Helping you find your way through the tall-hedged maze...

 Well colour me blush. I talked about some of the reasons why your book might not get to be published overseas and lo and behold I have had news over the past week of some overseas deals for a couple of my books. Unsurprisingly I am happy to feel awkward about this turn of events. While I am not sure I can share all of my news, I am thrilled to say Sharing with Wolf, published by Scholastic NZ, and illustrated by Nikki Slade Robinson, will be heading off to Italy. Being published in Europe is a first for me and I am looking forward to the adventure. I guess the bottom line on my previous post was that overseas publication is not a given. If it doesn't happen to you, you are in good company with other good people and other good books. And then when you least expect it, it may happen after all. Honestly, I'm as surprised as the rest of you.

Usually, as we approach Christmas, I do a stocktake of the year that's been, but this year has been like no other. A big bunch of things I signed up for never happened. A bunch of other things still went ahead via zoom, or with masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing. We all became anxious about our wifi dropping out at crucial moments, and the habit of frequently touching our own faces that we never knew we had. And lockdown was the weirdest time of all, full of challenges we'd never had to contemplate before. It hasn't been all bad. I've had books accepted, an award shortlisting and now I can add the latest overseas developments to my 2020 good things. And I'm not alone - I've been hearing some very bright spots of good news across the children's writing community. Maybe because through it all we've been reading as much as we can. Its been fantastic to see books bring other people much needed joy and comfort. In times like these, books are even more essential than usual. 

Next year is slowly beginning to take shape. I have some gigs lined up in March, April, June and August. I'll be teaching my Writing Children's Picture Books course again at Selwyn Community Education, and in 2021 I'll also be taking a half day workshop there on Writing Short Stories. Woohoo! I really enjoy sharing tips, tools, and techniques with you and I'm really looking forward to doing it again next year :-) I have everything crossed that things go ahead way more often in 2021 than they did in 2020.

And I have books coming out. A few days ago I received an advance copy of Moon and Sun illustrated by Malene Laugesen and published by Upstart Press, which launches in February. Squuueeeeeeee!!

And in 2021 I'd really like to provide more blog content that helps you build your craft, find your way through the tall-hedged maze that is getting and staying published, and develop ways to manage everything from the admin of writing and books, to surviving rejections and successes (however, I beg of you, do not ask me about commas). So, to that end, if you have a burning question, or an issue that you can't quite resolve, or topics you'd really like me to tackle (even if I've covered them before), please let me know in the comment section here, or via facebook or twitter.

Possible topics include:

1) What your plot cannot live without.

2) Top qualities of successful picture books deconstructed

3) Imagining the pictures when you can't 'picture' to save yourself (i.e. making sure your story will work as a picture book)

4) The publishers secret handshake

5) The grammar you can't avoid

I will try and address all of these in 2021, but let me know if there are any you are particularly interested in. And if I don't know the answer I will go in search of the person who does. 

Wishing you a safe and happy festive season, and perfect weather for the summer break (with occasional rain cos we really need it in Auckland). See you in 2021...

You can't just eat the icing ...

 As progress is made on the picture books I have coming out next year, I am feeling super excited, and impatient to show you what they look like. When a story has made the big leap to become a book, sharing it with readers is the goal. Waiting for the moment to arrive when this can happen is like keeping a big secret, and keeping a secret can be very hard. Still, it's all part of the process and like so very much of the process it requires patience and perseverence. 

In the meantime here is a sneak peek of My Elephant is Blue, to be published by Puffin (Penguin), illustrated by the remarkable Vasanti Unka, and coming out in May 2021. Huzzah! I cannot wait to show you what it looks like inside. And now we can be tortured about it together.

If your work hasn't been published yet, I think there is a fairly common belief that the (print) book will publish across a range of international markets. In my experience, this tends to be the exception rather than the rule. IMHO there are lots of reasons why this is the case. 

1) Lots of children's stories don't translate well, especially if they are rhyming or have internal rhyme or word play that relies on idiom or cultural knowledge. 

