The Art of Waiting: What to do while a publisher holds your fate in his/her hands

     Three or four months is a long time to wait. From all reports, this is a standard when submitting an unsolicited book proposal. Many of us have had a lot of practice waiting this year: waiting for winter to move on, waiting for ice to melt, waiting for the first signs of spring. I have been filling the days since I mailed proposal #2 with a lot of work. It's been 16 days. No word, even of the publisher receiving it. But I am not just sitting around waiting.

Looking For Spring

     One of many things I am working on now is a Lenten series of drawings and mini-essays.  If you are interested you can find it on my website at www.Pi-SunyerNaturally.com. This is really quite a project, as it requires me to identify a topic, research it, write an essay, and draw an illustration on every one of the 40 days of the Lenten season.
  
      Some days, the inspiration comes immediately, it's easy to find information and reference photos on-line and the drawing flows smoothly off the tip of my pen. Other days, it is a real struggle to identify an appropriate topic. I've read more of the Gospel of Matthew this week than ever before. I guess I will dip into Mark,
Luke and John's versions of Christ's life to see if I find more inspiration next week.
 

Faith Like a Mustard Seed

   So far, for the first 10 days, I have been successful at finding and researching topics. One day I chose the "art" part to be the art of cooking, and took a photo of the Malta Lenten cookies that I baked. The recipe is shared on my website, and I highly recommend it to my readers. The cookies are delicious, if quite a bit of work.

   This entire project is, actually, a lot of work, but I think it is a valuable exercise. One of the topics I almost chose, and still may, are the related terms "disciple" and "discipline". The Lenten series requires substantial discipline. To get it all done every day, and posted both on my FaceBook© page and my web page, takes a lot of time. Still, I am learning much about my faith, the world and natural history. I am also polishing my illustration skills. Each day, I remember a new technique or find a new way of blending colors or producing shading.

     So I am growing as a disciple (a follower of Jesus), as well as growing in discipline. Both words have roots in the word which means "student," so I am studying every day of my journey.

   

Count the Crystals of Salt

 To give you an idea of how the essays and illustrations work together, here is the picture and the essay for day 4.

DAY 4 - MARCH 7th  -  When you Google “Lenten Symbols”, one of the more intriguing items that you will find is the lowly pretzel. What could this possibly have to do with the lead-up to the most holy of Christian holy days?
There is one claim that in 610 A.D. an Italian monk created pretzels as a reward for children who had learned their prayers. He calls the strips of baked dough “pretiola” (little rewards). They were an appropriate treat, as they were made solely of flour water and salt, thus not including any of the forbidden ingredients of Lent: milk, eggs, butter or lard.
      There is documentation that pretzel shaped pastries have been used as the emblems of baker guilds in Southern Germany since 1111. The little treats, known in Germany as “bretzels,” were described as showing the shape of a child’s arms, folded across the chest in prayer. The three holes, created by the twisted dough, are said to represent the Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This treat may also be the origin of the term, ”tying the knot.”
      A prayer book used by Catherine of Cleves in 1440, included an illuminated picture of St. Bartholomew surrounded by pretzels. By that time, pretzels were considered a sign of good luck and spiritual wholeness, probably because of their relation to the Trinity.
      Originally all pretzels were what we now call soft pretzels. According to several sources, the dry pretzels we now purchase by the bag, were a result of a baker in the Pennsylvania town of Letitz, who left his pretzels in the oven too long. The upside of this dried product was that they lasted longer and so could be sold further afield.

     Waiting: for spring, for ideas for topics, for the yard to dry so I can start gardening, for my laundry out on the line to dry, for days warm enough to really enjoy walking, to hear about my book. It will all happen. The laundry may be dry already. Five days til spring on the calendar. Thirty more days of Lent. And how many days til the rest? I'll just keep working, and learning and trying to grow, like the snowdrops in the garden, that waited under ground all winter, and then under the snow, but are now bringing great joy. Spring is just around the corner. Is a book deal? Hope springs eternal.

Submission #2: I'm On Track!

