The attic was a lovely place to play. The large, round, colored pumpkins made beautiful chairs and tables. The red peppers and the onions dangled overhead. The hams and the venison hung in their paper wrappings, and all the bunches of dried herbs, the spicy herbs for cooking and the bitter herbs for medicine, gave the place a dusty-spicy smell.
Often the wind howled outside with a cold and lonesome sound. But in the attic Laura and Mary played house with the squashes and the pumpkins, and everything was snug and cosy.
~ from Little House in the Big Woods,
written by Laura Ingalls Wilder
When I was growing up, I, too, thought our attic was a lovely place to play. We did not store food in our attic, however. Ours was filled instead with boxes and bags of all sizes. Each one contained cast-off, long-forgotten items. I loved poking through them, looking for "treasure". My mom also kept her guitar in our attic. I spent many a day sitting next to our attic window, watching dust particles floating through the sunshine and strumming on that guitar, making up little songs to go with the tune.
I was in elementary school when I first read the Little House books. I remember reading the passage above and thinking that the sight and smell of all those foods would make an attic even more wonderful to play in. The image has stuck with me ever since. Does Laura and Mary's attic sound like a place you would like to play in?
In fact, it's been almost two years since I last shared a post here. I wish I had a good excuse for disappearing from this blog, but I really don't have one. When I posted my previous entry, an excerpt from Alice in Wonderland, at the beginning of November in 2013, I was not planning for it to be my last one. In fact, I had already started writing up several entries to post later in the month. But then I got busy with life and put this blog on hold.
Not surprisingly, the longer I went without posting anything new, the easier it was for me to continue doing nothing with Blue Sky, Big Dreams and the harder it became for me to break out of that "do-nothing" mode. And I didn't have that problem only with this blog. The same thing happened with my other writing; I've done very little of it over the past two years.
I've missed writing, though. I've missed working on my stories and my poetry. I've also missed this blog and the opportunity it gives me to share poems, quotes, words, and books with all of you every day. That's why I'm back! :)
I finally managed to break free from my writing inertia this week and have several posts already lined up for you this month. I am determined to keep at it. And I'm hoping that writing here will help launch me back into writing my poems and stories again. Wish me luck!
It's true that there's been a dearth of writing in my life over the last two years, but time has not stood still and a lot of other things have happened along the way. My kiddos have continued to grow, for one thing. (Imagine that!)
My daughter Emmalie graduated from high school last year and went away to college in the fall. (I'm pretty sure that transition was much harder on me than it was on her!) We've all loved having her back this summer -- I can't believe that it's almost time for her to return to school again.
My son Nick will be a junior in high school this year. It is unfathomable to me that he'll be headed to college in just two short years. He started his first paying job this summer, doing an internship with a local forest preserve. In addition to that, he's been volunteering weekly at another forest preserve and also Brookfield Zoo. He's been one busy boy!
My youngest, Ben, will be ten next month. He starts a new school this year and I'm hoping he will love it! When I last worked on this blog, I was still reading to Ben every night before bed. He's since become a voracious reader himself (my little BookWyrm!), constantly working his way through big stacks of books all on his own.
As for me, I've still been reading a lot. (Thank goodness that hasn't changed!) I recently joined the Goodreads website and have been busy recording all the books I've read this year, over 60 so far. (They've mostly been adult fiction, but I've also read my fair share of middle-grade and young adult fiction, as well. I will be sharing those books with you in the weeks to come.)
For most of the time that I've been "missing in action", I've had some problems with my right shoulder and biceps. Last month I had surgery on both. (And, yes, I'm right-handed. That certainly *has* been a factor when it comes to my lack of writing.) Now I'm busy with physical therapy and trying to get my arm/shoulder back to normal. I still have a long way to go, but at least now I can type with both hands again and also use my right hand to write with a pen or a pencil. (Believe me, that's a big deal!)
For those of you who are new to this blog, welcome! (To learn more about Blue Sky, Big Dreams and my philosophy behind it, please check out this post and this one.)
And for those of you who have been here before, welcome back. I appreciate all of your past support and am so glad that you are willing to come back now that I'm giving this blog another try.
