Welcome back, Jennifer! It's been six months since we last talked. Do tell, how are your revisions for Bird Nerd, your debut middle-grade going?
Thanks for asking! It just so happens, I’m winding down my second round of revisions and hope to send them off to my editor any day now. My first round was more big picture stuff, whereas this time I received more detailed chapter-by-chapter feedback. A good deal of it had to do with timeline issues, which were mainly due to some changes I’d made on my own during the first round. (Note to self: Don’t change what’s not broken!)
Did you find a chapter-by-chapter edit intimidating?
I must admit, when I first opened the second letter my jaw dropped, thinking of all the work that lay ahead of me. But it looks like I’ll actually be ahead of the deadline, thanks to some advanced planning.
Advance planning? Explain, please.
It started way back before I even got my first editorial letter. Inspired by some tips I learned from author Pamela N. Harris at last fall’s SCBWI Mid-Atlantic Conference, I went full-planner mode and created a chart to list any detailed margin notes from my editor and my plans to address them. I also created a document for all the big picture stuff and another for things that I myself may want to change or add to enrich the story.
So by the time I received my first letter, I was ready to just fill everything into that virtual
binder. Afterwards, while waiting for my second letter, I went and created a new binder,
refining it with things I learned from the first. This helped to keep me grounded and also to keep track of things.
Hooray for authors helping authors! What is your partnership with your editor, Della Farrell, like?
My partnership with Della is great! I never feel shy about asking for clarification, or nervous about making proposals about handling something differently than perhaps she has suggested. But having said that, so much of her feedback is so useful that I’m often left saying, “Wow. Why didn’t I think of that?” Or in some cases, it might be something I had considered but ended up not including, which makes me feel better about my initial judgement. Of course, Della leaves it to me to flesh things out and add my own flair.
Besides your editor's feedback, have you found other ways to move your manuscript forward toward the finish line?
Yes! I also have another set of eyes in the form of my critique group. And I've had access to the expertise of my agent, Amy Thrall Flynn, who welcomed me to approach her with any questions I had. It really does take a village, doesn’t it?
It does! Well, thanks so much for catching us up on your Bird Nerd journey. We look forward to revealing your cover once it comes out, and to hosting a book launch party when it rolls off the Holiday House presses come next fall.
Thank you! It's wonderful to be a member of such a supportive debut group!