It's In The Mail!

The Memorial Post Office at Watchung Plaza closes at 3:00 p.m. At 2:50, after dodging a car that was in as much of a hurry as I, I walked in the door with my new proposal and its accompanying papers, ready to mail. I had to buy one more envelope for the SASE to enclose, but there it was. Ready to mail on February 28th, as planned! I am feeling really good!!!

When I received the first rejection last month, I pledged to get the proposal out to another publisher by the end of this month. I have worked diligently to research publishers, as well as to improve my project. I have a new set of thumbnail sketches which enabled me to consider the overall design more clearly. I have several new "finished" illustrations. I have revised the text a bit and have created a more polished dummy. I have also carefully chosen to whom to submit it.

As I wrote on a Post-It© on the dummy, the dummy is not only a model of my proposed book, but it is a window on the process of creating my book. It includes some near-final art work and the near-final text and back matter. There may be more to add, if National Wildlife Federation agrees to let me use their Backyard Wildlife Habitat logo in my illustrations. I need to get the non-disclosure agreement off to them next week.

While walking the dog with my husband this morning, I mentioned that I am really pleased with all the changes that I have made since my first version. He was kind of surprised, as he didn't think I'd really changed the story. Well, the basic story remains intact, but dozens of small changes have created smoother language, more inviting page turns and more a more compelling overall design and message. The new version is a far better informed piece of work, both artistically and technically.

The Old Dummy

My earlier dummy was little changed from my original text and dummy. I have now added several pages as well as revising  the language on other pages. I have been able to address the issue that one editor brought up last summer regarding point of view. She seemed to think this made the book a non-starter after the first two lines. I think she underestimated readers, but I have now shown the reader who is speaking, through a new  illustration.

The new dummy (version 3) has color on every page and even the rough sketches are more finished. Thought has been given to text placement.  I have not yet settled on a preferred font. That is the kind of thing on which I am sure the publisher or editor will provide guidance. I wish I had better technical skills with PhotoShop© so the dummy looked even better, but a dummy is not supposed to be a finished product, so I am not stressing about that.

It has been a busy week, bouncing from sketching, to drawing, to scanning, to cut and paste, to editing the proposal and accompanying papers. The final product is so worth it. Reading through the dummy before I put the finishing touches on it, felt like I was reading a real book. Hard cover and end papers help, but this version is just so much more "finished".

Author/Illustrator at work

The cover letter, along with the dummy, the proposal, the text and background materials were all proofread carefully more than once.  SO glad I did this, as I caught one typo in the cover letter, three space glitches in my profile and a wrong date for my M.S.  Hopefully I caught all the errors.

If you are following me and my journey, please cross your fingers for me, and send up prayers to St. Francis de Sales, who I just discovered is the patron saint of authors and writers. My book deals more with the creatures beloved by the other St. Francis, but maybe with both of them on my side, this exclusive submission will find its way out of the slush pile and into print.

I'll leave you with this hopeful quote from one of my favorite children's authors.

“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
― Shel Silverstein

Picking a Publisher: The next step in the journey

Too long since I've blogged, but I have not been idle. Nor have I been immersing myself in depression. Maybe a bit too much chocolate has passed my lips, but much good has come of the time as well. I spent a long day at the Montclair Public Library in the children's section.

This charming sculpture greets patrons just outside the Children's reading room. Like this odd couple, I spent a thoughtful day. I spent it  reading and analyzing children's picture books and counting books, and researching publishing companies. I had gotten leads through SCBWI and had checked out several companies on the net.

I now have a new target in my sights. The next company is one which prides itself on publishing "new voices." I read every picture book they published that was in our collection and sent for about ten more on inter-library loan. The books are coming in and I am making great strides in getting to know this company and it's authors and illustrators. I have linked to several on LinkedIn and have checked out many websites and FaceBook pages. What a treasure we have in the Internet, to enable us to "meet" and get know the works of other writers and artists.