Happy Reading, one and all! :)
P.S. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I would LOVE to hear your comments on this or any other post! This blog is even more fun for me when I can have a two-way conversation with my readers. :) So please, don't hesitate to write comments -- whether you agree with something I've written or not. I will be happy to hear from you!
Even if you've never seen Disney's animated movie, Finding Nemo, you've probably heard its most famous line, sung by Dory the fish (and voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming." In that scene, Dory is trying to encourage Nemo's father, Marlin, not to give up.
I've decided to take Dory's line, change it a little to fit my needs, and use it as my personal mantra:
Just Keep Writing.
Just Keep Submitting.
It seems like obvious advice for a writer, I know. One's work will never be published if one doesn't first write it and then submit it somewhere. As I've written here before, however, it's so easy to get discouraged. I did quite a bit of writing last year and quite a bit of submitting, but all I got in return was a pile of rejection letters. It's easy to give up after that. I wouldn't say that I did give up, but I'll admit that I haven't been nearly as enthusiastic or motivated about writing and submitting this year as I was last year. Until....
Until last month when, out of the blue, I received an email stating that one of the poems I'd submitted to Spider magazine over a year ago has been accepted for publication. (Insert happy dance here!) That one little email changed my whole perspective. While it's true that I still have to wait a few years to see my poem in print, the knowledge that someone out there liked it enough to accept it gives me hope. It also reminds me that I need to keep on writing and keep on submitting.
In all likelihood, most of the poems and stories I write will never get published. I need to keep on trying, though, and never give up. Someday, when I least expect it, I will get good news again!
My birthday is coming up this week -- I will be 45 on Thursday. (Gulp.) Imagine my delight at the beginning of this month when I turned the page in my Mary Engelbreit calendar and saw the quote above. It felt like a message meant just for me!
My writing goals and dreams have been put on hold for most of 2013 so far. Life got busier than ever for several months, and then even after things calmed down a bit, I've still been having trouble making the time to write. Part of that has to do with working on some other goals unrelated to writing; those goals take time, too. I think the rest of it has to do more with my own insecurities, though, and fear of failure.
I worked really hard on writing last year. I wrote over a hundred poems, I think, plus some short stories, and I started on a new novel. I also submitted my work to dozens of magazines, publishers, and agents -- only to be turned down by every single one. My head KNOWS that I just have to keep trying. My heart, on the other hand, is tired of being bruised and wants a little break from rejection.
I originally intended to set new writing goals in January, for the new year ahead, and then share them here. That never happened. I was beginning to give up on 2013, thinking it would be completely unproductive, even with six whole months left in which to accomplish great things. But then along came C.S. Lewis and Mary Engelbreit, to remind me that it's never too late -- not even when I'm turning 45 and the year's half over -- to set another goal.
So, here are my goals for the remainder of 2013:
Carve out time every week (if not every day!) to write
Finish my latest novel
Write at least 30 poems ~ that's only five per month
Start working on the new book I've been thinking about for several months now
Keep looking for an agent
Send out at least 2 submissions per month
Don't give up!
I hope that everyone reading this will take C. S. Lewis's quote to heart. You're never too old. (Or too young.) Set new goals. Dream new dreams. Dream BIG dreams. And then work to make them come true.
(Psst... if you haven't heard about the "Blue..." is Two! Birthday Contest yet, you can find all the details here.)
Ultimately, I'm going to blame it on a book. This book, in fact:
Les Miserables,
written by Victor Hugo, 1862
This French historical novel -- considered "one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century" -- follows the lives of several different characters between the years of 1815 and 1832, particularly the life of ex-convict, Jean Valjean. Major themes of the novel include justice, grace, and love.
I started reading this book when I was in college, but I'm pretty sure I never finished it. I'm planning to give it another try, though. My 17-year-old daughter recently read it from beginning to end, and absolutely loved it! (She had read -- and enjoyed -- a highly abridged version of the book for a class in middle school. My parents gave her the copy shown above this past Christmas, which is also abridged, but much less so, and she liked this version even more.)
In 1985, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil, and Jean-Marc Natel turned the story of Les Miserables into a musical, known affectionately as Les Mis or Les Miz. Just a few years later, I attended the Broadway production of Les Miz as part of a theater package for college students. I immediately fell in love with it. I bought the soundtrack to the musical and listened to it ALL the time. (I'm sure if you asked my housemates from that time, they would concur.)
