I had been writing fulltime for a couple of years (selling to magazines, and submitting manuscripts to editors and agents) when some kidlit friends told me about their favorite of all writing conferences and urged me to apply. I’m glad I took their advice, because that is where I met my editor!
The conference, Falling Leaves, is sponsored by the Eastern Upstate New York chapter of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and has been run for years by the talented writer Nancy Castaldo. It’s held at the old Silver Bay YMCA camp on Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains. The setting is fabulously beautiful, the accommodations cozy, and the company unparalleled. Applicants must submit a manuscript or portfolio to be considered. About 30 are accepted to participate, which makes the gathering the perfect size for meaningful interaction with other writers and illustrators and the five or six editors who attend, critique, and present.​

So in November of 2014 I went to Falling Leaves. One of the presenters that year was Holiday House executive editor Grace Maccarone. Grace impressed me right away during the three-day gathering. We sat at the same table for the first night’s dinner. At Falling Leaves, the editors sit with participants at all meals, and everyone has a chance to talk informally over meals. Grace didn’t dominate our conversation. Rather, she asked what we participants hoped to get out of the conference, and she listened carefully to our responses. When she gave her presentation a couple days later, I noticed she incorporated our input into her talk.

I also listened carefully to Grace’s description of what she was looking for in manuscripts. I thought one of my manuscripts fit her criteria. (This is despite the fact that the Falling Leaves editor with whom I had my one-on-one critique loved a different manuscript—still unpublished today—but didn’t like this one.)

I revised and polished some more. A few months later, I sent the manuscript for Hey, Hey Hay (at that point subtitled, “Mower, Tedder, Baler, Hay!”) to Grace, and crossed my fingers. She pronounced it “adorable,” and a few months later we had a contract. When I attended the 2016 national SCBWI conference in New York, Grace invited me to her office on Madison Avenue (thrills!) and we had lunch. She reported that she’d signed the talented artist Joe Cepeda to illustrate the book. And now, three years after we signed, Hey, Hey, Hay! will be released in August. Hey, Hey!
 
The moral of the story? “Listen to your writing buddies!” Many thanks to my critique partners, to Grace, to Joe, and to the many others who helped make Hey, Hey, Hay! a reality.

Christy Mihaly
HEY, HEY, HAY! (A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them) by Christy Mihaly, illustrated by Joe Cepeda
Holiday House, August 14, 2018
Available for pre-order now. See pre-order details on author website: http://www.christymihaly.com/hey-hey-hay.html

​I’ll always remember the story of how I met two of the most important people on my writing journey: my publisher and my editor.
 
I met my publisher, Callie Metler-Smith from Clear Fork Publishing, by sending her a query for a picture book about a squirrel. In that email, I mentioned that I also had a time-travel chapter book manuscript ready. Callie responded saying I should send the PB manuscript, but what really interested her was the time-travel story.
 
Callie bought my chapter book series. Book One, THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION: RETURN TO CONEY ISLAND, released in August 2017, and Book Two: THE LIBERTY BELL TRAIN RIDE, will come chugging down the tracks this year. And the squirrel story? I’m still revising that one!
 
At the same time, I was working on a manuscript about a girl who paints with a magic paintbrush. This story was inspired by my love of art history and the Impressionists specifically. I discovered that Callie is also an artist and is similarly fond of Impressionist painters. I pitched my story idea to Callie, and later signed a contract for my debut picture book, SCARLET’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH!

Then, enter my editor. I had been taking several classes and was an assistant for Mira Reisberg’s Children’s Book Academy (www.ChildrensBookAcademy). Lucky for me, Mira became an Art Director and Editor at Clear Fork, and is art directing and editing my picture book. And Mira paired me with one of her former students, the extremely talented illustrator Sandie Sonke (www.SandieSonkeIllustration.com). I am truly thrilled with the team on this manuscript!
 
It’s been a long journey, and I’m very excited that my debut picture book will be releasing soon! I am especially grateful to my mentors, Callie and Mira, for believing in this project and supporting me at every stage of the process. 
 
Thanks for reading about how I met my publisher and editor! Good luck with your submission process!
 
