with her/his words? That would be pretty unfortunate. It’s always a possibility. But, like it or not, the magic of combining two things by two people is a pretty cool thing to be a part of. It’s also nice when it comes to marketing and promotion. Promoting my own books can feel a little lonely and egocentric. When there’s an author friend involved in this part of the process, it can make it more bearable and more fun. How much interaction, if any, do you have with the author of a manuscript you are illustrating? If you do work with the author, what make those collaborations successful? It’s pretty rare, in my experience, for an author and illustrator to have direct communication regarding the writing and/or the illustrating of their book. A book’s editor, or art director, or both are usually the connective tissue between the author and illustrator as the book is coming together. This has always made sense to me, mostly because the book is ultimately being produced by the publisher that has invested in it. So, the folks who work at the publisher and are involved in the project generally have final say in many aspects. It’s also helpful to have a person in the middle who can filter any communication between the author to the illustrator, so that no feelings get hurt, and to be a sounding board for any ideas that may not even be worthy of making the jump from the author to the illustrator or vice versa. The sole instance in my career where I’ve collaborated directly with an author, has been on my books, Special Delivery and The Only Fish in the Sea, by author Philip Stead. Phil and I are friends and were so before we came to work on these books together. We’re both authors and both illustrators too, and we have strong feelings on both matters. Knowing all of this, it would’ve been incredibly weird not to speak to each other about what was going on in the making of these books as they were coming together. So, lines of communication were wide open with Phil and me and our editor Neal Porter, throughout the production of both of the books. I think it really needs to be a special circumstance for this to happen. Not only do the author and illustrator have to be close in some way, but the editor of the project must also be close and willing to open the doors to free and complete collaboration. But when it works, it works. I had so much fun making these books! You illustrated Lost. Found. (Roaring Brook Press, 2015) a picture book, written by Marsha Diane Arnold, which consists of two words only, repeated throughout. Picture book writers are often intrigued, and a little intimidated, by the process of writing a wordless book, or book with minimal text. What does such a manuscript look like when you get it? Lost. Found. (by author Marsha Diane Arnold) is a very different manuscript from any other I’ve ever been offered. There are only two words in the entire story, which are (you guessed it) “lost” and “found”. In a nutshell, it’s a story about a bear who owns a big red scarf that one day gets taken away by a gust of wind on a snowy day. The scarf is then found by a couple of quarreling raccoons who ultimately lose it themselves. The scarf is repeatedly lost and found by all different types of animals until it’s found by every one of them and battled over until it’s ripped to shreds. There’s more to it, obviously, but I won’t spoil the ending. So, there’s no narration or dialogue to tell the story. Just “lost” and “found.” In principle, it’s pretty close to being a wordless picture book. When my editor, Neal, sent me Marsha’s manuscript, there was some general description of the actual story. Some explanation of how the scarf is lost, what animal finds it, and what happens next. (Otherwise, no one but Marsha herself would’ve known what in the world was happening among all of those losts and founds!) I followed much of her outline, but did end up changing a thing or two once I started with the visuals. Even with proper planning, one never really knows how a thing will play out until the actual visuals are put in place. It’s a really clever and heartfelt book and I’m super proud of that one. Do you collaborate more with the writer in the making of such a book? Despite the unconventional nature of this book, I still had no actual discussions with Marsha about the text or the pictures as I was illustrating. Any questions I had were put to Neal and if he couldn’t answer, it would be asked of Marsha. Then I’d get answers back through Neal. That’s really just how it goes. What advice do you have for writers who are walking around with a wordless book in their hearts? I imagine it must be an unusual undertaking to be a writer and envision, write, and even pitch a story like this. Much less one with no words at all. But I know it can be done, obviously, and done well. One of my favorite recently published picture books is a wordless book, Sidewalk Flowers written by JonArno Lawson and illustrated by Sydney Smith. If any author is ever on the fence about doing a wordless picture book, I say get off the fence and go for it. Some picture books simply function better with no words at all, and there’s really no better way to do it. Yes, the dreaded illustration note question: We’ve read agents’ opinions on illustration notes. As an illustrator, what is your take? When a manuscript is on submission, I think illustration notes are quite helpful. A picture book text, in the end, should not spell out every single twist and turn that is meant to be seen in the book. If it did, it would be working overtime and be terribly redundant as the pictures are already doing some of this work and filling in gaps. As an illustrator, I don’t mind the occasional illustration note, especially if there is no text to describe a critical element to the story. But if a manuscript is riddled with notes, I think it can be a bit overwhelming and stifling to my own interpretation and decision-making I’ve been hired to deliver. But most editors I’ve worked with strip the manuscript of most, if not all, notes to see how I might interpret the story. Unless, again, there is some critical description that must be seen by the illustrator. When you are