Earlier this month, students at my daughter's high school performed seven shows of Les Miz. They were amazing. I'm not saying that just because my daughter played five different characters in it:
Emmalie as a constable, April 2013
Emm as a female Montparnasse, April 2013
She also played a factory worker,
a townsperson,and a serving girl.
or because my seven-year-old played a street urchin in it:
Ben, April 2013
or even because I helped paint 90% of the set. The cast and crew were all SO talented and they worked SO hard to create a show that audience members will never forget. Amazing, I tell you.
You may be wondering why I'm mentioning all this on a blog about children's books. Well, it has to do with the lapse between this post and my last, over a month and a half ago. (And also the smaller gap before that, which lasted for two weeks.) Ever since the auditions in November -- and especially for the last two months -- our family has been living and breathing Les Miz, from morning till night. Between set builds and rehearsals (and school, work, and daily life), we've had NO free time. Blame it on the book. ;)
For me, no free time meant not having any time to read (gasp!) or write, among other things. At first, I thought surely I would at least be able to keep up with this blog. I was wrong. I've really missed it, though, and I'm glad to be back. I'm still getting back into the swing of things now that Les Miz is all over, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to find the time to make (mostly) daily posts once again. And I'm hoping that my readers will return to join me on this blog journey....
Something happened to me last Wednesday. It wasn't anything earth-shattering, really, but for me -- for my life -- it was big. What was this life-changing event? My youngest started first grade.
I have been a stay-at-home mom for almost 16 and a half years now. Pretty much every single day since my daughter was born back in 1996, I have spent my days with at least one child here at home. (And often three or more.) Yes, there have been a few exceptions along the way. I've been lucky enough to be able to get away with girlfriends occasionally, for scrapbooking weekends and other fun events. There were also four weeks back in 2005 when Emmalie and Nick were both in school and I was home alone. I'm not sure those weeks really count, though. See, I was in my ninth month of pregnancy and we'd just moved into our new house two days before school started. The entire time my kids were in school those four weeks, I was busy, busy, busy -- unpacking boxes and painting rooms, just me and my big belly.
I also had half the day to myself last year when Ben was in Kindergarten. It was virtually impossible to get much of anything done during that time, however. Two and a half hours goes by awfully quick, especially when 30 precious minutes of that time is taken up by travel, to and from school.
This year, though... this year is different. For the past week, I've had seven glorious days to myself. A whole five and a half hours every day (once you subtract that travel time). It's been heavenly. Don't get me wrong. I love spending time with my kids. Really, I do. I'd rather spend time with them than with almost anyone else in this world. But I also truly love spending time alone.
What have I been doing with all this time to myself? I could spend the day on the couch, watching chick flicks or reading good books, munching on bonbons. I could go to the theater and watch a movie there. I could hang out at the mall, people-watching or shopping, money permitting. I could scrub the house from top to bottom and organize every closet and cupboard. (I think I do need to schedule one of those days!) I could do lots of things with my time, and it would be very easy (and tempting) to waste it on something frivolous, but so far I have actually been fairly productive.
Besides finishing some household chores that really needed to be done -- and taking some time out for exercise (something else that really needs to be done) -- I've been writing. Last week I wrote several poems and spent quite a bit of time working to revise some old stories of mine. I also wrote a few cover letters, then submitted poems and stories to a number of magazines.
This week I started something new. One of my goals for 2012 was to start writing another novel for kids. I made that goal for myself back in January. Here it is, almost September, and I hadn't even written one sentence yet. I've had two or three ideas for new books rattling around in my head, and over the weekend, I finally decided which one I would tackle first.
Many years ago I came up with a character, a young teenage girl named Tasha. I wrote down a page-long description of her, a paper I still have. Ever since then, Tasha has been in my head, waiting. She's been pretty patient, but every once in awhile, I can hear her asking, "When are you going to tell my story?" I've always thought she deserved to have her story written down. The problem has been that, while I had a compelling character, I hadn't thought of an actual story plot yet. Last weekend I decided I would just start writing about her, and that maybe if I listened carefully, Tasha would tell me what happens.
