Marcia Thornton Jones's Blog, page 178

My Path to Publication (February Theme, Sarah Dooley)

At a shared computer in a mountaintop boarding house, I wrote the novel in seventeen days. The fire in the wood stove crackled while the other tenants flipped channels. Law and Order. The Obama campaign. I learned to write before dawn, for the quiet.
I’d moved to Ashevilleby the time I revised. That’s also where I started my agent search, in a little brick house to the west. Five queries out at a time. With each rejection or extended silence, I reworked my query letter, tried again. Got a yes, followed promptly by a box of free books. Figured out I was in the right business.
After I moved into the basement apartment, we talked editors. There were two who wanted to talk to me. The other half of the basement was used as the practice space for a jazz cover band. They practiced on Thursdays, and it was a Thursday. I stood out by the road with my hand over my ear, trying to hear what each editor had to say. I was still in that basement when we got a “yes.” Followed promptly by a box of free books. Indeed. Right business.
I was back in West Virginia and staying with family by the time I finished revisions, first with my agent and then with my editor. Things were starting to happen.
Next came cover art. Bound galleys. Reviews. One exciting bit of publishing news after another. From my cold little snowbound house, it all seemed thrilling, but surreal.
In the driveway of my city apartment, holding a box of my very own books – that’s when it sunk in.
“I got … I got this book published!”
“What’s it about?” my new neighbor asked, plucking a copy off the top of the stack. He turned it over and over in his hands.
I couldn’t think what to say. I wasn’t practiced at this part yet.

“It’s about a girl,” I said, “trying to figure out where she wants to live.” 

HUMOR AND THE JAGUAR STONES - J&P VOELKEL GUEST POST

We're thrilled to be asked about the humor in the Jaguar Stones series, because it's such a large part of the story. Too many books and movies present the Maya as grim and humourless - and that couldn't be further from the truth.
            Ask most middle-graders to draw a picture of the ancient Maya, and they’ll reach straight for the red paintto depict a human sacrifice. But if you ask them about the Romans, they don’t automatically draw a slave being slaughtered in the Coliseum. (In fact, the Maya were nowhere near as violent as the Romans - and they were equally adept at straight roads, magnificent arches and indoor plumbing.) 
            So one of our missions is to highlight the Maya sense of humour (British spelling).
            When you study Maya art, you can't help but smile. Paintings running round Maya pots often depict scenes from mythology in a style very similar to comic strips. It’s not just how they draw the figures, but howthey tell the story, captions and all. The scenes are often very funny, with hidden jokes and wild facial expressions. 
            Another element that inspired us is the slapstick quality of Maya mythology. The good guys usually win through cunning and wit rather than brute strength. This makes a lot of sense when you meet the modern Maya and discover how much they love telling jokes and playing trickson each other.             But it's not all fun and games. The Maya Lords of Death, a gang of skeletons and putrid corpses, can be seriously scary. So we use humour to diffuse the fear. If you think of the movie Ghostbusters and how terrifying it would be if it wasn't so funny, that's the balance we're aiming for. 
            Sometimes the Maya do the job for us. Take Ah Pukuh, thegod of violent and unnatural death. He rules the deepest, darkest layer of the Maya underworld and wears a necklace of human eyeballs. But, happily for us, he’s also known as Kisin - the farter. It’s not often you get to write characters that are pure evil and insanely fun at the same time, but that's Maya mythology for you.
            The other reason for including so much humor in the books is the age of our readership - wonderful, imaginative, giggling middle-schoolers who never heard a fart joke they didn't like. But more than that, most kids are wired to look for the funny. I've seen my own kids joke around where I've just wanted to cry: like, for example, when our car broke down recently on a freezing night in the middle of winter on a deserted New England road at just the point in the valley where there's no cell phone signal. 
            Kids are brave, creative and naturally funny. That's not to say they don't whine, but they seem to shrug things off faster than adults. That's why Max and Lola, our teenage main characters, can usually find reasons to laugh, even as they're battling the fearsome Death Lords.
            It's a fine balance, because we never make light of the modern Maya. They've endured centuries of oppression, their culture was almost destroyed and, as Lola points out, access to further education and healthcare is still limited. There's nothing funny about any of that. Of course, we can't be sure if our readers absorb the social messages in amongst all the fun and adventure. But, at the very least, we hope they realize that the Maya are still around - and still finding things to laugh about.


Keep up with the Voelkels: 
Www.jaguarstones.comWww.egmontusa.com
**GIVEAWAY ALERT!**

Comment below to enter all four books in the JAGUAR STONES series. Giveaway runs through March 2.

My Road to Publication in Photos by Danette Vigilante

Slush Pile (yuck!)

Number of Rejections (!)

Finally on the 44th try, Success! (Phew!)

The Math of Publication by Bob Krech

The road to publication is filled with conversations. I used to think authors just wrote their stuff, mailed it out, and got published. Everything I've ever published was in some way connected to a conversation I first had with a fellow author, editor, agent, or librarian.

