Recycle That Rejection! by Deborah Holt Williams

A rug from crocheted plastic bags, a wind chime from mismatched spoons—recycling turns trash into treasure. Our rejections can be recycled, too, sometimes into a form quite different than we first imagined.

I wasn’t laughing when my picture book “One Funny Day” got thumbs down from an agent, then got “liked” by a Twitter pitch agent, then got rejected again! But I still loved it. With a few adjustments, I sold it to Bumples, where it was recycled into a fun interactive story that appeared on-line this June.  Another story, “Baseball Buns,” got rejected by magazine after magazine.  But it sold to Knowonder, an on-line site that features a new story every day.

I was certain my story “Artist in the Woods” was perfect for Highlights. Somehow, they disagreed. Rejected! So I tweaked it and added a repeating refrain (“But the artist would not wake up!”), and submitted it to an educational publisher. There it got recycled--into an easy reader book! It’s still in their catalog years later. Although my goal is to have a beautiful, glossy picture book published one day, I’m proud that my little books are helping kids learn to read.

Since you’re here on RYS, I’m guessing you’ve been writing for years, and that some of your work may be hibernating in a file or languishing at the bottom of a drawer. Just like turning an old t-shirt into a throw pillow, you may be able to recycle these pieces or ideas. Did you write an article for your church newsletter? Rework it and send it to a religious magazine for children. Did you come up with a great art project for your Girl Scout Troup? Turn it into a craft article.       

I once wrote for a small town newspaper, and I recycled two articles into non-fiction pieces for an on-line magazine for kids, called Young Bucks Outdoors. I made lilac prints with toddlers in my home daycare, and later sold the idea to Turtle magazine. Years after I worked as children’s librarian, I reworked a little puppet play I wrote for my Storytime into a rebus, a 100-word story with pictures for some of the words. Sold! “The Egg All Alone” appeared in the September 2013 issue of Highlights. 

The Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market lists places to submit your work that you may never have considered. Evelyn Christiansen’s site, http://evelynchristensen.com/markets.html, is a great source to learn which publications are looking for what. The SCBWI Blue Boards, Children’s Book Insider, and the numerous Facebook groups for writers are also wonderful resources.  

So the next time a rejection darkens your inbox, or you come across an old manuscript that’s still got some life in it, see if you can recycle it into something entirely new!

____

About the author: Deborah Holt Williams is a full member of SCBWI and the author of five easy readers for Continental Press. Her work has appeared in Highlights, Jack and Jill, Appleseeds, Spellbound and other magazines for children. She’s still submitting her picture book manuscripts and hoping to find an agent. She lives in the mountains of Colorado and takes her recycling to the center every week. You can find Deborah on Facebook as Lucky Williams or follow her blog at http://deborahholtwilliams.blogspot.com, where she chronicles her writing adventures. 

     

      

2017 Rate Your Story Registration!

We'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who submitted for our first annual Rate Your Story Scholarship. Our judges were impressed with the caliber and the diversity of the submissions. We are now pleased to announce our two winners: Ashley Franklin and Vanessa Marcus. Congratulations!

2017 Membership Registration Opens This Month! 

Rate Your Story opens once a year to new members and memberships are limited. Be sure to reserve your space and take advantage of our discounts for early registration. Details are below:

Early Registration - November 16th-30th

New members receive a 25% discount off the annual membership fee 

Use the "Early Registration" button by clicking HERE

Regular Registration - December 1st-January 15th

New members may sign up anytime during regular registration

click HERE

Returning Members - November 16th - January 15th

Returning members receive a 35% discount off the annual membership fee
and may sign up anytime during all registration windows 

click HERE

**Please be aware that we have had to close registration early in the past due to limited space and we reserve the right to do so again should our memberships sell out. We limit the amount of memberships in order to allow our judges the ability to better focus on each member submission**

Want to know more? Check out our "About" page and you'll find answers to often asked questions: About Rate Your Story

Click HERE for all registration and membership details. 

We look forward to joining you on your writing journey in 2017!

NEVER SAY NEVER: How to KEEP getting WFH jobs and keep the money rolling in!

