Happy little Vegemite :)

You may remember waaaaay back in December last year I wrote about how I got my fantabulous agent, the gorgeous Anjanette Fennell from Rick Raftos Management. That post was named The Day that was Made of Awesome Part I, so of course there was a Part II…but it’s taken up until now for me to be able to share it with you. The very same day that Anj took me on as a client, something entirely separate but equally wonderful happened: I got a new contract on a picture book. It would be heady enough to have one of these momentous occasions happen in a day, but to have both of them happen on the same day was quite mindblowing. Yes, I have a contract with Windy Hollow Books and will be working with the amazing Helen Chamberlin on a picture book about an unlikely friendship with beautiful results.

I first met Helen back in September 2009 at the CYA Conference when I paid to have an editorial consultancy on a picture book with her during the conference. It was the first time I’d met with an editor so I was pretty nervous, but Helen was lovely and put me at ease straight away. She gave me some excellent advice on the manuscript I had submitted for critique and asked me to send it to her again after I’d made some changes because she’d like to take it to a submissions meeting in December. This was huge for me and I scurried away to do some rewriting.

December rolled around and I sent the newly polished manuscript off to Helen and although she liked it, the decision had been made not to take on any new manuscripts at that time. She asked me to send it again in March. I did just that, but the response was the same. The industry is tough and making a business out of picture books is very difficult. Publishers need to make the hard call on when to invest and when to wait and at that time, waiting was the thing to do. I once again sent the manuscript to Helen in June, who then asked me to resubmit in September, which I did so.

During that time, however, I kept on writing. One of the best things I did was enrol in a Writer’s Digest picture book webinar with American literary agent, Mary Kole. I got up at 2am to do the webinar out of New York and it was fabulous. I felt like I finally understood what made certain picture books stand out over others and realised where I’d been falling short. I was inspired by the content and the following week I sat down determined to write a picture book with layers and depth that had previously avoided me.

I wrote the manuscript across a day by hand in a mock-up picture book with the children running around at my feet. The words came and went and came again and gradually, I found the heart and the rhythm of the book. I pared it back to the bare bones and walked away from the bench that afternoon with a sense of foreboding, albeit positive. I thought this one was special and when my husband got all teary when I read it to him, I just knew it was.

When it came to resubmit the original manuscript to Helen, I decided to be a bit cheeky and add in a couple of other manuscripts for her to have a look at it. My newest picture book was one of them. The original manuscript Helen was interested in wasn’t picked up in that submission meeting, but the new one was. To say I was delighted was an understatement! The wheels turn slowly in publishing at the best of times, and for a variety of reasons – one of which was malfunctioning emails! – it’s taken a long time to get to the contract stage, so it’s even sweeter to be able to announce the news to everyone far and wide today.

Here’s a few tips from my experience for people who are still trying to break into the industry:

1. Go to conferences. You’ll meet and make connections with people who might just come in handy further down the track. Just make sure you’re genuine about it and not just angling for an inside edge.

2. Be patient. This industry is not one for people who like things to happen in a hurry. Just remember good things are worth the wait.

3. Invest in the craft. A webinar was instrumental in me writing the manuscript that was picked up. Take every opportunity you get to invest in the craft of writing.

So there you have it – I have a new picture book coming out! I’ll let you in on all the details a bit later, but for now I’m going to go and do cartwheels.

Happiest of writing to you all

Karen

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

These past two weeks have been a rollercoaster ride for me. On one hand I had a reality check on just how hard it is to make a living out of this writing business, but on the other hand I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the editing process on my Middle Grade novel and feel like finally, finally, FINALLY I get it. I get why people’s eyes light up when they talk about editing. I get why it matters so very much. I get why the hard work you put in after the first draft is actually almost more important than the first draft itself. Yep, I get it.

When I first sat down to edit my novel I was daunted, afraid and overwhelmed. Although I’ve written four complete novels up until now I’ve never seen one through the complete editing process. For some reason it just seemed too hard and I wasn’t sure I would know how to edit well.

