Debut Author of the Month:
Kristin O'Donnell Tubb...

Author Kristin O'Donnell Tubb's debut book Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different was released just last week from Delacorte. Main character Autumn Winifred Oliver "has charmed a hive of bees, wrangled a flock of geese, and filched a stick of dynamite from the U.S. Government," says Kristin. "But it'll take a whole new kind of gumption to save her Cades Cove home."

Set in east Tennessee in 1934, the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park drives Autumn Winifred Oliver, pitting the title character against loggers, farmers, and volunteers from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park who all want her home for their own uses.

Here Kristin talks about getting The Call from her editor (in an unusual setting), her revision process, doing research for historical fiction, and more.

If you're in the Nashville area, you can attend Kristin's book release tonight at 6 p.m. at Davis-Kidd. (Judging from what a delightful interview this is, I'm sure it will be a fun event!)

Share the details of how you got your first book deal. How did you end up with Delacorte?
I met my editor at an SCBWI conference in September 2006, where she critiqued the first three chapters and requested the full manuscript. A few months later, I got The Call. But mind you, like Autumn, I sometimes do things different:

THE SCENE: Early February, 2007. A 212 area code pops up on my ringing cell phone. I am nine months pregnant. I am AT THE OB/GYN.

Wendy: "Hello, Kristin? It's Wendy Loggia from Random House."
Me: "Oh my gosh! It's so good to hear from you! I'm at my gynecologist's office right now."
Wendy: silence
Me: "Oh, um--I should say, I'm not in the office right now--I mean, I am, but I'm checking out. I'm done." Shut up Kristin. "I mean--I'm scheduling my induction for my new baby. I was newly pregnant when we met, remember?" Shut UP, Kristin. "Everything's great! Healthy baby! I'm scheduling his arrival right now. That's why I'm at...my...OB's office..."
Wendy: laughing "I think this is a first for me."
Me: unbelievably mortified "Uh, me too?"
Wendy: "So I wanted to talk to you more about this wonderful story you sent me..."

And that was that! There, in my OB/GYN's office, I was offered my first book deal. Two weeks later, my son was born. It was one heckuva month.

You revised your manuscript on your editor’s request before you got a contract then went through more revision after you signed. Tell us about your revision process. What did you learn?
Autumn was revised four times with my editor before it reached the state that hit shelves on October 14. The first revision was indeed prior to getting a contract, so whenever I hear a writer ask, “Should I really put more work into this without a contract?,” I’m the one shouting, “Yes! Absolutely! Do it!” (Sidebar: I later found out that many editors simply won’t offer a contract to a first-time author without requesting a round of revisions first. Editors need to know that: one, you can revise, and two, you’re willing.)

My revision process goes as follows:

1. I receive an email from my editor, alerting me to the fact that my next round of revisions is headed my way. Feel a flutter of panic in stomach.
2. I receive the packet, along with a three-page, single spaced letter alerting me to the massive changes my editor would like to see. “No way,” I think. “I cannot complete all of this by this deadline!” Full-on panic ensues. Much chocolate is consumed.
3. A day or so passes. I review the letter again. “That’s no so bad,” I think. And, “Oh, right! That’ll work so much better! Why didn’t I think of it?”
4. An outline of all changes is constructed, lumping like thoughts/characteristics together. Brainstorming begins.
5. The old manuscript grows stronger as, item by item, each change is made.
6. I mail the revised manuscript back to my amazingly brilliant editor, before deadline.
7. I reward myself with chocolate.

And what did I learn, other than revision makes you fat? Revision is fun--really, truly fun. By the time you’ve been offered a contract for a book, you already know these characters inside and out. Revision is like visiting an old friend, and you get to go on all these great new adventures with her.

Your book just released last week. Tell me about your promotional events?
First, I threw a virtual launch party both at my blog and at the Class of 2k8 blog. The day of my release, October 14th, I’ll was a guest speaker at an Educator’s Appreciation Event at Barnes & Noble in Franklin, TN. My launch party--a real, live one, with people and food and everything--is today, October 23rd, at 6 p.m. at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville, TN. Throw in a couple of school visits, the Southern Festival of Books, and a guest room filled with my very happy parents, and you’ve pretty much got it!

