Salutations, Deborah! So glad to catch up with you. Can you believe it's been six months since we featured you?
Not really. Time does fly!
Have you been busy these last six months revising THINGS THAT SHIMMER, your MG manuscript that will be forthcoming from Kar-Ben Publishing on April 2, 2024?
My revisions were primarily based on feedback from my agent, Susan Cohen, and her assistant. I was still in the querying stage and Susan offered me an opportunity to revise and resubmit my manuscript. They provided me with very specific feedback and I spent six months doing two rounds of revisions. Afterward, Susan offered me representation and started submitting it to editors!
An R & R that led not only to representation but getting your book acquired--that's really cool! So what was it like working with your editor on revisions?
Because I’d already done so much revising prior to having my manuscript going on submission, my editor, Amy Fitzgerald, didn’t have a lot of requests for big changes. Mostly we cleaned up sentences. An occasional word was replaced or eliminated. It reads so smoothly now!
That says a lot about having an editorial agent. (Go, Susan!) With 2024 nearing, are you nervous about industry reviews?
I’ve already had ten of my colleagues read it and provide blurbs and each of them had very positive comments for me so that’s already encouraging. Of course, I hope it's well-received by other industry professionals, and garners some favorable reviews.
We're sure it will! We know you've already published picture books traditionally, does that make you feel ready to roll when it's time for your book to launch, to doing school visits, and the like?
Despite having previously published picture books, I've had no experience in promoting a middle-grade novel. It feels like a different ballgame. I hope to make my school visits revolve around topics of friendship, PTSD, and trauma (all themes central to my story), and to be engaging for middle schoolers.
We know it's early yet, but are you able to tell us anything you've got planned for your book launch?
It’s a complete coincidence that the bulk of my book takes place in 1974, meaning many of the events my main character witnesses and experiences will be having their 50th anniversary as my book launches--in particular, Watergate, and President Nixon’s resignation. I’m hoping to mark all of those anniversaries leading up to the release of my book!
Cool idea! Well, thank you for giving us an update, and don't forget to share your book's cover with us once it's revealed!
Will do! I guess by the next time we'll be visiting THINGS THAT SHIMMER will be hot off the press!
Indeed! Very exciting!