Enter the Year of the Edit course from the Queensland Writers Centre.

I did this course three years ago now and when the course finished I decided to compile all my notes into one document, my very own private Editing Map. This turned out to be a stroke of genius on my behalf as my Editing Map has led me through the process of refining and shaping my novel into something far better than it was before. I can’t share it with you because the ideas and process are the intellectual property of my tutor, Kim Wilkins, so I’ll say this instead: GO DO THE COURSE! 

Thus far I’ve looked at the big picture of the scenes and how they flow together. I’ve removed the scenes that weren’t pulling their weight and identified where I needed to fill the gaps. I’ve also examined my main characters and looked at how believable they are and how well developed they are and made changes as necessary. This process has been hard work, but it’s also been very rewarding work. Every chop and change and addition I’ve made has been intentional and this has given me an enormous sense over what I’m doing.

I remember Kim saying in Year of the Edit, “Editing is simply taking the wrong words out and putting the right words in.”

It makes it sound far simpler than it is, but the essence is true. The trick is in learning to know what to keep and what to throw away.

I’m now almost halfway through my Editing Map and I’m so very excited by the changes I’ve made. My novel is already snappier, sharper and deeper than it was before and my confidence has built along the way. I truly believe that mastering the editing process is an absolute must for any serious writer and is the difference between being published and not. Lots of people have great first drafts and fabulous story ideas; far fewer have the commitment, skill and fine touch needed to bring that story to life.

Happy writing and editing!

Karen

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I spent Saturday night and Sunday at the Ballarat Writers’ Festival. It’s the first time I’ve been to the festival and I have to say I was impressed by the calibre of the speakers and the intimate nature of the event. It’s not often you get the opportunity to chat one-on-one with five editors in a twenty-four hour period. My favourite panel was with authors Sherryl Clark, Gabrielle Wang and Sue Lawson on ‘Creating characters with heart’. These extremely talented and extremely lovely authors shared insights into characters in their books and gave heaps of useful advice. Considering that the venue was good, the company was great and the speakers were knowledgeable and passionate you would think that I’d come away inspired. I have to be honest and say that’s only half the story. The other half is that I came away feeling quite despondent and wondering whether I’m cut out for this industry.

When I first started writing I was all starry-eyed and convinced that I had what it took to ‘make it’; that with a lot of hard work I could take a lifelong love of words, a passion for story and a hunger for creativity and become a career author. Five years down the track, thousands of hours and three picture books later I have to say I’m not as self-assured as I was back then. There’s a simple reason for that: ignorance can indeed be bliss. I’m not ignorant anymore, or at least I’m less ignorant than I was. I know the state of publishing in Australia. I know how many wonderful, established writers are having manuscripts knocked back. I know how few spots there are for emerging authors. I know that the picture book market has been shrinking for quite a while and continues to shrink. I know that hard work might not be enough; you also need to have the voice and that special something that makes a publisher sit up and take notice. I used to believe that I could be a writer. I’m now finding that sometimes that belief is severely shaken and it’s time for me to sit back and evaluate what I’m doing and why I’m doing it.

Why do I add an extra thing into my already busy life? Why do I work really hard to structure my day so I have at least an hour of writing time amongst the washing and cleaning and child rearing and caring and comforting that I do 24/7? Why don’t I sit and relax or sleep or watch mindless TV instead? Why do I invest my heart and mind and soul and energy and money and time into something that might never amount to a publishable piece of work? I’m not scared of hard work but sometimes you have to wonder if it’s all worth it… I’ve been pondering these questions for the last twenty-four hours. After all, no-one is holding a gun to my head and telling me I have to write. I could stop at any time and just walk away.

But here’s the thing: I can’t.

