Now that I no longer have an agent...

   I can't say it came as a total surprise--it had seemed for awhile that my agent and I were not on the same page--but it was so disappointing to read her e-mail that she is terminating our contract. Sigh....back in the saddle again!  Oh, well. I've learned that good follows bad, and I won't give up.

Now That I Have an Agent...

     It's great not to have to spend time month after month researching agents and submitting. But, it's almost harder to wait to hear good news!  No bites yet on my Yeti or Hippo stories, so my agent asked me to send pitches on other stories I have ready.  I did that, and while I'm waiting to hear, I started working on a new, non-fiction project. And, I start a temporary job next week for Colorado Mountain College, teaching an art class for little kids where the art projects are based on picture books! Perfect, no?
     And in life beyond hoping to bring a book to the world, I had my annual mammogram and I am 4 years clear! Feeling like quite the warrior!

Whew! My agent liked the revision!

   Thanks to my wonderful group of older writer friends, the Caldecoots, who had lots of good suggestions, I was able to send my agent a revision I felt was good. She thought it was great! And she will re-send it to the publisher that was willing to take another look. She also shared some comments she got on the second manuscript, so I tweaked that one, too. I so appreciate her updates!
   Besides writing and re-writing, one of my favorite activities is making big bubbles. This week I got to make them for our library district's 80th birthday party. Sending things off into the universe, whether it's giant bubbles or a story, is very satisfying. As was having my backside appear in the Glenwood Post Independent on-line edition!

Wow, what a week!

    Monday--skydiving. Thursday--interest from a publisher, if I revise. Yikes! The revision is so much scarier than the flight. I feel I'm so close to my goal of a published picture book, and yet I could blow it completely if the revision's no good. My friends in the Caldecoots, a group for older writers, are looking at my revision, and my agent will help get it ready, too.
    I didn't realize my skydiving jump would have two distinct parts--the out-of-control free fall, where my harness hurt and my googles were so tight I couldn't open one eye, and the relaxing drift after the chute opened, and the straps were loosened, and the goggles came off, and I could take in the scene and enjoy the view.

 

 

My writer's journey this week will also go from stressful to calm--I'll work like mad on my revisions and either the publisher will accept it, or my agent will submit it elsewhere.

 

I think my spirit animal is the tortoise

I came in dead last (I prefer the term alive last!) in yesterday's 5K Strawberry Shortcut race, but I finished!  The race director, a family friend, and his daughters escorted me over the finish line.  It reminded me of how s  l  o  w  l  y my writing journey has progressed, but gradually forward!
                                                                    

Always Great to See Nancy Bo Flood

     Well, once again it was just Nancy and me at our local writers' meeting, but it's always great to see her.  It was especially exciting to hear that her book on the Navajo baby's first laugh, which I got to see in draft form, is coming out this summer!  She is now revising a novel, and hoping an illustrator works out for another picture book. It makes me realize that, no matter where you are in your writing journey, there will be challenges ahead. Having a writer and friend like Nancy is such a blessing.

Looking Back

  Now that my agent (I love saying that) has my manuscripts, I'm no longer submitting. So, I decided to take a look back at my records from years past. My five easy readers with Continental Press came out between 1998 and 2003. I submitted a few things in the years after, but didn't get serious until 2011. All of the sales were to magazines.
2011--37 submissions, 5 sales
2012--50 submissions, 12 sales
2013--86 submissions, 4 sales and one contest win
2014--51 submissions, 2 sales
2015--82 submissions, 1 sale
2016--54 submissions, 2 sales
2017--44 submissions, 0 sales
2018--25 submissions, 0 sales BUT--Signed with my agent!
So, to total things up, in 8 years I submitted 429 times and sold 26 magazine articles! Here's hoping my agent can help my stories become traditional, hard-cover, beautifully illustrated picture books!

I am tickled pink--and blue!

    Wow! What an incredible week!  Sunday I walked past a corner in town that always reminds me of my writer friend and fellow cancer warrior, Maureen. It was here we had our photo snapped after we struggled to finish the Strawberry Days 5K a few years ago.

     Maureen passed last fall, not long after she completed a triathlon at the age of 71! On this Sunday, the memory that came back so strongly was of her reading a rhyming story of mine out loud at a poetry group meeting.  Her voice was so strong and expressive! She loved the story and encouraged me (she could be pretty bossy!) to keep sending it out. I did, and collected a few rejections, and decided to put it aside. But passing that corner and remembering Maureen, I thought, "Maybe I should send it out one more time..."
    I looked on Manuscript Wish List for an agent and found one that looked like a possible match. I sent the submission to her on Sunday evening. I didn't check e-mail again until Monday, but the agent had responded within minutes! She loved the story, and wondered if I had other manuscripts. We e-mailed back and forth, and I liked her right away.
    She called me on Tuesday and we chatted for a long time.  She offered me representation and within hours we'd both signed the contract! A few more back and forth edits, and on Monday, she plans to send my story out to publishing houses!
     I smile to think of my main character bopping through New York City. And I have to wonder if Maureen had a stern chat with the writing gods!
    It's odd how the writer's journey can move as slowly as geologic time, and then, WHAM! One week changes everything. I realize that after a sale, stalagtites and stalagmites can grow again while I wait for the book to become a reality. (Well, at least two years.)  But for now my head is in the clouds and I am tickled all the colors of the rainbow to be represented by Naomi Davis of BookEnds Literary Agency!

Trying to stay calm...

...but an agent is interested in my picture book called CONFETTI THE YETI!   I AM SO EXCITED!!!

My Interview With Kathy Doherty on her first book!