On Monday morning, while I was power-walking, she started talking. The story ideas kept coming and coming. I couldn't wait to get home and start writing! I've been writing and writing all week, wishing that I had even more time to get all the words down. So far, I've written almost 9000 words, which translates roughly to 32 pages of a novel. And I still have a lot more of Tasha's story to tell.
Ideas, characters, plots -- they all come from somewhere. They don't magically appear out of thin air. (At least, not for me. Maybe other writers have a different experience.) The origins of Tasha and her story go back a long way -- all the way back to when I was ten. One day that summer before 5th grade, I picked out some books at a garage sale and my mom bought them for me. One of them was Ready-made Family by Frances Salomon Murphy, 1953:
I had to get this image from Amazon because I couldn't find my copy. It's around here somewhere... and looks just like this one.
This middle-grade novel is about 12-year-old Hedwig Kowalski and her two younger siblings. After being moved around from relative to relative, and then living in the state home, the three are taken to live with foster parents, the Kennedys. The transition is not an easy one, and Hedy worries that her brother's unruly behavior is going to ruin this chance for the Kowalskis to finally have a home of their own. Though it was written in the 1950's, and some of the details of the story are dated, the themes and the emotions Murphy writes about ring just as true today.
The book had a profound effect on me. It was the first time I'd ever heard about foster children and social workers. It opened my eyes to the fact that there was a whole world of people out there with life experiences vastly different from my own. I realized then just how lucky I was to have a loving family with a home, where all my basic needs (and more!) were met. I knew after reading that book that I wanted to help kids like Hedy, that I wanted to be a social worker when I grew up.
After that, I read just about every book about foster kids, social workers, child abuse, and other related topics that I could get my hands on. All through the rest of elementary school and then junior high and high school, my dream of becoming a social worker continued. I majored in social work in college, and then, finally, became an actual social worker. Though I wasn't a foster care case manager as I'd once thought I might be, I did help severely emotionally disturbed kids (some of whom were in foster care) for six years. And all because of a book I read when I was ten.
My character Tasha comes from those experiences of mine. She is a foster child and has had a rough life. My heart aches for her. I want to help that scared little girl in my head by writing her story, and maybe, if it ever gets published, it could help a real-life foster child, too.
Yesterday I was in the car, listening to a CD of my favorite band, The Airborne Toxic Event. The beautiful, haunting song "A Letter to Georgia" came on, and as I sang along, I realized that it reminded me of Tasha. Even though the song was written about an adult, the lyrics can also apply to a child, frightened and alone in the world. If I ever get Tasha's story published, I plan to ask the band's permission to print the lyrics in the front of the book. (Hey, when you're dreaming big, you might as well dream really big!) Here's the song, if you'd like to hear it:
So, that's what I've been up to the past week. It's exciting -- and a little scary -- but I'm very happy to be "on the write track". :)
You've probably heard that old saying about the lottery: You can't win if you don't play. Becoming a writer is a lot like that, I've learned. You won't have any poems or stories or books if you don't take the time and hard work to write them, and you can't get published if you never submit anything. Yes, submitting something you've written may (and probably will... in the beginning, at least) lead to rejection, but you just have to keep on submitting if you want to see your work in print someday.
Back in January, I wrote a post about my goals for the new year. In it, I said that I wanted to write more poems and short stories, submit more of my writing to magazines, begin another novel, and also find an agent. I have been working on the finding-an-agent goal, I just haven't had any luck with it yet. (So far, I've sent queries to 3 different literary agents. I've received two rejections, and am still waiting to hear something back from the third. If I don't hear back from that agent in five more weeks, that means she is not interested, and I'll send query #4.) The other goals, however, have remained just that -- goals. I've done very little writing over the past few months.
Up until a few weeks ago, I did have a valid excuse for not writing any poems, stories, or novels. Health issues (very painful ones), major surgery, and then six weeks of agonizing recovery after that made it difficult for me to concentrate long enough to string more than few sentences together in one sitting. Even just writing a cover letter for a magazine submission seemed like a daunting task when I was in that fog of pain. Since the end of April, though, I've been feeling much better, and the only things keeping me from writing or submitting things already written have been a healthy dose of laziness and a smidgen (or two or three) of self-doubt.
