Two weeks until Tiny Hamster Is a Giant Monster!
This Week in Tiny Hamster Videos
My brilliant colleague, Kristin Ostby, is doing a picture book by the hilarious folks behind the Tiny Hamster videos. The book, Tiny Hamster Is a Giant Monster, is out on June 2. Before the book comes out, get to know Tiny Hamster. I think you'll like him (or her).
Making the Book: The Debut Author
What are books? What is this thing known as "reading"? And how does one do it? In an ongoing series called "Making the Book," I'll look to answer these questions by interviewing folks who make books. And what better place to start than with someone who has crafted a story that will eventually become a book, commonly referred to as "a writer." In this first edition, I interview Christian McKay Heidicker, whose novel, Cure for the Common Universe, I recently acquired.
So, I hear you just sold your first manuscript to one of the best editors in the business. What was that like?
Amazing. I tackled the first Doberman Pinscher I saw (fortunately there was one in the house I was housesitting) and I rolled around the floor with her and laughed and cried . . . and I might have playfully bitten her ears a bit. This isn't some exaggerated, authory simile for my feelings on having sold a book. This is a real thing that actually happened. The Doberman's name is Tesla.
Seriously, I was elated. When my agent, John Cusick, sent over the initial list of editor submissions, I zeroed in on Mr. Trimmer's name. I mean, he'd worked with Rick Riordan and Mo Willems for Christian's sake. Little did I know he also edited what would become one of my favorite graphic novels of all time: Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller by Joseph Lambert. For those of you who haven't read it, buy it. Buy it now.
You took the bait! I was totally fishing for compliments. (Thank you--they were very generous.) Also, I hope Tesla gets a shout-out in your acknowledgments.
I'm glad you brought up Mr. Cusick, who is just a brilliant agent (and writer). A lot of the folks reading this are probably dreaming of their own future book deals, but first they have to get agents, which is not easy. How did you end up as one of John's clients?
Landing an agent is like trying to date in middle school. After you finally muster the courage to ask someone to check out your goods, you get rejected again and again and again and again . . . until one day you don’t . . . seven years after you’ve left middle school and stopped caring.
I was pretty fortunate. After being rejected by about twenty agents, my old writing partner, Valynne E. Maetani (her book Ink and Ashes is out in May!), courted John Cusick for us both. It was like she went to his lunch table and asked him out while pointing at me across the cafeteria . . . and he said yes!
The author waits to hear from agents.
In the seventh grade, I frenched (one of my favorite verbs) Becky J. after seeing Child's Play. I wasn't expecting the kiss (or her tongue) on that particular night, but the following Monday, I was feeling all kinds of confident as I walked into school. Before first period, I learned that Becky had started dating Vic F. He was taller than I was, more popular, with dirty blond hair and bright eyes, so I understood her choice. I would have picked him over her, too. Still, it stung.
You made out after watching Child's Play?! I went on a doll-burning spree . . . that hasn't stopped since .
The doll in Trilogy of Terror messed me up, but Chucky didn't really bother me. So, to use your metaphor, Becky is like the agent who is promising representation . . . only to sign someone from your writing group and then ignoring you in pre-algebra. Is that accurate? I'm going to guess that a fear of rejection keeps people from pursuing representation in the first place. Did you experience that anxiety? If so, do you remember the moment when you decided to take the plunge?
Your agent metaphor is eerily accurate. (Except the pre-algebra part.) I played the hot and cold game with a few agents before John Cusick came along and made it all hot, all the time. (Our relationship is strictly professional.) I know plenty of writers who sit on their brilliant manuscripts because they're afraid of rejection. I was never one of those. I was bold as brass as an early writer, ecstatic to fling my pages at anyone in the business. The truth is . . . I was just okay. I had lots of enthusiasm without much technique or anything to say. That changed with years and heartbreak and hours at the keyboard. I actually experience more anxiety sending things out now because I'm more aware of how hard it is to be good and how much talent is out there.
For anyone who does feel anxiety in submitting to an agent, I'd remind them that rejection is good. Keeps ya sober. Keeps ya workin'. Keeps ya chasing after that next project . . .
That's great advice. You have to experience some "no" before you get the "yes!" It makes the accomplishment all the sweeter, right? It's just like that song says: "The black the berry, the sweeter the juice."