not working on an assignment, what do you do to grow your craft/art? If I’m not on deadline, I like to use any free time to develop any story ideas that have been sitting around, or simply just to draw for fun. I think it’s important to continue to draw when there’s no pressure of contracts and timelines and expectations for specific books or jobs. Whenever I work on a book, there is a lot of extended planning involved: Image research, sketches, sketch revisions, pencil drawing, and then by the end, I break out my pen and bottle of ink. When I’m drawing for my own pleasure, a lot of the pressure and expectations are stripped away and I can sometimes stumble upon new ways to solve problems and use the pen and line to do what I never knew it could do. I like to skip any time and labor involved with sketches and the pencil and just attack the paper straight away with the pen, which can be a little intimidating, considering ink is incredibly unforgiving. But often times the best drawing is the very first one that’s been put to paper. Sometimes the very first sketch has so much more energy than a final drawing—one that’s been drawn 3, 4 or more times. So it’s fun to just go at an ink drawing with no planning at all. It’s fun to just draw without limits or expectations. At 24 Carrot Writing, we pay a lot of attention to goal setting and planning. Do you set illustrating/ art goals? If so, what do they look like? This is a great point, one I probably haven’t thought much about in a while. There definitely have been many times in my career where I’ve stopped and set goals for myself. For instance, to get my first book published as an author and illustrator. Or to do everything I could to become a full-time illustrator. Or to stick my neck out and do more public speaking and appearances. I’ve been really fortunate, in that many of the goals I’ve set for myself have been met over the years. And in recent years, I think I’ve gotten a little slack about this sort of thinking. I think goal setting is a great way to make sure we’re all moving forward in some way and not getting too comfortable or sedentary. So, now that you mention it, I think my new goal is to think on this and set some more goals! What does your typical work day look like? Julie and I have two young children (4 and 8) and we evenly split up responsibilities and child care duty. On top of kidcare, we both work from home, so no two days tend to be the same. But our typical setup is that Julie takes the AM shift of the day for her work (she’s a Young Adult author) and I stay on top of the kids’ needs during that time. Then around lunch, we do a sort of virtual high five, and I start work and she takes over with the kids. So I work from mid-day through 5 on most days. And if I need to get caught up, I have to stay up late, when everyone else is off to sleep, and work into the wee hours of night. Someday, when both kids are in school full time, there will probably be a bit more normalcy to the work day, but it’s hard to imagine it that way right now. What has been your greatest joy in your career as an illustrator so far? I love connecting with kids who have read and appreciated my books. It’s incredibly satisfying and inspiring to meet and hear from these kids and to hear that I’ve even maybe had something to do with them wanting to draw and learn more about drawing. The most satisfying instance of all, is to see my own daughter taking a big interest in art. I might be biased, but she’s a terrific artist and she loves to draw. To be perfectly fair, I don’t know how much credit I can take for her talent and interest, because she is very much an individual and her own person. But I’d like to think I had a LITTLE bit of something to do with it. What has been the biggest surprise? I used to be terribly afraid of public speaking. I think many of us who make books are probably just more at home by ourselves and just being with the ones we love. I used to think that, no matter what, I would never be comfortable talking to large groups of people—kids or adults. I thought I would never agree to doing it, no matter how often I might be asked or by whomever was asking. But I realized, at some point, that I would only get so far in my career if I was holed up at my desk. And I would only be so content with myself if I never faced my fears. So I started seeking out and accepting appearances at schools, book festivals, book stores, etc. And now, it’s, like, no big deal at all. I’m pretty much completely comfortable with talking to groups. I mean, there’s still some small bit of uneasiness about it, that I’m sure will never go away. But I never thought I’d be able to perform, speak, or draw in front of big crowds of people, and now I do it all the time. I’m happy that it’s something I overcame. And I’m glad I did too. The rewards of connecting with people face-to-face are endless. To learn more about Matthew visit him online at matthewcordell.com. ~By Amanda Smith When I spend a day in a classroom as a substitute teacher, I always feel as if I’m the one learning something new. A couple of weeks ago, when I was elementary art teacher for the day, I was reminded of some very important writing truths. The art teacher had left instructions for the Kindergarten class to add a few finishing touches to their art projects. When they were done, I dismissed them to “free draw.” All of them huddled around the big, round open studio table, grabbing scissors, glue, string, construction paper and markers. All except one boy. He clenched the Sharpie he had used for his art project tightly in his fist and asked if he could write a story instead. “Go for it.” I said. “The Troll Sbardee,” he wrote. “The Troll Story,” I read. “Oh, I got that right? I wasn’t sure,” he said. “Well, actually, that’s not quite how you spell it, but when we write for fun, that doesn’t matter so much,” I said. He beamed. Ah, a kindred spirit. He went to work writing his sbardee, and I roamed the room, admiring art work, untangling balls of yarn, and reminding kids not to run with scissors. Towards the end of the period my little writer came up to me, proudly waving a paper. Happy clusters of black Sharpie letters danced on both sides of the page. “I finished!” he said. “I finished my story.” “That’s wonderful. Will you read it to me?” He held the paper in both his little hands and in a ceremonial voice, read his story of the princess troll. It was funny. It was action packed. And someone got eaten. It was perfect. “That is a great story,” I said. “You have some interesting characters. I would love to see what they look like. Do you think you can draw a picture of them?” He scrutinized me, with a most serious little face. And then he said, “This is a word story. This is not a story for pictures. I don’t have time for that.” Lessons learned, dear fellow writers: 1. Write for fun! Get the story on the page in happy word clusters. You’ll have plenty of time during the revision stage to worry about spelling, sentence structure, arc, pacing, and all those other academic things. But first, just enjoy the act of creating. 