Melissa Stoller
SCARLET’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH
by Melissa Stoller, illustrated by Sandie Sonke
Clear Fork Publishing, August 2018
Available for pre-order at https://www.clearforkpublishing.com/store/p66/ScarletMagicPaintbrush.
www.MelissaStoller.com

I know, I know. The idiom is “two heads are better than one,” not “three heads are better than one.” But in this case, I cannot imagine 100 Bugs! A Counting Book existing without the editor, Janine O’Malley or the illustrator, Suzanne Kaufman. If you read this blog post https://epiceighteen.weebly.com/blog/100-bugs-a-counting-book-from-manuscript-to-book-by-kate-narita you can read about how the manuscript morphed into 100 Bugs! over time as a result of collaborating with Janine and Suzanne. Today, I’m going to highlight aspects of our collaboration that I didn’t cover in the Manuscript to Book post.

First off, I want to credit Janine O’Malley for finding Suzanne Kaufman. In case you don’t know, most authors don’t pick the illustrator, the editors do. When Janine emailed me Suzanne’s rendition of the candy-striped leafhopper, I couldn’t believe my luck. Suzanne’s vibrant, detailed rendition of the leafhopper was more beautiful and accurate than I could have ever imagined. Janine continued to make superb decisions that created the best book possible. If you want to read about how Janine changed the beginning and the end of the book as well as how the Macmillan team chose the book’s title, please refer to the post above.

​My excitement didn’t stop with seeing Suzanne’s artwork though. It continued because she reached out to me through social media which is unusual. Many authors don’t have any contact with the illustrator of the book. One of the changes that occurred as a result of this contact, which I didn’t mention in the previous blogpost, was the type of bugbane featured in 100 Bugs! Originally, I had included a bugbane with green leaves Actaea americana, but Suzanne wanted to feature Actaea simplex because the purplish leaves complemented the other colors in the composition.

​The best part of collaborating with Suzanne was having the opportunity to meet her last summer when my family traveled out to Seattle. The four of us met Suzanne for lunch, and she showed me her sketchbook for 100 Bugs! which was amazing. Then, she gave me an amazing gift—original artwork featuring the characters in the book.

​Collaboration creates a stronger piece of art and presents the possibility of life-changing relationships. So get out there, collaborate and create. It will change your life.

Kate Narita
100 BUGS! A COUNTING BOOK by Kate Narita illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
Farrar Straus Giroux June 12, 2018
Available everywhere books are sold.
www.katenarita.com

As a picture book author, I write words that eventually will be paired with illustrations, creating a whole book. Since I’m not an illustrator, my vision is only one part of the finished process. A certain amount of trust is required to believe that the publisher, editor, and/or art director will create an extraordinary partnership between author and illustrator. With the debut of SCARLET’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH, I couldn’t be happier collaborating with my incredible illustrator, Sandie Sonke (www.SandieSonkeIllustration.com), under the expert guidance of our editor and art director, Mira Reisberg, and our publisher, Callie Metler-Smith.
 
While learning the craft of writing for children, I had always practiced the idea of leaving room for the illustrator. When I saw the illustrations and text of SCARLET together for the first time, I truly understood what that meant. During the editing process after I saw the illustrations, I streamlined the text by cutting words that weren’t necessary. My text became tighter in response to the images I saw appearing next to the words. For example, in an early draft, I had included the line, “Tears ran down her cheeks.” But since Sandie showed emotion in her illustration, this line was redundant. As the collaborative dance continued, the story grew stronger. And my ideas plus Sandie’s concepts turned into one creative vision.
 
It’s amazing to see the artwork of my debut picture book. The book was inspired by the thought of a girl with a magic paintbrush. I didn’t know what that girl would look like and of course I couldn’t have contemplated all the lovely details that Sandie has included in her work. The finished book is a true melding of art and text, producing a seamless and cohesive whole. I hope that children who read this story will enjoy the themes of creativity and escaping perfectionism. And of course I hope they love the magic that emanates from each word and illustration!
 
Thanks for reading about my picture book process. Good luck with all your creative collaborations!
 ​
Melissa Stoller
SCARLET’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH
by Melissa Stoller, illustrated by Sandie Sonke
Clear Fork Publishing, August 2018
Available for pre-order at https://www.clearforkpublishing.com/store/p66/ScarletMagicPaintbrush.
www.MelissaStoller.com