First, a quick doodly for how I’m feeling today:
August was a beast… and I’m glad to have conquered it.
Now, I have a story.
A year ago, in August of 2021, I was fresh off of the high of my first SCBWI conference and I took a huge leap: I impulsively wrote and submitted a 74-word board book manuscript to a big five publisher.
This was before I knew much about the process of getting published. Or agents. Or critique partners. Or editing. Or revising. Or (if I’m being honest) writing.
For those who aren’t familiar with the publishing industry - it’s like I dove into the deep end my first time ever at a pool without any floaties. Sure, I’d seen pictures of pools before but I had no idea what I was getting myself into and I clearly wasn’t going to finish a full lap on this first plunge, let alone win any races.
After a year of learning about writing and publishing, I look back at that impulsive decision and have to laugh. I’m glad I did it, and the more I learn it seems like most writers do this early on in their careers.
It’s so much easier to think YOU will be the exception than it is to acknowledge that this process is a long one that requires incredible skill, stamina, and grit.
After several months of no response I had moved on to other things, including completely reimagining that manuscript. That dinky little thing is now a lyrical picture book that I absolutely love. It’s been critiqued by several of my writing partners and mentors and I’m about to start querying it next few weeks!
But THEN… last week, just days shy of a year after I submitted, I heard back from the publisher! And not only did I hear back, but I got actual feedback! Feedback that, in short, validated the importance of this story while addressing the need for it to be told differently, perhaps as a “more fleshed-out picture book.” *jaw drop*
For anyone not in the publishing world - this is like if an olympic swimmer saw me splashing around in the deep end and gave me some pointers. It’s pretty freaking awesome.
The crazy thing is… If I got this feedback shortly after I sent the book - or even six months after I sent the book - it probably would have crushed me. This book was my heart in words, and that kind of writing needs a lot of breathing room before you can start to get feedback without taking it too personally.
But here I am a year later and this rejection - though a rejection - validated my work, my message, and my plans.
I know that this path will involve a lot more rejection, and not all will be as warm and fuzzy, but I am hopeful this boost of confidence will carry me forward for a little while.
What I’m reading
I’m working my way through all of the middle grade and young adult books I always wished I had read but never did… and I recently listened to A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.
I’ll start by sharing that as a kid I was a very distracted reader. My reading comprehension scores were never great, I dreaded silent reading time, and there are so many books I struggled to finish… but I LOVED BOOKS!!! After I got my Airpods I began to realize how much easier listening is for my style of learning. Now, thanks to my library card and the Libby App, audiobooks have become a staple in my routine. After listening to Deborah Halverson’s presentation at SCBWI on the dramatic increase of audiobook sales in the children’s market, I am hopeful kids feel more empowered to use audiobooks today than I did. Listening is reading!
Back to the book… I loved so much about A Wrinkle in Time… It’s creepy and imaginative Sci-Fi components, the push and pull sibling dynamics, and the dangerously optimistic female main character all had me completely gripped. But what I loved most about this audio version was the interview with the author’s granddaughter, Charlotte Jones Voiklis, at the end. Getting to know who Madeline L’Engle was at the time she wrote this story and the journey she went on to advocate for its publishing was incredibly inspirational. She had every opportunity to completely change this book to fit the market, or abandon it, but she didn’t.