That stops today. I've promised myself that I will get back to writing and submitting. Today. (And, hopefully, by writing this down and making it public on this blog, I'll hold myself accountable to that promise!)
I've been looking through some of the poems I wrote last year. While I haven't totally squelched those feelings of self-doubt I mentioned earlier (do they ever go away entirely, I wonder?), I found that I am actually quite pleased with several of my poems. I did a little research to see which children's magazines the poems would be appropriate for, and plan to head to the post office with them later today.
I'm also planning to get back in the habit of writing something new every day. (In fact, I'm thinking that in June I will challenge myself to write a poem a day. Anyone else want to join this challenge?) I'll need to carve out some quiet time from my busy schedule every day and force myself to write. It's easier said than done -- I know from past experience -- but it's something that's important to me, something that I really want to accomplish. After all, you can't win if you don't play....
I've always enjoyed learning new words and then trying to use them in my conversations or writing. When I was in high school, a friend (who also loved words) taught me a new one -- ubiquitous [yoo-bik-wi-tuhs], an adjective meaning "existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time". It became a kind of inside joke, and the two of us would use the word ubiquitous every chance we got. We even made paper buttons to pin to our shirts that read, "The Ubiquitous Club: We're Everywhere!" (I still have mine, tucked away in my high school scrapbook.)
Now I giggle whenever I see or hear the word, remembering how often we used it in the past. :) I don't use it very much anymore, but here are a couple of sentences I wrote today, as examples:
When I was in college, cell phones were rare.
Now, they are ubiquitous!
While camping in Minnesota, it is impossible
to keep away from the ubiquitous mosquitos.
How would you use the word ubiquitous in a sentence?
As the daughter of a forestry professor, I grew up with a healthy respect for the world around me. I spent much of my childhood outdoors -- climbing trees, hiking in the woods, sleeping out under the stars. I remember many discussions with my dad over the years, revolving around the topics of conservation, renewable vs. non-renewable resources, pollution, recycling, and the like.
Now, I am mom to a teenager who has lived and breathed anything animal-related ever since he could say the word "animal". Nick has always been concerned about the environment -- writing letters to world leaders at age 7, asking them to save the rain forest, picking up trash on his way home from school every day, and trying to figure out ways he could help reverse global warming. It should not come as a surprise that we honor Earth Day at our house every year. (And not just on April 22nd... as Nick often says, "Every day is Earth Day!")
Ever since I was a little girl, our family has collected many, many books about the Earth and the living things that inhabit it. Here are just a few of our favorite picture books suitable for reading on Earth Day -- or any day you want to celebrate the fantastic world around us:
The Family of Earth, written and illustrated by Schim Schimmel, 2001... With a message about planetary interdependence, this book shows -- through Schimmel's words and luminous pictures -- how the different environments of Earth combine to create one world that we all share.
Our Big Home: An Earth Poem, written by Linda Glaser and illustrated by Elisa Kleven, 2002... Glaser's free verse poetry describes our amazing planet and focuses on the interconnectedness of all living things. Kleven's mixed-media illustrations feature people and nature in a wide variety of settings, from African plains to a bustling city park to a South American mountaintop.
Where Once There Was a Wood, written and illustrated by Denise Fleming, 1996... A simple introduction to the topics of conservation and ecology, this book explains how animals and people all need homes, but that we don't have to destroy one to build another. Fleming's colorful, texture-filled illustrations complement her message. At the end of the book, a section called "Welcome Wildlife to Your Backyard Habitat" offers several suggestions for making readers' yards wildlife-friendly.
Have You Seen Trees?, written by Joanne Oppenheim and illustrated by Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng, 1995... Oppenheim's delightful poetry (originally published in 1967 with illustrations by Irwin Rosenhouse) and the Tsengs' beautiful artwork combine perfectly to create this joyous celebration of trees. A short section on tree identification is included in the back.
Each Living Thing, written by Joanne Ryder and illustrated by Ashley Wolff, 2000... Poetic text and vivid pictures, filled to the brim with detail, work together to remind readers to respect nature and the world around them.
For those children and adults who want to learn more about nature, here are two non-fiction picture books that our family enjoys:
About Birds: A Guide for Children, written by Cathryn Sill and illustrated by John Sill, 1997... Realistic watercolor paintings and simple prose teach the youngest of readers basic facts about these winged creatures. An afterward gives more detailed information for older readers.