Here is part two of author and RYS judge Jennifer Swanson's Work-For-Hire series. If you missed the first post, click HERE to read it. 

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Okay, so who has followed the steps I outlined in the first post and has a completed resume package?  Raise your hand.  (I’m hoping you are all doing this at home—and not feeling silly about raising your hand in the house by yourself)

Have you sent your resume package out yet? The answer is hopefully a resounding YES. As they say, You can’t win if you don’t “play”. No editor will come knocking on your door asking you to write for them. (It would be cool if they did, though, wouldn’t it?)

After you send out your resume package – via snail mail or email, then you get to do what every good author does. Wait! (cue the song “Waiting is the hardest part…”)

The email comes. You are HIRED! You go through the process of learning how to work with an editor, writing to specific guidelines, and turning everything in on time. Whew! And YAY!

You have written your first book and someone PAID you to do it!!
Now comes the hard part, how do you keep this going? You’re fresh off your first manuscript and anxious to do more. How do you find another contract? 

Have you heard the saying “Beat the pavement” That’s what you do. Keep sending out resume packages. I try to do it in batches of 5’s every 4 months or more. Make sure to update your resume to reflect what you’ve done.

*Important Note:  Be sure to check your contract for rules about how you can talk about your books. Typically, you can’t give the name of the books you’ve written until they’ve been released. Sometimes you can’t even refer to the company you wrote for until then. *

The most important tip I can give you about this WFH business is: NEVER SAY NEVER!!

What does that mean? It means if an editor reads your resume package and sends you an email asking you to write a book about a topic you know nothing about, SAY YES!

You get one shot with some companies/editors. My response is always: “Why yes, I’ve always wanted to write a book about how pigs fly. Thank you for asking.”

Of course, after you get the contract, you may be seized by a “WHAT did I just do? Aaahhh! I can’t possibly write a book about how pigs fly.” But you know what, you can. You just figure it out.

The more YES’s you give editors, the more likely you are to keep getting contracts and making money. Putting restrictions on what you are willing to write is a sure way to end up on the bottom of the editor’s list. Remember, you are going against hundreds of other writers who are out trying to get the same WFH jobs. Your motto is “NEVER SAY NEVER!”

Now go out there and Start Submitting!! Good luck and Happy Writing!

Jennifer Swanson is the author of over 20 fiction and nonfiction books for children. When she is not writing, she loves to read, walk on the beach with her family, and play with her two dogs. You can learn more about her at www.JenniferSwansonBooks.com

HOW TO FIND THE GOLDEN NUGGET BY VIVIAN KIRKFIELD

Please—will somebody pinch me? I can hardly believe I am here, guest posting on Rate Your Story. Ever since I started writing, I’ve relied on their feedback to help me improve my manuscripts. The book that is under contract was only one of many of my manuscripts that passed through the Rate Your Story portals. So when they asked if I would share some thoughts, I was thrilled.

Sweet Dreams, Sarah (Creston Books: Spring 2017), is about a young woman’s journey. Former slave, Sarah Goode, has a golden nugget of an idea and she follows through, becoming the first African-American woman to own a U.S. patent. Wait a minute...a golden nugget of an idea? That’s how my story about Sarah Goode started! Let me share how that golden nugget of an idea became a manuscript under contract. 

In June of 2014, I took Kristen Fulton’s Nonfiction Archaeology class. It was a life-changing experience. I discovered I LOVED writing nonfiction picture books. And I learned that the first thing I needed to do was to find that golden nugget, that moment that had been forgotten, that incident in history that I could help bring alive for young children.

• Find the golden nugget

So I turned to the internet and googled lots of firsts...1^st woman in various sports events, 1^st woman in the political arena, 1^st black woman patent holder. Here is the link that started me on my journey. https://webfiles.uci.edu/mcbrown/display/women_inventors.html Hmmm…the first name on the list was Sarah E. Goode who got a patent for a cabinet bed. That sounded interesting. We can write a story about anything we want. But to get editors to acquire it, you’ve got to have a story that children can relate to. And it also has to be a story that stands out for some reason. Every child has a bed or shares a bed. Being the first black woman to receive a U.S. patent certainly stands out. So I looked more closely at Sarah’s story.

