Success Story: An Interview with Amy Nielander

Let's dive right in to your great news. Congrats on your book deal with Page Street Kids! Tell us about your forthcoming picture book, I AM NOT LEAVING WITHOUT A HUG.

Thank you! The way this story came about was pretty magical for me. I was walking my daughter to school one day and when we reached the doors, the bell rang. We said our goodbyes, but a nearby parent did not get her goodbye. Her daughter sprinted off toward the school entrance. All of a sudden I heard “I am not leaving without a hug!”. I watched as the girl turned back to hug her mom, but those words floated around in my mind for several days. I kept wondering - what if she didn’t get her hug? I drafted up a picture book manuscript to find out!

When the next SCBWI conference came around, I shared that draft at a Round Table Critique, but it just wasn’t working. I came home feeling a little frustrated until my sticking point triggered a childhood memory. It led me to a new concept which went through more drafts, critiques and rejected submissions. I even put it off for a while and started other projects. It wasn’t until I shared my portfolio with my Rutgers mentor when I returned to it. She encouraged me to prioritize the story and develop it further. I spent months tightening it up. When it was submission ready, I reached out to a previous connection I made at a SCBWI conference, Kristen Nobles from Page Street Kids. After about a month of waiting, I heard back from Kristen and editor, Courtney Burke. They suggested a few edits and when I sent a revision back, they were pleased with the direction. It’s been over five years now since I heard that first sentence!

Find the finished illustration on Instagram

Just a few of the dummies Amy made during the revision process.

How will the process for this book be different from your first book, THE LADYBUG RACE?

The biggest difference for me is the artwork. When I submitted THE LADYBUG RACE, it was finished since I had entered the story in the Silent Book Contest. This time, I’m working on the final artwork post-offer, which is the normal protocol. One other giant difference is the main characters are people…although the reader may find a discreetly placed ladybug on one or two pages.


How did you get your agent?

I was fortunate enough to be referred to an agent by a big hearted Author Illustrator named Valeria Wicker. We have been in an online critique group together for the past 2 years. After she signed with her agent, Adria Goetz of Martin Literary Management, she suggested I submit to her as well (with her recommendation). I did and Adria enjoyed my work. When she offered me representation I wanted to jump on a plane to see Valeria (we have never met in person!) and deliver the biggest thank-you hug in the world. Hopefully we’ll meet up soon, but in the meantime I couldn’t be happier with not only a fantastic, caring agent but having a dear critique partner on this journey with me!


You graduated from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and worked in the automotive industry. Did you always want to write and illustrate children's books or what inspired you to move in this direction?

Oh - that is a long story. I’m tempted to create a nice visual that tries to connect those dots for everyone reading this. I’ll do my best at distilling. My mom was a dynamic storyteller when I was growing up and loved to write. I loved to listen. I dabbled with my own stories when I was a kid. My decision to be a product designer stemmed from a love for creative problem solving (and making stuff!). When I got married and moved back to Detroit, my job options were all automotive related positions. I took one, however when we started a family, I left it to raise our children. When I was ready to find the best outlet for my creativity I circled back to stories (and my mom), and we decided to try submitting a picture book together. I added illustrations to a story she already wrote (unfortunate rookie move). It was ultimately rejected but during that process, I fell in love with making dummies and marrying text + art together. I decided to give it a go and after learning more about the industry and craft through SCBWI, my first picture book was published 8 years later.


I loved following your Blob Blog and you wrote a post about it here on the Mitten blog back in 2014. How did that project help you grow creatively? Do you think you might revive it at some point?

Thank you Kristin! My blog made me accountable for writing and producing new artwork every week (when I didn’t want to some days). The weekly CREATE A CHARACTER CHALLENGES forced me to do more looking around so I could discover fun shapes around me. The process evolved as I went because I kept learning so much! Posts became more and more about having experiences to pull inspiration from versus randomly creating shapes. Not only did I feel like my creativity was challenged but so was my courage! My last guest was the fabulous Author Illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi. And yes, I do hope to return to it someday. I definitely benefited from the weekly challenges, but the number one goal was to make problem solving fun for kids!

