By Gloria G. Adams
This week we're featuring an interview with author and former Northern Ohio SCBWI Regional Advisor
Jean Daigneau. Jean has found success writing magazine articles as well as picture books and middle grade novels.
1. How long have you been writing?
As a kid I
always had pen pals and loved writing long chatty letters. I wrote poetry in high school and actually
enjoyed having long term papers to do for homework. But my biggest connection to writing and my
childhood is the middle grade novel that my friend Claire and I wrote in 6th
grade. It was called Billy Bixby and it
was a story about a boy and his dog Mopsy and the trouble they got into. The first line was, "Fetch it,
Mopsy," yelled Billy Bixby, one bright sunny day as he threw a stick
across the yard. We thought we were so creative because the first chapter -
about Mopsy getting loose and running into a corner grocery store and knocking
down a display of eggs - was called "The Egg-cident." Unfortunately, we both had fires at our homes
at some point during our childhood and assume that Billy Bixby was lost
somewhere along the way. I'd love to see that manuscript again.
2. What made you decide to try to get published?
I started
writing professionally around 2000 when my best friend Linda encouraged me to
submit a rhyming story that I had written for my first grandson Ty for
publication. I knew absolutely nothing
about writing for children or publishing, but I sold the manuscript within five
weeks of submitting to a small publishing house in California. And a couple months later I sold another
picture book to them. Ultimately, neither
book was ever published and I withdrew the manuscripts on the advice of Jane
Yolen…yes, THE Jane Yolen, because the company was having a lot of problems and
I was hearing some well-grounded stories about their troubles and people, like
me, not getting paid. The company is
still around and while I've always questioned whether or not I made the right
decision, the whole experience gave me the confidence that I really could write
children's books, so that's my silver lining to the whole thing.
3. What is your process? Do you have a regular schedule?
When do you write?
My process
is pretty scattered, but when I'm in the throes of a project, I'm quite
obsessed. I've learned to write in short
snippets because I work three part-time jobs and my days are pretty full. I'm not good at disciplining myself to write
every day or write at a certain time every day, but someday I hope to have the
luxury to be more focused. I have a lot
of interest in nonfiction, especially history, but some of my ideas have come
out of nowhere and have started with something as minimal as a title. I like to have at least two projects going on
at the same time - preferably something longer like a middle grade novel and
then a picture book - so that as inspiration flows I can go back and forth.
4. What was the first thing you published?
My first
publication was a short piece called "Nice Surprises" for Clubhouse magazine back
in 2002. It was a list of random acts of
kindness that kids could do for neighbors, classmates, and their family. I remember the thrill of opening the magazine
to my piece and finding that they had misspelled my last name!
5. What it is like writing for Highlights magazine?
I love
writing for Highlights because I enjoy doing nonfiction. It was especially fulfilling for me because I
worked with editor Debra Hess for the four pieces I sold to Highlights for
their "What a Pro Knows" feature and another for "Gallant Kids". It was wonderful
to have a personal connection with an editor - I loved calling her "my
editor" - and I'm hoping that I can
establish the same connection with Judy Burke, who has taken over for
Debra. While I have been published in
other magazines, writing for a magazine with the reputation and credentials of
Highlights is especially fulfilling, because I know how difficult it is to get
accepted by their editorial board.
6. Why did you decide to look for an agent?
I had had a
number of "near-misses" with several picture book manuscripts and
have a notebook full of rejections, many of which are extremely positive and
include personal notes from editors.
But
I never quite made the leap to getting published in the book market.
When
Vicki Selvaggio, former regional advisor
for SCBWI Northern Ohio became an agent, I was given the opportunity to meet
with her and discuss my work.
Vicki had
heard me talk about one particular historical fiction manuscript and really
liked the story.
So, she asked to see
it.
I was very clear when we met that
whether or not she accepted me as a client had nothing to do with friendship
and everything to do with feeling like I was the kind of client she wanted to
represent and that she could sell.
I say
that fate and luck brought us together, but hard work and perseverance got me
my agent.
7. What is it like to have an agent?
For me,
having an agent is a dream come true. I
know that Vicki is working hard for me and that she wants exactly what I want -
to sell writing that is the absolute best that it can be. It's also encouraging to know that as things
change in the field of publishing, that she can open doors that I would not
find open on my own. That, for me, is
HUGE. But, I will tell you that Vicki
knows her stuff and she is not afraid to push me to the upper limits of my
skill. The picture book that we both
love went through at least 9 or 10 revisions after I submitted it to her, and
that was after it had previously won an SCBWI Barbara Karlin Award Honorable
Mention a number of years ago. But, I think many of us assume that when we get
an agent, the contracts are going to start flowing in and that's just not
true. It's just as hard to get published
whether or not you have an agent, because children's publishing is still a
changing field to break into. And the
agent now has to be sure that the project s/he is representing is the absolute
best since their name is tied to it as well, so there's a lot on the line for
them, too.
8. What is the most frustrating part of being a writer?
For me the
most frustrating part is not having the time that I'd like to put into my
writing. And sometimes when I do have the time, I don't always have the
discipline to stay focused. Writing is
hard work, plain and simple, and even extremely short projects (like the
46-word picture book I just resubmitted to Vicki) can cause a lot of stress,
self-doubt, and frustration. The words
don't always come together as easily as I'd like. But the knowledge that I have
found success in the past and the hope that every new project that I send out
might find a home reaffirms the importance of all that hard work.
9. What's the best part?
Being in
two critique groups and having another one-on-one writing partner have been the
best parts of writing for me. I would
absolutely NOT be doing this or finding the success I've had without them. Hands down. Of course, getting something
accepted and seeing it in print is extremely rewarding. But the friendships and connections I have
made with my critique groups and with people that I have met over the years
through the SCBWI and as the Regional Advisor for the organization have
definitely been wonderful. Then, too,
the hope that one day something that I have published might somehow touch the
life of even one child in a positive way is something that I dream about.
10. What advice would you give aspiring writers?
I would say
get into a critique group or find a writing partner and don't submit too
soon. I sent out plenty of stories that
I worked very hard on and that I thought were my best. But when I continued to
work on them later or as I continued to revise and submit with the suggestions
of my critique partners and/or my agent, I am always amazed at how much better
they can be. I see a lot of authors
self-publish, and while I have no problem with that, I think the ease with
which that can be done nowadays makes it way too easy to turn out work that
really is not a writer's best. And,
isn't that what we all want to show the world? Our best?
Jean, thanks for stopping by and taking time to share your experience with us. We wish you much success in your future endeavors!
Every writer’s journey will be different.
A very few writers will have almost immediate success and have their early
submissions purchased and published. Most of us, however, will experience a
much longer journey. At times we could become discouraged by setbacks, but that
need not be the case. We cannot control what we will encounter on our journeys,
but we can control our responses to the events. Viewing each event in a positive
perspective can make our journeys more joyful.
