You Heard it Here First: Kathy Wiechman's Path to the Grateful American Book Prize- Part II

Congratulations to Monica O' Quinn who won A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord. Thanks to so many of you for entering; this was a popular giveaway. And here's another!

Last week you heard how Ohio author Kathy Wiechman, the self-proclaimed "poster child for perseverance" attended workshops and critique groups for years before stepping into the "I'm a published author!" box. Today you'll hear more details about the workshops she's attended, the people who have helped her along the way, and the Grateful American Book Prize.

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CAROL: Can you tell us more about the Highlights workshops that helped further your career?

KATHY: Shortly after I attended Chautauqua in 1999, the Highlights Foundation began offering smaller, less expensive, workshops at their Boyds Mills location. I told my family not to give me birthday or Christmas gifts anymore, just donate money toward a workshop. My first one was Joy Cowley’s Writing from the Heart in 2001. I was hooked. I went from going every other year to every year to twice a year. I learned about Voice from Patti Gauch, promoting a book from Peter Jacobi, and about the publishing business from numerous experts. I even learned how to load and fire a muzzleloader, when I was researching LIKE A RIVER.

CAROL: Who helped you the most?

KATHY: I took more than half a dozen workshops with Rich Wallace. Not only was he encouraging, but he always seemed to spot what my writing was missing, and I came away with what I needed to move forward. Carolyn Yoder (Calkins Creek Press) saw the early chapters of LIKE A RIVER at a retreat in 2012. She encouraged me to keep going, told me things I could improve, and requested I send it to her when it was finished. I did, and she has been my editor ever since.

CAROL: What were some of Carolyn's suggestions?

KATHY: Make Leander more likable, flesh out the characters of Crawford and Morgan a bit, and give the two halves of the book more balance.

CAROL: Why have you chosen not to be agented?

KATHY: When I first began, very few children’s writers had agents. But times have changed, and it can be extremely difficult to get a manuscript in an editor’s hands without an agent. I was researching possible agents at the time I was offered my first contract with Boyds Mills Press. I had an agent friend look over the contract before I signed it, but have never sought one to represent me. I am very fortunate to have been published by Boyds Mills Press, who still accepts unagented manuscripts. If I were a younger writer, I might seek an agent, but for the time being, I don’t feel it necessary.

CAROL: What advice do you wish someone had given you when you first started writing?

KATHY: I wish someone had warned me how long the road to publication can be. I would have traveled it anyway, but it would have been good to know. I wish someone had said, "Don't take rejection personally. Think of it as not being chosen yet." (I heard that after I was already published, but it would have been good to hear during all those struggle years.) I wish someone had said, "Don't be afraid to break the rules of grammar and sentence structure. Have a good reason for breaking them, but don't let them hold you back."

CAROL: Tell us about your experience winning the Grateful American Book Prize. How many books did you compete against? How did you find out about the contest?

KATHY: I was told there were "more than 140" books competing for the Prize. Last spring, one of the marketing people at Boyds Mills Press told me they were planning to submit LIKE A RIVER for the prize and asked me to write about my research methodology for the submission form. I am incredibly grateful for the support I have gotten from the folks at Boyds Mills Press.

I never dreamed of winning an award. The Grateful American Book Prize is a new award, the brainchild of David Bruce Smith and Dr. Bruce Cole. This inaugural award was for writing about the past in a way that engages young readers in American history, something I have always tried to do with my historical fiction. The judges for the award are people who honored me just by reading LIKE A RIVER; deciding to award me the prize was beyond words. I received the award (an exquisite medal, a fantastic cash prize, and a lifetime membership to the New York Historical Society) at a cocktail party and dinner at Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington, DC.

Kathy receiving the Grateful American Book Medal from David Bruce Smith

I have always been a devotee of the sixteenth president, and LIKE A RIVER is a Civil War story, so the setting was perfect. Tours of the Cottage are available, and I tried to take one the afternoon of the award ceremony, but I was told the afternoon tours had been cancelled to allow for setting up for “a big event” that evening. My big event! After dinner, I was taken on a personal tour, which ended in the room where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. Heaven indeed for a Lincoln fan and history buff like me! 

CAROL: What’s next?

KATHY: My second novel, EMPTYPLACES, is due out in April, 2016. It takes place during the Great Depression in Harlan County, Kentucky, and has a few elements inspired by my husband's family. I am also working on new novels, writing and researching. I waited a long time to reach this stage of my career, and now I am busier than ever, but I enjoy it all, especially meeting with and hearing from the readers who like my book.

As I promised a week ago, Boyds Mills Press is providing a copy of LIKE A RIVER to one fortunate blog readers. Leave me a comment (make sure you leave your email address if you're new to my blog) and I'll add your name to the list of entries from last week. (If you left me a comment last week, you can enter twice.) Winner will be drawn on Thursday, December 10 so that you will receive your book in time for the holidays.

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Thanks, Kathy, for sharing your journey and wonderful news with us. 