Do you have any memorable stories to share from school visits or events? Something funny, sweet, inspiring, or when you learned a lesson the hard way? 

I do have a funny story about a book signing event. I usually bring my soft toy ladybugs with me to school visits or signings. They are the main characters from THE LADYBUG RACE (two ash gray ladybugs). I had a person come up to me once and ask why I had toy mites with me. It never crossed my mind that my little gray ladybugs could look like another insect!

What's next for you, or what else would you like us to know about your work?

After I finish final artwork, I’ll be jumping on revisions for another picture book my agent is eager to submit.

Amy Nielander is a picture book author and illustrator residing in Royal Oak, Michigan. Her first picture book, THE LADYBUG RACE (PomegranateKids 2015) received an Independent Publisher Bronze Medal Book Award in 2017. Her new picture book, I AM NOT LEAVING WITHOUT A HUG will be available Winter 2020 (Page Street Kids). Learn more at http://www.amynielander.com/.










Coming up on the Mitten Blog: Painless Self-Promotion, Book Birthdays, the upcoming SCBWI-MI 2019-2020 Picture Book Mentorship, a Writer Spotlight, and a holiday vacation!

It's Merry Mitten Season! Thanks to our PAL Coordinator, Jodi McKay, for coordinating the Merry Mitten author events with bookstores around the state.

https://michigan.scbwi.org/2018/11/09/its-time-for-our-3rd-annual-merry-mitten-holiday/

Visit with SCBWI-MI author friends and help spread the word about the Merry Mitten events this weekend and later in December:

Saturday, Dec. 1st at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor: https://www.nicolasbooks.com/event/merry-mitten-signing-maria-dismondy-supriya-kelkar-lisa-rosa-and-lisa-wheeler

Sunday, Dec. 2nd at Book Beat in Oak Park: http://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/2018/11/17/fifth-annual-gesu-school-bookraiser-sunday-december-2-12-5pm-at-book-beat/

Saturday, Dec. 8th at Pages Bookshop in Detroit:

https://www.pagesbkshop.com/event/merry-mitten-holiday-book-signing-pages-bookshop

Cheers!
Kristin Lenz

Success Story: See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

A few months ago I received a message from Jack Cheng. He found my book at Pages Bookshop in Detroit and wanted to tell me how much the story resonated with him. I was delighted that he took the time to reach out. 

I discovered that he lived nearby in Detroit, grew up in Troy, and his first middle grade novel was about to be published. I loved the premise of the story and wanted to know more. He's had all kinds of interesting experiences like living in a yurt, but I'll save those stories for a time when you meet him in person. He recently joined SCBWI-MI, so hopefully we'll see him at one of our events soon. Until then, here's a brief introduction:

KL: Your middle grade novel, See You in the Cosmos, is off to a great start with starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly. Congrats! Tell us a little about the story and where your ideas came from.

J

JC: Thanks! The story’s about Alex, an eleven-year-old trying to launch his iPod into space. Alex’s father passed away when he was three, and there’s something mysterious and not quite right about his mother’s role in his life. He also has an older brother living in another state and a dog named Carl Sagan, after his hero—the real-life astronomer. Alex embarks on this mission of his, I think, as a way of trying to understand—and cope with—everything that is happening in his life.

I had the idea for the story when I was back at my parents’ house over Thanksgiving, in 2012. I was hanging out in my younger brother’s room and saw that he had a copy of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot, and remembered an episode of the NPR show Radiolab that I’d heard years before, in which Sagan’s widow Ann Druyan talked about how the two fell in love as they worked to gather sounds for the Voyager Golden Record. When I woke up the next morning, the basic premise just popped into my head: A boy and his dog; an iPod bound for space.

See You in the Cosmos is your first novel for kids, but you’ve already had some experience in the adult literary world. Tell us more.