• Do the research

I discovered there was almost nothing about her in books or on the internet. That was good because you don’t want a topic that everyone has already written about. On the other hand, you don’t want something that no one is interested in…and if you can’t find any information, it is almost impossible to write a nonfiction story about it. So I dug deeper, connected with my local library, reached out to other sources that might be helpful. I even contacted the cemetery where Sarah is buried and received a list of all of the people who are buried in her family plot, as well as the age, cause of death, and last known address of each of them. Information can be found in many different places…never give up.

• Write the story

After I had gotten as much information as I could, I thought about what direction my story needed to take. I wanted to convey how incredible Sarah was. A woman…and a black woman at that, living in an era when women did not have any rights. They couldn’t vote, couldn’t own property, couldn’t even keep any wages they might earn. Yet she owned a furniture store in Chicago, designed an innovative cabinet bed that would help her customers save space, and followed through with tenacity to apply for a patent. Sarah’s tenacity fueled my determination. I became invested in seeing Sarah honored with a book. I knew it was an important story for children to read. I wanted to help make that moment in history come alive for them. So I wrote the story…trying to give the reader a sense of Sarah’s background, tying to relay her dreams, and trying to show how she struggled to build the cabinet bed and get the patent for it.

• Ask for feedback

One of the most important steps in my writing process is to give my manuscripts to critique partners. And I did. Over and over again. Fortunately, I have quite a few of them. I sent it out to one group and would revise based on their suggestions and then I sent it out to the next. Rate Your Story saw the manuscript twice. I wrote the story in July of 2014 and sent it to Rate Your Story in August. It got a rating of ‘8’. Back to the drawing board.

• Embrace revision

So Sarah’s Disappearing Bed (that was the title at the time) needed a lot of work. I revised it again and again. I sent it to critique groups again and again. In October, I submitted it to Rate Your Story again. This time, it got a rating of ‘3’. YES! I was making progress. I continued to revise. I continued to give the story to my critique buddies. A word here, a phrase there…I was always open to trying a different approach with the story. 

• Get your story out there

After I received the rating of ‘3’ and had revised it based on the additional feedback, I began to submit the manuscript. I was a 12x12 Gold member, so I submitted it in October of 2014. I didn’t hear back from that agent, but I continued to submit the story to others. In 2015, I entered it into the Rate Your Story contest…it won second place!!! A kid lit acquaintance had just signed with an agent. When I visited that agent’s website, I fell in love with her and sent her the story in March. She emailed me within the hour to tell me how much she loved it. In May, I got an email from the agent who had received the story more than seven months before. (NEVER GIVE UP HOPE) She loved it and wanted to see more of my work. Then I participated in the June 2015 #pitmad challenge and it received a ‘favorite’ so I sent it to the #pitmad agent. That agent loved it also. In August, I noticed on #MSWL that another agent was looking for a nonfiction picture book about a strong woman, so I sent the manuscript to her. And she responded immediately. I was thrilled to have so many quality professionals recognize the importance of this story…and I was overjoyed that they were interested in seeing more of my work.  In the end, I went with the agent who had been passionate about it from the moment she received it because I believe that an agent MUST be passionate about your work in order to represent you successfully.

• After the contract

With the process of submitting to editors in the hands of my agent, Essie White, I sat back and continued writing new stories. Fortunately, unbelievably…I think I need another pinch…the manuscript was picked up almost immediately. When I heard I was to work with Creston editor Marissa Moss, I couldn’t have been happier. We signed the contract and Marissa sent me the manuscript with a few revision notes and requests. I revised and returned it to her. She sent it back with one additional revision request. I reached out again to my critique buddies who had been part of the process from the very beginning. With their feedback, I was able to construct the perfect ending and the editor was very pleased.

