 A Marble Book Party!
Shh, the animals are sleeping. Besides
being very educational, ANIMALS ARE SLEEPING is soothing and lovely. It
makes for the perfect bedtime picture book. Suzanne Slade’s simple and
beautiful text educates reader’s on how and where animals sleep. Gary
Phillip’s rich illustrations bring Suzanne’s text to life. There is
also a For Creative Minds section at the back providing activities and
even more information to reinforce this great book.
The Write
Marbles are proud to honor ANIMALS ARE SLEEPING with our first ever Marble Book Party! Following, you’ll find an interview with both
Suzanne Slade and her editor from Sylvan Dell Publishing, Donna German.
You’ll hear the stories behind this book and it’s journey to
publication.
Suzanne, welcome to The Write Marbles and thank you for sharing the celebration of your new book with us!
1. Where did the idea for this book come from?
The
idea for Animals are Sleeping came from my daughter, Christina. On
Thanksgiving Day, 2004 while my family was driving to my parent's house
in Indiana, she pointed to a horse on an Amish farm and said, "You
know, they sleep standing up!" That interesting fact got me thinking
about other fascinating ways different animals sleep. As soon as we
arrived back home, I began researching how various animals sleep and
wrestled those facts into a short, lyrical picture book manuscript.
2. Was this book contracted right away, or were there a few bumps on the path to publication?
Like
most picture books, Animals are Sleeping had a rather long and bumpy
path to publication. I completed the manuscript in 2004. My first
submissions generated a few encouraging rejection letters with
hand-written notes. Sometime in 2005 I got a phone call from an editor
at a small publisher asking if the story was available. I happily
responded, "yes", and she said she would send out a contract later that
week. When the contract didn't arrive for several weeks, I called the
publisher and they informed me marketing had decided against a "bedtime
book", and they were sorry.
I submitted the manuscript to Sylvan
Dell in May '06. In July, they notified me my story had been placed in
their "maybe" pile. Two months later, I received an email stating that
based on the number of manuscripts remaining after that cut, my odds of
acceptance were now 4.5 to 1. In November another email from Sylvan
Dell arrived to say Animals had made it past another round of cuts, and
in January '07 I received the wonderful news that it was one of five
chosen to be published! I later received contract offers from two other
publishers for this story (one had had it over 18 months), but I'm very
pleased it was published by Sylvan Dell as they are a perfect fit for
this manuscript.
3. Who or what brought you to Sylvan Dell Publishing?
I
don't recall how I first learned of Sylvan Dell, but I do remember my
first impression of their unique and beautiful books. I was first
struck by the incredible illustrations in every title! I was also
delighted when I discovered the enrichment section in the back of their
books called "For Creative Minds". Children love to learn, and the
additional information this provides is a huge plus for children,
parents, and teachers. I met several members of the Sylvan Dell staff
at the IRA conference in Chicago in 2006, and was impressed with their
genuine enthusiasm for creating fun and educational children's picture
books. The day after the conference I sent them Animals are Sleeping.
4.
Did the final version of the book change from the original version? If
so, how? Could you share a bit about your revision process?
Would
you believe the editor, Donna German, and I only changed one word in
the text? I guess that's not too surprising considering it was only 70
words long (not including the two pages I wrote for the "For Creative
Minds" section). That small change came from Gary Phillips'
illustrations. On the double-page spread that said, "In the still, dark
night", he had created a stunning sunset background with gorgeous
colors. So we changed the text to read, "In the still of night."
Happily, the revision process was very simple.
5. Did the illustrator’s vision differ from your own?
I
didn't have a definite vision in mind for the text. I absolutely LOVE
the colorful and detailed illustration of each animal that Gary
Phillips created, as well as his spectacular backgrounds. I can't even
imagine how long it took him to paint those masterpieces! I know Donna
spent a lot of time considering different illustrators for this
project, and her hard work and patience paid off.
6. Could you share with our readers who are teachers and librarians, how this book could be used in the classroom?
Wow! There's so much enrichment content that Sylvan Dell develops for each title that it's hard to list it all.
The
last four pages of Animals contain matching activities and sorting
cards with additional facts about each animal featured in the text. In
addition to those "For Creative Minds" pages, Sylvan Dell's website
provides an unbelievable amount of free on line resources for teachers.
