Picture Book Lesson #4, Baby Says “Moo!” Week, & Book Giveaway!

It's Baby Says, “Moo!” Week at Teaching Authors.com! To celebrate the publication of my new rhyming picture book, we’re giving away an autographed copy. Entry details below!

As my contribution to the picture book topic the other Teaching Authors have already addressed, I’m sharing some lessons I learned by looking back at the writing and publishing process for each of my five picture books. I’ll post one each day this week.

Waiting Out the Storm (Candlewick, 2010) began with my desire to say something comforting to kids after the terrible events of September 11, 2001. Like many other writers at the time, I struggled to figure out what I could say to children that might help them cope during difficult times. I couldn’t write about terrorism in a book for young children, but when I thought about fear from a child's perspective, I realized that I could address the common childhood fear of a thunderstorm.

Lesson #4: Consider your audience. What do you want to say, and what’s the best way to say it for your readers?

Baby Says “Moo!” Giveaway

School Library Journal says, "The rhyming text reads smoothly, and the acrylic illustrations are childlike and cheerful, making the book exactly right for toddlers. Each time a new animal is seen, the parents reiterate the names of the previous creatures and their sounds, inviting participation. . . . A winner for the youngest listeners." To enter the drawing for an autographed copy of Baby Says “Moo!”, follow these steps:

1. Post a comment on any post this week and tell us about a learning game you’ve played with children. Enter only once, please!

2. Include your contact information in your comment. If you are not a blogger or your e-mail address is not accessible from your online profile, provide a valid e-mail address in your comment. Feel free to disguise your address by spelling out portions, such as [at] and [dot].

3. Post your comment by 11 p.m. (CST) Monday, March 7, 2011.

The winner:
• must have a mailing address in the United States.
• will be determined using the random number generator at Random.org.
• will be announced on Tuesday, March 8.
• automatically grants us permission to post his or her name on our Teaching Authors web site.
• will also be notified by e-mail.
• must respond to the notification e-mail and provide a mailing address within 72 hours, or the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be chosen.

Good luck!
JoAnn Early Macken

Waiting Out the Storm Part 2: Acceptance to Publication and Beyond + National Poetry Week + International Children’s Book Day + Book Giveaway winner!

Wow! We’ve got a lot to cover today. First, a continuation of my previous post about Waiting Out the Storm.

After my manuscript was accepted, Candlewick Press generously involved me in the search for the right illustrator by sending me samples of possible illustrators’ work and asking for my opinion. I loved them all! Several illustrators turned the project down, though: one was too busy, one was working on her own books, one had recently illustrated a book with a similar theme. At one point, we discussed the possibility of making the characters animals instead of people. Finally, in April 2007, a year after the manuscript acceptance, Susan Gaber accepted the illustration project.

I pored over her portfolio online. Her work was gorgeous, luminous, perfect, and absolutely worth the wait.

And then I waited some more, trying not to be too anxious about what I knew had to be a time-consuming process. In the meantime, I revised the manuscript, cutting the text from 363 words to 311 in March 2008. The first sketch dummy was due that April, and the final artwork would be sent to the printer the following spring. My editor regularly sent me copies of updated art; I carried them around with me so I could show them off. When I received my first author copy of the finished book, I cried. Even though Federal Express had bent it in half, it was the most gorgeous book I’d ever seen.

As Jeanne Marie mentioned, the Washington Post gave Waiting Out the Storm a lovely review. I’ve posted it and several others (including a starred one from Booklist!) on my web site. I’m thrilled that Waiting Out the Storm is receiving such positive responses, and I’m thoroughly enjoying reading it to children in schools and libraries.

April is National Poetry Month. (Read all about it here.) Our own April is celebrating by taking part in the Poem-A-Day Challenge, writing a poem every day and posting them all here.  (Good luck, April! As my husband says, break a pencil!) Feel free to post your own encouraging comment.

Finally, today, April 2, is International Children’s Book Day—a fitting day, I think, to announce our raffle winner. Ticia was chosen at random from the qualifying entries. She will receive an autographed copy of Waiting Out the Storm. Congratulations, Ticia, and thanks to all who participated!

JoAnn Early Macken

Write, Revise, Repeat

Congrats to our own JoAnn Early Macken on the fabulous review of Waiting Out The Storm in The Washington Post this weekend.  (She might be too modest to mention it, but I am not!  She also happens to be in excellent company.)  If you'd like to win a copy of this terrific read-aloud for young kids, post a comment here by 11 pm Thursday, CST.

Thanks to Mary Roy for the following question:

"I am writing a children's story for the first time. I've published articles in local magazines and special sections, but not yet a book. I am starting at ground zero with this story. I feel that I probably need a class. For certain I need direction, and that's really what I'm asking for. Where should I start? How do I develop the basic story into a charming book for children?"

Mary, this is a question that bears repeating and is something I still ask myself all the time.

One good place to start is this post by Esther Hershenhorn.

I will echo her sentiment that one of the most important things to do is read, read, read.  Study what's out there.  Has a topic similar to yours already been covered in a published work?  How did other skilled writers solve the same problems you face in your own writing? 