Now the manuscript is in the hands of the illustrator and I can’t wait to see how the book turns out. It’s been an amazing adventure and, at times, a wild ride. But I am ready, willing, and able to grab a seat on that roller coaster again with another manuscript. We do have another story in acquisitions (but that is no guarantee of a contract) and two other manuscripts out on submission. Plus, I’ve got a folder filled with manuscripts in various stages of readiness and a head full of stories waiting to be written. And what do I do for relaxation, you might ask? I read manuscripts from my many critique buddies and try to give them feedback that will strengthen their stories. After all, turn-around is fair play and for me, there is no greater joy than helping another writer.

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Vivian Kirkfield

Although Vivian Kirkfield is not a fan of heights, she is constantly taking leaps of faith. In 2010, she self-published an award-winning parent-teacher resource book, Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. On her 65^th birthday, she went skydiving with her son, jumping out of a perfectly good plane, which caused her husband to question her sanity. And when a fellow author and blogging buddy invited her to fly half-way around the globe to speak at the 2013 AFCC/SCBWI conference in Singapore, she couldn’t say yes fast enough. 

Vivian is a proud member of the Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators, an active participant in an insane number of critique groups, is up for just about every picture book writing challenge, and considers playing an epic game of Monopoly with her seven-year old grandson to be one of the best ways to spend the day. She currently lives in the idyllic New England village of Amherst, New Hampshire with her husband. Vivian is passionate about helping kids become lovers of books and reading and hopes that the stories she writes will have kids asking their parents, “Read this one again, please!”. You can find her on Twitter: @viviankirkfield and Facebook: www.facebook.com/viviankirkfield, or visit her blog at Picture Books Help Kids Soar: www.viviankirkfield.com

TIPS FOR WRITING A BETTER PICTURE BOOK BY KATHLEEN DOHERTY

Author Kathleen Doherty is the self-proclaimed "Grandma Moses of picture book writing. I’m a slow-and-steady-wins-the-race kind of writer." She kept piling up rejection letters until she finally had her first two picture book sales in June, 2015--congratulations, Kathleen! We've asked Kathleen to share a few tips for writing a better picture book and she's compiled an excellent list of picture book tools below, just for our RYS blog readers. Enjoy!

PICTURE BOOK WRITING TIPS

Rhythm 

At first I’d get rejected because the language I used wasn’t special enough. So I read poetry and picture books studying how authors put words together. Now I try harder to make my words dance across the page and let my personality shine through [voice].

Humor

When writing humor, I use words that contain these consonants:  p, b, t, d, k, and hard g as in goat. Notice how these letters explode off your tongue and produce funny sounds. That’s why the word underpants is funnier than underwear.

Visualization

I make sure every sentence I write can be illustrated. I think of my story as an escalator, always moving and changing with each line. My words only tell half the story because I have to leave room for the illustrator.

Intertextuality

I loved how Roahl Dahl used made-up words in THE BFG like whizzpoppers, frobscottle, and snozzcumbers. I borrowed that idea and made up words in the first two picture books I sold. Borrowing an idea or concept from another author and reworking it to make it your own is called intertextuality.

Stepping Stones

Rejection letters happen. Eileen Spinelli got 27 rejections on SOMEBODY LOVES YOU MR. HATCH. Jerry Spinelli never sold his first novel. Rejection letters are steppingstones to something bigger and better. After my first sale to Highlights in 2006, the magazine’s submissions editor sent me 10 rejection letters in a row before she bought a second story.  

Professionalism

I use personalized stationery with my name, address, phone number, and email printed at the top so I can submit professional-looking cover letters. I paper clip my letter to my story. I never fold or staple my submission.

Revision

When I think my manuscript is ready to submit, I tape record it. Then I play it back over and over listening for rough and boring spots. Then it’s revision time!

Page Turns

I make a dummy and read my story aloud. I emphasize the page turns as I read. I ask myself:  Do I have 14 different scenes? Will readers care about my main character? Did I rush the beginning? Is my ending satisfying?

Craft

I’m always looking for feedback and ways to take my writing to the next level. I attend SCBWI conferences, take workshops, belong to a critique group, and I’ve subscribed to RateYourStory for years. I read books on craft. And I type out my favorite picture books to study them. 