Most of these conversations took place at writing conferences. For folks looking to get on the road to publication, I feel there is no better place to start. When attending it is probably just as important to talk to the people sitting near you in the audience (my first one I unknowingly sat next to Laurie Halse Anderson just before Speak came out) as to those editors and agents after their presentations (talk to them too!)

I met one of my editors in a line at lunch and another milling around in a lobby. Be ready to talk about your work, why it excites you and should excite them. Even if you're not published do not hesitate to identify yourself as a writer (as long as you're writing, right?) wherever you are. I met a parent at a school I worked at, out who turned out to be James Michener's agent. He doesn't handle children's books, but he's proved to be an invaluable sounding board for me over the years.

Since most of my books are actually about math, I will summarize with an equation: Conferences + Conversations = Connections (which equals publications) See. Math can be fun.

On Valentine's Day, Love and Authorship Melt Together - February Theme by Tamera Wissinger

When I ask students how long they think it took for Gone Fishing to become a book, their guesses usually begin at a month, then two months, six months, a year. And after several guesses, each upping the timeframe a bit more, when I reveal the answer: six years (four years on my own, then two more years with the help of my editor) – their eyes grow big – for some of them that’s a lifetime. The topic we don’t get into is: how long it took to prepare myself to be ready to write books before I began writing Gone Fishing. The answer to that question is a lifetime – my lifetime.
Grandma Will reading a big book to
my sister & me (notice my grabby hand.)I started to become a writer when I was a baby – it’s true. I was lucky enough to have parents who read to me, to have grandmas and grandpas and uncles and aunts who gave books as gifts, to have an older sister who would read to me then with me, and a younger brother who listened to me read to him. As a very young child I fell in love – with rhythm, rhyme, stories. Eventually, with the help of thoughtful librarians and patient teachers, I began reading and writing stories and poetry on my own. 
On this Valentine’s Day, love and authorship are melting together – I get credit for writing down words in a way that could form a book that others might enjoy reading – I give credit to those who cared enough about me to put engaging books in my hands, ensured that I knew how to enjoy reading them, and taught me how to write. My road to publication began long before Gone Fishing and involved great acts of affection, patience, kindness, faith – from many people who loved me and wanted me to be happy.
This Valentine’s Day I’m feeling fortunate and grateful. I hope you all have a happy day.~~~~~
Tamera Wissinger writes stories and poetry for children. She is a graduate of Hamline University's MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Her first book, Gone Fishing, arrived from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2013 after six years in development, and her first picture book, THIS OLD BAND, arrived last June from Sky Pony Press. You can connect with Tamera online at www.tamerawillwissinger.com, on Twitter: @TameraWissinger,  or on Facebook.

My Path to Publication by Darlene Beck Jacobson

       It began with a pitch at our annual NJSCBWI Conference in June 2011. Friday night was the Meet & Greet where we would-be authors got to hang out with agents and editors over cocktails.  The regional adviser - Kathy Temean - introduced me to agent Ginger Harris of the Liza Royce Agency because she was looking for "new writers" to add to their "new agency". Having practiced my elevator pitch out loud several times before, I was ready.
        I told Ginger about Wheels of Change (then called The Carriage Maker's Daughter).  She was excited and asked me to send her 30 pages and a synopsis.
        I did.  As soon as I got home.  Then I waited.  You know the drill.  Two months.  Three.  I sent a follow up e-mail and heard nothing.  Then I asked the RA what the proper etiquette was for follow up on the requested submission.  When she found out I'd sent it to Liza Royce Agency, she contacted Liza Fleissig - the other half of the agency - who immediately said, "We never got that submission or e-mail.  Have her send it to me ASAP."
       I did, and within a week, she requested a full manuscript.   A few days later she offered representation.  Her and Ginger's excitement and enthusiasm for the story was a great boost and it was a no- brainer to sign up with them.
       After a round of polite rejections with constructive comments, I did some minor editing before we went to round two. This time, it landed at newly formed CRESTON BOOKS, led by author/illustrator Marissa Moss, who loved the story and wanted it.  The lucky combination of Liza and Marissa has made the journey an amazingly satisfying one.
       If there's a lesson to be learned from my path to publication it is this: If an agent or editor requests a manuscript and you don't hear back from them, don't assume they aren't interested.  Maybe they just didn't get the e-mail.  And, don't be afraid to go with a smaller publishing house. The TCL I get from CRESTON is amazing and the bottom line is: The best place for your book is with those who love it so much, they can't imagine NOT publishing it!
       

Back on the Path by Jody Feldman

Sign on the right? It warns of speed bumps.
Me: I am back on the path to publication.
Other people: You’re what!?! But, but ... you’re already published.
Me: Absolutely true.
People: When did you veer off?
Me: I didn’t. The path just veers on its own.
People: So what—

Here’s what they don’t tell you. Just because you’ve had success with one book or two or four hundred (well, maybe four hundred), it doesn’t always give you an automatic YES for your next attempt. Sure, it makes it easier. You probably have an agent in your corner, an editor and publisher who’d love nothing more than to make you a successful staple on their list, and some semblance of a fan base around your existing work. The truth is, though, unless the next book you write checks most, if not all the indicators for a strong seller, the powers-that-be cannot, in good business practice, give you another YES. Even if they like you a whole, whole lot.