2. Know what you’re writing. You might not know what you are creating when you start, but sometime during the process, ask the important questions.
3. Stick to your guns. Critique partners are gifts from heaven. Great feedback can place you squarely on the right track. But ultimately, you know what you want to accomplish, and where you want your story to go. Suggestions are just that. Make sure to stay true to your vision. 4. Manage your time wisely. But mostly. Have fun writing those sbardees! by Francine Puckly I am pleased to host an interview with author and writing colleague, Nancy Tupper Ling. Nancy’s books for adults include the poetry collections, Coming Unfrozen and Character, and, for those of you at a loss for the right words on special occasions, Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion. Her picture books include Double Happiness, The Story I’ll Tell, and My Sister, Alicia May. Nancy is the founder of Fine Line Poets (www.finelinepoets.com) and winner of the prestigious Writer’s Digest Grand Prize and the Pat Parnell Poetry Award. Nancy and I had the chance to catch up this past winter, and in honor of Mother’s Day I wanted to talk a little bit more about her most recent picture book, The Story I’ll Tell. Thank you, Nancy, for joining me for this interview! The Story I’ll Tell is a tale of a mother and how she will share her child’s arrival with her family. You said in a recent conversation that this book is much more than a story about adoption. What is the heart of The Story I’ll Tell? What readers, beyond adoptive families, will enjoy this story? The idea for this story came to me in a daydream as I was driving along the highway. I had an image of a child arriving on a family’s doorstep in a basket, and I began to wonder what kinds of stories a parent would tell that child about how he came into their lives. Gradually it grew into an adoption story, but I hope it reaches all families. When I sign a book for a child, I often write “for all the stories you’ll tell.” Everyone has a family story or two, and sharing these stories draws us closer. Did you interact with the illustrator for this book, and, if so, what was your working relationship? Typically publishers like to keep the author and illustrator apart during the creation of the book. This way the author doesn’t try to influence the illustrator’s work. That said, I love connecting with my illustrators along the way. Shortly before our book was about to launch, Jessica Lanan and I found each other on social media. Now I bring some of her storyboard sketches with me when I visit schools to show a bit of her process as well as my own. Tell us a little bit about the process of working with your editor. How long did The Story I’ll Tell take, from start to finish, once it was acquired by Lee & Low Books? I like to think of The Story I’ll Tell as one of those “gift” stories. Surprisingly, it didn’t require much revision, and I believe Lee & Low was the first publisher to see it. With my book Double Happiness, I revised and submitted many, many times. The whole thing took about ten years! So my experience with The Story I’ll Tell was very different. My agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette, told me she’d found a new editor at Lee & Low in July 2013. Shortly after that, I was in the middle of a California conference called Build a Better Book when I got the good news. It had been accepted. I worked with my editor, Jessica Echeverria, but the edits were minimal. It was a little over two years after signing with Lee & Low that it was published (November 2015)—right in time for National Adoption Day. What lessons have you learned as a writer throughout your publishing career? Two of the biggest lessons I’ve learned along the way are: 1. Listen. This may seem easy but few people master this. They have their story. They want to sell their story. They don’t need the advice of any peers or editors along the way. And thus, they miss out on the chance to improve. And 2. Always have 5 or 6 stories in your back pocket, written out and ready to go. This is not a one book wonder industry. My agent is constantly sending several of my stories out simultaneously. And I’m never sure which ones are going to be picked up and which will fill a void in the publishing world. I can’t predict. So it’s best to bring several to the table. How important has the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators been to your writing career? Initially, winning the Writer’s Digest Grand Prize helped to launch my foray into the world of children’s writing. Shortly after that amazing win, I discovered SCBWI and it’s been a partnership every since. From my local critique group to the big conference, SCBWI has had my back. My latest venture with SCBWI was when they supported a visit I made to the Joseph P Tynan School in Boston. While the school didn’t have funding to invite a local author for a visit, SCBWI made this possible. What has been your most difficult promotional or marketing challenge? I have learned that even starred book reviews and various awards don’t guarantee massive readership. My books tend to be quiet. Sometimes they are niche books, fitting into certain pockets of the world and library shelves. It’s