Recently I attended a fantastical and inspirational hangout sponsored by Kid’s (and YA) Book Revisions Plus, hosted by Emma Dryden, Eileen Robinson and Harold Underdown. With over a hundred years of editorial experience, the three hosted the hangout to introduce the new direction for their collaboration and to gather ideas about what writers want to learn.
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| Harold, Emma and Eileen |
As I listened, I was very keen on the current changes
happening in the business of publishing, as was everyone who attended. Publishing
is a business, and now more than ever, it is a very dispiriting one. As the discussion started, it was a relief to
realize that I was not the only one who felt that perhaps my story doesn’t
fit in.
As Harold introduced themselves, it became obvious that the
prevailing theme of their new collaboration – as it has been through their many
years of working together and as friends – that the publishing business is
external from the craft, and it is open to very subjective opinions and the
whims of trends. That the dreadful truth about publishing is the odds are
against us.
What is discussed is a new definition, a new purpose for the revising process. Revision is about finding your soul story.
I am reminded of a favorite idiom: find your jam. To connect
with something you prefer, desire, love. To hangout with these three is
akin to jamming, much like musicians finding their melody. The discussions focus on technique, improvisation to foster creatively, developing skills, and –
most of all -- having fun.
And so it seems, revision is akin to jamming. As Eileen
reminded everyone, revision allows the writer to not only come back to yourself
but also to stay true to yourself.
As Emma reaffirmed, writers write.
Everything else -- everything external -- is beyond our control. Writing is an internal process. As such, we focus on what we can control: ourselves.
Adapt, rethink, refocus. Take chances. Leave your comfort zone. Write something
new. Write something different. Submit, and submit again. Persevere.
Recently I returned to an old manuscript. I began working on
this piece with Emma over a decade ago, about the time my book, Girls of
Gettysburg (Holiday House, 2014) came out. (Fun fact: I had worked with Harold on Girls
of Gettysburg!) And through the many revisions, and even a couple of rejections,
it became obvious that something was missing. O, my then-agent and an editor loved
the voice, and they loved the characters, they loved the action and the setting.
It was technically a good story, but something else wasn’t quite connecting.
Putting that manuscript aside, I began working on something else. (Another fun
fact: I worked with Harold and Eileen on this new story!) This new story also
went through several revisions. I took more chances with this one and left my
comfort zone. I ignored trends. With each revision, I began to sense what had
been missing with the old story: myself.
By the way, that new story, The Barbary Chronicles: The Lost Prince, will be available October 2026, published by Charlesbridge Moves! You can find pre-order and more information here!
So returning to that old manuscript, I’m revamping and recycling, and taking some big chances. I think I get it now! Fingers crossed.
To cite another favorite idiom: We do our best and leave the
rest to the universe.
Or, as Neil deGrasse Tyson offers much more eloquently
-- and really, who else knows more about how the universe works than the
mighty Tyson:
“The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is
that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it
implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful
people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they
manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation.” -- Neil
deGrasse Tyson
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