Birth Of A Book

I announced last week I had received my first book contract. It was an exciting time and my feet still haven't touched down yet. But before anyone thinks this is a case of an overnight success I wanted to tell you a story about the birth of a little book...

I have been writing on and off for more than forty years but only considered doing it professionally four years ago. After a twenty year hiatus where I only wrote sporadically, I returned to my writing with a passion and began a middle grade chapter book about three boys. It took me about three months to actually finish the first draft and I thought that was a good start. I was writing on my own and told no one about my dreams of becoming a published author...not even my sister knew. I did this for two years where I wrote and wrote and read everything I could get my hands on about writing. I didn't know at the time a huge writing community was out there waiting to show their love and support for another newbie writer.

Then I stumbled upon a post somewhere...I don't even remember how I discovered it...but I found out about Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo in the fall of 2011 and decided to join. The excitement of joining that challenge literally changed how I saw the publishing industry and my focus started to shift to writing picture books. I wondered if I was doing the right thing and got my answer through a series of dreams. 

Every night that fall for three weeks I would dream of completed picture book stories in vivid detail. In the morning I would wake up and quickly write down my dreams before I forgot them. There was no denying there were stories clawing their way out of my head and onto paper.

Then I heard about Julie Hedlund's 12 X 12 challenge for 2012 and decided to join. That was about the same time I came across a group of professionals who gave away FREE critiques of picture books stories and rated their potential for publication. Rate Your Story was hosted by Miranda Paul and I began sending my stories to her, eager to hear from the wonderful judges who gave me their professional opinions of my work. 

One of the stories I submitted to Rate Your Story that year had to do with a little girl trying to learn how to read. I thought I had a strong story but RYS returned it to me with a 5 rating. That rating meant I had a good story idea but it still needed work so I continued to revise my story until I finally thought it was ready for submissions in January of 2013. By then I had joined 12 X 12 for another year and wanted to submit this one story to the participating agents Julie had lined up. 

March's agent that year was Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency. While I didn't submit this particular story at first, Ms. Lawrence enjoyed the other story I submitted to her and requested three more...one of which I sent was this one. I knew it could take a long time for an agent to let me know if they were offering representation so I continued to submit this story to different agents but never a publisher. My little story about a girl learning to read attracted many, many nice rejection letters from agents saying while they thought it was a cute story, it just wasn't for them.

Fast forward to January 8th, 2014 when I hear about a pitch contest happening on Twitter under the hashtag #Pitmad. I originally wasn't going to participate because I was really busy that day but I finally decided to put up three pitches, including my story about that little girl. Within minutes of posting I received two requests for queries on two of my stories from two different publishers. I couldn't believe my luck!

Later that night I sent off both queries with stories attached and thought it would take awhile before I might hear back from either one of those publishers. Imagine my surprise when I received an acceptance email from a publisher on the 9th stating they wanted to publish my story! And what was even more surprising is that they asked for only ONE word to be changed in the entire manuscript.

I replied to the email and after chatting with the senior editor, I told her I was interested in possibly working with them. I then spent the next two days researching everything I could find on this publisher. All my research continued to give me good vibes about potentially working with them...even though they are a start up digital-first small press publisher. I also sent an updated email to Ms. Lawrence on the 10th advising her of the status of the story she was considering for representation. My book offer now put me at the top of her list to consider.

By the 14th I had the actual book contract in hand and I spent this past weekend going over the wording with a fine-tooth comb. Many of my writer friends have stepped in to give me advice about what should and shouldn't be in this contract and SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators) has an exceptional sample book contract for members to view, along with comments on other things to look out for. THAT alone made my membership fee worth it! After two days of nothing but reading legal jargon, I created a word document listing my questions and issues to be negotiated and returned it to the publisher for their consideration.

While the actual turn around time for this story...from original Twitter pitch to query to submission to acceptance to contract in hand...was only SIX DAYS, the journey to this moment took much, much longer.  Hopefully I will be able to announce soon all concerns were resolved and we have moved on to the next phase in this wonderful journey to becoming a REAL PUBLISHED AUTHOR!!

You've Got Mail...Or Maybe Not...

For the past three weeks I have been having a really hard time getting my mail,  No, this isn't my real mailbox.  I can't even SHOW you my mailbox because THAT is the reason why I'm not getting any mail.  It's gone. Stolen.  What the what???  Who would want an old, beat up mailbox anyway?  It wasn't exactly a collector's item.  

