Editors are NOT Dragons

When I first began to submit stories for publication, I was somewhat scared of editors. In my imagination, they seemed analogous to fire-breathing dragons, guarding the entrance to the Kingdom of Publication. Getting a story past them seemed an impossible task. Twenty years and almost thirty books later, I see editors a little differently. Yes, they do make judgments about stories that are often hard for writers to bear, but they honestly WANT to find manuscripts they can say "yes" to. And when they do find a story they like--and a story that fits within their company's publication program--they become a writer's best champion. They argue for the story's publication in acquisition meetings, and, once accepted, help writers to reshape and revise their stories to make them better. Editors help in other ways too--like writing the flap copy praising your book, and coordinating with the art department on covers and illustrations. But ultimately, despite all their assistance, and the assistance of many other behind-the-scenes people like copy editors, and others whose titles I don't even know, the credit for the resulting book will go to you.

Over the years I have been blessed with wonderful editors, not one of them even remotely dragon-like. Children's editors, like children's writers are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. They are kind, solicitous of a writer's feelings, intelligent, and hard-working, and they really want to see you and your book succeed.

Here is a list of the fabulous editors--all women, by the way--that I've had the good fortune to work with:

Matilda Welter (Mommy Doesn't Know My Name)
Andrea Cascardi (Edwin and Emily and Emily at School)
Diane Arico (Library Lil, My Dog Never Says Please, Old MacDonald in the City)
Lauri Hornik (The Witch Casts a Spell)
Julia Richardson (Secret Pal Surprises, Marvelous Mind of Matthew McGhee, Age 8 series)
Michelle Nagler (Third Grade Friends series)
Rachel Orr Chan, Rosemary Brosnan, and Margaret Miller (Fairy Blossoms series, Princess Power series, and Ten Naughty Little Monkeys)
Emily Lawrence (Goddess Girls)

These hitherto unsung heroes have my undying gratitude!

P.S. There was a nice article by Jon Bard in CBI Clubhouse about what writers need to know about the lives of children's book editors.

Happy Holidays: An Early Writing Effort

Last Wednesday I had a lovely Virtual Visit with a group of fifth graders and their kindergarten reading buddies in West Babylon, NY. We connected through Skype-An-Author, the brainchild of Library Media Specialist Sarah Chauncey and Author Mona Kerby. As part of our Skype visit I shared the following poem with students. It was written when I was in the fifth grade. The rhymes are a bit forced, and some of the lines don't scan very well, but can you see my love for writing even then?:

SANTA CLAUS GETS STUCK

On Christmas Eve while I was in bed
I suddenly heard a loud thud and I said,
"Now what could that be, the Christmas tree?"
Well I ran to the living room and guess what I saw
Stuck there in the chimney was old Santa Claus.
Well I ran to the chimney and tugged at him hard,
But it was not use for he was as heavy as a barrel of lard.
So I slipped into my coat, my hat and all
Then tiptoed through the living room and ran down the hall.
I ran to the neighbors and when I was in sight
They exclaimed in surprise,
"What are you doing up so late in the night?"
Well I hurriedly told them and they rushed home with me
And we tugged and we tugged but were sorry to see
That poor Santa Claus was still as tight as could be.
So I rushed upstairs and brought down a rope
I thought this will get him down at least I hope.
We tied the rope around his waist
And pulled and pulled and pulled,
At last I think he loosened a very little bit
And when we pulled a little more how loose he began to get.
At last we pulled him down from the sooty chimney
My what a sooty mess he was but he didn't seem to care,
He passed to everyone a great big candy cane,
Oh, how I wish that Santa Claus will soon get stuck again!

The Secret to Getting Published

When I first started to write for children (about twenty years ago, gasp!), I was sure there must be some secret to getting published. Whenever I talked to published writers I listened carefully, hoping to uncover the secret they were obviously privy to that I had yet to discover. If these other writers--these published writers--sensed the desperation and yearning behind the questions I put to them, they were gracious enough to pretend not to notice. Ultimately, I did get published, but not because of any one thing I learned from other writers. In fact, if there is any secret to getting published, I think it is this: You must want to enough.

What do I mean by enough? Enough to:

1. learn as much about the craft of writing as you can (classes, conferences, books, blogs, etc.)
2. learn as much about the business side of writing as you can (same resources as above)
3. keep writing and submitting even in the face of numerous "rejection" letters
   

That's it. It's the only secret to getting published that I know really works.

Connecting with Readers, Making New Friends

Strangers are just friends waiting to happen. ~Rod McKuen

This morning I spent a pleasurable couple of hours at my local Starbucks chatting with Terri, a woman I met while flying back from a conference in Wisconsin a year ago, and Terri's neighbor Kirstie. Terri had emailed me two weeks before. She was buying my Princess Power series for her niece's 8th birthday but hadn't been able to find a copy of Book #2. I had written her back that I had copies and would be happy to sell her one and mail it. "It would be so much more fun to meet," she emailed back, "if you're not too busy, that is."

Too busy to meet with someone who loves to read as much as I do? Someone who wants to share my books with her young niece? No way! Now, if I was as popular as someone like...say... J.K. Rowling, I might have to be more protective of my time. But that's not the case, and is never likely to be. So we made arrangements to meet. Terri treated me to a chai tea latte (I'm one of those rare Land of Starbucks residents who doesn't like coffee), and she and I and Kirstie had a lovely conversation that ranged from writing and books to daughters abroad (Kirstie's daughter is traveling in Thailand right now, mine is living in Norway), to concerns about aging parents, to the technological wonders we've seen in the last 10-20 years. By the time Terri and Kirstie left, I felt like I'd not just connected with readers, but made two new friends.

Catching Up

I only did ONE post last month. Pathetic! Must do better than that, though I don't think I'll ever be able to manage the nearly daily entries that some writers do. (Confession: I still keep a daily hand-written journal. However, trust me, you wouldn't want to read it. It's mostly boring, everyday stuff.) At any rate, I'll try to aim for one new blog entry per week in future.

Since my last post--over a month ago--I've been steadily logging in the writing hours on the contemporary middle grade novel I'm setting on the Oregon Coast. I'm maybe half to two-thirds of the way through a first draft. I gave myself a deadline to finish that first draft by Thanksgiving, but I've moved that out a bit because of revisions on the last book in Joan Holub's and my "Goddess Girl" series. (The first two books debut in April.) Still hope to finish a first draft of (tentatively-titled) "Just Olive" before Christmas though. We'll see.

In addition to my usual writing, my husband and I also spent a lovely week in the Palm Springs area house and pet sitting for my brother-in-law and his wife.

All for now!

P.S. Picture on this post is the book cover for Goddess Girls #3. Title of the book was "Aphrodite the Beautiful" originally, but that was too long to fit, so we shortened to "Aphrodite the Beauty." I like the new title better, anyway.