I get a lot of e-mail notices from the myriad lists, posts and tweeting folks to which I follow or subscribe. I'm sure I've missed a lot, but this great article came through the other day that I'd like to share, since it is relevant to the publishing journey I have been sharing with you.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/708a5ff37548459990647343c608e701/self-published-sensation-acquired-penguin-random-house

I think fears about being stigmatized once you self-publish have been founded simply because self-published work had been so very....bad. Bad in quality of content, and bad in production. But there is also something to be said about those folks who see a need for some type of publication to fill a specific void and then create that something for that specific purpose. 

That is the back story behind this book, which was self-published by a Psychologist, and has now been picked up by Penguin Random House.

Self-publishing is a means to an end, but never discount that the traditional publishing route is closed off for you. Both are ways to get your work out to the masses. Shouldn't matter in the end which way you choose, so long as you get it out there.

Here is the first "book review" of the science books list for kids which I introduced last week.

I chose this book with which to lead off because it features a little known unofficial female scientist who was the first to observe that butterflies do not spontaneously generate from mud. She further documented her findings in beautiful illustrations, thus making her also a scientific illustrator! Oh, and did I mention she was born in 1647, so just imagine the true significance of what this meant!
The illustrations that accompany this story exude a traditional, folk-like feel. But the bold black backgrounds coupled with daring and inventive layouts, echo the personality of the subject herself. My favorite description of her is the quote included in this collage from this book.

Though a picture book, a wonderful Historical Note is included for that all important 2nd audience to enjoy. Even if you're not into bugs, pick this one up, and suggest it as a reading list item at your local elementary school!

This is a slight departure from my Centipede Dragon-centric posts. But I do want to highlight this recent radio show from September 11, 2105:

Every once in a while my universes align, as it did that week on Science Friday, a 2-hour radio show produced out of New York where all topics are on, you guessed it, SCIENCE! This time, however, my two passions collided, producing a baby in the form of a show about science books for kids! So, now that the kids are BACK in school, I wanted to plug this podcast, and the websites of the guests who recommended some books to check out. Could get some great book reports and even a love of science, to boot.

My goal is to take a few of these books and talk a little more in-depth about them, starting with "Summer Birds," which I currently have my hands on. There's a lot of potential to introduce little known scientists and pioneers to a new generation.

Here's the first batch. Check out editor Maria Popova's Brain Pickings site while you're at it, for books for the adults!

Thanks again for that diversion with my crafting page information. Now, back to the publishing journey.

Re-assessing the pacing sometimes leads to other re-assessments, like re-tooling page content. This is where one must determine within a page 1) what new content to create to better suit the newly re-organized text, 2) what may have to move to another page, or 3) get deleted altogether. This can be an extremely difficult process, especially when one is emotionally attached to every object, every vignette, and everything one has drawn. The pragmatic side of me also doesn't want to waste any of the drawings. But when text is changed on a certain page, so too must the accompanying images as they may no longer match.

Take a look at this pic, which I use time and again as an example. The top image shows the original layout for the page corresponding to the introduction of Ben. I included him in the scene because in the text I have just introduced him as a character in the story. In re-evaluation, the imagery of the 3 sheep scenarios is actually quite strong, and therefore, is enough to focus upon in a single page without having anything else in the picture. So I opted to take Ben out so that the sheep scenarios stand alone on the page.

But now I’m left with the “Ben scratching head” drawing that I cannot waste! Where should I put it? Look at the bottom image; what do you think?

I have neglected to mention that you can find several craft activities to download, print and do with your kids!. Please visit: http://centipededragon.weebly.com/crafts.html to find out what Centipede Dragon has been up to this past year, AND what your kid can be up to this summer!

I always forget to give a special thanks to my husband for taking such great photos, and to my my amazing assistant and friend, Flo. And now, back to “the Journey.”

A while back I glossed over the fact that as I continued my search for the next publisher to which to submit, that in between submissions I would re-work both the text and illustrations. Not so much re-drawing of content, but more about re-arranging said content. So take a look at my example. In the older draft on top, my 2-page spread contains A LOT of action. Ben discovers Centipede Dragon, perceives Centipede Dragon’s illness, makes a decision to help, runs back to the shop, comes back with the blanket, and climbs the tree to where CD resides.

Zowee, I’m EXHAUSTED.

The reason I initially paced it this way is that I was told the formula for plotting out a children’s storybook was that in the first approximately 26 of 32 pages, I was to A) Introduce the character; B) Introduce the character’s dilemma C) Build the suspense of the dilemma by introducing complications and D) Come to a crisis point.

In the next 2-4 pages I was to resolve the crisis. And in the last 2 pages I wrap everything up neatly.