Perseverance

Perseverance is more important than talent. I’m living proof. Writing doesn’t come easy for me. Most writers let a rough draft flow off their fingertips. Not me. I agonize over every word and revise as I write. Every author is different. Candace Fleming writes in longhand before she gets out of bed in the morning. Beverly Cleary never reads other children’s books because she doesn’t want them to influence her. Eve Bunting likes to know the last line of her picture book before she begins. And Jane Yolen writes to find out how her story will end.

Importance

We picture book writers are important people. Be proud! We start children on the wonderful path of reading. Visualize a dad reading your book to his daughter at bedtime, or a grandmother buying your book for her grandson’s birthday. My dream has always been to read my picture book aloud to the children at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. I’M GETTING CLOSER! 

_____

Kathleen Doherty

I’m a retired elementary school reading specialist / educational specialist. I enjoy presenting at state reading conferences. I’ve written standardized test questions that align with the Common Core for Pearson, Inc.

In June, 2015, I sold my first two picture books [Sterling and Peachtree] all in one week! My work has appeared in The Mailbox, Highlights for Children, Highlights High Five, Highlights HELLO, and Spider Magazine. I’ve won the Highlights Pewter Plate Award, the Highlights Celebrate National Poetry Contest, and a letter of merit from SCBWI’s Magazine Merit Competition.

2016 RYS "Awesome Openers" Contest Winners!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Rate Your Story contest this year. 

We are excited to announce this year's winners below. 

Congratulations to all! 

Category -Young Adult

Jerrianne Hayslett

First Place: END OF THE ROPE by Jerrianne Hayslett

The lives of 16-year-old Jimmie Cameron and a privileged contemporary are changed forever after a late-night joyride through the Indiana countryside lands Jimmie in jail and facing a lynch mob for shooting a white man.

Julie Andrews

Second Place: FINE LINES by Julie Andrews

In FINE LINES, seventeen-year-old Kate Conner is a trained ballerina who knows life is filled with fine lines: the line between trusting and turning her back; the line between friends and lovers; the line between living on the edge and falling off of it. Kate is a recovering addict from another kind of fine line—cocaine. She knows that dance can save her, but it’s hard to stay strong when her circle of friends—her only real family—keeps pulling her toward the life she is trying to leave. 

Ariadne Lukas

Third Place: FIELD OF VIOLETS by Ariadne Lukas

When Gabby, the voice inside her head, puts seventeen-year-old Violet in the hospital, she trusts classmate Neil to help her. His shaman grandfather performs an Ojibwe ritual to help Violet discover who Gabby is and how she can save her before she causes more harm. 

Jodi Cardillo

Honorable Mention: MOVE ON UP by Jodi Cardillo

When star cross-country runner Violet Smith trips at the championships, she can't get up. After following physiotherapists, doctors and surgeons' advice to have her spine fused, her back pain persists. Faced with living life at sixteen bed-ridden, Violet must determine what's truly causing her pain and find her own path to recovery.

Category - Middle Grade

Kristine Olson

First Place: FLOWER, RIGHT HERE by Kristine Olson

When 12-year-old Louisa trusts a talking beetle to help her paint an art contest entry, she (a Korean adoptee) must learn Korean folklore to paint her way out of trouble, solve a mystery about a girl who died and save her own dream of being an artist.

Leia Johnson

Second Place: TO GO TO TOGO by Leia M. Johnson

Two Ghanaian sisters and two American brothers find friendship and adventure while they travel across West Africa. Whether they are eating Nilla wafers, riding motorcycles through the bush, or fighting fires with well water, these four young heroes find that life is better when they work together.

Jane Resides

Third Place: THE ONE-EYED RABBIT by L. Jane Resides

Twelve-year-old Maggie has nightmares they’re being bombed. On top of that, she wants to tell her father, working away in a defense plant, she’s being bullied at school. In the end, she decides to best the bullies and gain her classmates’ respect by winning first prize in the art contest. But someone’s contest entry disappears, and Maggie discovers that she's the prime suspect.

Tracey Brown

Honorable Mention: HAPPILY EVER​ by Tracey Brown

Afraid to disappoint her father, again, Hali agrees to go on a camping trip with her friend's family. Fireside sing-along's and sappy family togetherness are things to avoid at all costs, so she crosses her fingers and hopes she'll survive. She didn't mean it literally.