always a struggle to get the word out about my books. Kirsten Cappy with Curious City helped me to create activity kits for my books, and that was helpful in reaching teachers and librarians. Even with the best publishers, much of this work is on our own. Which picture book writers have inspired you and your creative work? When I was at a writer’s conference, an agent once compared my work to Charlotte Zolotow’s. I think that was one of the best days of my life. In my opinion, her books are classic, amazing and enduring. I also love those children’s authors who are poets too, like Nikki Grimes, Linda Sue Park, Janet S. Wong, along with my writer friends Nancy Poydar, Pat Zietlow Miller, Liz Garton Scanlon, Jean Reidy and so many more. What advice do you have for beginning writers? Write everything. Don’t restrict your writing to one genre. You never know. A poem can win a contest that may lead an editor to check out your children’s manuscript. It happened to me. It’s possible. Can you tell us about your newest book, The Yin-Yang Sisters and the Dragon Frightful, to be released in 2018? Thanks for asking. Told like a classic Chinese folktale, this book has a dragon, Frightful, who makes the villagers’ lives miserable. It’s also the story of Mei and Wei, twin sisters who complete one another like yin and yang. They were inspired by my own daughters, who are opposite in many ways. While Wei is determined to rock Frightful’s world, Mei spends her time researching all about the lives of dragons. It’s only by combining their skills that these two sisters figure out how to change Frightful into a Delightful dragon. What’s up next? My mentor and coauthor, June Cotner, and I have completed another anthology called Family Blessings. Hopefully that will launch into the world soon. I’ve also finished my first middle grade manuscript about an orphan in Russia who must choose between finding her lost sister, Anya, or being adopted and leaving the country she loves. For more information about Nancy and her books, visit www.nancytupperling.com. Tidbits about Nancy: Currently reading: Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick and The True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick. Wow, both Revolutionary War books and the authors have the same last name. Interesting! Favorite Motivational Phrase: In the dedication for all my books I include the Latin phrase Soli Deo gloria. It reminds me to use the gifts I’ve been given for God’s glory. Favorite books for kids(short list!): The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf Crow Boy by Taro Yashima Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton Any Cynthia Rylant books, but especially the Mr. Putter series Favorite Books for adults (at this time): The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Moby Dick by Herman Melville To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by James Ford Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel Favorite film: The Scarlet and the Black (with Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer) Remedy for writer’s block: Seize pockets of time, wherever and whenever you find them! Relaxation trick: Hula hooping Coffee or tea? Tea, iced Vanilla or Chocolate? Chocolate ~ By Amanda Smith Upon returning my novel, my one critique partner pointed out I had a couple of high-frequency words. She suggested I word search them, just to see how often they come up. At first I thought it would be a quick exercise of replacing a couple of “saunters” with something better, but her simple suggestion sent me on a two-week mission to find and eliminate high frequency and weak words from my novel. This exercise helped me realize something about my drafting process. When I first drafted the novel, I sometimes put in commonplace reactions, such as “she smiled” or “he frowned”, because my instinct tells me the character will have some kind of reaction. The thing is, when I am in the midst of drafting, my characters’ emotional arc, as well as their personalities, are not yet fully developed. It was only in the revision stages that I really knew exactly who each character was, and where a particular scene or reaction fell in their emotional arc. Going back to all those “smiles” and “shrugs” and “frowns” via a word search, I now had the bigger view to fill out the descriptors with more personal, meaningful reactions. Sometimes that meant adding a paragraph, and in some places a scene, that was missing to complete the emotional arc of the character. Doing word searches also allowed me to designate certain words or traits to specific characters. We all have words we love to use – our personal vocabulary. I made sure that certain words (especially slang or teen expressions) were used sparingly and only by certain characters. How do you do a word search? If you write in Scrivener, the search box is in the top right hand corner of your screen.
Where do you start? There are some words that are high frequency for most writers. Start with that list. Here are a few I searched: Walk Nod Turn Smile Laugh Just Go Little Tiny Really Very Look Then there are some words more specific to your own writing. These are some of the ones I searched: Saunter Snort Dorky Stroll Gaze Like Feel Seems Word searches are also handy to make sure you consistently spell character names the same way. Minor characters in particular, like the teacher that appears maybe twice in a novel, or a tricky last name, can trip you up Lastly, you might want to search some of the replacement words you have used. You want to make sure you did not replace every “walk” with “stroll”. For these kinds of verbs, I made movement lists and thought about words specific to each character. The angry, wound-up girl will consistently move differently that the laid-back, confident boy. Once you are done editing on such a micro-level, reread the entire manuscript to make sure your word replacements work within the scene and chapter, and that you indeed used the right word for the situation. Even though this was time consuming, replacing trite descriptors and high frequency words with more thoughtful alternatives added a deeper layer to my novel