Before I diverged topics onto presentations, we were waiting to hear back from publishers about our submission. And as the time ticked by, we were slowly realizing that they decided NOT to pick up our manuscript.

Colleagues, published authors and speakers alike have emphasized that once you’ve submitted your work to a publisher to move on to the next work. Move on to writing something new. Move on to illustrating something else. Just move on.

I partly agree with the “move on” advice. But instead of moving on to the next piece (because if one does not have a next piece, this can compound one’s discouragement), move on to the next round of submissions. What could be better than to see on your to-do list, “Go to Barnes and Noble, sit on floor, look through latest end-cap children’s books;” or, “Go to indie bookstore for children’s story time,” or “Go to event featuring so-and-so author or illustrator.” These are no-brainer “to-do’s.”

In my case, I "moved on" to working on one element in an existing illustration that wasn’t previously satisfactory at submission time. I wasn't too particularly concerned about finishing the work because I figured if a publisher picked it up, they might REJECT that illo and suggest another theme.

When I was roughing out this image to show Centipede Dragon getting sick, my medical illustrator training taught me that when highlighting a difference over time (or with different parameters), keep everything else in the scene constant. So I copied and pasted the same tail image three times, with fewer and fewer scales on each successive scenario, to convey the idea that as he’s frantically helping, his scales are rapidly disappearing.

Looking at the "finished book" overall, I realized I hadn't given him much variation in facial expression throughout the book. This makes him somewhat flat, and when you develop a bond with a character, it’s because you get to KNOW him/her through his/her thoughts/feelings. But if Centipede Dragon doesn’t talk, then how do you know how he's feeling? That's right, through his expressions!

So when you move on, try focusing in on one accomplish-able task at a time. I swear it will make it easier to tackle the larger things, like what's next!

This presentation that was tied to the Lunar New Year was an example of a departure from my usual presentation format. I was asked to come up with a crafts idea, and a back-up for that crafts idea, which by the way, also had to be a Lunar New Year-centric one. Note that with a craft, you have to demo the craft, provide written instructions for reference, and then participate in the craft. So you will also be doing some teaching as well.

With all the queasiness and hours upon hours of prep that each of these presentations represent, I have been buoyed up by the creativity that pours forth from kids. All they need is the seed of an idea and they just run with it. In this instance, the mother of one girl sent the picture (lower left corner) of her actually using the lantern she made later that night. This lovely parent sent this picture after the presentation to the librarian who then sent it to me. The background for this entire image is a photo of the shadows that all the lanterns her children made threw against the ceiling that night.

Thank you to the incredibly creative moms who support their kids in attending these events. One mother, Judy, went to several book stores looking for my book, and brought her 10 year-old daughter, who is also both scientifically and creatively-inclined, to meet me. Another mother, while showing her daughter's lantern to me, explained that she had drawn Centipede Dragon onto its top border. It’s experiences like these that remind me why this is all worth it.

In the number of presentations I have done, I have had to develop almost as many different formats. As I am not well-versed in this vital aspect of children’s book marketing, I’m not sure what requests to yield to and when to just say no. In my view, I have no choice but to bend over backwards as far as I can for the chance to present. It does mean a lot of work, a lot of “rolling with the punches,” and a lot of patience. Last-minute changes will happen, additional requests will be requested, and  though it’s beaten into you how incredibly deliberate you have to be with all aspects of the development of your book, you then have to always be on your toes, all the time, when it comes to presentations. I guess the only thing I want to impart is, always smile, say yes, and remember that it’s an opportunity, even if it doesn’t look like one.

As I prepped for another event, it finally hit me what I was actually doing: I was actually making the local rounds to market my children’s book. THAT realization was a strange one because it was a reality that was now mine. When I was five years old playing with crayon scratchboard and mud pies, I thought of the future only as a time where I would have a 9-5 job as a doctor. The steps that would lead me there were a matter of excelling at crayon scratchboard and mud-pie making, whatever the case may be. Then, simply get good grades, go to college, go to grad school, and start working. Life according to the 5 year-old me would be formulaic (not in a bad way); instead, it has twisted and turned in such unexpected ways.

No matter how many times you do presentations, you must be prepared to be flexible. Even if you have a bread and butter presentation, like my standard "Read the book, tell the parents how the idea came about, and then play the magical scale game," each situation may present a different set of circumstances. For instance, what if the event space does not have the equipment you need? What if you are given a skinny space where people in the back may have a difficult time seeing, much less participating?

You may also be presented with a situational opportunity, like how one librarian brought me in specifically to tie into the Lunar New Year. And furthermore, this librarian was NOT interested in my standard presentation, and requested something tailored to craft-making and this Chinese cultural event.

A writer's work is never done. While you are busy promoting one book, you must also be working on that next book, and in between all this you must constantly be on your feet and ready to accept the next presentation request. The thing to not lose sight of is that every presentation is a chance to exercise your creative mind. We will get back to this point again!

There are two realities about being a writer that are in direct opposition to each other, yet must somehow co-exist: 1) Writers are typically introverted, and 2) Sales depend heavily on marketing, with personal appearances the biggest marketing tool a writer has. So with that, a significant consideration in going down the road to publication is that you will, no matter how opposed you may be to it, have to present your book and interact with your audience.

I'm generally a pretty gregarious person. But despite this, presentations are punctuated by butterflies and queasiness. I go through a cycle of frenzied preparation, to denial that I have to do this, to resignation and nausea. But also, with each one, I have been reassured by the kids how I’m doing. And that’s just the best reward of all.