Tell Me, Tree: All About Trees for Kids, written and illustrated by Gail Gibbons, 2002... This book introduces the science of trees to children -- the parts of a tree and their various functions, photosynthesis, types of tree fruits and seeds, information about how trees are useful to people, animals, and the environment. and much more. It also includes a helpful section on tree identification.
What are your favorite picture books about nature and this planet we call Earth? I'd love to hear about them!
It all began 17 years ago when a vivid dream I'd had gave me an idea for a story. It seemed to me that it could be a really good story. It was different from other ideas I'd had in the past -- if I ever wrote the story, it would not be a picture book or a short story for a magazine, but a fantasy novel for middle grade readers. After a few days of mulling over my idea, I wrote a few sentences about it in one of my notebooks. I also jotted down some character names that kept jumping into my mind whenever I thought about the story. Brule. Sasha. Nodin. Aric. Lilia. And then I stopped. I set my notebook aside, and went on with my busy life.
I never forgot about my story idea. It always seemed to be lurking there, in the back of my brain. Every so often, it would leap to the forefront of my thoughts, but each time, I pushed it back into the shadows with a stern Not yet -- I don't have the time right now. Maybe next week. Or next month.
"Next month" turned into almost twenty-four months. Then, while typing up an assignment for my correspondence course on writing, I felt the overwhelming urge to write about my story idea. My brain seemed to be insisting on a back-up, fervently whispering, If you don't write it all down, you might forget it! Even though I'd told myself over and over again that I would work on the story soon, some part of me knew that it would not be soon. If I didn't store my ideas somewhere other than my head, I might lose it all.
When I'd finished my assignment, I searched until I found that old notebook. I copied my notes onto the computer, then listed every detail that I wanted to remember about my idea. I wrote a basic outline of the plot, then saved it all to a file on the desktop. I could almost hear my brain sigh with relief.
For the next twelve years, I worked on raising my kids, and did very little writing. Meanwhile, my story idea waited patiently in that computer file. My husband even had to transfer it over to a new computer when the old one was dying, and my idea continued to wait. Every once in awhile, I would catch sight of the file on the desktop and feel guilty for abandoning my story for so long. Not yet, I'd tell myself again. I don't have time to write it yet.
Finally, in 2009, I found myself with some time to write. (To be honest, I'd had the time before then, but had filled it with activities other than writing -- mostly with scrapbooking.) I think part of the reason I'd kept putting it off was simply that I was scared. I'd never written a story longer than ten pages before; I couldn't imagine writing a novel. But I finally had a few hours to myself every week, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to accomplish something big with my writing. I had to try.
Obviously, getting started was the hard part -- it took me fourteen long years to start! Once I finally began writing, however, the words seemed to just flow out of my head and onto the computer screen. In two and a half months, I'd written 175 pages -- and my story still wasn't done! I took a break from writing for the busy Christmas season, fully intending to finish my story the following month.
I wrote absolutely nothing for all of 2010. I'm still disappointed in myself for wasting that whole year! The important thing, though, is that in January of 2011 I began writing once again. By the end of that month, I finally finished my first draft of the manuscript, almost 300 pages. I finally had a name for my story, as well: Kyra's Secret. (I normally come up with titles for my stories early in the writing process -- sometimes even before the story itself! This one didn't have a title until I'd finished writing, and even then it took awhile to come up with one that fit the story just right.)
Since that time, I've been proofreading and revising Kyra's Secret. Several people have helped me out, and I'm very grateful to them all! My sister Christine and friend Mimi bravely trudged through that first draft, pointing out many of its weaknesses, asking questions, and offering suggestions. Everything they said made sense to me, and I agreed with their criticisms. I rewrote many of the chapters, then gave the story to my husband and daughter to read. (I also read it out loud to my boys.) After hearing their feedback, I revised again. My friend Katy read that version of my story twice -- once to herself and then out loud to her parents. Her many insights led to version 4 of my manuscript.
My friend Tara read that version, and offered encouragement of her own. I read through it again (I couldn't even tell you how many times I've read through the whole thing), and realized that the beginning of my story still wasn't strong enough. I'd re-written the beginning with every new version, but it still needed work. After chopping the first couple of (short) chapters out last month, I decided that Kyra's Secret was finally ready for a professional in the business to read.