Although I’ve only been seriously writing for a short time, in my heart I’ve always been a writer. Before I started my first novel over ten years ago I was consciously collecting story ideas, watching people and wondering who they were and where they were going and why. I developed plot after plot after plot and would secretly think, ‘That would make a fabulous book.’ And then when I started writing I found a part of myself that is the essence of who I am. The truth is that although it’s hard work to fit writing into my life I am happier, more content, more organised and more fun to be around when I’m writing. Goodness, even my house is tidier when I’m regularly writing. Somehow the act of putting black marks on a white page soothes my soul and gives me an equilibrium that I can’t seem to find anywhere else.

When I first started my writing journey I read a quote that didn’t make much sense to me.

The only reason for being a professional writer is that you can’t help it.
—Leo Rosten

Today, I get it. And I also understand that that means I am choosing to be part of this fickle, competitive, cut-throat industry which rivals the Olympics in terms of how many hopefuls are out there compared to how many get the medals. And because I am choosing, I pretty much forfeit my right to complain, whinge or express discontent about how hard it is. I know it’s hard and yet I still can’t help myself.

I choose to write. I am a writer. I have always been a writer. I can’t be anything else.

Happy writing

Karen

Image courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve come a long way since I first started writing my first novel back in 2000. When I began I didn’t have a clue about anything to do with writing but just followed my instincts from having read many books over the years. Not surprisingly, I’ve got three or four unfinished books from that period of my life. Fast forward twelve years and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve invested the time and energy and money and effort into learning what makes stories work and how to write them. After writing the first draft of four novels I can now state without hesitation that I have the capacity to write a book. A first draft, anyway. But editing? Well, that’s a whole other ball game.

Yesterday I started editing the MG novel I wrote during NaNoWriMo last year and I have to say the Year of the Edit course I did a few years ago is turning out to be invaluable. Although I’m not confident in what I’m doing, the course resulted in a map of sorts to lead me through the process. (One of the best things I ever did immediately after the course was to compile all the notes into a flow chart that is now my editing how-to guide. I’d be lost without it!) Editing is a different beast to writing and requires a great degree of concentration. Yesterday I felt like I was adrift in this new ocean and I had no idea what I was doing or which way I was going. Today, I got some clarity.

Currently I’m looking at my novel from a distance at scene level and evaluating which scenes should stay and which ones should go. What has been fascinating to me as I’ve evaluated the purpose of each scene is how easy it’s becoming to see which scenes aren’t pulling their weight. It’s also really easy to see which scenes are integral to moving the story forward and increasing the narrative tension.

I wouldn’t say I’m an editing expert yet, but I am starting to understand the joy in refining my story. I believe with all my heart that editing is what sets good writers apart. It’s a skill I absolutely have to have and the only way to learn it is to struggle through one or two or three or twenty books until it becomes as natural as writing a first draft. Today I got a real buzz from knowing which scenes are keepers and which ones are facing extinction. Out of about forty scenes, there are sixteen that are fighting for their lives at the minute, which goes to show how much superfluous stuff I write in a first draft. It’s all necessary to get me to the end of the novel initially, but now is the time for me to get the pruning scissors out and be brutal. I know my novel will be much better for it.

Happy editing!

Karen

It’s been a long held dream of mine to learn how to draw. This year I’ve finally taken the plunge and signed up for some drawing courses with the amazing Jane Davenport over at The Institute of Cute. It’s an understatement to say I’ve been enjoying myself. I’ve been having a ball! (I may have also been buying art supplies, but that’s a whole other story…) I’ve still got heaps to learn but it’s been a lovely change to be creative with colour rather than with words.

While I was in the US, the winners for the CYA Conference Published Author Competition were announced, and I’m delighted to say I won second place with my picture book, THE BOSS. What’s even better is that my dear friend Kathryn Apel, came first and my other gorgoues friend, Dee White, came third with another lovely friend, Tania McCartney getting an honourable mention! I do believe it was the best podium finish ever :)

And now, with holidays over and the flu wiping me out for a few days, I’m deciding where to go from here. I’ve got some lovely picture book news to share in the next few weeks, I hope, and I’m still pottering away on a couple of picture book manuscripts that are almost there but not quite. My drawing is chugging along with the goal of one day being able illustrate my own books (big dream, I know) and I’ve got some new story ideas and illustration ideas floating around. But the next big project on my agenda is editing my MG novel from last year’s NaNoWriMo. It’s been patiently waiting for me since November and I feel like I’m ready to pull it apart and put it all back together again.