2) Some stories don't cross cultures well. They make perfect sense to us here but have no reference points or relevance in a different culture. Sometimes that is the point. We want to share our experience with others so they better understand us. But other countries/cultures must first want to know. Is our story something other cultures want to understand and share? 

[Note: The irony here is that NZ is flooded with books from other countries and I know a lot about boarding school life in the UK, pioneer America, Scandinavian crime and policing, and more, and yet do these places get to (or want to) read about us?]

3) Other countries/cultures may already have enough books just like yours, covering the same themes and topics, with similar ideas, or voice. 

4) It may be culturally inappropriate. Or too sensitive.

5) Books that are particularly kiwi in flavour are less likely to be sold overseas. Books about Kiwi and Kea and Matariki and Kauri. They might be bought here and taken home to grandchildren overseas but an overseas publisher is unlikely to be able to sell sufficient copies in their home country to make it worthwhile.

6) While it is possible to write a book about a place you've never been and a culture you've never experienced, it is difficult to know what we don't know. We may be safer in a fantasy or speculative genre but it may still not cut the mustard with the country/culture we are trying to appeal to. Books like this can make the leap but it is not a given. 

7) Even when books are sold into other territories it is not always a big pay day. And the level of involvement and control you have will be at a distance, and possibly diminished, so it is not always a boost and I guess, it is possible, sometimes not even a good idea. 

Of course, books by New Zealand authors do get sold overseas, in all sorts of territories. But it is not every NZ book, and if it doesn't happen to you, you are in very good company with many other great writers and illustrators whose books haven't left these shores.

This writing business works pretty well if you love writing what you write. If this is the only outcome of what you do, that is a win. Anything else (getting published here, and/or elsewhere, being shortlisted and maybe even winning prizes) will be icing. If you only want the icing it can become a bit unhealthy. Love your writing first. Anything else that happens will be an interesting ride and with a bit of luck, you never know, it might also be rewarding too

  

Your chance to win a copy of my new book 'The Song of Kauri'...

NZ Booksellers recently held their annual conference. You can read a bit about it here. As mentioned last year, sales are declining (bad), although the rate of descent is slowing (good). And again, sales of children's books are doing better than most (great). I would love to know what actual numbers we are talking about here, and whether NZ children's literature is forming a reasonable percentage of those children's book sales. And if they are, what sort of push might be made by all those involved (from publishers, through to booksellers, and international trade folk) to make the most of this. How do our NZ children's literature sales numbers relate to total NZ lit sales and book sales overall? NZ literature has been getting some good overseas exposure recently through our guest of honour position at the Frankfurt Book Fair a few years back, our special Festival in the UK last month, and through Eleanor Catton's spectacular Man Booker Prize win. Yay! This is all great news. I am hoping at some point this wonderful spotlight will widen on our local children's literature. We work hard to write great books and help them sell, but I think we could do with some extra help to get a bit more attention overseas. If our books garner more interest, this benefits booksellers as well as authors and illustrators.

I went on some wonderful school visits this week, with an all day session on Tuesday at Kowhai Intermediate in Auckland and a shorter one at Balmacewen Intermediate in Dunedin yesterday. We talked about plot essentials, character development, the importance of names and of editing, and about books we love amongst other things. I tip my hat to the wonderful teachers and librarians who devote themselves to sparking a love of reading in their students, who continually look for new ways to interest and engage them, and encourage and support their reading and writing skills. They are real heroes in my book!

And now folks, it's time for a competition! My new picture book The Song of Kauri is out July 1st and I have just received my author copies. I have one hardback copy and one softback Maori translation to give away. In the comments below tell me your all-time-favourite character name, and why you love it. Some personal favourites of mine are Elizabeth Bennett, Frodo Baggins and Finnick Odair.  Also say whether you want the Te Reo or English version of the book. The competition will close on July 4th. And.......go!

The road less travelled...