I feel that I will now be able to write a well crafted, well informed letter to submit with my proposal by the end of this month. I know something of the authors and illustrators, their media, their background and experience as well as how my chosen company puts books together. I was thrilled, this morning, to find the first of their picture books with illustrated end papers. This is one thing I am hoping for, as folks have reacted very positively to the illustrated end papers in my dummy. Here is another plus: my chosen company is willing to accept a dummy, which many companies are not willing to do. I have a very nice dummy, but...

If you read my previous blog, you know that I had just received Writing With Pictures in the mail, and was expecting that it would provide some guidance. I can't recommend this book too highly to any hopeful author/illustrators. As Bonnie Ferrante wrote in the Children's Books Authors and Illustrators Group on LinkedIn, "Uri Shulevitz's book could be a text for a university class." As a result, I have redone my thumbnail sketches and am revising my dummy. So far, I like the new version a lot. It flows more smoothly, and I think the page turns will work more effectively as well.

My goal is to get the new dummy completed, and perhaps one more "finished" drawing, so I can submit the new proposal by the end of February. It's a short month, but I believe it is doable.
Of course, if Mother Nature would send less snow in the coming weeks, so I didn't have so much shoveling of snow, chopping of ice and feeding of birds and bunnies, I would have more time.

 I have used snow days, when it was too inclement to venture out, to create a new website with some of my art work. I invite you to visit it at www.Pi-SunyerNaturally.com.

As always, I welcome comments, suggestions or just a simple "Hello."

Hopefully there will be more art on the website and more progress to report on the dummy in the next week.

My FIrst Rejection Letter

It is interesting to note that if you Google "First Rejection Letter," it yields 43,100,000 hits. Although several thousand of these entries deal with rejections from colleges (or preschools), or bank loan applications, a substantial number of them are related to letters of rejection from publishing companies to people like me. So, should I feel comforted that I am not alone? Or should I be depressed that I'm one among a throng of millions?

125 days after I submitted my proposal for a picture book to a publisher in New York, I received my very first real rejection letter. My literary and artistic creation has been rejected!

After an extra-large hot chocolate (with and extra shot of cocoa), a huge bowl of buttered popcorn and five pieces of chocolate candy (including two I snitched from my husband's chocolate orange) I sought consolation in a more positive way. Reading through some of the really brutal rejections received by many authors (and non-authors) I decided that I was better off than most. When you read the 1912 letter sent to Gertrude Stein, or the one George Orwell received ("It is impossible to sell animal stories in the United States"), I feel quite good about my letter.

My rejection was phrased very encouragingly.  The letter from the Vice President /Editorial Director  "...Appreciated the informative style that teaches about animals and nature..."  The animal examples I chose "are appropriate and would be engaging for young readers...". Unfortunately, as the country song (sort of) says "I came along one [manuscript] too late." The publisher has just signed another picture book, which mine is too reminiscent of. Sigh!!

Mitten The Mouse

I will take to heart the advice from the "Smart Nooks for Smart Kids" blog by Debbie Glade.

    1.    Don’t quit when somebody rejects your work; keep trying.
    2.    Know that all people who accomplish great things take risks.
    3.    Believe in yourself
    4.    Be realistic.  Educate yourself about the process.
    5.    If your story is good, know that somewhere out there, there’s a person who will read it, love it and publish it.

Yesterday a book I ordered came in the mail. It's called, Writing With Pictures. It looks as though it is filled with good advice for artist/authors like me. I will spend time with it this week. I will continue working on my art work, and explore the publishing process. It is time to select the next company to which I will submit my proposal.   I DO believe in myself, and I believe in this book. Who knows what the next 125 days will bring?

I am confident that  - at the very least - they will bring more polished illustrations, a good deal of frustration and anxiety and clearer insights into a good many publishing houses, their requirements and publishing lists. My days at the library and book stores will be filled with exploration of books that have the feel of mine, so that I can find a company that shares my philosophy and appreciates my story, my message and my art work. My job is cut out for me.

I will get by, with a little help from chocolate, and a supportive network of family and friends, all of whom, I know, have faith in my book, and who continue to cheer me on on this journey.

