Sept 22
This is the last day of summer, the autumnal equinox and I hope you all got to see the harvest moon. The time when the sun’s middle crosses the earth’s celestial equator is as good a time as any to launch my FALL CHALLENGE, which is: where should I send Broccoli for Breakfast next? Feel free to submit your comments, and I will post the best three in about four weeks. In your comment, tell me as much about the publisher as you can, including its address or webpage, the editor in charge of submissions (if possible), and why you think your publisher should be next..

Here is some background information: Main publishing “houses”, like Penquin, have a lot of “imprints” under their name, which are smaller divisions, called “houses” specializing in a particular type of book. In order to decide if the particular publisher is a good match, read the webpage and see what kind of book the publisher likes. What are they looking for? What kinds of books do they publish? Look under “submissions” or “contact us” and see what they require. Some publishers do not accept “unsolicited” manuscripts, which means the author needs to send them a letter, called a “query letter” in an effort to persuade the publisher to request the manuscript. Some publishers require the author to have an agent (I don’t). To find publishers to research, you can also check out the books that you like and see who published them.

These are the publishers that I have either been queried or sent manuscript materials:

Alfred Knopf
Arthur A Levine
Clarion
Delacourt—YA division (I later felt that Broccoli was more of a middle-school manuscript, so I may try the middle school division later
Kane Miller
Marshall Cavendish
Milkweed

Some of the above publishers are still considering the manuscript, some haven’t responded yet, and some have rejected it. If a manuscript is rejected, the letter usually reads something like, “The project does not suit our list at this time. We wish you the best of luck in finding a publisher and thank you for sending your materials to us.” It only takes one “yes” to publish a book.

Assuming the book is well written, one of the critical questions a publisher has to consider is: Can this book make us money? They will not stay in business long if their books do not do this for them. Right now it is a fairly difficult economy, and a lot of change is occurring in the publishing business because technology is transforming it. How many of you have Kindles? I just bought one myself. It can read to you if the audio is enabled, and font size can be changed to make it easier to read!

So with all this new technology, YOU, dear readers, can help this book get published. How? By being involved in this blog. If enough people are interested in the manuscript, maybe a publisher will take a chance on it.

So what do you think? The Internet is a wonderful place. Let’s Blog!

This blog welcomes comments on its content and related subjects. Please know that it is moderated (by me) and comments will not appear until I have reviewed them and they are suitable for a middle school audience.

Happy Fall!

June 1, 2010

Welcome to my blog. I never thought I would write a blog. I never thought I would own a cell phone or run triathlons either. Life is full of surprises. Bring it on!

I started writing poetry sometime around third grade. Actually, I wasn’t writing. I was printing, and I became an adept and swift printer. I shunned cursive writing in fourth grade because my teacher kept returning my papers back to me to re-write. So I printed until I got a new teacher who was less exacting about penmanship.

This teacher was more interested in the art of writing. So, I wrote about my dead pets. I wrote about my three younger brothers. I wrote a very long story in fifth grade about talking dogs. I went to college and took a lot of Journalism courses and ended up majoring in the teaching of English. I became a teacher, raised two daughters, wrote grants, poetry, one published magazine article and finally a 220 page manuscript I titled Broccoli for Breakfast.

This will be a blog about how the manuscript gets published, because it will get published--if I live long enough. Actually, my goal is to have it accepted for publication by the end of 2011. Goals are good. They help make that lovely connection between the chair and the derriere---and help me get to work.

I began writing Broccoli ten years ago. I have revised it numerous times (I think I lost count). So far, one professional writer, one middle school reading specialist, and one middle school honor student have read it in its entirety. Lots of other people who are still my friends have read parts of it. I brought the first few pages to the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) 2010 New York conference and also to my writers’ group, and received treasured feedback from both.

So I will sit down and write something for you once a week—maybe more if I get rolling. Your feedback is always welcome. Wish me Luck…!