I self-published my first novel, These Days, in 2013. I was living in New York and working in tech at the time (I’ve since moved back to Michigan where I grew up, and currently live in Detroit). These Days originated from a daily journaling practice, and after a couple years working on it in my spare time I found that I enjoyed writing so much that I’d rather do that than stay at my day job. I sent the manuscript around to agents but wasn’t getting much of a response, and I decided, You know what, this is my first novel and I plan to write more; I’m going to self-publish it and treat the whole thing as a learning experience—as a way to understand how to write and publish a novel, from start to finish. I successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign and did a small print run of 650 hardcovers.

Who is your agent and how did you connect with him/her?

My agent is Jessica Craig, and she’s based in Barcelona. We actually connected because of the funding campaign for my first book. These Days was featured in the Kickstarter weekly newsletter and caught Jessica's eye, and she reached out asking to read the manuscript. I interviewed Jessica about it for a podcast I’ve been doing about the making See You in the Cosmos, so if you’re interested, you can hear more of the backstory here.

How have your experiences differed between self-publishing vs traditional publishing, and adult vs children’s writing/publishing?

Self-publishing was a very solitary experience for me, even though I did hire freelance editors and copyeditors for the book. One thing that’s really surprised me about traditional publishing is the sheer number of people involved in making a book and getting it out into the hands of readers. I think, also, everyone at every stage is much more invested in the project; they kind of have to be to want to publish it in the first place. And because of everyone involved, it ends up being a slower process than self-publishing, but there also an intentionality behind all the steps. My friend Robin Sloan, who has also both self-published a book and had one published traditionally, describes the latter as deliberate. I think that’s the perfect word.

As for adult vs children’s, I didn’t start out writing this book as a children’s book. I didn’t even know there was a category called Middle Grade at the time; I was more trying to tell a story about Alex and the other characters. Once the book was acquired (jointly by Dial in the US and Puffin in the UK) a lot of the work I did with my editors was to make it more squarely for young readers, and move some of the adult themes and issues more into the background. That way, the story would work primarily for kids but still retain that depth and richness for adults. 

I found it to be a really interesting challenge because it forced me to know my material and the characters better in some ways—to be able to express these perhaps-more-complex adult concepts in a manner that wouldn’t go over the head of a ten-year-old. It reminds me of what the physicist Richard Feynman said about teaching—that if you can't explain a subject in plain English, then maybe you yourself don't understand it well enough. I think there’s something akin to that happening here, too.

What’s next for you?

In the immediate term I’m visiting schools across the country to talk with students and meet with booksellers and librarians, and after I come back from tour I’m going to begin work in earnest on the next book. A few things I know at this point: it’ll take place in Detroit and its suburbs; it’ll once again be for young readers; and it’ll be more directly about my experience as a Chinese American. 

My identity as a Chinese American is an area of my own life that I’ve just begun to explore recently, and I’ve come to see fiction-writing as one of the best vehicles for this kind of self-examination.

Fun fact: Jack's book launch party at Pages Bookshop was on Fat Tuesday, otherwise known as Paczki Day, and he had spaced- themed jelly donuts! This picture does not do them justice; they were quite delectable in person. 😋

Thanks, Jack!

Coming up on the Mitten blog: Nina Goebel is coordinating with our new Featured Illustrator. We'll introduce her and unveil our new blog banner soon. Plus, more Michigan KidLit Advocates, a Writer's Toolbox, an interview with a publicist, and another Writer's Spotlight - it could be you!

Have a great weekend!

Kristin Lenz

YA Success Story: Ripple by Heather Smith Meloche

I can't remember when I first met Heather Smith Meloche, but it was many years ago through SCBWI-MI, and we've been on a parallel path ever since: writing, revising, blogging, entering contests, submitting manuscripts. When asked about professional jealousy among writers, the kidlit community overwhelmingly responds with examples of heartfelt support. And it's true.

