This week has been really bad at home - frustrating and exhausting. I hope my little man has hit the peak of his terrible-two-ness. I've reached my limit and need a vacation bad - like a vacation alone, not one where I have to do laundry for everyone before, during, and after the trip - a vacation where I can mentally rest. I want to escape just for a while, but really can't since my little guy is in full maniacal two year old mode.
So I have been editing instead of writing. I did make a copy of the previous version just in case my mental state causes me to destroy my stories.
One of the stories is a children's book. I have been reading it chapter by chapter, primarily to adjust the timeline. I realized at chapter ten that I miscalculated the timeline for the previous chapters and have to adjust it one more time. So I stopped editing and just read it - I love the story and really took pleasure in reading it. I think it's my thing - children's literature. Even the best parts of my adult book - or at least the parts I love the most - are about the main character when she is a child.
One of the chapters I read tonight is about a little boy who is a lot like my middle son. I loved writing that chapter and know that I nailed his sweet but determined personality. The story is absolutely fiction, but the character is a lot like him. I want to write more stories with characters like my kids. If I had an idea for a story, I would write it tomorrow.
Instead, I need to find a calm and happy place in my mind and in the physical space around me so I can finish my other book. I have just a few more chapters to go - maybe two or three. I know what the ending is, but it is going to be hard to write it. I want to get it just right. But I also want a sense of completion before the end of the session of my writing class.
I have a sci fi story in mind - a very dark one - and an idea for a collection of stories that I hope will turn into chapters. I will definitely keep my mind open to children's stories. Maybe one about an alternately sweet and then horrific, foot-kicking two year old....
I know I have to spend a lot of time doing edits and it is very beneficial that I've done this over the last two weeks. But I want to write. I feel like I haven't been writing enough - only whittling away at what I've already written in hopes of some measure of perfection that I never seem to be able to achieve. Maybe I'll snap out of it tomorrow and find some quiet time to write.
It's funny that I consider writing (not editing) a vacation from my life, the creative escape that I need.
Showing posts with label children's literature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's literature. Show all posts
Friday, March 4, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Getting Published?
Over the last week I became determined to get a poem published - just 50 or so lines - and found how time consuming, labor-intensive, and frustrating that can be. I didn't give up, but decided to send my favorite poems to publishers in a systematic way and let it go - just let it be and don't worry about it.
In the meantime, I have read several blogs that I happened upon that discuss the reality of getting children's books published. The reality is not a pretty one, but I like being realistic with my expectations. Again, this information is based on children's books, not normal fiction, and is only based on what I read this week - links to the sources are below.
This is what I learned:
1. It is realistic to expect it to take eight to ten years to get a single chapter book published - this is true even if your book ends up being award winning.
2. The advance payment for a children's novel maybe could be about $5000. If there are illustrations, you have to split the money with the illustrator. If you get the whole amount and spend a year writing the book, that amounts to $100 a week before taxes. Absolutely, you would make more doing anything else.
3. To mentally cope with the potential to only make $100 a week to be paid out eight or ten years later, I prefer to think of it in terms of hourly wage. No way do I ever spend 40 hours a week writing. If you spend an hour or two a year working on that book for 50 weeks, that $100 a week translates into $50-$100 an hour, which makes me feel much better about it. Note to self to write faster.
4. The publisher picks the illustrator for you - and decides how much of the booty they get. No need to pay for art class.
5. If you are able to get your manuscript in to a publisher and it takes a long time to get a response, that might mean that someone liked it and passed it on before they rejected it - this is good news. If you get a quick response, it is possible that an intern rejected it immediately.
6. If you send in a manuscript that gets multiple rejections, put it aside and write more. Don't make it your white whale.
7. Let other writers read your manuscript and read theirs as well as published books in the genre you write in. Get feedback from other writers and edit your manuscript meticulously before sending it to a publisher.
8. While you are waiting for your first story to be published, write ten more. Your writing skills will improve with each book. When the tenth one is finally published, you will find it easier to publish the first nine.
9. Write because you love it. Write what you love. Take satisfaction in writing or the ten years will be a very long wait. Tell wonderful stories and eventually someone will want to publish it. Hopefully. Maybe. Nothing personal if they don't.
10. Don't plan on becoming a millionaire writing. If you end up getting ten books published after a ten year wait, you will potentially get paid $50,000 all at once. Yeh, that still isn't much money. Make sure your spouse keeps his/her good paying job and/or keep your day job and write at night.
Sources:
In the meantime, I have read several blogs that I happened upon that discuss the reality of getting children's books published. The reality is not a pretty one, but I like being realistic with my expectations. Again, this information is based on children's books, not normal fiction, and is only based on what I read this week - links to the sources are below.
This is what I learned:
1. It is realistic to expect it to take eight to ten years to get a single chapter book published - this is true even if your book ends up being award winning.
2. The advance payment for a children's novel maybe could be about $5000. If there are illustrations, you have to split the money with the illustrator. If you get the whole amount and spend a year writing the book, that amounts to $100 a week before taxes. Absolutely, you would make more doing anything else.
3. To mentally cope with the potential to only make $100 a week to be paid out eight or ten years later, I prefer to think of it in terms of hourly wage. No way do I ever spend 40 hours a week writing. If you spend an hour or two a year working on that book for 50 weeks, that $100 a week translates into $50-$100 an hour, which makes me feel much better about it. Note to self to write faster.
4. The publisher picks the illustrator for you - and decides how much of the booty they get. No need to pay for art class.
5. If you are able to get your manuscript in to a publisher and it takes a long time to get a response, that might mean that someone liked it and passed it on before they rejected it - this is good news. If you get a quick response, it is possible that an intern rejected it immediately.
6. If you send in a manuscript that gets multiple rejections, put it aside and write more. Don't make it your white whale.