and clarity to my character development. It was an educating look at my writing process and weaknesses. And it was fun to play around with words. by Francine Puckly I am pleased to host an interview with friend and writing colleague, Janet Fox, author of student self-help book Get Organized without Losing It, three young adult novels Faithful, Forgiven, and Sirens, and most recently the middle grade novel The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle. In addition to Janet’s writing career, she has worked as an oceanographer and taught English at both the middle and high school levels. She serves as assistant regional advisor for the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in Montana. I recently had the chance to catch up with Janet at the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City in February. Here are just a few of the many questions that bubbled to the surface after visiting with her! Thank you for joining us, Janet! Thanks so much for having me here, Francine! In NYC, we discussed landing a literary agent, a process that for many is a long (and often discouraging!) process. What was your process to finding the best representative for your books? What is the key piece of advice you’d offer writers on that quest? I'm actually working with my second agent. My first agent and I parted company amicably when she no longer loved the direction my work was taking (she likes YA romance; I wanted to write MG fantasy). But I met her through a critique at an SCBWI conference. It was not my first critique, and I had been writing for several years trying to polish what became my first novel, so that's my first piece of advice: polish and revise, polish and revise, until your manuscript glows, before you submit. And my second piece of advice: take chances with critiques, especially those offered through SCBWI. Even if you don't land an agent you'll gain valuable experience in being critiqued. And my third piece of advice: don't be discouraged! If you learn and apply the craft, and you keep writing and submitting, one day you'll find a match with an agent. Last note - the author/agent relationship is like a marriage. Your agent needs to be your biggest cheerleader and should love your work without reservation. Don't sign with someone because you're desperate. Sign with an agent who believes in you and will be your advocate. “Pre-published” writers have the flexibility on deadlines. They may or may not be drafting a new novel while submitting revisions for the manuscript under contract. How do you organize your work, as drafting a new story and revising a completed story use very different parts of the creative process? Great question. There's a lot of down time in publishing, and I don't want to rest on my laurels. Besides, I love to write, so I write every day regardless of where I am in the process. For example, in early January my agent sold my next novel (a MG fantasy titled THE LAST TRUE KNIGHT) to my editor. My editor asked me to work on it based on a phone conversation. I did, and completed that draft in early March, and sent it off to her. While she wrote her edit letter I had almost a month to wait, so I began working on notes and early pages for what I hope will be my next-next novel. As for the different parts of the process, they really aren't so different for me. Each time I sit down to write I feel like I'm learning a new craft element, and each creative moment I'm in feeds all the others that wait. Early drafts are hard for me, and I love revision, but it's still all a generative process. When working with your editor, how long does she give you to complete revisions for each stage of the process? For example, do earlier revisions require bigger changes to the manuscript and need more time? Or are you marching to a tight timeline always? That depends on the project and on the editor. For THE CHARMED CHILDREN, I had about 4 weeks after the first edit letter because my editor was taking a sabbatical and needed to push the process. For THE LAST TRUE KNIGHT, my editor said there's no timeline right now because she wants to see a really deep next revision and doesn't want me to feel pressured to do less than my best. (Needless to say I'll be working under my own self-imposed deadline, because I work better that way.) But generally, yes, the first edit letter addresses the big, global changes that need to be made, so that round takes longer, and each successive round is shorter and shorter. At this point in time in your career, do you write full-time or part-time? Full time, lucky me! I have a very supportive husband, my son is in college, and we're pretty settled. What does a typical workweek look like for you? I write every day, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and my birthday. Sometimes that doesn't amount to much - maybe some notes, maybe a few hundred words; but I usually try for at least 500 new words a day, or a certain number of pages of revision a day. Of course, I do spend a bit of time marketing - writing blog posts, posting to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, generating marketing and publicity materials. And I spend time reading craft books, attending conferences and webinars, and giving lectures or doing school visits, and all of those things take lots of time, too. But the main thing I try to do is write. Every day. And read, every day. Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured? I don't have a special time that is really cast in stone. I just scan my day and try to fit the writing in first, but if it takes me until 3 in the afternoon to get to being creative, that's all right. I used to be only a first-thing-in-the-morning writer but life gets in the way so I give myself flexibility. But I won't let myself off the hook if I can help it! Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you? I'm an avowed pantser (seat-of-the-pants writer). I've tried often to write to an outline, from the most rigid to the most vague, but that approach kills my creativity. I just can't outline. I love to see where my subconscious will take me. My worst writing comes when I've planned, so I've learned to honor my personal and very organic process. How long on average does it take you to write a book? My first draft takes from two to four months. Every draft after that takes from one to two months, and the process gets shorter with each revision, so for me to write a full novel with a draft I feel is ready to send to my agent takes in total almost a year. But I hit the reset button when I get my first edit letter because that edit always takes me to new places which takes a bit more time. I should add here that my agent is an editorial agent, meaning she wants to see the full draft of whatever I write before she'll submit, and she makes extensive editorial comments on my work, to which I must respond before she'll submit. And she's excellent at it, so I completely trust her. The proof of her ability is that many of her clients are not only multiply published but receive starred reviews and more. My editor told me that when Erin (Erin Murphy) sends her a manuscript, she puts it at the top of her queue, because even if it's not something she can sign, it's always a polished piece. Which writers have inspired you and your creative work? Oh, wow, that's always such a hard question because I love so many and it changes so quickly with what I've read most recently. But here are a few. Kathi Appelt is my primary mentor - I wouldn't be published without her friendship and example. Laurie Halse Anderson, Julie Berry, Linda Sue Park, Jandy Nelson...I love Adam Gidwitz's INQUISITOR'S TALE, and Kelly Barnhill's THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON, and anything by Grace Lin, Laura Ruby, MT Anderson, Rita Williams-Garcia, E. Lockhart. But my first and earliest inspiration was C.S. Lewis, followed by all the old fairy tales, and then by Agatha Christie. Which social network has worked best for promoting your work and/or creating a supportive writing community? Why? I think I have to say Facebook. I have a lot of author friends there, and this is such a supportive community. I learn something new almost every day from people on Facebook. And I have an author page (www.facebook.com/AuthorJanetFox/) although I don't update it as often as I should - perhaps once every couple of weeks. After that I'd say my blog (janetsfox.com/), which I update every week, and then Twitter (@janetsfox). I'm trying to be better about Instagram (www.instagram.com/janetsfox/) because I know that's a terrific way to interact with especially younger fans. But I also have a way for readers to follow my blog and/or my occasional newsletter here: bitly.com/janetfox What has been your most difficult promotional challenge? Hmm. Well, I'm not very good at self-promoting in person. Just the other day I was traveling through a city on a trip, and saw that a well-respected indie was right around the corner from where we were having dinner. I had to steel myself to go in and ask if they had my book, to sign stock. Not only did they have it, it was on a special display (hence why I didn't see it on the regular shelf) with a terrific review tag, and they were thrilled to meet me. While I felt sheepish and embarrassed, they were more than excited. So I obviously need to get over my embarrassment. What is the hardest thing about writing novels from start to finish? Definitely it's not getting discouraged when you think your work stinks. It's so easy to hate what you're writing, to feel like you haven't said what you want to say, and to feel like giving up. For me, the creative spark - before I've set pen to paper for the first time - is brilliant. The idea shines like a supernova. Translating that brilliance to mere words, well, it's never perfect. As a writer I can only approach perfection, I can never achieve it. So I have to write through my mortal failure because to do anything else would mean giving up altogether. What’s up next? Next is THE LAST TRUE KNIGHT, from Viking. My own one-sentence blurb: "A novel about gender identity and alternative facts in a magical Elizabethan England." We're aiming for a fall 2018 release. Stay tuned! You can follow along on any of my social sites. What would you like to say to writers who are reading this interview and wondering if they can keep creating, if they are good enough, if their voices and visions matter enough to share? This is what I say to kids every time I'm in the classroom: Everyone has a unique vision. Everyone has a unique story to tell. You, and you, and you have your own story, one that belongs to nobody else. Tell in your own voice, in your own time, with your own full heart, and don't be afraid to give it away, for you'll be giving the world the greatest of human experiences. Your unique story is a bright light that has the power to change the world. For more information about Janet and her books, visit www.janetsfox.com. Tidbits about Janet: Currently reading: Linda Sue Park, FOREST OF WONDERS Favorite books (short list!): The Narnia books; THE UNDERNEATH; BONE GAP; THE PASSION OF DOLSSA; BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE; LORD OF THE RINGS; HARRY POTTER...I could go on! Favorite quote: "Art is a lie that makes us realize truth." Pablo Picasso Favorite film: Casablanca Manuscripts composed/edited in: Scrivener and Word Remedy for writer’s block: BIC! (Butt in chair. Works every time. I promise.) By Annie Cronin Romano As writers, we push ourselves to keep learning and improving. Writing workshops. Courses. Conferences. Critiques. We jot down ideas. Write the outline. Finish the draft. But when do we pause? After all that craft work…after all that writing…do we ever take a few moments to sit and take in all we’ve learned? Do we check to see if it’s working for us? Because with all that effort put into our craft, we must be getting better at it, right? Not taking time on a regular basis to process all we’ve absorbed through honing our craft—be it from a workshop or a critique—is one of the foremost disservices we writers do to ourselves. Yes, we certainly try applying what we learn, but it’s just as vital to stop for a bit and review all those writing suggestions and strategies we’ve gathered. Take some time—whether it’s once a month or after you finish a