You Heard it Here First: Dorothy Price signs with Agent, Miranda Paul

It's always fun to share publishing news with my blog readers--particularly if it's news from one of my own writing friends. I first met Dorothy Price 10 years ago when she joined my SCBWI-Carolinas critique group. I've read her manuscripts and she's read mine. Today I'm thrilled to share her story of how she recently signed with an agent. 

Take it away, Dorothy!

*****

I am so excited to share my agent success story, after 11 years of writing kidlit!

This story began in October 2018, when I got a nudge from my writing friend, Tara Luebbe. She suggested I apply to the 2019 We Need Diverse Books Mentorship Program, to which I had zero interest. I was at a place in my writing career where I had gotten discouraged by rejection, and simply planned to stop submitting, to everyone and everything. But something about Tara’s nudge forced me to apply anyway, on October 31st—the very last day to submit. 

Two months later, I received an email from WNDB that I had been selected as a picture book winner, out of more than 100 entries! The amazing Samantha Berger became my mentor, and beginning in January 2019, we edited and revised three of my PB manuscripts.  

In November 2019, I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo, even though I had failed to finish three times before. On November 30th, I finally completed my first middle-grade novel. 

Armed with three completed PBs and a finished MG, I was confident this would attract an agent. In January 2020, I began agent submissions. I had a list of six agents, but one, in particular, was by referral only. This agent was also on the WNDB team, so she had seen my PB submission that won the contest; however, her agency only accepted referral submissions. Enter Samantha Berger, who graciously referred me, which opened the door for me to submit to Miranda Paul with Erin Murphy Literary Agency. 

Although I had two other agents to consider, when Miranda emailed me back a couple hours later and said she was happy to receive my query and asked to speak two days later, I knew she was the agent for me. Her intensity, energy, and passion were something I truly wanted in an agent.

Before we ended the call, Miranda offered representation, and after praying on it, a few days later, I accepted. If it hadn’t been for Tara’s nudge to enter that contest, I’m not sure I would have an agent today. The plug for that is, contests DO help, and I strongly encourage writers to submit! 

Things have been going well so far and I am enjoying every minute of the process. I can honestly say, if you put in the work, believe in yourself, and never quit, dreams will come true. 

*****

Dorothy H. Price is a long-time member of SCBWI Carolinas. Two of her nonfiction stories were published in Teaching Tolerance’s 2019 Teaching Hard History: American Slavery series. Her first picture book, Nana’s Favorite Things was published in 2016. You can connect with Dorothy on Twitter. 

Two Picture Book Workshops at SCBWI-C

Most of my faithful blog readers know that I've been working on a novel for many years. What you might not know is that novel started as a picture book. Although that is another story, I continue to love picture books.

Recently, I've reviewed a number of nonfiction picture books  including some biographies. It appears to be a growing (perhaps limitless) trend in children's books. As I wrote HALF-TRUTHS I came across two historical figures that became mentor figures to Lillie and Kate. As I mentioned here, they each could be an inspirational subject for a picture book. 

With that in mind, I attended two workshops on picture books at the SCBWI-Carolinas conference. Here are some of my takeaways:

Tara Luebbe

Picture Book Workshop #1

Tara Luebbe spoke on "Mining Nonfiction for Fiction Picture Books." Each of her books, written with her sister, Becky Cattie, started with a real fact. Although this isn't exactly what I have in mind to write, her workshop was informative and inspirational.  

Tara brainstorms as many unusual facts as she can find and then digs deeper. She tries to marry different ideas together and thinks, "What can I add to make this marketable and kid-friendly?" She researches to make sure that the idea hasn't been taken, does more research into the subject, and even finds jokes related to the topic. Her wide range of picture books are a testimony that this process works!

She mentioned submitting back matter with your manuscript and to use art notes as needed, particularly for action. "Don't overuse them. If the script doesn't make sense without them, then it's okay."

Picture Book Workshop #2

The second picture book workshop I attended (there were others, these were the ones I selected) was, "Bringing Your Voice to Nonfiction" with Lina Maslo and Alice Ratterree. Lina is the author illustrator of Free as a Bird and an upcoming biography Through the Wardrobe: How C.S. Lewis Created Narnia. Alice has illustrated several books but focused on Dangerous Jane, the biography of Jane Addams. 

Lina Maslo

Alice Ratterree

Lina and Alice stressed that the person you are writing about inspires you. And as you write, remember to:

#1 Discover! Learn something new! Play!

#2 Cross pollinate as you write. Draw from other areas of your life. 

#3 Always ask yourself,  "Who am I creating for?"