There you will find teaching activities specifically developed for my
book such as questions to ask students before and after reading,
language arts resources (how to develop a word wall, word search sheet,
riddle me this exercise, silly sentence structure activity, and more),
eleven science resources (classifying, sorting, Venn diagrams, life
cycles, animals card games with a color deck you can print out, and
much more), a math activity sheet, and a research and geography section
that includes a map! Their website also includes a lengthy list of
educational links for each animal in my book, along with an English and
Spanish audio of the book. I hope I remembered everything, but if not,
you can see it all for yourself at www.SylvanDellPublishing.com.
7. Speaking of classrooms, do you do school visits? If so, what has been your most popular presentation?
I
do a number of school visits and offer four different programs. In
"Authors are Awesome" I share information about the publishing process
and what authors do. I've written eight illustrated biographies for
grade school readers and talk about these great American figures in
"Fascinating Figures in History". For "Science Rules" I discuss any
number of topics from one my science books. My most requested program
by far is "Amazing Animals". I bring several stuffed furry friends
along for that program so the children can participate as we learn some
fascinating facts about how animals sleep. Of course, I also read
Animals are Sleeping during that visit. .
[FYI: In February, 2009,
I will be offering a new presentation on the topic of addition to go
with my next picture book from Sylvan Dell, What's New at the Zoo? An
Animal Adding Adventure.]
8. Do you have any words of wisdom for budding authors, young and not so young?
Most
writers have probably heard this advice many times, but these three
items were. and still are, crucial to my writing journey, so I will
share them again.
1. Learn all you can about the craft of writing.
2. Keep writing.
2. Don't give up!
9.
Do you have a website where writers, parents, teachers, librarians,
etc. can learn more about you, your work and your school visit
offerings?
They can find that all at www.suzanneslade.com.
10.
Last but not least, I heard that your book was released on a very
special and appropriate day. Could you share the name of that day with
our readers?
My book was released on March 10th, which also happens to be National Napping Day.
Interestingly,
this date was chosen by Sylvan Dell many months ago. Recently Sylvan
Dell's Public Relations whiz, Angie, discovered this day was also
Napping Day!
Quite a nice surprise, indeed!
Thanks for joining us for our first Marble Book Party, Donna. We are so happy to celebrate the release of ANIMALS ARE SLEEPING.
1. Could you tell us why this particular story caught your attention? What was that special something about it?
This
is probably one of the most difficult questions to answer about what I
look for in a manuscript and what catches my eye. Based on
conversations at trade shows, I was aware that we needed some more
preschool / early literacy books, yet we have to stay true to our
science and math through literature. I liked the simplicity of the text
and the way that it can be read at bedtime or naptime but can still be
used to teach about animals in habitats all over the world.
2. This book was illustrated by Gary Phillips. What was the selection process like as far as choosing the illustrator?
This
is the first book that Gary illustrated for us but I love his work and
am using him again. I found Gary through picturebook.com – first time
that I contacted someone who hadn’t submitted to me directly (or an
agent). Usually illustrators submit samples via e-mail and if I like
something enough, I ask them to send me some samples. After I have
selected the manuscripts for the year, I tape the illustration samples
to every free spot possible on the walls. All staff are welcome to
offer their thoughts and comments (and do) but ultimately it comes down
to what the Art Director and I think will work best. When I like
someone’s art, I keep the samples and they are always considered even
though they may not be aware of it. Sometimes the right text just jumps
for a particular illustrator.
3. For our readers that are writers, could you share a little bit about the process of choosing which books will be published?
First,
let me say that I have been on the author side of submissions and I
vividly recall the 27 rejections that I received prior to my first
“yes!” I know that you have written a manuscript that is near and dear
to your heart. I also know that you can “see” it in published form and
that there is a frustration with the whole submission process – not
only to Sylvan Dell but to other publishers as well. Hopefully this
will help you to understand what editors/publishers need/look for in
submissions.
Please understand that the submission process is
overwhelming for editors too. I receive more submissions in a single
day (seven days a week) than we publish in a year! I can’t imagine what
editors at the large publishing houses receive! Also, please understand
that reading submissions and selecting the list is just one of the many
jobs that an editor does.
I try to read all submissions within a
few days and I either reject or tend to hold those which have some
possibilities. As the year progresses, I try to keep the number down
and will go through and periodically "weed" if you will.