One online reviewer said of your character Autumn: “Her problem seems to be convincing everyone else that it’s Okay for her to be different. That’s her internal struggle—one that’s familiar to almost all of us.” What drove you to create this spunky, free spirited character?
Until I wrote Autumn, I never quite understood those writers who talked about their characters like they were real people. I respected them, yes, but truly, I thought those authors were so eccentric: “I see. So your character told you she didn’t want to go hunting because she’s considering becoming a vegetarian. Hmm…”

But then I got the idea to write a story set in Cades Cove, TN, which is now a part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I did the research first, and found that the people who lived in the Cove and throughout the Smokies prided themselves on pulling the biggest prank, telling the tallest tale. This, mixed with a heaping dose of Southern religion. Autumn grew out of that research, and once she got rolling, she dragged me by my shirt collar through the story. I am now a convert.

Do you do things different?
I wish I could shout, “Absolutely! I’m as different as they come!” but truly, I’m not. We’re all a little bit different, but a lot the same. I think we sometimes forget how alike we all truly are.

You have a writers group, correct? You’re also in the Class of 2k8. Can a writer do it alone?
I don’t believe a writer can do it alone. Well, maybe if you’re Steinbeck or Frost or some other rare genius, then yes, you can walk this path solo. But a good writers group is far more than a collection of people who mark up your manuscript; they challenge you to make your ideas better. They cheer your highs and give you chocolate when you hit your lows. And the Class of 2k8 has been wonderful in that it’s been a support system for those of us going through publication for the first time. (And yes, there are as many highs and lows on this side of the contract as there are on the other side.) Then, too, is the simple idea that two (or in the case of my writer’s group, four) heads are better than one. More people watching the business, researching CWIM, and recommending good reads is always a plus. So even if you could do it alone, why would you?

Why do you love research so much? Do have any tips for researching historical fiction?
Ah, man, the research! (Can you hear the sigh?) Research is like panning for gold; you dig and search and sift until you stumble upon a little nugget that is just so lovely you know it must be a part of your story, and so you string it together with the other gorgeous little gems you’ve found. I love the dizzy feeling you get when the microfilm is whizzing toward an article that sounds promising. I love musty yellow books and photographs that can only be handled while wearing gloves. I love that a newspaper article written in 1910 sounds nothing like a newspaper article written in 1971. Even if what you find isn’t true (“Pall Malls are good for you!”), it was true to the people who first read it in 1934. It is life, preserved.

Three of my favorite tips for researching historical fiction (These of course don’t apply to those of you who write about the Iron Ages, but if 20th century Americana is your thing…):

1. Find ads from the time period to get an idea of what the cars looked like, what kitchens looked like, what clothes looked like.
2. Read the classified ads. These not only show the kinds of goods for sale, but were written by everyday folk (i.e., not reporters), so the vocabulary can be unforgettable.
3. Ask your librarian for help on specific questions. My local librarian loves it when I walk up with a question like, “How much was rent for a two-room apartment in Chicago in May, 1910?” They live for that stuff. Really. That’s why they rule the world.

You also write for licensed characters. What are the benefits of doing that sort of work? How does a writer get those gigs?
Writing for internationally known characters such as Scooby-Doo and Strawberry Shortcake is like getting a crash course in voice. Each character is so distinct and recognizable that you must do a lot of research before writing for them, so that you capture them accurately. And there are usually several gatekeepers that monitor each license--as there should be--to make certain that the text rings true. It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it’s a blast, too! Another benefit is learning to work under extremely tight deadlines. Because of all those aforementioned gatekeepers, each person needs to review the text a few days before the next person does, which makes some turn-around times quite tight--like, a week or so to write 64 pages.