A few years ago, Heather placed first in a contest when I only finaled. We both found our agents around the same time and went through rounds of revisions. Her novel sold, and mine... um, still waiting. Jealousy? No. Kick in the pants inspiration? Yes. Heather's winning entry in that contest blew me away and motivated me to dig deeper into my craft. She's had her share of setbacks, but she persevered and encouraged me every step of the way. I hope her success story inspires you too.

View image | gettyimages.com

Tell us about your book and your journey to publication.

I’ve been writing for children for over fourteen years. Whew! That seems like a long time, but in this business, it’s not really that long. I had mentored with a poet in college and had been a writer for TV, newsprint, and marketing, but I had to sharpen my children’s/YA writing skills. So I attended a trillion conferences, took various classes, and published some short stories for young children before I discovered I’m truly comfortable in a sixteen-year-old’s voice. 

I wrote the first version of my Contemporary Realistic YA novel, currently titled RIPPLE, back in 2008. It was a very personal book that introduced teens dealing with some rarely discussed compulsions and struggles. I received some attention from it back then at conferences, but the comments on it were that it was long, wordy, and needed serious tightening. By the time I’d finished editing, TWILIGHT was out and paranormal was all the rage, so when I pitched it at conferences again, editors and agents wanted to know, “Is there a fairy in it? A werewolf? Living gargoyles?” 

Alas, it was just about a girl with some real-life issues, which made it a tough YA sell at the time. I believed in it, though, so I thought I’d use my poetry-writing background and turn the crux of it into a short story in verse. That story, “Him,” won the 2011 Katherine Paterson Prize for YA and Children’s Writing through HUNGER MOUNTAIN, the literary journal of the Vermont College of Fine Arts. That same year I won first place in the Children’s/Young Adult Fiction division of the WRITER'S DIGEST Annual Writing Competition for a different short story. Contests are such a great way to get your work noticed, and 2011 was a very good year for me in that respect.

How did you get your agent?

After I won the Katherine Paterson Prize, several agents contacted me via email. The first was Heather Schroder, an extremely seasoned agent, who at the time was with International Creative Management (ICM) and has since started her own agency, Compass Talent. We set up a phone conversation, and I really loved how she just got what I was trying to do with “Him.” She really connected with my writing style and my work, so I knew she was a great fit for me. 

I had already started working on a dystopian/fantasy-type novel when Heather contacted me, so she helped me work through several revisions of that. But again, the market shifted, and back came the popularity of Contemporary Realistic Fiction in YA. That old novel from 2008 had a shot now! So I revised RIPPLE to make the voice and the structure relevant for today’s YA readers, and Heather sold it to Penguin Putnam a short while later. It's scheduled to be released in Fall 2016.

What has been surprising or challenging about your experience?

I am an impatient human, and, I mean, like, really impatient. I want things done now and before now. So getting used to the publishing industry, which often moves at a glacial pace, has really taught me to take deep breaths, calm down, and curb my need for speed. I’ve even tattooed the reminder on myself. ;) 

What's next for you?

I’m just finishing work on my latest novel and getting ready to send it to Compass Talent for review. This latest book is very different from RIPPLE in that it is less about romance (though there is still plenty in there!) and more about socio-political issues in the U.S., but I hope it is as well received.

Heather Smith Meloche’s work has appeared in SPIDER, YOUNG ADULT REVIEW NETWORK (YARN), and ONCE UPON A TIME, and she has placed twice in the children’s/YA category of the WRITER’S DIGEST Annual Competition. Her short story, “Him,” won the HUNGER MOUNTAIN Katherine Paterson Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing in 2011. She lives in Rochester Hills, MI, with her husband, two boys, and more pets than anyone should ever own.

Website: http://heathersmithmeloche.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/heathermeloche

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathersmithmeloche

Coming up on The Mitten blog: the conclusion of Dawne Webber's Beyond the Book series, a new 3 part craft series on developing voice, an interview with Buffy the Poetry Slayer, Ask Frida Pennabook, and another round of Hugs and Hurrahs. Send your good news to Patti Richards at pgwrites5@gmail.com by June 21st.

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Happy reading!
Kristin Lenz