This is a
very bizarre business and if you are still waiting for your first
break, I recommend that you start reading books about how to market
your book. That might help you in understanding what it is that
editors/publishers are looking for when they select manuscripts. Don't
forget that this is a business – not just your art of writing. The
authors who survive (and thrive) in this business are the ones that
truly understand that and commit to doing what it takes.
Every
publisher looks for different things. Our four criteria are directly
tied to our marketing and each manuscript must fit ALL FOUR categories!
If the manuscript doesn't stand up to what we need to market, we would
be wasting our money by publishing it. And, yes, I have turned down
some really cute manuscripts because they didn’t hit all four criteria.
It is simply not enough to tell me that you'll do signings or readings.
Here's the "in" on how the criteria tie to our marketing needs:
fun-to-read
story: My first cut is whether I envision and parent and child cuddled
up reading the book together. Would a child pick the book up and WANT
to read it?
National or regional in scope: we can't afford to
publish books that are provincial with limited marketing scope. Believe
it or not, the NC Aquarium system would not buy "Carolina's Story"
because they said the story took place in SC, not NC. I even had a
bookstore owner tell me that she wouldn't carry it because the turtle
didn't wash up on HER island! We were able to show both how the book
DID apply to them and they are now repeat customers. Stores that buy
our books won't buy books they don't think will sell (they have to stay
in business too) – as publishers, we have to help them to make sales to
THEIR clients. The region has to be large enough to warrant our initial
(substantial) investment.
Niche market: In general, bookstores
are only interested in trying new books if they suspect they can sell
it or they will only look at new releases. Think about it from their
perspective: they have limited clientele (those who live within X
miles). They have to have a wide variety of merchandise available which
is why they usually only buy one or two copies of a title (IF they buy)
unless there is strong reason to stock more like the subject matter or
a local author/illustrator. Don't believe me? Go into a bookstore and
count... Let's not even go down the path of returnable books. So...
where is the market? We believe that a strong market for us (science
and math through literature remember) is the niche market which
includes museum, zoo, aquarium, nature center, park gift shops etc.
Unlike bookstores, their clientele constantly changes. If they find a
product (any product) that sells well, they know it will sell for them
over prolonged periods of time. They'll buy multiple copies of limited
items but they keep those same items in stock. Now, let me add the real
downer: if the organization with a gift shop is a non-profit, they are
tied to IRS regulations that 90% of sales in their gift shops must be
directly related to their non-profit mission. You can't expect a
planetarium to carry an animal book. At a Museum Store Association
conference, I had one buyer literally counting the animals in a title.
She said she couldn't buy it because only 7 of the animals were found
in HI waters and she needs 80% (8 of the 10)....
Last but not
least: must tie into elementary school curriculum (remember our science
& math through literature focus). We find that one of our largest
clients is schools: either individual teachers or the libraries. But,
with the No Child Left Behind, any book that a teacher uses in the
classroom needs to be aligned to standards. Literally, the teacher has
to fill out forms indicating why or how the book is worth using/reading
in the classroom. In order to make our books usable in schools, we
align each title to National Science & Math Standards. For most
states, that is not sufficient; they need each title aligned to THEIR
state. Plus we are now providing 30 to 80 additional pages of
cross-curricular teaching activities for each book so that the teachers
can literally use the book in reading class to teach science. If the
book isn't usable in the classroom, we just can't market to schools.
4. As far as submissions go, are there any particular subjects that you are especially interested in seeing at the moment?
No, I’ll know it when I see it.
5.
Last but certainly not least, for our readers that are teachers and
librarians, could you share the types of books that Sylvan Dell
publishes and how these books could be helpful in the classroom? And,
is there a particular page online where they can go to get classroom
helpers, in particular, for ANIMALS ARE SLEEPING?
We have a
strong mission of science and math through literature with the goal of
getting children excited about learning. In addition to the For
Creative Minds section which can be downloaded from our website, each
book also has learning links (safe websites) and 20 to 80 pages of
free, cross-curricular teaching activities for use at home or in the
classroom. We also have eBooks available for purchase so that they can
be projected on a white board for reading to a group. We are in the
process of translating each book into Spanish and the purchase of one
eBook will include being able to select English or Spanish text and
audio (read in one, listen in the other). Everything can be found from
our website (www.SylvanDellPublishing.com) by clicking on either the book’s cover or by navigating from the top or right hand side of the home page.
|