Category - Picture Book Fiction

Monica Lauscher

First Place: MOANA LISA, MONSTER FASHIONISTA by Monica Lauscher

Moana Lisa is a little monster. She is not, however, like other little monsters. Moana Lisa doesn’t want to be scary or creepy and frighten little girls in pretty dresses. She wants to wear pretty dresses. But can a little monster “fashionista” make her spooky, slimy, monster parents proud? Or will it be back to Scare School for her.

Midge Smith

Second Place: THE SNOW HORSE by Midge Smith

Eight-year-old Ella is teased by older brothers who think she is too little to see the mysterious snow horse. But when he appears at her window taking her for an unforgettable midnight ride, she discovers that one is never really too small for a magical adventure.

Vivian Kirkfield

Third Place: THE BOOTS OF DYLAN MCGEE by Vivian Kirkfield

Whether he is lassoing his sister, riding his dog, Rover, or sleeping in bed, cowboy-in-training Dylan McGee refuses to take off his boots. When an hour in the shower creates a boot-calaboose, Dylan must find a way to remove the toe-pinching boots that won't budge.

Katelyn Aronson

Honorable Mention: MOOSE A SNOOZIN by Katelyn Aronson

Deep in the bayou, a lonely boy's wanderings along the River Oozing lead him to a marvelous discovery. One false move, though, and he's soon the object of a wild MOOSE chase! A story of finding friendship where one least expects it...(not to mention the power of a little pecan pie).

Maria Marshall

Honorable Mention: THE ANIMALS SNOWBEAR by Maria Marshall

Grudgingly, after promised a gift, five unlikely animals join Mouse's cumulative attempt to free a mysterious present snagged in a tree and discover that combining their wishes creates the first Snowbear.

Category - Picture Boon Nonfiction

Nicole Popel

First Place: THE CANDY DESK by Nicole Popel

A Congressman keeps a red-hot secret under wraps, until it burns like a fireball, turning persnickety politicians into sweet, sugar-snacking Senators.

Sara Matson

Second Place: BUTTERFLY DETECTIVE: HOW SCIENTIST FRED URQUHART SOLVED THE MONARCH MIGRATION MYSTERY by Sara Matson

Scientist Fred Urquhart spent 40 years studying monarch butterflies in order to answer one question: where do they go during the winter? His tireless efforts led to the 1975 discovery of the monarch migration sites in the mountains of central Mexico.

Nancy Churnin

Third Place: MANJHI MOVES A MOUNTAIN by Nancy Churnin

Deep in the heart of India, a 300-foot mountain separated a poor village from one that had a hospital, school and fields rich with crops. This is the true story of Dashrath Manjhi, a man from the poor village, who was determined to cut through that mountain. Everyone said he was crazy when he began his task using only a chisel and a hammer. Twenty-two years later, when he knocked down the last thin wall of stone, they called him a hero.

Sue Frye

Honorable mention: BIRDS OF A FEATHER by Sue Frye

Orville and Wilbur Wright shared the same lofty dream, they wanted to fly. Working together, they faced many years of trial and error in which their dream grew stronger. Then one day, their experiments finally paid off and they took to the sky.

My Rate Your Story Success Story by Nancy Churnin

I was thrilled to learn about the existence of Rate Your Story when I began my journey as a children’s book writer. I was so unsure about what worked and what didn’t worked. How wonderful, I thought, to have a service where you can test stories to see if they’re ready for an agent or editor?

I started with Rate Your Story when it was a completely free service that judged stories on the first day of each month. I will never forget sending my story about William Hoy, one of the first famous Deaf baseball players, to RYS in July of 2013. It was the same month I submitted my manuscript to the 12 X 12 agent of the month, Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary.

That month I heard back both from Karen, who wanted to send the story out immediately, and Miranda Paul, the founder of Rate Your Story, who told me that she thought it was a wonderful story. That encouragement was so key to me at a critical time. It turned out that my story about William Hoy would receive an initial round of (kind) rejections and I would need to rethink and rewrite it.