In the past, I've always sent my picture book manuscripts directly to publishers. I've had no luck whatsoever going that route. As I mentioned in a post last month, more and more publishers are only looking at agented material these days. I've decided, then, to try finding an agent to represent me.
I started by reading a few books about literary agents and how to go about acquiring one. I made a list of the agents who represent new authors of middle grade fantasy. I learned what I could about those agents, and chose a few to start with, agents who seemed to be the best "fit" for me. I also learned about writing queries, finding a lot of useful information on two websites in particular, AgentQuery and Query Shark. Then I tried writing my own.
After spending a couple of weeks working on a query for my manuscript, I've come to the conclusion that it's easier to write an entire novel than a one-page query! Trying to describe my story in two short paragraphs -- making it interesting without giving too much away, so that an agent will WANT to read Kyra's Secret -- is agonizingly difficult.
At least twenty drafts later, I was finally satisfied with my query. I printed it out, signed it, and stuck in in an envelope along with another envelope, self-addressed and stamped, for the reply. Then, fingers crossed, I sent it off to the first agent on my list. That was on Tuesday. Now I wait. And hope.
I know that the chances of finding an agent willing to represent me on my very first try are quite low. Of course, the chances that a magazine would publish the very first thing I ever submitted were also quite low, and I managed to beat those odds. It could happen again. And, if it doesn't, I still have a long list of other agents to try....
Anyone who's spent a little time with me knows that I have a penguin obsession. :) It all started when I was in high school, on a choir trip to St. Louis. One day we went to the zoo there, and some friends and I spent a good chunk of our time watching one very silly, adorable penguin. Before we headed back to the hotel, I stopped at a gift shop and bought myself a small penguin figurine, a souvenir of that fun day. I've been collecting penguin-ish items ever since.
I have over a dozen stuffed animal penguins, probably 50 or more penguin figurines (glass, plastic, ceramic, metal, you name it!), penguin shirts, penguin salt and pepper shakers, penguin flannel sheets -- even a penguin-themed bathroom! And, of course, I have penguin books. In case you didn't know, today is Penguin Awareness Day... so I thought it would be the perfect time to share some of my favorite penguin books with you!
Here are a few fictional picture books featuring penguins:
In With a Splash!, written by Karen Sapp and illustrated by Rachel Elliot, 2006... Little Penguin is scared of the water. Finally, with some help from his friend Seal Cub, he goes into the water, discovering how much fun it is to swim.
Three Cheers for Tacky, written by Helen Lester and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger, 1994... There is a whole series of Tacky books, including Tacky the Penguin (1988), Tacky in Trouble (2000), Tacky and the Emperor (2002), Tackylocks and the Three Bears (2004), Tacky and the Winter Games (2006), Tacky Goes to Camp (2009), and Tacky's Christmas (2010).
Tacky is "an odd bird", not at all prim and proper like the other penguins. In this particular book, Tacky and the other penguins at his school are invited to participate in a Penguin Cheering Contest. Not surprisingly, Tacky has difficulty conforming to his classmates and performing the cheer properly. However, he just may save the day!
And Tango Makes Three, written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole, 2005... I reviewed this controversial but heart-warming book here a few months ago.
In the mood for some penguin poetry? Try this one:
Antarctic Antics, written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey, 2003... My dad bought this book for me and my kids when it first came out. Filled with catchy poems like My Father's Feet and Regurgitate, this is a fun read-aloud book!
For those interested in learning about penguins, here are some good non-fiction options:
Penguins!, written and illustrated by Gail Gibbons, 1999... This book offers information about the 17 different penguin species, from maps showing where they live, to nesting and breeding habits to daily life.
Face to Face With Penguins, written and photographed by Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott, 2009... In addition to facts and photos of several different penguin species, this book also contains impressions from the authors of their personal experiences with these incredible birds. A section at the end of the book offers ideas about how to help fight global warming and protect the penguins of our world.