The saying, “right place, right time,” could be a writer’s mantra, and certainly applies to how I first started working with Dalmatian Press. Dalmatian holds the rights to many well-known licensed characters for coloring and activity books. I met my editor at a conference and began writing for them shortly thereafter. Yet another example of getting yourself and your work in front of people! The good news is that once you’ve proven yourself in this arena, it’s not difficult to find new gigs. Publishers are always looking for people who can pen licensed characters.

What else are you working on?
I have two works-in-progress at the moment. The first is Selling Hope (Or, Gaining Glorious Asylum from Mr. Halley’s Fiery Beast). In May 1910, Halley’s Comet passed by Earth; it passed so close, in fact, that Earth actually passed through the tail of the comet. Mass hysteria ensued, much like the panic of Y2K. It was considered the first case of global paranoia, because it was the first time that the media (i.e., newspapers) reached enough people to feed the fear. Hope, an entrepreneurial vaudevillian, sees an opportunity to cash in on this fear by selling anti-comet pills. (And yes, that really happened. Another gem found!)

The other story I’m working on will, I hope, be attractive as a series. Haunted Melody: A Stop the Presses! Mystery stars Eleanor Roosevelt Pitt, a socially awkward but lovable girl who is obsessed with investigate reporters. She’s so entranced, in fact, that she starts a school newspaper, and manages not only to solve the mystery of the ghost in the music room, but get her fellow students enamored with journalistic truth as well.

And oh, I’m always working on school lunches and dirty diapers! (Not at the same time…)

Any advice to those seeking publications, particularly middle grade writers?
Aside from the Top Two Biggies (Read middle grade and write, write, write--in that order), I’d recommend attending conferences. Except for magazine articles, every writing gig I’ve ever landed has been the result of attending a conference. Research conferences in the CWIM, and take advantage of those manuscript critiques! (Yes, they cost extra, but this is your dream, right?!) When you find out which editors will be at a conference you’re attending, go back to your CWIM to see what kinds of books their houses publish. Google the editors. Read the books they have edited. If you have something similar in your files, submit it for critique. Get out of your office and market yourself--editors want to know that you’ll work hard to promote your book, and the best way to show them you will is to work hard to promote yourself.

Debut Author of the Month: Jody Feldman...

Debut author Jody Feldman's first book, The Gollywhopper Games was just released by Greenwillow a few weeks ago. And thanks to her experience working in the advertising industry, new author Feldman was prepared with an arsenal of promotional tools. Below she tells us about her book and what inspired her to write it (nearly two decades years ago) as well as what she's done to spread buzz for her book, how she found her agent, her thoughts on revision, and more.

For those who don’t know anything about your book, give a quick teaser/summary of The Gollywhopper Games.
Exactly 25,000 contestants will enter, but only one will win what might be the biggest, bravest, boldest kids competition the world has ever seen--The Gollywhopper Games. Gil Goodson may have more reason to win than anyone else. It was, after all, the Golly Toy & Game Company that had had his father arrested and ruined Gil’s life. If Gil can get through the questions, puzzles and stunts, he might have a chance at redemption. Does he have what it takes to win? Do you?

You first began writing Gollywhopper in 1989! What kept you interested in the story for so long? And what was the incident that inspired it so long ago?
Oh, you give me too much credit for my ability to stick with something that long. I’m a fast first-draft writer. I once wrote a novel in 10 days. (Never to be repeated except under bizarre circumstances.) The Gollywhopper Games took me about 3-4 months, puzzles and all. The thought of one 5th grade kid kept pushing me to get it done.

I was volunteering in the school library when that 5th grader rushed in, waving Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, proclaiming it the best book he ever read. When he asked the librarian for something just like it, and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator was checked out, neither she nor his teacher could find anything to satisfy him. It was at that moment I decided to write a book for that kid.

As soon as I finished that first draft, I let it lie on the desk for about 20 minutes before I set about the task of revising, which, at the time, meant an equation like this:
Line Editing + Adding An Extra Character = Full Revision = Mail MS Immediately

Do I need to mention I was young and naïve, and there were no online communities to draw wisdom from at the time? Do I need to mention that no one sent me a contract right away?