    I met Kathy in 2011 when we attended the Highlights event in Chautauqua, New York, and we've been friends ever since.  We went to two more workshops together at the Highlights' barn in Pennsylvania, and she sent me cards and gifts all through my cancer treatment in 2014. In the picture below, she's on the left and I'm the bald woman in the hat! She has a wonderful heart and great sense of humor, and I couldn't be happier for her with her first published picture book, DON'T FEED THE BEAR!

 

 

Hi, Kathy! Congratulations on your book coming out in April, DON'T FEED THE BEAR! You are an inspiration to those of us in our 50s and 60s who wonder if we still have a chance to be published. Can you tell us about your writing experiences that led up to this book? When did you start writing and submitting picture books?
I started by writing poems, short stories, and rebuses for Highlights. I've been published a total of 20 times in their magazines. But my first Highlights sale of six poems was never published. After that first sale, I got 10 rejections in a row. I didn't give up. Being in Highlights gave me confidence to try my hand at picture books. I like the tight writing that picture books require. I started submitting picture books through an agent in 2012. But she wasn't a hungry agent.
Can you tell us how you found an agent? Did you use an agent for this book?
My writing coach introduced me to her agent, and the agent took me on. She had me sign a contract. In the three years we were together, she only submitted two manuscripts. We parted in 2014 but she told me I could continue to show her manuscripts until I found a new agent. I showed her DON'T FEED THE BEAR, and told her it could be submitted to an agent at Sterling whom I had just met at an SCBWI conference. My ex-agent said the story was cute, but she didn't think it would sell. I submitted it to him and he bought it two months later. I was not under the agent's contract, so the sale was all MINE! I hired a literary property lawyer to negotiate the sale.
Have you worked closely with the illustrator? Did the editor ask for many changes?
I have had NO say in the illustrator's work. I've never even talked to him [Chip Wass] via email. Most of the time an editor will ask for a revision BEFORE he/she offers to buy the manuscript. I went through two revisions with Peachtree before they bought the story. [I don't have a publishing date for that book.] The Sterling editor bought the book without asking for any revisions. We put the finishing touches on the book in about four days.
Do you feel agents and editors are more open or less open to older writers, or does age matter to them?
This is a good question. If we are above average writers, age shouldn't matter. I'm finding agents want illustrator/author clients instead of just picture book authors. I've been rejected by 25 agents. So I've given up on that for awhile. I go through spurts.
Any tips for us as we continue to submit and hope?
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Kathy! And I just know your book will be a great success! --Deb
My biggest tips would be to make sure your language is extra special. Those are the manuscripts that sell. I'm most often rejected because my word choice isn't stellar. So now I read my stories aloud, and sometimes tape record them and play them back to listen closely. I always make a dummy of 14 page spreads to see if I have 14 different scenes. Another tip is to leave room for the illustrator.
I wrote the following list for KidLit College's blog last year:
PICTURE BOOK WRITING TIPS for aspiring authors—

Rhythm
At first I’d get rejected because the language I used wasn’t special enough. So I read poetry and tons of picture books—still do—to study how authors put words together. Now I try harder to make my words dance across the page and let my personality shine through [voice].
Humor
When writing humor, I use words that contain these consonants: p, b, t, d, k, and hard g [as in goat]. Notice how these letters explode off your tongue and produce funny sounds. That’s why the word underpants is funnier than underwear.
Visualization
I make sure every sentence I write can be illustrated. I think of my story as an escalator, always moving and changing with each line. My words only tell half the story to leave room for the illustrator.
Intertextuality
I loved how Roahl Dahl used made-up words in THE BFG like whizzpoppers, frobscottle, and snozzcumbers. I borrowed that idea and made up words in the first two picture books I sold. Borrowing an idea or concept from another author and reworking it to make it your own is called intertextuality.
Stepping Stones
Rejection letters happen. Eileen Spinelli got 27 rejections on SOMEBODY LOVES YOU MR. HATCH. Jerry Spinelli never sold his first novel. Rejection letters are steppingstones to something bigger and better. After my first sale to Highlights in 2006, the magazine’s submissions editor sent me 10 rejection letters in a row before she bought a second story.
Professionalism
I use personalized stationery with my name, address, phone number, and email printed at the top so I can submit professional-looking cover letters. I paper clip my cover letter [short and succinct] to my story. I never fold or staple my submission.
Revision
When I think my manuscript is ready to submit, I tape record it. Then I play it back over and over listening for rough and boring spots. Then it’s revision time!
Page Turns
I make a dummy and read my story aloud. I emphasize the page turns as I read. I ask myself: Do I have 14 different scenes? Will readers care about my main character? Did I rush the beginning? Is my ending satisfying?
Craft
I’m always looking for feedback and ways to take my writing to the next level. I attend SCBWI conferences, take workshops, and belong to a critique group. I read books on craft. And I type out my favorite picture books to study them.
Perseverance
Perseverance is probably more important than talent. I’m living proof. Writing doesn’t come easy for me. Most writers let a rough draft flow off their fingertips. Not me. I agonize over every word and revise as I write. Every author is different. Candace Fleming writes in longhand before she gets out of bed in the morning. Beverly Cleary never reads other children’s books because she doesn’t want them to influence her. Eve Bunting likes to know the last line of her picture book before she begins. And Jane Yolen writes to find out how her story will end.
Importance
We picture book writers are important people. Be proud! We start children on the wonderful path of reading. Visualize a dad reading your book to his daughter at bedtime, or a grandmother buying your book for her grandson’s birthday. My dream has always been to read my picture book aloud to the children at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. I’M GETTING CLOSER!