I like to visit the bookstore (support indie bookstores!) and see what's new -- what books are being marketed heavily, which ones are facing outward, etc.  It is always fun to find a friend's book on the shelf and give it a little marketing boost by making its place more prominent. :)

Bear in mind that what is trendy today (hello, vampires) will almost certainly be well on its way out by the time anything you write now could be published in, say, two to three to four years. 

I also go to the library.  They might not have the best selection of what's new, but they almost always have the classics.  Check out the works of Esme Raji Codell and Anita Silvey for books every children's author should know.

Google is also my friend, and I often search on http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.indiebound.com/ for card catalog-type information so that I can get a general sense as to what books are "out there." 

Do you know whether you are writing a picture book, a middle grade novel, or a YA?  Do you have characters in mind?  Plot?  Beginning, middle, end?  I find it hard to begin writing until I have a somewhat solid sense as to all of the above, even though these elements may change significantly in the writing process.  There are so many ways to go about fleshing out a story -- of course you have to find what works for you.  You already have good writing habits, or you would not be a published author.  You will likely find that many of these habits apply to writing fiction as well.

When I write mystery novels and soap operas, I outline.  In fact, all TV writers and screenwriters outline (or write treatments, as they're called).  Many novelists, on the other hand, like to be surprised by the twists and turns that ensue along the way.  There is, of course, no right or wrong way to do it -- just do what works for you!

GET A DRAFT.  That is the most important thing you can do.  Then, finally, the real work begins -- revising.

You mentioned that you think you might need to take a class.  Many of us have our MFA degrees in writing for children.  Assuming you don't want to do something quite so hardcore, you can try to find a class at a local college, where non-credit courses in writing for children are often offered.  Online courses are another great idea. There are a number of excellent courses taught through UCLA Extension and http://www.mediabistro.com/, for example.

Workshopping your manuscript is important.  That said, "clicking" with your teacher/mentor is crucial to a productive experience.  Writing is, obviously, highly subjective.  If you get feedback that doesn't speak to your heart, you don't have to take it; but if you find yourself getting the same feedback from multiple sources, then of course it's time for another look.

You may be able to find a local critique group through SCBWI.  If you find one that you like, you're golden. :)  If you find one that you hate, a break-up may ultimately be in order.

Revise, revise, revise.  How will you know when your pride and joy is ready to submit?  You might not.  You are too close to your own work.  Seek input from other seasoned writers.  Attend conferences.  Hook up with editors.  Network.

Good luck, and please keep us posted. 

And if anyone wants to start an online group, let me know -- I am desperate to find one! -- Jeanne Marie

Waiting Out the Storm, Part 1: Inspiration to Acceptance

My brand-new picture book Waiting Out the Storm was released by Candlewick Press this month. Yippee! My generous fellow Teaching Authors offered to organize a series of brand-new-book interviews like we did for April’s New Year at the Pier (starting here) and Esther’s S is for Story: A Writer's Alphabet (starting here). But spring is a busy time for me—especially this year! School visits and teaching fill up my days and nights in March and April. So I’ll write this week about the beginning of the process and continue the story in next Friday’s post. In the meantime, you’ll have a chance to win an autographed copy of Waiting Out the Storm. See the Giveaway Guidelines link below. I’ll post the winner next Friday.

Waiting Out the Storm began as a need to do something in response to the terrible events of September 11, 2001. Like many other writers during that time, I had trouble focusing on my work. I was wordless. I couldn’t stop thinking about the children affected by the tragic events, and the only thing I thought I might do was try to offer some comfort. But how?

I couldn’t write about terrorism. Not only did I feel it was not appropriate for the audience, but I knew I wasn’t equipped for such a task. A thunderstorm seemed a common childhood fear that symbolized a vague threat but that parents could explain and reassure children about. I’d write about a storm.

As for each of my books, personal experience went into the creation. Years before in Florida, I’d heard our friend Susan call her baby son “Buttercup.” I'd saved the memory of that delightful name, and I used it in the book. I researched animals, played with rhythm and rhyme, and kept trying to focus on my goal of providing comfort to children during a difficult time.

Between September 2002 and June 2003, I submitted the manuscript five times. Even though the rejection letters included positive comments, they still stung. One said it “felt too sentimental.” Another called it “not quite special or unique enough.” Ouch! I still cringe when I read them.

What did I do next? I put the manuscript away. I must have been discouraged. I kept writing, though. I  submitted other manuscripts.

I pulled out Waiting Out the Storm again to submit to our 2005 SCBWI-Wisconsin fall retreat. There, I had the great fortune of receiving a critique from a Candlewick editor, who gave me suggestions for improving the manuscript and said she’d be willing to look at it again after I revised it. I felt so hopeful!

With help from my brilliant writing group, I revised the manuscript over the next few months and resubmitted it in January 2006. We returned from a canoe trip that April to find a message on the answering machine from the editor, who said she’d like to offer a contract. I'll always remember the thrill!

For a chance to receive an autographed copy of Waiting Out the Storm, read our Book Giveaway Guidelines. Then enter our drawing by posting a comment to today's post that includes your name and e-mail address. I'll continue the story of Waiting Out the Storm and post the winner next Friday.

JoAnn Early Macken