7. Let other writers read your manuscript and read theirs as well as published books in the genre you write in. Get feedback from other writers and edit your manuscript meticulously before sending it to a publisher.
8. While you are waiting for your first story to be published, write ten more. Your writing skills will improve with each book. When the tenth one is finally published, you will find it easier to publish the first nine.
9. Write because you love it. Write what you love. Take satisfaction in writing or the ten years will be a very long wait. Tell wonderful stories and eventually someone will want to publish it. Hopefully. Maybe. Nothing personal if they don't.
10. Don't plan on becoming a millionaire writing. If you end up getting ten books published after a ten year wait, you will potentially get paid $50,000 all at once. Yeh, that still isn't much money. Make sure your spouse keeps his/her good paying job and/or keep your day job and write at night.
Sources:
- http://notesfromtheslushpile.blogspot.com/2011/02/sara-oconnors-writers-survival-guide.html
- http://scbwi.blogspot.com/
- http://www.scbwi.org/Pages.aspx/Top-10-FAQs
- http://shrinkingvioletpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/02/literary-agent-erin-murphy-success-is.html
- http://rllafevers.blogspot.com/2011/02/speech-heard-round-kid-lit-world.html
Monday, January 3, 2011
Fact Check Dilemma
Yesterday, I was bored after deciding we all definitely needed to chill out for the New Year weekend. Apparently, every cell in my body resists relaxation. So I worked on my Issue Log for the children's book I have been working on. I researched the animals to make sure my assumptions about their hibernation patterns, whether each animal was nocturnal or not, and what they eat were correct. I know my animals talk by chapter 5 or so (I couldn't seem to get around the need for dialog), but I want them to be as realistic as possible.
I quickly found a site devoted to wildlife in Ohio. I found details about each creature in my story - a rabbit, a chipmunk, fireflies, and garter snakes. To my dismay, I found no information on the site about hedgehogs living in Ohio. I thought it would be easy enough to come up with a story about how the hedgehog was transported from, let's say, Indiana or Kentucky. On further search, I discovered that I was correct that hedgehogs are nocturnal but was dead wrong about them living in North America - not even one. Oh Crap, I thought and broke the news to my kids, who were very involved in developing the characters in the story.
My daughter agreed that the hedgehog was out - I needed to find another animal. I went back to the Ohio wildlife site and looked for other mammals - hopefully one would be similar enough to the hedgehog character and would fit the mannerisms and body size of the character in my story. After a quick search, I decided to go with a groundhog - I can make it work.
I broke the news to my fourth-grade son, whose character is loosely bound to the hedgehog character. He immediately had a solution for me. With full animation he explained I should add a prologue. In the prologue I should explain how the hedgehog got to suburban Ohio, where hedgehogs clearly do not live. He proceeded to tell me the story of how our hedgehog came from Africa to Ohio in a box. It was priceless - I knew at that moment, my young son would be a fantastic writer someday.
When he was through telling me his story, I complimented him (it really was a great idea) and offered up the option of the groundhog as a substitution. After all, my son was born on groundhog day - we have always called him our little groundhog. It took him a few minutes before he heard my words - he continued on telling me how the prologue should go - then his face lit up. He agreed and thought the groundhog would be an excellent idea.
From his idea of the prologue, I decided to create a brief non-fiction section in the back of the book explaining each species represented in the story. When I researched fireflies, I learned that they are becoming endangered in Ohio due to the frequent summer draughts lately - we have had two bad ones in the last four years. I only remember one night this year where the kids gathered to catch lightning bugs. That would be sad if they all disappeared.
The next item on my issue log is the flowers in our area - I know some of the names of flowers that grow in our garden and when they bloom, but not all of them. I definitely want to add that little bit of realism to my story.
I quickly found a site devoted to wildlife in Ohio. I found details about each creature in my story - a rabbit, a chipmunk, fireflies, and garter snakes. To my dismay, I found no information on the site about hedgehogs living in Ohio. I thought it would be easy enough to come up with a story about how the hedgehog was transported from, let's say, Indiana or Kentucky. On further search, I discovered that I was correct that hedgehogs are nocturnal but was dead wrong about them living in North America - not even one. Oh Crap, I thought and broke the news to my kids, who were very involved in developing the characters in the story.
My daughter agreed that the hedgehog was out - I needed to find another animal. I went back to the Ohio wildlife site and looked for other mammals - hopefully one would be similar enough to the hedgehog character and would fit the mannerisms and body size of the character in my story. After a quick search, I decided to go with a groundhog - I can make it work.
I broke the news to my fourth-grade son, whose character is loosely bound to the hedgehog character. He immediately had a solution for me. With full animation he explained I should add a prologue. In the prologue I should explain how the hedgehog got to suburban Ohio, where hedgehogs clearly do not live. He proceeded to tell me the story of how our hedgehog came from Africa to Ohio in a box. It was priceless - I knew at that moment, my young son would be a fantastic writer someday.
When he was through telling me his story, I complimented him (it really was a great idea) and offered up the option of the groundhog as a substitution. After all, my son was born on groundhog day - we have always called him our little groundhog. It took him a few minutes before he heard my words - he continued on telling me how the prologue should go - then his face lit up. He agreed and thought the groundhog would be an excellent idea.
From his idea of the prologue, I decided to create a brief non-fiction section in the back of the book explaining each species represented in the story. When I researched fireflies, I learned that they are becoming endangered in Ohio due to the frequent summer draughts lately - we have had two bad ones in the last four years. I only remember one night this year where the kids gathered to catch lightning bugs. That would be sad if they all disappeared.
The next item on my issue log is the flowers in our area - I know some of the names of flowers that grow in our garden and when they bloom, but not all of them. I definitely want to add that little bit of realism to my story.
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