I’ll try not to make it so long between visits next time. Happy writing!

Karen

The course materials were great; lectures from awesome author, Kim Wilkins, each fortnight and feedback from the very talented Chris Bongers at regular intervals. The course was designed to be highly interactive with all participants sharing their work and critiquing throughout the year. It started out that way, with sixteen or seventeen of us proactively posting on the forum and sharing in the delight of writing, but over time, the attrition rate was very high. In the end, there were three of us still actively working on our novels at this time, with another two still clinging onto the course in the hope they would get time in the future to write. It sometimes felt like I was writing into a big black hole of nothingness.

And that’s where the stubbornness comes in, because no matter how collaborative the environment, writing is essentially a solo sport. And having committed to writing a novel in year I was determined I was going to do just that. I started off with a great story idea that I believed in, but not far into the course I hit the wall. I realised that the novel I was wanting to write was extremely emotionally and mentally demanding as it dealt with a child undergoing open-heart surgery, just like my son did two years ago. I hadn’t anticipated the emotional fallout from having to write about it and I backed away, not prepared to go there just yet.

Three months into the course I decided to change what I was working on. I was gearing up for NaNoWriMo, which I adore for all its passion and craziness, and decided to write a fun, MG novel, which I did. I wrote and finished that novel during November and I was delighted, but I knew my Year of the Novel novel was languishing, barely started, on my computer.

I did some thinking about whether I wanted to write – or could write – this book and I decided to be brave. I decided I was going to do it. But then Christmas holidays and family commitments and lots of little kids running around and parenting and guest speaking and running camps, and, and…meant that I didn’t really get started. Looking back over my saved drafts, I can see I worked on the novel three times in July, once in August, had a rush of four writing days in January and then didn’t touch it again until April. I obviously kept wanting to walk away, but I couldn’t.

And I’m so glad I didn’t.

With the end of the course looming at the end of May, I decided in early April that this thing was not going to beat me. I was not going to walk away from this course without having finished my first draft. I signed up to write a novel and I was going to write a darn novel!

But I wasn’t sure I could do it.

At the beginning of April, I had written a grand total of 4, 553 words. There were over 45,000 words to go and I just had two months to write them. My logical self was screaming, “It’s impossible. Give up now. You can’t write this book so don’t bother trying.” My creative, stubborn self was stronger.

I wrote five separate times in April, bringing my word count up to 16,589. Not bad, but not fantastic. That left May for me to sprint to the finish, which is very appropriate considering my book is about a young sprinter. I wrote on May 3 and May 23 and brought my total up to 22,765. With a week left to go in the course, I had over 28,000 words to write.

Then I remembered something liberating – although the course began on June 1 last year, I didn’t sign up until June 29 which meant officially, my year wasn’t up until June 29. Suddenly, this thing was doable. Mustering all my energy and strength and determination and commitment (and knowing I was going to have to sacrifice sleep to get this thing written), I decided I was once and for all going to finish this novel.

In eight frantic writing sessions across nine days, I wrote and wrote and wrote. I wrote through the saggy middle, felt the stakes rise and the tension increase. I began to enjoy the process and look forward to spending time with my story and my characters. And yesterday, at about lunchtime, I wrote the final sentence of my novel. I added 28,825 words in nine days and fulfilled the commitment I made a year ago.

And it was a sweet victory, made even sweeter by the fact this victory was hard fought. I wanted to give up so many times, but I couldn’t. I knew I would be disappointed in myself if I didn’t finish what I started. I’m now hugely proud of myself for having finished what I started.

