The Writer’s Life

It’s every writer’s nightmare—you’ve sold your manuscript only to have something come up to delay or forestall its publication. If it’s something as simple as your editor leaving the company, your manuscript will be assigned to another editor at the publisher.

But what if the publishing company is sold? Chicago area writer, poet, and writing teacher Heidi Bee Roemer’s third book—the just released WHOSE NEST IS THIS?—ran into this bump in the road on its way to publication. I spoke to Heidi about her experience.

Heidi, congratulations on your book. Can you give us a short description of your book?

Whose Nest is This? (NorthWord Press, 2009) is a collection of riddles-in-rhyme that describe fascinating nests created by various birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, and even fish! I must mention that Connie McLennan’s illustrations are absolutely gorgeous!

How did you get the idea for the book?

In all honesty, the idea for the book wasn’t mine! Shortly after selling What Kinds of Seeds are These? to NorthWord, I asked my editor, Kristen McCurry, if she had any particular wishes for a new book topic. She mentioned nests, and I was off and running. Six weeks later, I turned in my manuscript for Whose Nests is This? Six weeks after that, she accepted it. Of course, I was thrilled!

When and how did you find out that your original publisher (NorthWord) had been purchased by Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group? Did the new company have a track record in publishing for children?

The artwork and most details on the book project were wrapped up when, one day, I got a surprising email from Kristen saying she was leaving NorthWord. The company had been sold to Rowman & Littlefield, a publisher that had not previously published children’s books.

Most contracts have a clause that if the company is sold, the book’s contract goes to the purchasing company. So you knew your book was still under contract, but did everything go as planned?

Communication with the new publishing house was difficult at first. I’m sure they were scrambling to handle the huge and complicated task of assimilating the new books and all the resulting legalities. My contract stated that the publisher had eight years in which to publish the book. If it wasn’t published within that time frame, then the rights would revert back to me and my illustrator; we could try to sell it elsewhere.  I certainly hoped I would not have to wait THAT long! But the new owners could not exactly pinpoint when Nests would be released. So I had to wait. And wait and wait some more! This made it difficult to schedule book signings and related promotional events that I’d normally do.

The delay, as I understood it, was because there had been some debate over ownership between Rowman & Littlefield and their imprint, Cooper Square Press. Whose Nest is This? was due to be released in spring, 2008, but didn’t come out until fall, 2009. But happily, it was truly well worth the wait!

What advice do you have for a writer when his/her book’s publication date is delayed?

The road to getting published seems to have an unusual amount of twists and turns, much like the dramatic plot line of any great story. If you’re having trouble getting information from the publishing house, you might consider contacting your illustrator to see if she has any updated news on the circumstances surrounding your book. In any case, be professional, polite, and patient as you try to glean information from the publishing staff. You have no idea how hard your editor may be working on your behalf to resolve the issue, whatever that may be. Lastly, try not to stew over things that are beyond your control. After all, a delayed publication is better than not being published at all!

What’s next for you? Do you have any more books in the pipeline?

I am hopeful that my new nonfiction book about African bathing beauties, tentatively titled, Warthogs Never Soak in Suds, will make the final cut with Sylvan Dell. Also, author Laura Crawford and I have collaborated on a geometry book geared for third graders; we will be marketing C is for Circle next month. As always, fingers crossed for another book sale!

Thanks, Heidi! I know this newest book is going to be another teacher favorite!

Author Heidi Bee Roemer can be found on the web at www.heidibroemer.com. She blogs with authors Laura Crawford and Kim Hutmacher about nature books and writers at http://wildaboutnaturewriters.blogspot.com.

THE WRITER’S LIFE features insights into the realities of writing. Look for it periodically at The Riant Writer!

A couple of interesting lists of children’s books popped up in the last two days–one of classic books, and the other of 2009 publications.

Yesterday NPR’s Morning Edition featured a list of classic children’s books recommended by YA author Leslie Blume. The list is short (10)–how many have you read? It’s interesting to read the comments to see what other books people regard as classics.

In today’s Publisher Weekly’s SHELFTALKER, Elizabeth Bluemle has compiled a list of the books this year that have received a total of 5, 4, or 3 stars from the premiere review sources: PW, Booklist, Kirkus, Horn Book, and Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. It was great to see friend Alice McGinty’s Darwin book on the list! Reading the list, it’s obvious that I need to carry it with me when I go to the library tomorrow!