After several rounds of dummy-making and submissions, I began to NOT like how bunched up all this action was. This is what is extremely helpful with dummies, irrespective of whether or not you have illustrations. Authors still can envision, whether fuzzy or in sharp relief, what their story looks like. So the dummy is vital to understand the flaws in pacing.

Now, take a look at the bottom row that represents two 2-page spreads, showing the same action occurring in 2 pages but now spread out over 4 pages. What do YOU think of the pacing now?

Over the summer, I was the guest author at the library’s weekly story time event, and afterward I ran the Magical Scale Challenge for the 3rd time. You would think I’d be used to this by now, but I still get stupid nervous. I had been fretting about it for days, and did the only thing I could do: rehearse my speech (which I constantly change) over and over until my throat hurt.

Families started to file in. After 60+ folks piled in (and spilled out into the main library), we began, because at that point, there’s no calling-in sick!

Although it’s hard for kids to sit through much, I was very impressed at how well this large group, which included some pretty young children, sat with their parents and listened. There’s always the usual squirming and crying, but a trick to keep me from getting distracted is that I rehearse in front of a TV that is on. That way, extraneous movement and noise don't phase me.

After I read the story, I like to spend about 3 minutes explaining where the idea of centipede dragon came from, and how I developed the character. This is for that all-important 2nd audience: the parents. When I do this talk, most often each and every adult eye IS on me…unless their kid is chewing on a book. My husband, who was taking photos, saw one parent text a picture of the original batik I show during the talk.

You also might think it gets predictable to play the same game over and over again. But kids will always surprise you, as they did this time when they jumped in to help me with the last challenge of the morning: A star!

To every one of the kids who came, you are all my shining stars. Thank you!

In the midst of the manuscript submissions waiting game, one way that I managed my emotions during these periods was to research the publishing companies I wanted to submit to next.

I followed to the letter what I was told to do: Don’t just send the work cookie-cutter style to them in the hopes they recognize your brilliance, but make sure MY BRILLIANCE is the exact match to that they seek. I agonized over finding the unique commonality between my book and each company I chose. I hemmed and hawed at what angle to take: do I highlight how my quirky artwork is similar to such-and-such they published last year, or do I emphasize the historical basis of the symbol itself, not unlike so-and-so from the New York Times bestsellers? I painstakingly wrote each covering letter with what I hoped was the right amount of logic, marketing and pizazz necessary to show them just how perfect a match we were.

When the waiting period was over, I told myself “It’s not you, it’s them.” But before sending the next submission, I took the opportunity to change wording, tweak an illustration, to fix the thing/s that bugged me, for maybe this was also the very thing that led to Rejection.

In the silence of “No-feedback” land, there is A LOT that is said. And they’re all different forms of “Rejected.” At the conferences they tell us the world of children’s book publishing is a dash of trend, a heap of market-ability, a cup of sale-ability, all thrown into a base made of flawless writing and art. In all the years I have been working on and vetting my book (as you have read), I’ve only ever received positive feedback about my work. So I began to wonder, would my half-this, half-that creature ever be in vogue? Would a book starring Asian kids ever become worthy enough for a publishing company to invest in? Would MY style of artwork be considered IN style someday? Would a book about caring for one another NEVER be cliche?

The truth is that whatever formula a best-selling author has come up with at the point in time where his/her book explodes into fame, it’s an extremely fickle and elusive formula. Understand that while thousands of books are published each year, millions of GREAT books are actually written. So the best thing to do is have faith in your book, keep calm, and carry on.

During the months I waited while the publishing companies reviewed my book, I was definitely keeping busy. In my other life as a medical illustrator, I was bolstering my animation portfolio, looking for more clients, and keeping my own visual communication skills up. I made up projects for myself, volunteering people I knew who had advanced science degrees to vet the scientific content of my projects. You can see and have been reading my busy-bee-ness at my vimeo and facebook pages. And that only tells half the story of what I have been up to, honestly.

I remember one time getting a notice for registered mail. Now, I NEVER get registered mail, but this one happened to come at about the time one waiting period was coming to an end. I convinced myself it could BE the letter of acceptance I had been dreaming about and longing for. I ruled out every other possibility: being sued, being served a subpoena, winning Publishers’ Clearinghouse, being called to jury duty….So I "logically" concluded it was a letter saying my book was to be published AND given a obscene budget for marketing.

You all know I self-published and thus it was NOT that coveted letter. The reason I tell this story is to help you understand the agony and devastation we artists feel when our work is “rejected.” We do want the feedback and we strive to perfect our work, but these pieces, whether written, illustrated or both, are truly our blood, sweat and tears. Which is to say, they are a piece of us.

So, these waiting periods become unbearable at times. This is very 1st-world melodramatic, but it’s a simple fact I wish I could rise above. What I have done well with is to move on. There’s one piece of advice I can sink my teeth into!