You Heard it Here First: Kathy Wiechman's Path to the Grateful American Book Prize- Part I

To Kathy Wiechman's Ohio, SCBWI,  and Facebook friends, this two-part series will come as no surprise. But since many of my readers are from North and South Carolina, I can safely say this will be news to many of you. I hope everyone will enjoy hearing how Kathy, like Jo Hackl, persisted on her path to publication and is now reaping the rewards.

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I first "met" Kathy through reading and reviewing her debut middle grade novel, Like a River. In our correspondence, she has jokingly referred to herself as the "poster child for perseverance." When I heard she had received the first Grateful American Book Prize, I asked her to share her journey. 

Kathy with her husband Jim
and her award winning debut novel.

CAROL: At one point you said it took you 39 years before you published your first book. What were the highlights of those years? What sacrifices and choices did you make? How did you balance life (raising kids, teaching, etc.) with writing? Most of all, how did you keep going?

KATHY: There is no short answer. It was thirty-nine years between my first novel submission to an editor (1974) and the day I was offered a contract for my novel, LIKE A RIVER (2013). I actually began writing poems when I was five years old.

 In the late 1970’s, I took a series of classes from author Stephanie Tolan. She taught me the correct way to submit a manuscript and encouraged me to keep at it. She read a couple versions of an early manuscript and gave me feedback. Having Stephanie tell me I had talent was a definite highlight. 

During the 1980’s, I joined SCBWI (which was still SCBW). I wrote, submitted, and received a lot of rejection letters. The slow turn-around from editors taught me how quickly manuscripts became dated. That’s when I combined my love of writing with my other passion, history. Historical fiction was always my favorite read, so why not write it?

As I headed into the 1990’s, I wrote mostly historical fiction. In January, 1990, I joined a critique group in Newport, Kentucky. It has been the source of not only good criticism, but also great friendships. I attended conferences. I craved being with other writers, people who understood the struggle and shared the drive, people I could learn from. In 1996, one of my short stories (MALL MAGIC) won a prize from Children’s Writer. What a highlight that was!

My critique group told me about the Highlights Workshops at Chautauqua. I told them I couldn’t afford it, but I applied for a scholarship. The highlight (from Highlights) that changed my writing life was when I was offered a partial scholarship to attend Chautauqua, 1999. That workshop was fantastic, magical, and my introduction to the Highlights Foundation and their incredible workshops. It was definitely life changing, and an opportunity to make more writer friends.

     

The writers group Kathy has been
meeting with for almost 26 years.

In 2002, I was invited to join a second critique group in which nearly everyone was published. I felt quite out of my league initially, but they extended a warm welcome. MY FACE, a poem, was published in Ladybug magazine in 2002. That year, Meadowbrook Press ran another of my poems (NO RETURN) on their website. In 2011, another of my short stories (ONE YEAR AFTER) won a prize from Children’s Writer. In 2012, another poem (IMAGES OF 9/11) was published in an anthology from a small press that no longer exists, and in 2013, ONE YEAR AFTER won a prize from the Center 4 Writing Excellence. In the context of writing novels, these may seem like small victories, but they were confidence-building. And a victory is a victory.

Kathy's second critique group which she joined in 2002.

When I was writing that first novel I submitted in 1974, I was expecting my third child. (In 1977, I added a fourth.) I worked in part-time sales in those days to help make ends meet. Money was tight, but I learned how to be frugal. I taught beginner French and Creative Writing. I tutored Language Arts and helped prepare eighth graders to take their high school entrance exams.

We couldn’t afford expensive vacations, so we went to places where we had friends or family to stay with. We took short trips to nearby locations. We visited Hodgenville, KY (where Abraham Lincoln was born), Shaker Village (KY), Mammoth Cave (KY), Conner Prairie (IN) and much more. My kids might disagree, but I never felt those trips to be sacrifices. They were family time and experiences that fueled my historical interests.

Toby Wiechman, 1989, exploring Mammoth Cave

I wrote whenever I could snatch a bit of time. When my kids played outside in the yard, I sat at the picnic table and wrote. When they played games in the family room, I worked at my desk in the corner. I also wrote late into the night after everyone was asleep and the house was quiet. I often stayed up until 4:00AM. I was younger then and could manage on less sleep. You might say I sacrificed housekeeping, and I was much too willing to skip that.

What kept me going was my passion for words and stories. I truly love writing! The person who made it possible for me to keep going was my wonderful husband, who bore the financial burden for all those years. He was also always ready for a road trip so I could do research. He took an interest in all the places I needed to go.

In short, the highlights were the writing itself, small victories, workshops, family trips, and making friends.

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I hope you'll come back on Monday, December 7 to read about the people in the industry who helped Kathy, her thoughts about receiving the Grateful American book prize, and her next book, Empty Places. After her next post I'll give away a copy of Like a River. If you leave a comment on both posts (with your email address if you don't think I have it) I'll enter your name twice. Share it on your social media of choice (and tag me!) and I'll enter your name accordingly.