Writer Spotlight: Deborah Halverson

 #mobileeditingoffice, SO much paper, not THAT Big Mouth, and Dummies: Writer/editor/mom Deborah Halverson

Charlie Barshaw coordinates our regular Writer Spotlight feature and interviews writers of SCBWI-MI. In this piece, meet 2013 Conference co-presenter Deborah Halverson.

Your FB posts seem to indicate that you live in an impossibly sunny and calm part of California, where you often take day-trips to the water to set up a #mobileeditingoffice.

Mobile editing at Hotel del Coronado 

Yet in your website, an FAQ states “you write about extreme places.” Where, besides Michigan, have you found extreme places to visit?

I found Michigan and the SCBWI folks there to be quite welcoming and wonderful, so that doesn’t qualify as extreme. My real interest in “extreme” is really about situations. I am intrigued by the way people react to things and events that push them waaaay beyond the everyday routine, forcing us to find strengths we didn’t know we had. Normal people in extreme circumstances. The difficulties move me, the triumphs inspire me. I like to explore that in my characters.

Your bio on your website starts with your ten-year stint as editor with Harcourt Children’s Books. But tell us about 9-year-old Deborah. What was her family like? What did she love to do then that you still love to do now?

Nine-year-old Deborah was the second oldest in a house of four sisters. It was loud and busy and I liked that. But I also liked the escape of books – of stories. I read voraciously. Usually my parents books, as they had a huge library in the garage of mostly spy novels. I didn’t write for myself then, though I loved writing on assignment as school. It wouldn’t be until several years into that 10-year stint at Harcourt that I tried my hand at writing for myself, a yearning I’d secretly had and finally dared to try and then shared with others.

In the professional arena you’d had some successes. But you had achieved what few people anywhere have: triplet boys. How old were they (they’re off to college now) when you hopped on a jet plane with their greasy hugs leaving prints on the bomber jacket?

The early days with triplets

My sons were six at the time. Just as I loved my busy house growing up, I loved my busy house with triplet boys—but I was glad to have time away, I will admit. Talking to grownups all weekend, about books and writing… yes, that was for work, but it was also Vacation.

You were a West Coast editor for NY-based Harcourt Children’s Books. What was editing like, back in “the day”? Lots of stamps and envelopes and paper, so much paper, I imagine. And cutting-edge technology considered primitive today. Can you take us back a normal day as a children’s book editor back then? What do you remember about your first day?

SO much paper! My first day at Harcourt, someone said to me, “We have this new thing called email. Have you heard of it?” The designers were just learning to do all the book design on the computer. I’ve experienced much change in this industry in the 28 years since. Ebooks. Amazon and online retailers. Social Media. The growth of self-publishing.

But let me tell you about that first day, because it was Everything: There was an “art show” that day. That’s what we called it when finished art arrived for a picture book and the editor laid it all out on the conference table with the book’s text on scraps of paper beneath the corresponding images. Everyone who knew the book as a name on this or that report was invited to “meet” the book – finance people, contracts people, the mail room. 

Of course, the folks who’d worked more deeply with the book were there too, including those of us in the Managing Editorial department, which was my first position. The oohing and ahhing! Such joy. Such camaraderie. Such appreciation of storytelling and creators. I knew I’d found my place and my people.

You are a prolific author in many genres, but you published one, and only one, picture book. (And Letters to Santa, as well as the novel Honk If You Hate Me, qualified you for our bonkers writing retreat in Michigan.) How did Letters come about?

Letters came to me. A book packager was creating it with the US Postal Service to mark the 100^th anniversary of their Letters to Santa program. They wanted a story about the process of mailing a letter and about the Christmas spirit and Santa, and it had to have a pop-up at the end! I did my best to give them that, with an emotional element that kids could relate to.

I’m now working on another picture book, from my own head, with my own mission. Perhaps it will join Letters on the shelf someday. Regardless, I believe that writing picture books enriches me as an editor. One needn’t be a writer to edit well, but I feel that writerly connection when I work with authors, which is important to me. 

On your “About” page, you claim you always wanted to write novels. While completing your debut novel, Honk If You Hate Me, you and your spouse agreed that you were “typing,” so as not to put pressure on your actually writing a story. You seem to be a combination of timidity and courage. How do you see yourself?

You said it well. I don’t know why I had that fear with my own writing, but it gives me insight into the courage of writers when they open themselves up to critique in order to improve a particular manuscript or their overall craft.