I also realised I didn’t just write one novel during the Year of the Novel course – I wrote two! My NaNoWriMo novel is now just waiting to be edited and I plan to do that while I let my most recent one sit for a few months.

I can honestly say this has by far been the hardest project I’ve ever undertaken, mainly because it’s a first person, present tense novel from a male POV and being inside the head of a conflicted sixteen year old boy for a year was slightly draining. And also because my heart is in this novel, along with my son’s and everyone else who journeyed with us through open-heart surgery two and half years ago. I chose a difficult subject to write about but I don’t regret it for a second.

This process also caused me to challenge my writing beliefs and behaviours:

• I’ve always said I couldn’t write while the kids were awake. That’s not true. I can’t write thousands of words, but I can write five hundred.
• I’ve always thought I had to have a huge word count goal for each day. Again, five hundred words was enough to keep me in touch with my story but not overwhelm me as I juggled the busyness that is my day-to-day life.
• I have discovered I can write at night, when the kids are asleep, and still have a good sleep myself. In the past my brain has been too hyped up to sleep, but I think having planned and plotted this novel let me get to the end of a scene and then forget about it until the next day because I knew where the story was going.

In the end, it took only twenty-four writing sessions for me to write the entire 51, 580 words novel. It’s quite amazing when I think of it like that. I had allocated 366 days to write this novel and in the end, it only took twenty-four. It sounds like so little, but it took such a lot to make it happen.

I was so excited yesterday when I finished the final sentence I almost cried. I couldn’t believe I had actually done it and broadcast far and wide on Twitter and on Facebook that I’d finished. I wanted to get dressed up and go out for dinner with some writer friends who understood my jubilation, but that’s just not a possibility right now, so I had some celebratory chocolate instead. It tasted sweet, but wasn’t as sweet as the buzz I got from having finished.

I’m come down from my high a bit now and am feeling that post-novel writing exhaustion. I’m also realising how much housework I have neglected over the past nine days! It’s an exhilarating experience though, and one that I plan to repeat again and again and again. This was my fourth first draft of a novel that I’ve finished, but I feel like it’s a turning point for me. I’ve learned so much during the writing of this one and I felt like I was able to use some techniques and skills along the way to make this a solid first draft. It needs a lot of work but that’s in the future. Right now, I’m just letting the results of my stubbornness fill me with joy.

Happy writing – and stick to it!

Photo courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’m excited to be able to share some photos with you from my recent trip to Manifest Creative Arts Festival held at Avondale College in Cooranbong, NSW a fortnight ago. I was invited to be one of the presenters at Manifest, which was a huge honour.

During my two days there I gave a 2-hour lecture and workshop on picture books to some Education students, participated in a panel discussion on creativity and faith (with artist Jo Darby, author Andy Nash and film-maker Paul Kim), read my picture book FISH DON’T NEED SNORKELS as the children’s story during church and then did some book signings. It was a packed weekend filled with amazing people and inspiring interactions and I am so glad I went. I feel like my creative well has been filled and some of the questions and issues I’ve been battling with as an author have been laid to rest.

It was such a thrill to be with other people who thrive on creativity. I was in awe of the talent that was on display and felt very privileged to be able to spend so much time chatting with the guys on the panel plus delightful film-makers Daneen Akers and Stephen Eyer, and conference organisers Nathan Brown and Brenton Stacey.

Here are a few photos of my adventures:

The stage at Avondale College Church

The magnificent artwork behind me is Jo Darby's "After the Flood". Divine.

Time to sign some books.

On a personal note, the weekend impacted me in another way, too. Paul Kim is the executive director of SONscreen, a Christian short film festival. On Friday night there was a screening of some of the best films from the 2011 festival after the main program. Paul and I had chatted a lot during the day on Friday and I had told him about the death of my dad eighteen months ago and how utterly devastating it was and still is for me and my extended family. As we were heading into the evening program, Paul mentioned that, based on our conversation earlier in the day, there was one film he really wanted me to see.

