Kelly’s keynote speech on Sunday at the SCBWI conference just took my breath away. She was so eloquent and honest about her writing journey. Kelly writes non-fiction books about fictional things, such as Bigfoot and ghosts. She visits 60-70 schools each year. Busy lady.
Writers of kid-lit are known for their warmth. From left: Tera Stivers; Deb Marshall; Linda Duddridge; and Shannon Grogan. Yours truly stands behind them. They made the second day of the SCBWI conference sooo much better. Thanks, guys!
The group of children’s writers who welcomed me into the fold. A couple of fellow Spokane residents are pictured, including Carol Nelson, back row, far left, and Rachel Hamby, back row, third from right.
Day 2 of the western Washington SCBWI conference started differently than the first day. I’m so glad.
After the first day of my conference, I was convinced I wouldn’t attend again. This is the fourth year I’ve taken part in this writing conference, and I found myself in the same place: sitting in the audience, an unpublished author, wondering when or if I’ll ever get an offer to publish anything I’ve written.
Well, that’s not completely accurate; there are a few differences in 2013. This is the first year I’ve come as a married woman; wearing a wedding band still surprises me. And I am sort of a published author: my e-book, Celebration House, will be published in August.
On the first day of the conference, when I looked around at the sea of faces, I felt alone. I felt like this meeting was just a get-together for writers in the western Washington SCBWI chapter. It was like being invited to a party and everyone is celebrating around you but you. To introduce myself seemed an impossible task. Heck, I’m an introvert. I’ll conveniently forget to mention the two writers who invited me to join them for lunch at their table.
So on day 2, I’m headed for the closest Starbucks and upon getting there, I realized it was closed. As I walked away, wondering why on earth any Starbucks is closed until 9 a.m. on Sundays, I saw two women walking toward me. I told them the store was closed, and they expressed the same disbelief I had. There’s another Starbucks that way, they said, and they changed direction. I thought, heck, I’ll just follow them.
While waiting in line at the other Starbucks, I boldly introduced myself. Then I followed these two women, Shannon Grogan and Tera Stivers, back to the conference. I told them I was stalking them and asked if I could sit at their table for the morning keynote speech. The three of us introduced ourselves, and before I know it, we were exchanging business cards. Through these two women, I made more connections, including two writers from Spokane. Then the group grew when my first two stalkees, er, new acquaintances, introduced me to Deb and Linda from Canada. Before long, I had given out six of my brand-new business cards. Six! So, I took a picture of us, my first “party pic.”
Shannon told me she would follow me on Twitter. I thought that was so cool. Shout-out to my daughter, Bailey, who set up my Twitter account, or as I call it, my Tweeter account. (I do it now just to annoy her).
Throughout the day, I kept running into this same group of women. Over lunch, I learned of Query Tracker, an online referral service for writers who want to find an agent or publisher that might be interested in their work. At the end of the conference, I approached Tera and Shannon and thanked them for including me. I was hustled out to the lobby to take another party pic!
I attended the conference for the sole purpose of finding an agent to represent my middle-grade novel. I can’t help but think I found a lot more.
Hey, Tera and Shannon: See you next year!
As mentioned in my earlier blog, here is a party pic from the SCBWI conference this weekend, but not quite the one I had planned. Instead of new friends, here are two of my biggest supporters. My daughter, Megan, (left), spent Friday night designing my business cards and reviewing etiquette for handing them out. She spent Saturday night building my professional Facebook page (www.facebook.com/AnnetteDrakeBooks). My daughter, Bailey, fulfilled the duties of stylist, planning my wardrobe for the conference.
Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, queried 60 agents before finding representation with Susan Ramer, a literary agent at Don Congdon Associates. Ms. Ramer sold the manuscript in less than a week. I submitted my manuscript to that agency on April 5.
Well, I’m no Kathryn Stockett, but I believe in this manuscript and the characters that come to life on its pages, especially my main character, Josey Miller. So I pledge that I will not stop sending Bone Girl to agents or publishers until I have 60 rejections.
Dear Ms. Stockett:
I’ve read your book, The Help, several times. I keep it on my bookshelf next to the novels of Ray Bradbury and John Steinbeck.
Only recently did I learn that the novel was rejected by 60 agents. Sixty! That number takes my breath away. I can’t imagine few people who have your persistence.