But now, in March of 2016, as The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game rolls off the presses from Albert Whitman & Company, I think back about how the support and encouragement I received from Miranda and Rate Your Story strengthened me for the journey ahead. I have renewed my membership in RYS each year. I value the opinions of the writers, teachers and editors that judge the manuscripts in letting me know if I’m on the right path. I’m especially grateful when the judges see fit to include comments. 

Writing is a solitary journey and it can be fun to be alone. But it’s also fun to be alone together as Frog and Toad concluded long ago. I’m glad to be alone with RYS and my friends in the children’s writing community.

Congratulations, Nancy! For more check out Nancy's website HERE or read below for reviews on The William Hoy Story: 

New York Times

From the Dallas Independent School District

From the Columbus Dispatch

From the Dallas Morning News

Video from the Dallas Morning News

Kirkus

Publisher's Weekly

School Library Journal and Booklist

Ohio Public Radio

 Columbia University bookshelf

Author Pat Miller's Success Story: The Hole Story of the Doughnut

I am so grateful to author Miranda Paul and her hard-working reviewers at Rate Your Story. They had an important part in the publication of my first nonfiction trade book, The Hole Story of the Doughnut.

Here’s the behind-the-scenes timeline:

January 10, 2013 - I was a new member when I read Lori Degman’s post on Julie Hedlund’s 12 x 12 FB group. Lori introduced us to Rate Your Story and its amazing offer to critique stories at no charge. I had a historical fiction story ready to send to Highlights for its annual fiction contest. Perfect timing! Off it went.

January 13 – My story rating came back: 3: “Good Story—Get a critique or two and polish before submitting.” Some helpful suggestions were included.

I had no critique group, and the deadline was two weeks away. Luckily, I saw this at the end of the RYS rating: “Want a more in-depth, professional critique? Visit the RYS Professional Critiques page to hire a published writer to help make your manuscript better!” (page here).

January 14 - I read all the RYS reviewer bios and chose Jill Esbaum. Jill is the author of twelve books for kids and former instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature. We worked out a fee and Jill said she could turn it around well before the Highlights deadline. 

January 23 - True to her word, Jill got her comments back to me. I made changes based on some of her feedback, and got my story off to Highlights just before deadline. 

February 1 - For the first time, Julie’s 12 x 12 offered the opportunity to submit a manuscript to an agent for review. I rewrote my story as a nonfiction biography. Jill and I arranged another critique, and her responses helped me re-examine some parts. A few days later, at the SCBWI-Austin conference, I won a hotly contested silent auction prize—a critique from Newbery-honor winner Kathi Appelt. She also took a look at Hole Story and made suggestions.

February 26 - I submitted my NF bio, The Hole Story of the Doughnut to 12 x 12’s first agent Stephen Fraser. In two hours, he replied that he liked my story! Could I make a couple of small changes and resubmit? Of course!

April 1 - Stephen wrote “I would be interested in representing this manuscript if you can add one more sentence.” And it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke! He called me the next day, and I can report that I did not squeal like a pre-teen. At least, not until I hung up. 

April 2 – I withdrew my story from the Highlights Fiction Contest.

July 19 – Stephen wrote, “Houghton Mifflin Harcourt would like to publish The Hole Story of the Doughnut! I'll keep you posted.”  More squealing.

March 21, 2014 – I heard from Kate O’Sullivan, Executive Editor at HMH. She said she was excited about my “excellent story” and that the search for an illustrator would begin in the near future.

May 30 – Kate suggested several illustrators and asked me to submit some suggestions. Really?!

September 8 – From Kate: “Excellent news: Vincent X. Kirsch is on board to illustrate DOUGHNUT” 

May 12, 2015 – Kate sent “the mechanicals”, a color copy of the book pages as they would be sent to the printer.

July 23 – From Kate: “DOUGHNUT is on our spring ’16 list.”

November 2 – From Kate: “Great news: HOLE STORY is a Junior Library Guild Selection!”

May 3, 2016 – The Hole Story of the Doughnut makes its debut!

For more about Pat Miller, visit www.patmillerbooks.com.