I did have enough sense to return from the post office and start writing something new, another middle grade. When I finished that one, I moved on to younger YA, then on to edgier YA, back to younger, trying to find my voice. So while I have a number of manuscripts in my file cabinet, many of which I soon realized, I could file under Novel Writing 101, I always felt The Gollywhopper Games had that something.

I’m not sure what inspired me to bring it out of retirement, make some substantial revisions (I’d learned a lot in 12 years) and submit it for a critique the first time I went to the SCBWI National Conference in LA, but it was a fortuitous inspiration. When your critiquer, an editor, tells you that if, for some reason, you can’t sell the book, you should come back to her, and she’d figure out a way to serialize it to fit her imprint; when you hear that, you know/hope/pray it may just be a matter of time.

How did you find your agent? Can you tell me a little about your path to publication?
The 2002 SCBWI Conference was huge for me. It was there I met agent Jennie Dunham. I didn’t race up to tell her what I wrote. I didn’t give her a pitch. I didn’t talk about me at all. About half an hour previously, she’d finished giving her keynote speech, and I found her almost alone in the lobby outside the auditorium. I merely thanked her for her talk, asked her a quick question about it and left her to the others. I’d achieved my sole purpose in approaching her. I needed to know if I could feel comfortable handing my career over to this stranger. I submitted to Jennie as did so many anonymous others from that conference. In the end, it was the writing that won her over. I know she didn’t remember the conversation.

Before she took me on as a client, she wanted me to understand that I would need to do a rewrite for her, adjusting my main character’s age (from 15 to 12 … what was I thinking, making my MG character 15?). I also needed to understand that my story, not a perfect fit in any genre, might take a while to sell. And even with that initial rewrite, it did take a while. Three and a half years. It was only after a subsequent rewrite, my most significant rewrite in 16 years, that it sold to the fabulous people at Greenwillow the next time out.

That all goes to show, even with an agent, you shouldn’t start spending that advance check of your imagination. I’m very fortunate I have an agent who, I say in my acknowledgments, believed in me sometimes more than I believed in myself.

In a blog post, you mentioned that seven years ago, you were “introduced to the true meaning of revision and the amount of work it takes to stand a chance to succeed in this business.” What’s the true meaning of revision?
True revision means being brave enough to imagine your story could possibly be different than when you first conceived it. It’s easy for writers to believe that what they’ve put into words is the unshakeable truth. They forget that they were the ones who made up the characters, plots and settings. It’s within their power to modify or even destroy what they once thought was essential to the story.

Let me put this into more real terms.

In every version of The Gollywhopper Games, until the one just before it sold, there existed Danny, a graduate student who lived next door to my MC, Gil. The two were almost like brothers. Danny was the device through whom Gil revealed his backstory. Danny was Gil’s confidante. Danny was the one who accompanied Gil to the Games. But why, a rejecting editor (one to whom I’ll always be grateful) said in her letter, why would a 22 year old have such an interest in a 12 year old? What was in Danny’s background that made this relationship work? Had his own little brother died or … ? I didn’t want the story to go there, but something needed to change. I was either brave or desperate when I gave Danny the old Delete Button. But the act of re-imagining the story without Danny, dividing his role among other characters, existing and new, gave the book a better truth.

When the time came to revise for my editor at Greenwillow, I was still scared to death, but I understood what might have to be done. More important, I understood I was capable of doing it.

You’re a member of the Class of 2k8. You’ve already begun doing school visits. You have a YouTube video and a sophisticated looking website. Just how much promotion must a first-time author do?
It’s how much this first-time author must do. My education and background are in advertising, so I am only too aware of the possibilities that exist for promotion. When I had that advance in hand, I decided to reinvest a healthy portion of it in my book. Sure, I would have liked a new sofa for my den, but I figured that would come, and maybe I could add a plasma TV, if I my promotional investment paid off.