I’m so glad you did because your book meant a lot to me and to others. I cannot speak to the characters of Minny and Aibileen, except to say that like Minny, I can’t refrain from speaking my mind and I usually pay for it.
For me, it was Miss Skeeter whose story was most inspiring. I liked reading about a young woman who just didn’t quite fit in her small town. Your book offered me a sliver of validation: it’s okay to be smart and want something more.
Now that I’ve jumped, or perhaps tripped, into this writing life and am peddling my own books, I have a question to ask of you: how did you do it? How did you keep sending out your story after so many rejections? Are you this tenacious in all aspects of your life? Holy buckets!
Recently, I finished writing a middle-grade novel for readers ages 9-12. My book, Bone Girl, is the story of a young girl who desperately seeks to rebuild a relationship with her incarcerated mother. Instead, she finds comfort in her father’s horses and learning to play a hand-me-down trombone in the school band. She plays the trombone because her father cannot afford to buy or rent her the instrument she wants, a clarinet. She practices in the barn, surrounded by her father’s horses, so that she doesn’t feel so alone. When her father and the stallion he trains go missing during an equestrian endurance ride in the Ozark Mountains, Josey plays her trombone and calls the horse in, thus saving her father’s life.
I think this novel is the finest thing I’ve ever written. It’s complete, though I can’t keep myself from polishing it here or there. I’ve queried agents, and usually within a few days, they send me the nicest email, telling me they have no interest in my book. And I think of you: sixty rejections. You must have really believed in your book and its characters.
Well, I’m no Kathryn Stockett, but I believe in this manuscript and the characters that come to life on its pages, especially my main character, Josey Miller. So I pledge that I will not stop sending Bone Girl to agents or publishers until I have sixty rejections.
Just so you’ll know, Ms. Stockett, I’m a quitter. I quit high school. I quit two marriages. I quit the profession of journalism. I even quit the doctorate of nursing program at Washington State University after spending more than a year getting admitted. Yep. I cut bait and run. So for me, this pledge is a huge commitment. Sixty rejections. Wow. Okay. Let’s do this.
Hands and arms inside the cart. Next: I’m heading to Seattle for the western Washington SCBWI conference. Party pics!
Before I signed my contract with Tirgearr Publishing, I asked if my novel, Celebration House, would ever be available in printed form. I did this because of one simple reason: I want my dad to read my book. I know that if it’s not on paper, he probably won’t. Dad mistrusts the internet.
So I queried the publisher, Kemberlee Shortland, and this is what she told me:
“Tirgearr Publishing is firstly a digital book publishing company. At the moment, we’re the only all-digital publisher in Ireland which is getting our company a lot of notoriety here, and in the UK. We’re using that attention to bolster our worldwide operation. However, there is a call for print, albeit very small. So we have a sales incentive. For books that sell 100 books per month consistently over a six month period, we’ll offer those titles in print format. At the moment, the industry is seeing digital sales of nearly 5 to 1 over print. Print is hugely expensive to do so we’re only offering print for those books that meet sales targets. If a book isn’t selling digitally, it won’t sell in print. So, with this in mind, your book will initially be available digitally only. If it meets our sales targets, we’ll put it into print.”
So, there’s the answer: Celebration House must sell 100 copies per month consistently over a six-month period. Hmm…
Yesterday, after reading my blog, my Aunt Mary Rose sent me an email and told me that I should contact my hometown newspaper in Brookfield, Missouri, and ask if they would review my book and write a short article about me. Local girl makes good, that sorta thing.
I like that idea, and it got me to thinking: maybe the newspapers I wrote for in the Midwest would consider reviewing my book and writing a short piece about me? Let’s see. There’s the Pleasant Hill Times, the Sedalia Democrat, the Leavenworth Times and the Townsend newspaper group in North Kansas City. Okay. That’s a good start. I wonder if my mentor and former journalism professor, Les Dunseith, could pull any strings with the daily newspaper he edits for and ask them to review my novel? The Los Angeles Times reviews books, right?
I better get busy promoting this novel. Or I better get my dad an e-book reader.
Hands and arms inside the cart, please. Next: an open letter to Kathryn Stockett
Maudeen Wachsmith and her companion, Ittybit.
annettedrake.com 