Oh! And I will set up a notebook called "Rejections." I'll let the letters live their, and not let them take up residence in my mind or my heart.

IS IT A SHORT STORY OR A MEMOIR? Expanding or Contracting a Great Idea.

I have a story that's been running around in my mind, in my heart and on my computer for several years. Three or four years ago I screwed up my courage enough to share it at the local writers group Open Mike Night.  I had had to cut it down to 5 minutes after I arrived at the meeting. Not knowing that The Write Group has a strict time limit before I arrived,  I edited out what I could. It still went 8 minutes, but they didn't cut me off. That was when I knew that this story was something special.

I've written three or four more versions of the story since then. I've committed myself to getting it to a publisher this year, or possibly self publishing it, but now I am in a quandary. Every time I re-approach it, I find another part of the story that begs for more detail.  Do I simply breeze over the Spanish Civil War by mentioning a few of the more famous battles, or do I provide one or two in-depth scenes, introducing specific characters and revealing the true horrors of life in that time and in that space? Should I provide my readers with a clear picture of the dangers and deprivations of homesteading in the Big Bend region of Washington Territory in the 1880s, or simply pass it by with "She had homesteaded in Western Washington when she was a girl..."?

Will readers really care to be pulled into a Victorian living room to watch me cutting out paper dolls and listening to family stories? Do they want to know how I met my husband?

A few of my readers will be all too familiar with the dreadful and delightful details. Others will not have a clue. Is it my job to tell the story to those who know the setting and some of the characters, or is my mission to reveal an entire set of worlds to unknown readers who have never hear of Catalonia or Washington Territory?

Yesterday, between reading "Character", "Plot", "Dialogue" and "Set Design" in Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott, I delved into Auntie Kate by Katharine Garford Thomas, a distant cousin. I located my - as yet unread - copy of History of Catalonia by Jaume Sobrequés i Callicó.

Anne Lamott is advising me to tell more: to let my readers get to really know my characters. I like this idea. I'd love everyone to know Grandmother Arny  and Uncle Vin and Big Lina and all the rest of us. But is it too much?

If the story worked so well in 8 minutes, will I spoil it by making it 8 hours long? Or will I open the hearts and minds of my readers to events they never knew of, and to truths they have not discerned?

I'd love to hear from you, to know what you think.

Meanwhile, I'll keep reading Ann's book and skim through the history book, and maybe see if I can talk with a relative who crossed the steep mountain passes from Spain to Toulouse, France or Skype with a family member who was there, on the docks in Le Harve in 1939.

I really would appreciate your thoughts on this.

Decluttering for Creativity's Sake - New Year Thoughts for the Author/Illustrator

2014 is the year I WILL become a published author. How do I know? Because the publisher that is currently holding my proposal for a children's book has promised to get it moving early in the new year. If this doesn't happen, I will send it elsewhere. While I work on being patient with publishers, I will continue working on other projects, including possibly self-publishing a wonderful story, for adults,  that is just about ready to go. It's a story of love and of war and of how two families became one, through a series of amazing coincidences.

But where will I work? My studio, which has doubled as a guest room and Santa's workshop over the holidays, is totally out of control. The lovely new pencils and sketch books I received for Christmas have no place to call home, and I can't find the right papers to move on with my illustrations for the book that is under consideration. When I get the call, I need to be ready to get back to work on illustrations. Clutter has taken over... again!

I thought I'd try a few strategies for clutter control that I found in the Internet. Since much of the clutter from the studio was moved to another bedroom to make space for company, I thought I'd attack that room, which HAS seen the light of day in the past month. A bed full of clutter from the studio disappeared in less than an hour. I turned on some music, set my phone alarm for 30 minutes,
and got to work with one bag for recycle, one for trash and another for donations. Everything that was on the bed is now in a proper bag or is located where, or near, where it belongs in the studio or various closets. It took less than an hour.