You’ve written two mid-grade novels, Honk If You Hate Me and Big Mouth. You’ve branched out into so many other writing-related fields: editing, writing coach, columnist, presenter, numbers person. Do you still have some mid-grade stories in you that you’d "want to type"?

I do! I have more ideas and works in progress than time to write them! I know other writers can relate to that.

Big Mouth is about a boy who aspires to become a hot-dog eating champion. You used the title first. How do you feel about the popular animated show by the same name?

I know of the show, but I haven’t watched it. It’s a fun title either way, right? I do love a clever title. In fact, I was known in-house for my ability to come up with titles when a book needed one. Some faves that authors have expressly allowed me to share: Much Ado about Grubstake by Jean Ferris, Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris, and Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull.

You’ve got a long-running post “Dear Editor” that has answered writing and publishing questions for decades. What are the different problems that people write to you about now versus the topics you used to have to cover?

The most common questions I get at DearEditor.com are about the submissions process. That hasn’t changed. It’s always felt like a black hole to writers: You do all that hard work, then you send it off, then you… wait. And hope. And second-guess. I do my best to shed light into the black hole and to cut down on second-guessing by helping writers feel confident about the materials they submit. I do get plenty of questions about craft, which are the most fun for me to answer. I get to drop tips that I hope will help writers improve their craft. That’s the best part of my job.

You are a writing coach. A drill sergeant who can help a writer pummel their manuscript into shape. You’ve had clients, famous and less-so. Are there any clients you have permission to talk about?

Some authors have shared testimonials for my website, including Aisha Saeed, Jeff Hirsch, Kathleen Krull, and Jean Ferris. You can check them out if you like at DeborahHalverson.com. 

I love that I work with new writers as well as veterans. Every project is rewarding. If you’d told book-hungry, nine-year-old Deborah that she’d be helping writers shape stories one day as a job, her head would’ve exploded with glee. Imagine that! 

But I’ve learned how to build a story and how to expand and deepen stories through mechanics and creative intuition. I believe I help people with those skills. And I’m still as book-hungry as ever. I did find my place and my people.

“Do, don’t talk.” Explain.

It’s a mantra of mine. I need to goose myself with it right now, actually. It means don’t just talk about writing the book, DO it. Life throws lots of obstacles in the way of getting a book done, including day jobs and family obligations. But our stories are still at work in our heads, brewing and blossoming, and we’ll talk about it with friends and fellow writers. We must get it onto the page. Find your way to make that happen – writing groups, routines, NaNoWriMo. Butt in chair, as the old saying goes. Do.

Do you wish your writing craft books were not “for Dummies”?

Ha! One of the first things the For Dummies editor said to me was that their audience is anything BUT dummies. These are smart, information-gathering people who want to improve. With that in mind, she said, have fun! Then she cut me loose to do what I do, because she knew I knew what I was doing and that what I was doing was my kind of fun. I hope writers feel that playfulness and joy when they work with the book. I want them to feel supported and energized as I arm them with tools, techniques, and strategies to improve their craft.

You must do a ton of research so that every six months you can report on the state of publishing. How do you gather your info? Are you always a numbers person, or do you just play one on the stage of SCBWI NY and LA?

Presenting at the San Diego SCBWI

I’m a words person, through and through, but numbers give me valuable context so I embrace them in those “state of the publishing industry” presentations. I stay up on the industry by reading PublishersWeekly and free daily and weekly newletters: Publishers Lunch by Publishers Marketplace, PW Daily, and PW Children’s Bookshelf. Anyone can sign up for those. 

I follow agents, editors, industry experts, and writers and illustrators on social media to follow the chatter. And my secret ingredient: I interview a bunch of industry insiders before each presentation, from editors to supply chain experts. I do my utmost to make that a useful presentation for creators.

What’s next for Deborah Halverson?

Like every writer: finishing those WIPs!

 Please share any social media contacts:

With social media in flux and so many platforms opening up shop, the easiest thing to do is share my linktr.ee so we can connect on your favorite platform: https://linktr.ee/deborahhalverson. I post videos, tips, industry news, and fun personal stuff on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter/X, Post.news, and Threads.

For those wondering about the paradise-like settings Deborah encounters in her #mobileediting workday, here are some examples, provided by Deborah: 

Mobile editing at East Lake

Editing at San Diego Central Library

Mobile editing at Otay Lake