I understand this may be unusual among writers, but I think of publishing as a business. If I can positively affect my publisher’s bottom line, I become more valuable. I don’t mean to sound cold, and I rarely think of it so clinically, but that’s how I made my reinvestment decision. I don’t know if my efforts will account for appreciably more book sales, but I do know I would have felt disappointed in myself if sales were less than stellar and I hadn’t tried.

To that end, I have two websites: my personal one and one for the book itself. I also maintian a blog, limiting my entries to the writing and author experience. I hand out bookmarks because it’s easier than spelling “Gollywhopper” and having people remember it. And because my cover lends itself to T-shirts, I couldn’t resist. To have kids be walking billboards for you? Great bang for the buck. I’m excited to cut short a weekend away to go to Des Moines and meet with the Midwest Booksellers Association who have named The Gollywhopper Games a Connections Pick. And while that’s an investment in time only, it’s still great for promotion. I do have that video on YouTube as part of the Class of 2k8 . And I also worked with a group of senior advertising students at the University of Missouri who came up with a whole advertising and marketing plan for me. I haven’t yet decided which of those elements I will use.

But back to the question: What must first-time authors do? Whatever they feel comfortable doing outside one near-essential element. It’s near-essential, today, to have at least some online presence in order to be responsive to readers. That can be as inexpensive as a free blog with weekly entries. It can merely be a simple, static website. But readers expect to find authors online.

I love being accessible to kids who are growing and learning and getting excited about the words and ideas I’ve brought to them. Everything else is just gravy.

How has membership in the Class of 2k8 been helpful?
Anytime you can bounce ideas off, gain support from, borrow the wisdom of 26 other intelligent, energetic and articulate authors, you’re going to come out stronger. We have not only used each others’ strengths and resources to try and reach the booksellers, librarians and teachers who will make our books available to a larger readership, we’ve also relied on each other to become, individually better promoters and better authors. With my background, I was probably capable of tackling all the tasks on my own, but I’ve found I’ve been taken to school a time or two or more and have a stronger promotional portfolio to show for it. And along the way, I have a cheering section, shoulders to cry on and so many new, good friends.

Was your speaking gig at the SCBWI Florida conference the first time you presented to other writers? What was your topic? How did it go?
I loved, loved, loved every minute of that experience. Yes, it was my first time, and I was thrilled to share it with fellow 2k8 member Debbie Reed Fischer (Braless in Wonderland, Dutton, April 2008), another perk of being in the class.

Our official topic title … Jumping Into Bed with the Competition: Can 27 Authors Plan a Mass Promotion and Sell Happily Ever After? We spoke as representatives of the Class of 2k8 on taking what we’ve learned from collaborative marketing and showing authors how to apply it, both on an individual basis and in group situations.

And even though I was speaking well within my comfort zone--harkening back to my advertising/promotional background--I don’t think I ever felt more like an author than I did at that January conference in Miami. I’m hooked, and when I come up for air, I’d love to do it again. And again.

It’s kind of refreshing to see in your bio that you indeed can remember a time when you didn’t want to be a writer, and that you once found writing boring and difficult. Why the change?
You do need to understand that while I never, ever, ever, ever saw myself being a writer, I was always good at it in school. I could write fast. I’d get A's. So I knew I was capable of being a competent writer, but as an occupation? No way. No, thank you. Kill me first.

So I entered college as a psychology major, but found those classes even more unsuited for me than writing. The night I realized I needed to change majors, I sat on the dorm desk, staring into the night from my 8th-floor window. Fifteen minutes later, I had decided that as long as I was at the University of Missouri, on the campus of the one of the world’s top Journalism Schools, I should take advantage of it. I didn’t need to write long, involved articles, either. I could write advertising. It couldn’t be hard to write a few lines to sell something. It wouldn’t even feel like writing. I found it easy and surprisingly fun.

But how did I go from writing 50-word ads to 50,000-word novels? The short version of the time line goes like this.