Ran around all week getting last minute things for travelling daughter who left on Friday for the US for this years World cheerleading competitions. She is carrying an injury, but she is nearly eighteen and said "I'm part of a team. I can't not go. The girls with the broken ankle and the shot knee are going." I had a friend who died of cancer at 30 who once said my SO and I didn't take enough risks. We lived careful lives and playing the radio for long periods in a stationary car was the most adventurous thing we ever did in her company. I thought of her when my battery died in my car the other week while the radio played as I waited with my youngest for my middle child to finish her screen acting class. My super SO came and rescued us with the jumper cables which took a long time to work (I've been driving around fine ever since with the thought in the back of my mind that the battery is on its last legs and may conk out completely when things won't work out so well). I also thought of my friend when I was at the Specialist with my daughter and he was giving us disapproving glances for the decision he could tell we were about to take. My daughter and I talked about religion as we drove along in the car on the way to the doctors. We agreed Buddhism had a lot to recommend it; with its zen philosophies and embracing living in the now. We let her go. She's not getting in the car with a drunk driver. Or taking a whiff of P. Like Robert Frost and The Road Not taken or Ursula at Parakakariki by Fiona Farrell I have to let her take the path with the uncertain destination; jump off the edge and see if the wings work. The day before she went I told my eldest I was jealous of her. I don't want to travel to the cheerleading competitions with her. They are stressful. I am not a calming influence and seem to pick up on and channel everyone elses nerves. But I am jealous that she is travelling to do something she loves. I dream of travelling for my writing. In recent weeks I have queried several US agents. At Spinning Tales, Jill Marshall spoke passionately about the realities of publishing internationally. She has experienced some fabulous highs but the tyranny of distance has contributed to some wretched lows. Theoretically new technology should ease some of the difficulties - emailing makes correspondence quick and easy, skyping can close the distance for any discussions needed and the internet can help writers anywhere reach fans anywhere else. But as is everything else with writing, publishing and books, things are never that simple. And I don't just have ambitions to be published in other countries - I want to go to those other countries and talk about my books there. I would love to go to the London Book Fair or Bologna (one of my publishers has just come back from this year's Bologna Fair - there has been interest in my book but now we have to wait and see whether this translates in to any translations). I would love to go to one of the two annual SCBWI conferences, in Los Angeles or New York. I would love to do a residency - to be paid to write uninterrupted - what a fantastic endorsement of the establishments belief in your writing skills. I would love to be invited to participate in a book festival. But for now I will sit in the office at home looking out at the lush emerald green of my garden and up to Mt Eden just beyond and try and write the things that might put me on the path to future travel.

Well developed tenterhook muscles...

T'was very exciting to see the final pictures for my next picture book on Monday. I don't know what anyone else will think but I am satisfied. They have humour and energy and subtlety. They capture my story. And the good news is the book will be published in June. This is not far away. I popped this manuscript in the post to the publisher on September 28th last year. I have a picture book manuscript that has been under consideration with another publisher since the beginning of last year that I am still awaiting a response on. And if you take from this that no two publishers operate the same (and you would be correct in this) remember to add on that the same publisher may behave differently for different manuscripts. Maybe the best advice for prospective writers is 'expect the unexpected.' Writers are permanently on tenterhooks which is why our tenterhook muscles are so well developed.

And further to my musing on the question of whether being an author from the Antipodes makes any difference to being published outside of Australasia (still unanswered but I'm tending towards 'maybe it does') I now offer a new thought. Getting published offshore has been the Holy Grail for me for many years. That way lies greatness? riches? fame and fortune? Well...the comment from Book Brainz about the comparatively high quality of picture books in New Zealand made me wonder if that Holy Grail is a bit like a dragon - mythical and ethereal. Evidence would suggest that the sheer size of populations overseas makes print runs and therefore advances and subsequent potential income greater. But evidence also shows the difficulties of getting published, of staying published and of avoiding being remaindered are no different in other places. In a larger population where many more authors are being published annually how much harder is it to get noticed and build a name for yourself. I would still like to be published overseas. But the books I have had published here have been beautifully produced and the illustrations wonderful and at least some part of the writing and reading community know my name. I like it here. Why is 'overseas' automatically perceived as 'better'? I have to remember that yes they do have grass over there too but that doesn't mean its greener.