But it was mine.  My little connection with the outside world.  A place where everything from bills to rejection letters to wonderfully autographed children's books could make a stop at my house.  I know some people don't like things like rejection letters.  I get it.  I work so hard on my own stories...chipping away at the excess junk until all that is left is a lean, mean sparkling collection of words to tell the story I want to share. 

There are even times when I welcome those little rejection letters.  Especially when they give me insight into how to improve my writing.  I've been sending queries out like crazy this past month and the responses are coming in.  While all of them have been in the negative, ALL have been either outright encouraging or in come cases, loaded with specific suggestions on what I need to do to increase my chances of future publication.

How can I not love those rejection letters?  Now if I can just get my mailbox back...I've got some more queries to send out...

GUTGAA Query Blog Hop

If you are a writer, you know what it feels like to try to put together a query for your latest manuscript.  On GUTGAA this morning there was a chance for some people to get critiques from Deana Barnhart.  While I was not one of the lucky people to get a critique, there is a blog hop for any one who wants to come visit and critique my query and first 150 words in my own blog.  Since it's MY blog, I thought I would put up TWO queries.  Feel free to take a shot at either one...

Soooo...here it is query ONE:

Donna L Martin

Oh No, Moe!

Picture Book

397-word count

Moe, the mouse, tries every year to win Tarry Town’s annual Halloween costume contest so he can ride in the parade.  He just wishes his costumes would stop playing tricks on him.  One year his dragon tail gets caught in the door and he misses the judging.  Another time his mane is too long and he tears his mask.  He even tries going as a monster but he is too scary.  This year Moe has the perfect plan to win first prize!

Oh No Moe! Is a 397-word holiday tale for children ages 4 through 8 about one mouse’s journey in his search for the perfect Halloween costume.

All the mice in Tarry Town scurry around, squeaking with excitement.  The

annual Halloween party is just three days away.  The winner of the costume contest

will ride in the town’s Halloween parade.  The mice know what they are going to

wear.  Every mouse that is, except Moe. 

Moe digs around in his closet looking for the perfect costume.   He really wants

to win this year.  Three years ago, he was a dragon.  His brother, Teenie, said, “Oh no,

Moe! Your tail got caught!”  

Two years ago, he was a lion.  His sister, Queenie, said, “Oh no, Moe! Your

mane’s too long!”

Last year he was a monster.  His other sister, Mary, said, “Oh no, Moe!  You’re

too scary!”  Moe doesn’t know what to do.  How will he ever win the costume

contest? 

Finally, the day of the party arrives.

Here is query TWO:

Donna L Martin

The Warriors Three

Middle Grade Boy Adventure

9,500-word count

Nine-year-old Nathan wishes he were brave like his friend Billy or outgoing like Alex. All three boys want to compete in their school's martial arts tournament. But Nathan doubts himself and is afraid his friends will tease him if he loses. When Nathan and his friends devise a plan to earn the entrance fee money by delivering books to their library's annual book drive, they soon run into trouble being able to make good on that promise. Teamwork finally gets the books delivered and the day of the tournament arrives. But as each of Nathan's friends miss out on first place, his fledgling confidence is shaken until Master Hargis, his instructor, reminds him the value of believing in himself. The only thing standing in the way of victory is Nathan’s inability to unleash the warrior within him.

THE WARRIORS THREE, a 9,500-word middle grade boy adventure, is loosely based on real events and tells the tale of friendships, competitions, and the power of believing in yourself.

Chapter One: Krutch Park

Large oak leaves swirl down, showering the three boys with bursts of red, yellow,

and brown as they race each other to Krutch Park.  Reaching the monkey bars first, Billy

lets out a shout of victory before pushing his shaggy blond hair out of his eyes.  He

glances over his shoulder at the others as they run to catch up to him.

           

“I told you I would beat you guys!"

           

“Awww, you got a head start, otherwise I would have left you in the dust,”

replies Alex.  His hair matches the rust on the monkey bars.

           

“But, Alex, he always wins this race,” Nathan says as they scramble to the top.

The three boys started coming to Krutch Park on Saturdays ever since the

summer Billy convinced the others there was buried treasure at the bottom of the sandbox

dominating one corner of the park.