While clearing up this clutter, I also came up with some possible strategies for the studio. I see now that I need bins or shelves for the many types and sizes of paper, page covers and laminating pockets I use. I also need bins or boxes for materials for different projects: genealogy, the current book, two up-coming books, the foundation I run and my card-game business, Copy-cology (c). It is clear that I need some type of shelves in the closet to organize wrapping paper, fabrics, gift bags and various craft supplies.

I also need to work at getting rid of things I don't need and letting go of things that have emotional glue all over them. Today I managed to let go of a number of papers, including the networking plan I created for a university class I used to teach and a crossword puzzle I created for that class. The new year needs a new mind-set. If I created those things 16 years ago, I can certainly create the same things or better ones now. Some of this material might be on an old computer, but accessing old files is yet another challenge for the year ahead. One of the lines I loved from the Internet pointed out that, if your home is full of clutter, there isn't room for all the good things you want in life.

So tonight I will plan and search for organizing tools, and tomorrow (before the new year even begins) I will attack the studio and make it mine once more. Then I will begin to polish "The Mexican Blanket," and work on illustrations for my children's book. The author/illustrator will be back on track for 2014: the year my first book is published!

Holiday Herald - The Art of Christmas at My House

     Of all the arts and crafts projects I have ever created, I think my Advent banner is the one of which I am most proud. During a particularly difficult December about 33 years ago, I made this banner from scraps of felt and bits of craft materials I found in my sewing basket. Finances were tight that year, and I made do with what I could find. The banner, itself was ready on the first day of December, but many nights I stayed up late piecing together the ornament for my son to put on the tree the following morning. A few were patterned after pictures I found in magazines or books, but most were works of heart.
     The Advent banner has hung in my homes in four states, and traveled with my son and me when ever we went "...over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house." It is a constant in my Christmases, whether a child or a spouse shares the trimming of the tree each year. I was deeply touched when my husband's niece called to ask for pictures of it, as she wanted to recreate it for her niece and nephew.

Holly, Jolly Dragon

      It's fun to choose the ornament each day from the bright red basket with it's cheery holiday bow. Some have special significance. The sleigh with a gift in it always goes up on my son's birthday, which falls on St. Nicholas Day. I usually put the wreath ornament up the same day I put the evergreen wreaths on our doors. The snowflake is added the day of the first December snowfall, and the tree on the day we put up our tree. Santa arrives on the tree on December 24th, and the star goes atop the tree on Christmas morning. So, in a way, the banner is the diary of our Christmas preparations.
     We have a drum for the drummer boy, a lollypop, a candy cane, a gingerbread boy and a Christmas mouse. More spiritual symbols include an angel,  one of the abiding shepherd's sheep, a candle, a sprig of holly and an evergreen wreath. Santa, a toy train, a teddy bear
and the Cat-in-the-Hat's hat are joined by dinosaurs,
a trumpet and a bell.
                                                                           For the crafters among you, the ornaments are
stuck to the tree with Velcro (c) dots. Before it is fully dressed, the dots are white balls on the tree. They are interspersed with shiny snowflakes sewn to the tree. Each ornament is slightly stuffed with batting to give is a 3-D look.

Christmasaurus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Each ornament is about 2 inches high. Some have googelly eyes. Some include bits of ribbon or bells. Each is hand stitched with love and stuck together with craft glue and affection. This is a treasure that I hope will become an heirloom for future generations.

Stuffed Teddy

So in the days and weeks ahead, as we continue to dress the house for the holidays, write Christmas cards and letters, listen to hymns and Christmas songs, and read beside the fire, the banner, created for my little boy, will be a constant reminder that the days are drawing nearer to the special
day when we received that most
special gift: Jesus, the Christ Child.

As I wait til after the holidays to hear more from my publisher about my book proposal (I got another encouraging email this week) I plan to work on another story which I think I will self-publish. I will get back to work on my illustrations and, of course, create a Christmas letter for my husband and me to send to family and friends. I will also create some new Christmas decor, and bake dozens of cookies and batches of granola. The Longest Night is closing in on us, and I will endeavor to fill these short days with creativity and the spirit of the season.