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Peggy Rathman
June 25, 2006
Peggy Rathmann, Caldecott Medal Winner of Officer Buckle & Gloria and best-selling children's book author of Goodnight, Gorilla and 10 Minutes till Bedtime will never forget going to New York and trying to sell publishers her first children's picture book.
The book was large.
Very.
At 150 pages, with a trim size of 2' x 6' -- it was a miracle she could even carry it.
"I got rejected by everyone," Rathmann unfondly recalled. "If my nieces weren't there, I would have committed suicide."
After getting shot down, Rathmann came up with the idea of approaching her brother. His co-worker's husband was a published children's book author, so Rathmann assumed she and her book were in.
"I figured he would show it to his editor and I would get published."
N-o-p-e.
The writer told Rathmann to take a class on publishing children's books.
She did. With her mother, no less.
"She wanted to make sure I would go," said Rathmann. "And loved it."
The class allowed her to fully form her ideas, present them to others and gain valuable feedback. She took the class over and over again for two years.
The teacher, Barbara Bottner, liked Rathmann's book so much, that she asked if she could sell it to a publisher.
Ruby the Copycat was published by Scholastic in 1992.
The following year, a book written by Bottner and illustrated by Rathmann, Bootsie Barker Bites, was published by Putnam.
Rathmann was really on her way when Officer Buckle & Gloria came out in 1995 and won the prestigious Caldecott Medal: the children's book equivalent of an Academy Award
"I didn't even know what the award was," she admits.
But she learned. And parents, publishers and kids discovered how talented she was when Goodnight Gorilla came out in 1996 and went onto become a best-seller.
Rathmann has been selling millions of books ever since.
With each title, Rathmann has further developed her art and words that contain her trademark mischievous sense of humor.
A stepmother of an older son, she has always looked to her numerous nieces and nephews for ideas and then -- WATCHED them.
As part of her technique, she takes photos of them that serve as blueprints for the drawings that will later appear in her books.
To write a children's book, remembering one's own childhood and observing kids is essential, she said.
Here are a few of her other thoughts:
Children's picture book basics
Write one to two sentences per page.
Use the fewest words, but still tell the story.
The average life of a picture book is three months, then it's remaindered (when a book has not met a publisher's sales expectations, it is allowed to go out of print and sold at a reduced price).
Remember, a picture book is really a movie.
Be prepared to change your words a million times.
Children's books should have hope.
The first thing, the #1 thing, is that they HAVE to entertain.
On creating her bestseller 10 Minutes till Bedtime
This took a L-O-N-G time to write. Originally, it was going to be a pop-up book. My mother didn't like it and mothers are right.
Then the animals were going to be gorillas and my editor said, "No, you already used gorillas (in Goodnight, Gorilla)."
"Salamanders?" No. "Multi-colored weimeraners?" No. Pink flamingoes? No. Gerbils?
My editor said she liked gerbils. But then someone said they were illegal in California. So then we came up with hamsters.
On approaching publishing house editors
If you like a book and you have one that's similar and you want to get an editor's attention, then call up the book's publisher. Find out who the editor was for the book.
Write a letter and tell the editor that you love him for these three reasons. And you've written a book that has those same reasons.
Think about the editor. Do your homework. Appreciate what the editor has to offer. Let him know he will be able to edit your work. Show him that in your cover letter. It'll make all the difference.
In your cover letter, make it short and don't tell them what the book is about. Don't explain it. Stay back. The book has to stand on its own.
If you do your homework, a publisher has a stable of writers that they like to use. They'll look at their catalogues and pick out someone within their group.
With a form letter, they're not interested and possibly nobody ever read it (your manuscript).
But if you get a rejection letter and it's clear (your manuscript) was read and had a lot criticism, look at it as someone opened the door.
Someone opened the door a crack. And they're testing you. If you don't do the things they've said, you've flunked.
They're finding out if you're editable.
They always ask people to do something. It's a test. They're just suggestions, but it says something. They (editors) know what doesn't work.
Be brave. Try something they say. Come back with something. Give it a shot. If their suggestion doesn't sit right with you, then come back with something better to counter it. Be prepared.
And do it as fast as you can.
Don'ts
Don't put the word copyright or a copyright mark on your book (when first submitting it for consideration). Editors hate that.
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