draft—and dive into your folders and file drawers. Pull out those notes you’re taken and handouts you’ve received from conferences and workshops. What suggestions have you implemented? Which ones have you avoided? Then look at your writing. Have the tips you’ve implemented strengthened your work? Perhaps you prefer your original version. And what about those strategies you haven’t tried? Maybe they seemed too difficult, or too time consuming, or maybe they’re not a good fit for your writing process. What if you use a style or suggestion that’s out of your comfort zone to rewrite a paragraph, a page, or a chapter? Sometimes all the information we take in while honing our craft can be overwhelming. And we can’t possibly apply it all. But remember to stop. Take a breath. Then pull out those handouts and notes and read through them. Pick a few strategies you want to try. Review your writing based on what you’ve learned. And get your money’s worth out of all those enrichment opportunities you gave yourself. ~Annie by Francine Puckly A number of years ago, I began my illustrious side career as taxi driver. I shuttled my kids to school, various music lessons, drama, hundreds of soccer and baseball practices, student council meetings and friends’ houses. The numerous hours allocated to driving substantially cut into my personal reading time, and one-half of every roundtrip was spent alone in the car. After having exhausted every last FM radio station and my expansive iTunes library multiple times, I somewhat reluctantly turned to audio books for sanity and entertainment. There were fits and starts with this new form of story consumption. I was skeptical that I could pay attention to a story while driving, and I struggled when certain readers had voices and cadences that didn’t keep my attention, or worse, downright irritated me. But over time I tweaked my selections, and I have come to embrace this form of reading. I actually look forward to driving now! It was a huge surprise to me to find that I remember plot and subplot structures, character flaws and descriptions, themes, clues, and imagery far better with an audio performance than when I read a paper version of the same story. I believe there are a few reasons for this. First, I can’t jump ahead. Ever read a suspense novel and can’t stand the thought that the character might be killed off? And then you find yourself peeking at who’s still alive on the last pages? Well, guess what? You can’t do that with an audio book! It’s maddening, but because I have to stay firmly in the current section of the story, it makes me acutely aware of how the author is teasing the story line and emotionally engaging me as a reader. Second, you read (or hear) every last word. There is no speed-reading or skimming or “let me see what’s going on at the beginning of the next chapter” sorts of cheating. By noting adjective and verb choices as well as passages of descriptions you love and those you might find tedious, you’re able to see what works for the story and how those techniques may or may not apply to your own writing. Third, pauses are emphasized. I can (and need to) shut off the recording for a few minutes between sections to analyze how the author has wrapped up phrases, chapters or complete sections. This reflection helps me discover how the author has left me hanging until she presents the next morsel for me to consume. If you’ve never tried audio books, here are a few hints to help you get started:
So whether you’re painting a room, taking a solo cross-country trek, or driving in circles dropping your kids at various activities, expand your reading time in the new year! Good luck and happy reading! ~ Francine By Amanda Smith Last Saturday five fabulous speakers and almost eighty eager writers gathered at Mount Wachusett Community College. Every year NESCBWI offers a one-day mini conference in the fall where the cream of the crop from the Spring conference present their workshops. This year, for the first time, NESCBWI offered two Encore events, to make these valuable workshops available to more writers. Even though all the speakers’ presentations were excellent and full of practical and eye opening advice, often the most honest, most useful tidbits are shared once the presenters go off script. These bite size bits of revelation are what I would like to share with you. Anna Staniszsewski (Power Down, Little Robot, Once Upon a Cruise) spoke about finding the emotional heart of your picture book. She urged us to ask the hard questions before we start drafting. Knowing the heart of your story will keep you on track as you write. She also reminded us not to teach a moral. “Your point will get across if you tell a good story.” Kristine Carlson Asselin (Any Way You Slice It) gave an excellent presentation on query letters. My biggest take away from her talk is that there are rules, and ways to break them, but above all, your query letter should be professional and appropriate. Her workshop connected well with Anna’s in that as writers we have to know the heart of our story in order to pitch our work project convincingly and effectively. She summed it up with this quote by Albert Einstein, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” With humor, music, and some boss handouts, Annie (AC) Gaughen (The Scarlet Trilogy) lead us to discover our antagonist’s story. It was a fascinating exercise to dig into my antagonist’s background, character traits and motivations. Through Annie’s guidance, I discovered that what the protagonist views as his strengths, are often his greatest weaknesses in the eyes of the antagonist. That contradiction lies at the heart of your story and exploring it builds strong conflict. Erin Dionne (Ollie & the Science of Treasure Hunting, Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking) helped us become better critique givers and receivers. Sticking to the unwritten theme of the day, she challenged us to identify the core of our story. “What is the thing, that if you take it away, makes your story collapse?” she asked. One of her most helpful off script tips was to keep a different note book for every book you are working on. Why didn’t