1. Degree in advertising.
2. Job as a copywriter.
3. Fast writer = spare time most afternoons = boredom at office.
4. Wordplay doodling looks like I’m still working.
5. Decision to be next Dr. Seuss.
6. Realization I’m not Dr. Seuss.
7. Stab at other picture books.
8. Previously mentioned incident of 5th grader in library.

Puzzles are featured throughout your book. Can you remember a time when you didn’t like puzzles?
No.
Some early memories:

• Watching, fascinated as my mom worked crossword puzzles.
• Being home sick from school, trying to keep my eyes open to watch the morning round of game shows.
• Asking my parents to set up a follow-the-clue treasure hunt with my birthday present at the end of it. (How many kids want to delay getting presents?)
• Figuring out a puzzle-type problem in two minutes when our first-grade teacher Mrs. Gabriel was probably trying to keep us occupied for at least ten. (That’s when she introduced me to Venn diagrams because I couldn’t explain how I came up with answer. The whole process thrilled and fascinated me.)

Kirkus references Roald Dahl’s Charlie books in a review of The Gollywhopper Games. What do you admire about Dahl as an author? How did it feel to read that comparison?
I admire Roald Dahl’s imagination, his ability to go deep and dark, but make much of it seem light and funny. Just as I realized I wasn’t Dr. Seuss, I tell the kids in school presentations, I’m not Roald Dahl, and I never will be. I do, however, hope to find a fragment of his audience.

As for the comparison, I pretty much set myself up for that. It all started with my wanting to write a book for that 5th grader, and it continued with my first submission letter where I mentioned the inspiration. I assume, also, because it’s a strong identifier, the Charlie reference filtered down and fit naturally into the publisher’s marketing of the book.

Kirkus hasn’t been the only one to use the reference. Some haven’t been quite as kind in their comparison; others, though, have been very favorable. Just to have reviewers pick up on that, and show The Gollywhopper Games playing in the same ballpark as Roald Dahl, is, indeed, an honor.

Are there any other projects you’d like the mention? Any works in progress?
I’d love to mention several projects, and I’d love to give you exact publishing dates, one a year for the next ten years. But … considering I’m not writing fiction in this interview, I can’t. I do have a completed story under review with my agent. I hope that will be my next official book. I have a very terrible first draft completed for Potential Book #3. And I’m halfway through another not-as-terrible first draft of Potential Book #4.

All three of those should find an audience with the same type of readers who will love The Gollywhopper Games. Stay tuned!

What’s your advice to authors trying to get published?
Find your own 5th grader. She may be 3 years old. He may be 17. Now, write your story with that person at the edges of your mind. Who should be in the forefront? You. You as a kid. What made you choose a book? What propelled you to turn the pages? How did you feel at the end? Use the memories.

Find a way to fit writing into a hectic life on a regular basis. Make a daily date with your manuscript file. Even when you’re sick, you can manage a paragraph on the back of an envelope. A snippet of conversation. A thought. A connection. An idea.

Be open to criticism. Save the defensiveness for the football field or the courtroom. Listen. Absorb. Read. Write. Experiment. Pull out an important scene. Write it a different way. Maybe from a different point of view. What have you learned? How can you make it stronger?

Realize, you need to really want this. You need to have enough passion to push you through yet another rewrite. And another. And another. You need to write because you can’t see yourself doing anything else.

Writing takes time. Writing takes effort. And if you don’t know exactly how to take that next step, remember, the children’s writing community is one of the most supportive group of professionals I’ve ever seen. Ask. Then listen. Then act.

Class of 2k9 Accepting Applications...

An executive member of online marketing collective the Class of 2k9 posted to the CW list on Friday saying that the Class is accepting applications for membership. If you have a mid-grade or YA novel under contract for 2009 publication and have an interest in joining the Class of 2k9, you can e-mail them at theclassof2k9@hotmail.com.

If you're not familiar with the Class of 2k7 and Class of 2k8, visit their websites. Also see Greg Fishbone's 2008 CWIM article: "Class of 2k7: First-Time Authors Band Together for Book Promotion" (pgae 98).