At one presentation earlier this year, a little crew of five, four boys and a girl, sat in the front row and took charge of calling out different challenges for me. There were sisters in triplicate, dressed identically, who occupied the next row, while the tiniest ones sat in their moms’ laps. First, we read the story. When I came about 2 feet of the front row and read, “Centipede Dragon was ill,” eyes widened and there was an audible gasp from the girl. Then I gave a 3-minute talk about how I came up with the idea, for that all-important second audience of parents and Librarian. And finally, the Magical Scale Challenge! The kids sat quietly while listening to the story, and then were rapt with attention while wiggling to the music during the many rounds of the Challenge. It was a good 20-25 minutes into the presentation before some natives got restless. Anyone in the industry knows that’s a COUP.

There was one boy in particular who will, truth be told, make someone a very lucky partner some day. He was the most supportive little man, encouraging me the whole time, telling me that the car I tried to make “didn’t look so bad,” assuring me to take all the time I needed to complete each challenge, and at the end of the presentation, said it was the best one he’d ever been to.

And so comes the moral of the story. If you are in it to sell books but you don’t want to give presentations, you just better not be in it.

You’ve gotten your manuscript, cover letter and optional dummy PERFECT, you’ve selected your publishing companies, and mailed off your submissions. Now, you wait.

After all your proofing, revising, editing and re-editing, your long hours of researching the publishing companies and getting to know the industry more intimately, all the careful, loving dedication you’ve pored into your work, all that’s left is to wait for them to determine the fate of your book. You wait 2, 3, 4, and maybe even 6 months. You actually forget to whom you’ve last submitted and when that respective waiting period is over. But when you do remember, the last days of the wait are the toughest.

When the waiting period has come and gone and you’ve heard nothing, sometimes you give them a few extra days, in case their offices flooded, caught fire, or have been vandalized by a giant, enraged ape. Anything that might’ve prevented them from getting to your manuscript or sending out your acceptance letter and lucrative contract.

Then the realization hits: they've rejected your book. What do you do now?

You move on to the next round.

As we covered the making the dummy back on May 29, 2015, the cover letter and the manuscript, now we get to take our lovely submission package and submit it!

I want to re-visit the subject on how to select the publishing companies you submit your work to because this was rather tricky to address as this choice is so individual and particular to YOUR work.

I don’t think it’s entirely fair to leave this all-important decision to the hungry, idealistic, aspiring author/illustrator. All publishers are trying to publish a Caldecott winner and who within the publishing house has the authority to decide is highly variable. Publishing houses have such different editorial hierarchies; we have heard assistant editors speak about how many levels of their company they themselves must push a book through to get to a deal. Then there are those editors where the buck actually stops with them. Know the hierarchy before you submit; SCBWI membership gives you an inside scoop on this.

Publishing companies are inundated with submissions, many of which are from those who do NOT do any homework into the company, submit sloppy work, or unsolicited work when that house only accepts solicited work. These are among the many reasons why submission guidelines have become so voluminous and strict. And as a result, we who are meticulous have to wait in that very same cue to be reviewed.

To begin, target maybe 5 publishing companies that publish the books you personally like. Chances are, the artistic or writing style you gravitate to may already be in line with the types of books on a publisher’s book list. Go directly to their submission guidelines on their official website, and look for 2 main things: whether they accept un-agented (called unsolicited, unless you have an agent) manuscripts; and if they will accept a multi-submission whereby you can submit to other publishers while waiting for them to review your work, or if they want an exclusive submission, where that house reserves the right to look at your work while no other house is looking at your work.

SCBWI conferences will put you in a room with these editors whom you can then approach (beware that hundreds of others will have the same idea as you). Try an agent to get your book in front of those companies that do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. But frankly, NOTHING replaces knowing the industry. You should know what the top 5 best selling books are, as well as which ones won Caldecott the previous year. You should be able to rattle off the movers and shakers in this industry, just as you would for any professional industry.

Now comes the meat of a submission: the manuscript! Let’s compare the same passage from 3 drafts of Centipede Dragon A Benevolent Creature, spanning 9 years of editing this book.

The 2005 version is so interesting to me now, as I attempted to take on a mystical tone: the tree “felt” Centipede Dragon’s melancholy. Back then, I wanted to keep the text tone aligned to the image's origin, by incorporating an Asian-inspired, Zen-like way of thinking about the world, where all living things are interconnected. But tone hugely influences how you write your story. Word choice. Sentence structure. It further influences illustration style. So for me, an American-English style suited my story best, because it’s how I’ve been taught to write. And as an inexperienced writer, I needed to write the way I speak; else, I struggle too much.

The 2012 version shows major changes after bringing on a friend to help with editing, coupled with a much better understanding of the demands of the current children's market. The adult characters were replaced by children who then perform the action in the plot. The tone is also now devoid of the attempted “Asian” spirit.

Finally, the 2014 published version. The text is much more succinct, thanks to the help of a second editor-friend. But key to this version is FINALLY not “telling” each little thing happening in the story, and allowing the images to fill in those gaps. I mean, did I really need to tell you that Ben gasped after looking up when I've shown you that in the illustration?

The take-home message for your manuscript writing process is to acknowledge that while it will likely ALWAYS be in progress, “in-progress” doesn’t always equate to “unfinished.” Bring in fresh eyes and different perspectives at any stage of the writing, and continue to scrutinize your word choice to the bitter end. What this reflects is the depth to which you care about how your story will be received. And that will never be the wrong choice to make.