The reviews written in advance of this book’s debut were certainly eye-catching. One independent bookstore’s newsletter (57th Street Books in Chicago’s Hyde Park) proclaimed it was “the best middle grade novel of the year” even though it is just July. It came up again on my radar and I noticed it was getting starred reviews–from everyone. So I ordered it last week to see for myself.

It is the real deal.
The book is “When You Reach Me” by Rebecca Stead. I was just finishing Neal Shusterman’s ”The Schwa Was Here” when the book arrived and I thought this new book had better be good. I enjoyed SCHWA–it was imaginative and humorous–exactly what I like in a middle grade novel.

Then I read Stead’s book. Whooaaa.

I finished it last night and I’m still thinking about it. The main character, Miranda, is a fan of “A Wrinkle in Time” and the book weaves that story into its storyline. WRINKLE must have come out when I was in my WWII books phase in grade school because I do not remember reading it then. Of course, now I’ll have to go and read it now, like right today.

So is WHEN YOU REACH ME the Newbery Award winner for the year? We’ll have to wait and see, but in my book, it’s a real contender.

Okay–this is supposed to be my *Year of No Excuses* so I’m not making any. I still have to achieve my writing targets for the year–it’s just that I’m six months behind! Three things happened this month, however, that are helping me get my brain–and my fingers–back where they belong.

First, I accepted an invitation to appear at an Authors Panel at the Sankofa Cultural Arts & Business Center in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. I spoke on a panel with four other authors–I was the only children’s author. The panel’s authors had a variety of publishing experiences–traditional publishing in the adult market, self-published in adult fiction, and self-published and print-on-demand with inspirational books. The audience was engaged, we had a professional journalist as the moderator (CLTV’s Tonya Franciso) and it was great. Thanks to Stacia Crawford for inviting me.

Second, my sis-in-law LD emailed me to ask questions about how to get her children’s story published. So rather than bore her to death in a fifty-page email, we sat down together. It was fun to share with her a lot of the things I’ve learned along the way so she can avoid the really dumb mistakes I made when I started out. And she’s so smart, she had already figured out to join SCBWI! With patience and persistence (things I know she’s good at), I know it’s just a matter of time before we see her in print!

Then, my publisher Albert Whitman invited me to a party during ALA! Before I was published, I always was jealous of people who got invited to publisher parties and now I get to go.

While my mom was in the hospital and rehab, I found it easier to sew in the few blocks of time I had at home so I have some dandy tote bags and purses I’ll be listing on eBay soon! But now it’s time to head back to my picture book and novel. Sometimes you have to feel like a writer to write. Thanks, folks, for helping me get back to work!

In today’s I.N.K. (Interesting Non-Fiction for Kids) blog, author Vicki Cobb talks about “Making a Living.” Cobb says the composition of her income as a children’s author has changed during the last 40 (wow) years. She said originally most of her income came from her writing. Now, half of her income comes from speaking engagements.

Do you concur? What’s making you the most money these days? As an author, how do you feel about making paid appearances?

Great minds have joined together to start a new blog for we writers. Boogie on over to www.TeachingAuthors.com to read tips from a consortium of teachers of writers for children, young adults, and adults. The group includes Esther Hershenhorn, Carmela Martino, April Halprin Wayland, Jeanne Marie Grunwell Ford, JoAnn Early Macken, Mary Ann Rodman.

When I wrote the activity guide to accompany my picture book, Shante’ Keys and the New Year’s Peas, there was a lot of good stuff in there, but one thing was missing: a Reader’s Theater script. My friend Heidi Bee recognized how appropriate my text would be for a classroom reading, but I just never got around to formalizing one. This month I finally did.

Visit my website, www.gpdavenport.com, for an absolutely FREE copy of the Reader’s Theater script. It’s not a verbatim copy of the book–it’s been finessed to allow for more speakers, plus it restored some text that was cut in editing. How cool is it that I can bring my text back from the dead?!

Check it out and feel free to pass it along to any teachers you know!

NPR had a piece yesterday on books for aspiring novelists. I’ve read two of the three (King and Bell) and heartily agree. Take a look and give a shout out on your favorite novel writing books.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100237796&ps=bb4

With just about every adult in my family in the hospital, just out of the hospital, or could be in the hospital, it was good to read some good news about children’s book publishing.

The American Association of Publishers reported that overall, book sales rose 3.6% in January. But the really good news was that despite the economy, sales of children’s books were up:

Adult paperback and mass market books fell for the month.