I think of this before? No more flipping through three different notebooks containing conference notes, and free writing, and research on multiple projects to find a hurried note scribbled down in the middle of the night. No more filling through folders with slips of paper flying everywhere. Thank you, Erin! You have changed my life! To end our full day, Trisha Leaver(The Secrets We Keep) challenged us to bleed onto the pages, to dig deep and discover the emotion behind each action. She encouraged us to explore senses and perceptions, and how they are colored by emotion. Even though I have a notebook filled with advice from Encore II, my biggest take away is this: Do not underestimate the power of the writing community. I walked into that room on Saturday feeling overwhelmed by synopsis writing and the querying process, doubting the worth of my work. By listening to these presenters, and discussing ideas with my peers, and being in a room filled with creative energy, I was pulled out of my funk. Some workshops confirmed what I was doing right, others gave me the tools to go fix what I was not yet doing right, but most of all I am refocused. I would like to urge you to get with your writing community. Find a workshop in your area, check out SCBWI’s website for regional meet-ups, have coffee with your writing group, join an online group. It will do your heart good! We cannot be lone rangers in this endeavor. Guest Blog by: Pat Zietlow Miller Readers who adored Pat Zeitlow Miller's debut picture book, Sophie’s Squash, will be running to the bookstore today (June 28, 2016) to pick up a copy of its sequel, Sophie's Squash Go To School. Writers who adore Pat's work will enjoy this behind the scenes look at her path to first time publication and the sometimes scary route to a sequel. When I first wrote and sold SOPHIE’S SQUASH, I never envisioned I would write a sequel. Why? Well, SOPHIE’S SQUASH was the very first book I had sold, and I was thrilled just to have that happen. And I knew that most books by debut authors glow quietly rather than burn brightly. My hope was that SOPHIE would sell enough copies to earn back the advance I’d received and to ensure Schwartz & Wade wasn’t sorry they’d taken a chance on an unknown author. Also, while I know some authors write a book and already have future sequels mapped out in their head, I didn’t. I had no other adventures planned for SOPHIE, as charming and quirky as I thought she was. But then, then … SOPHIE’S SQUASH started doing better than anyone had expected. It never reached bestseller status, but it did fine. More than fine. Quite well indeed. It got four starred reviews, won or was a runner-up for several very nice awards and became something of a book darling. I started getting pictures from parents of their children holding butternut squash. Schools read the book and planned units around squash. One school even added a butternut squash as an honorary classmate. The squash had a name, a nap mat and several outfits and accompanied the class everywhere. I heard from parents whose children planted their squash and grew new squash plants and from several people who read the book to their elderly parents suffering from dementia and found it calmed them. Interestingly enough, when the book first was published, I worried that it would be too quiet and not stand out enough to make an impact. I remember asking myself, “But what’s its hook?” I didn’t realize the squash itself would become the hook. So when Schwartz & Wade asked if I had any sequel ideas, I said I didn’t, but I would think about options. That ended up being a lot harder than I anticipated. The first SOPHIE’S SQUASH had – if you’ll pardon the gardening pun – grown organically from my youngest daughter’s real-life infatuation with a butternut squash. All the pieces of the story were there. I just had to take some literary license to put them together. My youngest daughter is, if I do say so myself, a very funny kid who has had a dry, offbeat way of looking at life from the very start. So I went back through our favorite family stories about her looking for another gem – and found it. When she was in preschool, she came home very distraught because of a little boy who repeatedly tried to hug her and told her he was going to marry her. Three-year-old Sonia wanted no part of this plan and described to me everything she’d do to prevent a wedding from happening. I knew I couldn’t write a picture book about preschoolers’ marriage plans. But what if the annoying classmate just wanted to be friends, but Sophie felt that she already had all the friends she needed with her two squash, Bonnie and Baxter and had no interest? That might work. First, I had the story set around Valentine’s Day, but it quickly became apparent that a first-day-of-school angle worked much better. While I’m extremely happy with how the final book, SOPHIE’S SQUASH GO TO SCHOOL, turned out, it was much harder to write than the first. Why? First, I was writing on a deadline with not as much of a fully formed idea as the first time. Second, there was pressure. When I wrote SOPHIE’S SQUASH, I was unpublished and not sure I ever would be. When I wrote SOPHIE’S SQUASH GO TO SCHOOL, the first book had done well and I felt an obligation to not let Sophie’s fans, Schwartz & Wade or myself down. There were times I wasn’t sure I would pull it off. But, fortunately, I loved Sophie and her family. I knew them. And getting back inside their world and remembering all the great things about it made it possible for me to write a story I like as much as the first one. Whether others feel the same way remains to be seen, but I hope they do. Pat Zietlow MIller has also published The Quickest Kid in Clarksville, Sharing the Bread, and Wherever You Go. To learn more about Pat, her new projects and upcoming publications please visit her website http://www.patzietlowmiller.com/my-books by clicking the link below.
A big 24 Carrot Writing thank you to Pat for being a guest blogger and sharing her wonderful insight. I'm off to my independent bookseller to pick up my copy of Sophie's Squash Go To School! |
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