The film is simply called, “Blue” and I don’t have the words to explain how deeply this film resonated with me. A few days after my dad died, each of us kids were asked to write a short message to include with the death notice in the paper. As I sat there, pen in hand, broken-hearted and broken and gutted, for the first time in my life I had no words. For me, that was a significant moment. I am an author; I make my living out of words, but I stared at the blank paper for the longest of times before I half-screamed/half-sobbed, “I have no words.”

This film brought me a similar sensation. I have no words that can adequately describe how closely this film represents the relationship my dad and I had. While I was watching, there were moments where it was so painful I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to stay in my seat; moments that were so accurate that they took my breath away. If you have thirteen minutes and three seconds of your life to spare, I’d love for you to watch it too.

Blue.

Photos courtesy of Ann Stafford. Thanks, Ann!

We’ve just come home from a long weekend away up at Camp Howqua for the bi-annual (and hopefully soon-t0-be annual!) Adventurer Camporee for our state. Adventurers is for kids aged 6-10 years and is similar to Scouts, but with a focus on character development and spiritual development from a Christian perspective. The Camporee is a highlight for the kids and their families as they come together for worship, fun and adventure. The weather was divine, the activities were awesome and the theme of ‘Kingdom Kids’ was great. Our own boys had an absolute ball and ran the entire time we were there and it was wonderful to see them having so much fun in such a great environment. On a personal level, however, it was a weekend of significance for me as I got to do what I love: storytelling.

I was asked to be the guest speaker for Camporee about six weeks ago when the original speaker was unable to fulfil the commitment. I’ve told countless children’s stories in churches and the classroom, have presented workshops for parents and teachers incorporating stories and generally talk in stories for much of my life. Each time I’ve had the opportunity I’ve thoroughly enjoy the process of speaking, but prior to this weekend I’d never done something like Camporee.

My job was to deliver a series of five inspirational short talks to the kids that aligned with the theme ‘Kingdom Kids’. The age spread was going to be quite broad as it was a family camp and along with the Adventurers themselves, I knew there would also be older and younger siblings attending, along with parents. I spent a lot of time preparing for my talks and I knew the angle I wanted to take. I was going to tell the story of a child who featured in the Bible and bring out three character traits or qualities that we could all aspire to. Then I found a modern-day child who epitomised these qualities and shared their story. It was a simple but effective way of demonstrating what it meant to be a Kingdom Kid.

In the lead up to my first talk I was actually quite nervous. Although I’d run through the main points in my mind and had a very brief powerpoint presentation to show, I never fully rehearsed my talks. I find that I need to leave room for inspiration to strike and the storytelling needs to evolve naturally and in real-time. I know the main points I’m going to hit during my talk but how I get from point A to point B often depends on the feedback I get from my audience.

Listening to that feedback is really important. It was inevitable that there would be a certain amount of whispers and wriggles from an audience that age, but I’ve found that if I really pay attention to the atmosphere and energy of the kids I’m talking to then I can adapt my story to best engage them. There is simply no better feeling than having a group of kids listening – really listening – and emotionally experiencing the story with me as I tell it, and I’m delighted to say this happened across the weekend. There were moments at a particularly crucial point in the story when I’d lower my voice to almost a whisper and I had fifty or so little faces leaning in towards me, eyes wide, holding their breath, wondering what was going to happen next. When that hush settled over the group I could actually feel the anticipation and right there, for that brief moment in time, I knew I had them. I could surprise them, make them feel sad, happy or joyful, just by the words I spoke and the way I wove them together.

It is a real privilege being a storyteller whether in print or in person and I am honestly humbled by the opportunity I was given this weekend. I feel like it was a moment where all my experiences, expertise and passions were brought together for a bigger purpose. I just hope the wonderful Kingdom Kids I spent the weekend with feel the same.

Enjoy learning about authors!

P.S. Maybe I can come and visit your classroom one day soon. :)