And so I approach each new book—from first word through the end, through revision after revision—as if I need to win over my entire publishing world again.
It turns out I’m still riddled with the same uncertainties that plagued me from the start:
Have I chosen the right book to write?
Will anyone want to read this?
Have I written from the best point of view?
Is there enough conflict?
Does it make sense?
Is it even interesting?
...and the list goes on and on.

It’s these questions that keep me on my game. The last thing I want is to cruise on autopilot, have that next book shot down, then sweep up the pieces with “I told you so; you didn’t work it hard enough” running through my mind.

Now that I’ve just handed in a draft of a very new and fresh (for me, at least) book to my agent, I’m sitting with the same doubts I’ve always had. Except one.

No matter if I get a YES or a NO, I have confidence in my growing strength as a writer. If this story doesn’t stick, I’ll adjust, shift, veer—do everything necessary—and the next one will. Probably.

The Bailey School Kids Turns 25!!!Twenty-five years ago i...

The Bailey School Kids Turns 25!!!

Twenty-five years ago it all started with a really bad day...

Want to know the REAL story? Check out: http://www.marciatjones.com/aboutme.htm

THE FORBIDDEN PROJECT

As Shakespeare wrote, "The course of true love never did run smooth." Neither does the path to publication!

After my second novel was safely in the Random House pipeline, my agent Linda Pratt began shopping around my third novel––which we believed was "high concept." To my shock and dismay, my editor didn't want it. Neither did anyone else. I panicked. I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought I had figured this writing thing out. Clearly I hadn't. And now I didn't know what to write next.

I kept rereading some chapters I had written in 2009 about a parrot who flew into the bedroom of a sick girl. I wrote a little more--and put it away. If I couldn't sell my high-concept book, who would want a story about a girl and a parrot?

I started calling it the Forbidden Project. I hoped a better idea would come along. But like many forbidden things, it tantalized.

So I wrote the novel.

Linda fell in love with it and sent it out to editors. Liz Szabla read it in the fall of 2011. She was interested, but she wanted to discuss changes. We had a wonderful conversation about her vision for the book. I sensed that my parrot had captivated her too. Would I be willing to make the girl older? Would I get rid of her dolls? Would I add more adventures with other birds? Would I?  Of course! I tried not to sound completely desperate, but I would have done just about anything to let my Forbidden Project have a life.

In October 2013, The Desperate Adventures of Zeno & Alya was published by Feiwel and Friends. Liz and I worked together on my next novel, The Book of Dares for Lost Friends--coming in July 2015.

As I rewrite my next novel, I no longer have the illusion that I know what I'm doing. I figure it out as I go along. But I do know that everyone who writes must persist. And, even more importantly, write the characters and the stories who just won't let go.


Desperate Adventures of Zeno & Alya

February Theme - My Journey to Publication Twice by Deborah Lytton

All publication journeys are unique yet they all share something in common, perseverance. The most important thing to remember is never to give up. Never giving up has kept me on the path to publication, not once but twice.

JANE IN BLOOM was my first published book. It came out in 2009 after many years of writing. It was actually my third middle grade novel (sixth if you count three middle grade novels I co-wrote with author Susanna Leonard Hill). But it was the first one that anyone wanted to publish. I think the key to selling JANE was that I decided to write the book I wanted to write, without any regard to the market or critics. I just wanted to tell Jane's story, even if no one wanted to read it. I had landed my agent, Stacey Glick at Dystel & Goderich, after writing a novel for adults about an actress trying to find success in Hollywood. When that book didn't sell, Stacey suggested I try writing something else. I told her I had an idea for a very heavy middle grade book about a girl who was the forgotten sister in a family dealing with the other sister's eating disorder. Stacey had never sold a middle grade novel at that time but she was willing to try. And so I wrote the book. Stacey sold it to Dutton. And I thought I was on my way.

Only JANE IN BLOOM was released in 2009 at a time the market was shifting away from contemporary fiction into dystopian and vampire books, neither of which I write.

And that began part two of my path to publication. I wrote several novels after JANE IN BLOOM trying to follow up my first publication with something a bit more commercial, but none of them found a home. The truth is that they really weren't that special. By 2012, I was really frustrated. I wanted to write realistic fiction about heavy subjects, but no one was buying that. My agent, who had stuck with me all that time encouraged me to follow my heart and do what I do best. So I wrote SILENCE. It sold in 2014 to Shadow Mountain and is being released next month. It has been a long, long journey to selling my second book. And there were times I doubted myself and wondered if I was wasting my time. But ultimately, I had to write because it is a part of who I am. In the end, isn't that why we all write? So for any of you who are struggling along the way with whether to continue or give up, let my journey remind you that the most important thing you can do for yourself as a writer is never to give up. Just keep writing!