All three of these points resonated with me. It is easy to lose the sense of play and discovery when we're writing so I appreciated the reminder. 

I   Writers are also encouraged to consider the character's natural environment, his or her time period, and the city, town or village where your character lives. Nonfiction biographers must constantly consider what influenced their character. I was particularly interested in how Alice demonstrated that the color palette she used in Dangerous Jane reflected the colors in Jane's life.

Speaking of nonfiction, here's one more slide from Vicki Selvaggio's intensive:

She told me, "This varies for picture books as you usually don't need a proposal for a nonfiction picture book. This information applies mainly for middle grade and young adult books." Depending on the topic of book, Vicki always determines what to send in her proposal based on the publisher's submission guidelines and the type of nonfiction project. 

Is there a nonfiction picture book in your future? If so, I hope these tips will help you on your journey. Keep me posted on your progress--we can compare notes along the way!

Next Up: Small With Big Dreams

Two Sisters + Two Debut Picture Books = Two Great Giveaways!

When I read in the SCBWI-Carolinas Facebook Pal Group that Tara Cattie Luebbe's debut picture book was coming out in March, I asked if she wanted to share her path to publication. She not only agreed, but offered to give away a copy of each book! Details on how to enter the giveaways are below.

Author Interview

CAROL: Can you share the backstory for each of these books? How did you got your ideas and how did the stories develop?

TARA: I AM FAMOUS is about a little girl who believes she is a famous actress, singer, and dancer. Because she is famous, she’s always being photographed by the paparazzi (her parents). When she messes up her biggest gig ever, she realizes her fans are the best kind—loyal. 

Albert Whitman, March 2018

The idea for I AM FAMOUS came from listening to Weird Al. He has a parody of Taylor Swift’s song You Belong to Me called TMZ, which is about the paparazzi stalking celebrities. It reminded me of today’s parents, social media and their children. 

SHARK NATE-O is about a shark-obsessed boy who pretends he is a shark, but who can’t swim. He takes swimming lessons and uses shark facts along the way to help overcome his fear. There is also a nonfiction shark fact section in the back. 

Little Bee Books, April 2018

The idea for SHARK NATE-O came from a boy in my second-grade class who always pretended to be a shark and would chomp us at recess. But that wasn’t enough for a picture book. It wasn’t until my own son, Nate, went through a shark phase while also taking swimming lessons that I began to envision the story. My brother called him “Shark Nate-O” and that was the lightening rod, and title, I needed.

CAROL: Both books are co-written with your sister, Becky Cattie. Can you share your collaborative process?

Tara and Becky

TARA: It was never the plan to co-author with my sister. When I began writing, I sent her my first story and she sent it back half-changed for the better. So, I asked her if she wanted to do this together! We live in different states, so we do a lot on email and phone calls. We just go back and forth until it’s right. 

CAROL: Was there any interaction between the two of you and your illustrators? 

TARA: We had no contact with the illustrators during the process. Any art changes we wanted to suggest were made through the editors. 

CAROL: Are you agented? What was your path to finding the publishers?

TARA: I am represented by Tracy Marchini of Bookends Literary. Both of my debut books were post-conference submissions from the SCBWI Illinois Prairie Writers and Illustrators Day. We heard from both publishers soon afterwards and were able to get Tracy on board to help us from there. 

CAROL: What role did SCBWI Carolinas have in publication of these books?

TARA: I joined SCBWI-C shortly after beginning my writing journey. Through the organization I met valuable critique partners which has been a huge part of my success. I enjoy the conference every year and love connecting with other writers from our great region. 

Support Authors!

I've talked about how you can support authors by pre-ordering their books. Another way is to request your local library to purchase a copy. It only takes a few minutes to fill out a request form and authors really appreciate it!

Giveaway

Tara and Becky are giving away a copy of I AM FAMOUS and SHARK NATE-O. Please leave me your name AND email address (if you are new to my blog). The top two names selected by Random.org will win books on April 20th. 

Tara Luebbe is an ex-retailer turned picture book author. She co-writes with her sister Becky Cattie. They are the authors of I AM FAMOUS, illustrated by Joanne Lew Vriethoff, (Albert Whitman 2018); SHARK NATE-O, illustrated by Daniel Duncan, (little bee books 2018); I USED TO BE FAMOUS, illustrated by Joanne Lew Vriethoff (Albert Whitman Spring 2019); and CONAN THE LIBRARIAN (Roaring Brook Press Spring 2020). She is also the founder of Writing with the Stars, a free mentorship program for aspiring picture book writers. You can learn more at beckytarabooks.com and you can find her on Twitter @t_luebbe.