March of the Penguins, (from the film by Luc Jacquet), written by Jordan Roberts and photographed by Jerome Maison, 2006... It probably won't come as a surprise to hear that I eagerly attended a showing of the "March of the Penguins" movie when it first came out in 2005, and that I now own a copy of the movie. The film depicts the annual journey of the Emperor penguins of Antarctica. It's a beautiful documentary about these birds and the brutal environment they live in.
This book uses pictures and narrative from the film, leaving out the sadder parts of the story.
A Mother's Journey, written by Sandra Markle and illustrated by Alan Marks, 2005... This book also describes the life of Emperor penguins, focusing on one mother's journey.
Penguins, written by Mary Hoff, with photographs by many, 2007... This book provides photos and interesting facts about the various species of penguins.
Last, but not least, here's a fun classic for middle grade readers:
Mr. Popper's Penguins, written by Richard and Florence Atwater and illustrated by Robert Lawson, 1938... Mr. Popper is a house painter who dreams of going to the Antarctic, and has always been intrigued by penguins. He writes to his hero, the explorer Admiral Drake, and unexpectedly receives a real live penguin in return. It isn't long before Mr. Popper and his family have not just one, but twelve penguins living in their home! It all turns into quite the adventure!
I read this book aloud to my boys just last week. (Nick had already read it, but wanted to hear it again.) We all giggled at the penguins' antics -- and the humans', as well -- and had fun imagining what it might be like to have a penguin (or 12) in the house.
Are you a fan of penguins, too? If so, what are some of your favorite penguin books? I'd love to hear about them!
I've always liked the idea of starting over fresh every January, and setting resolutions or goals for the coming year. Like many people, I don't always meet the goals I've set, but I do try to meet them, at least for awhile.
Last year two of my goals were a) to complete the middle grade fantasy novel I'd started and b) to write some new short stories and poems for kids. I'm happy to say that I did meet both of those in 2011! I still need to finish my latest revision of the novel, but at the time I set my goal, I just wanted to finally be done with the first draft! I did accomplish that, and also worked through 2 major re-writes -- now I'm on my third.
I have some similar goals this year:
Write even more short stories and poems
Submit some of my stories and poems to magazines
Start... and hopefully finish!... another novel
Continue to make daily blog posts
I'm also setting this big goal for 2012: Find myself an agent. (And then, hopefully, a publisher!)
When I first started writing stories many years ago, everything I read said that children's authors didn't need agents in order to get published. I accepted that as fact, and never paid much attention to information about agents after that. There have been many changes in the publishing industry since then, however, and now -- almost two decades later -- the majority of children's book publishers won't even look at a manuscript unless it was submitted by an agent.
I decided in the fall that I'd better learn about agents and how to go about getting one. I checked out several books from the library, and found the two following works particularly helpful:
78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published & 14 Reasons Why It Just Might, written by Pat Walsh, 2005... Walsh is a founding editor of the literary publisher MacAdam/Cage, and knows what he's talking about. He offers helpful advice on how to get published, using humor and insights based on his own experiences.
and the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents, edited by Chuck Sambuchino, 2010... Not only does this book provide the contact information (and much more!) for over 550 agents, it also contains several articles about the specifics of finding an agent -- how to write a query letter, what agents look for in their writers, what agents do, etc.
While reading these books, I discovered that many of the things I thought I knew about literary agents were incorrect. For example, I always assumed that when a writer searched for an agent, his/her query letter would include a list of all of the things he/she had written that were available for publication. I couldn't have been more wrong! That kind of list actually makes a writer look unprofessional, and an agent is likely to throw that letter right in the trash. Instead, writers need to pick one work they wish to publish, and focus only on that in their query letters. (Good thing I found that out before sending any queries!)
I decided I will focus on my novel first, and set aside all of my picture book manuscripts for now. I went through the entire listing of agents in the 2011 Guide and wrote down the names and websites of all those interested in middle grade fantasy novels. Then I researched the agents online, and narrowed down my list to those who seemed most compatible with me. And then I put everything on hold for the holidays.
Now that it's January and life is a little less hectic, my plan is to finish my current revision of my book, then write a good query letter and send it to the agent at the top of my list. If that one doesn't work out, I'll try another agent. I'll keep on trying, and hopefully will find someone who wants to represent me before I get too discouraged. (I promise to keep you all updated!) Wish me luck, please! :)