Now, I have insider knowledge that you recently received your first editorial letter (in which an editor details his/her suggestions for strengthening a manuscript). How did that feel? As someone who has asked many a writer to make major changes in the next draft, I've often wondered how one begins the revising process. I mean, you've turned in a version that you feel really good about, and now you're being asked to rethink major components of the story. How do you begin the process?
The author goes gray upon reading the editorial letter.
I think I'm different than most writers when it comes to editorial letters. I've heard stories about authors receiving theirs, sobbing uncontrollably, and then locking themselves in a dark room for a week. Most describe it as an unpleasant experience. Not me.
I DEVOURED your editorial letter. I realized that you had found the heart of what I was trying to do and wanted to clear away all of the cobwebs so the reader could feel it beat. You walked into my book, tipped over a cardboard cutout of a character I thought was hilarious, passed your hand through walls to prove they were holograms, and showed me that the timelines were all messed up. Once I saw what you were seeing, I took every single suggestion you made, including the bits that I disagreed with at first.
It's pretty overwhelming tackling a 60,000-word document. Once you dive in, it's easy to get caught up in dialogue or that joke you love or how oddly alien your own voice sounds. It's tough to see the big picture. After I got your letter, I didn't reread the manuscript for three weeks. Instead I used your letter as a map, writing scenes you felt were missing from scratch, reordering the chapters, and searching and deleting any parts you thought didn't work. At that point I had a Frankenstein's monster of a book. I've been trying to make it presentable ever since.
The process is difficult, but I am also very grateful for the opportunity to improve. I don't think anything I write is perfect. I'm sure whatever version of this gets published won't be perfect. But I'm confident that we'll come as close as I'm able at this point.
The author works through a particularly challenging section of his revision.
I remember an author, the lovely Robin Mellom, telling me that she didn't cry after reading the first editorial letter I sent to her. I didn't understand what she meant--why would she have? (Forgive my naivete--I was still pretty new to the business.) I have since learned that many authors shed tears after reviewing the contents of that particular package. It is always my aim not to make my authors cry (or puke or faint, for that matter). I've mostly succeeded.
Where do you like to write? And what do you wear on writing days?
If I ever send you something sub-par, please feel free to make me cry (or puke or faint, for that matter).
I write at home in the mornings and in coffee shops in the afternoons, but when I first started freelancing, I trained myself to write absolutely anywhere any time. Just so I'd have no excuses. I once wrote a chapter while walking 17 kilometers across Spain. I tripped a lot.
I'm not very style conscious. Or very shower conscious. I like the idea of wearing a suit to the writing desk every day as a sort of gratitude of being able to do what I do . . . but then I think about how much time that would take away from writing and I don't do it. The other day my financial planner told me I look like a writer, which is kind of a backhanded compliment . . . and also great. I just hope the lack of personal hygiene manifests in the writing itself. Otherwise I look unkempt for no reason whatsoever.
Before I let you go, can you tell us what your book's about? But here's the challenge: you have to do so in ONE SENTENCE. Imagine you're in a pitch meeting with some hot young development executive in Hollywood--what's the one line you give to hook his/her interest?
Cure for the Common Universe is about a kid who scores the first date of his life only to be promptly committed to video game rehab, which he must now escape.
(But under the surface, it's about how easy it is to believe you're doing the right thing.)
(Is that cheating?)
Nice! Sounds like an MTV Films movie to me. Last question: what are you reading these days?
I'm almost finished with the Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman. It's excellent. I just started The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (one of my favorite authors). Sitting in front of me right this moment is El Deafo by Cece Bell. I got teary-eyed on the SECOND PAGE. All highly recommended.
What are you reading?
Your revision!
Cure for the Common Universe is on sale in Summer 2016. Check back soon for the next edition of "Making the Book" featuring The Agent.
Add It to the List: CURE FOR THE COMMON UNIVERSE
This deal was announced a few months back on PW's Children's Bookshelf, but the young adult novel is very much on my mind. I'm in the middle of reviewing the excellent second draft. My assistant popped into my office this morning to file the fully executed contract. And we (the author, the agent, my publisher, me, people on the street) just settled on this killer title.
Cure for the Common Universe by Christian McKay Heidicker follows high-school senior Miles Prower, who suffers from a severe case of arrested development. After his mom shipped him off to live with his dad five years ago, Miles detached from real life. All of his free time is spent playing video games. His only friends are the members of his guild, guys he has never met in person. On one fateful day, as he's out washing his stepmom's car, he meets a girl, a girl who actually seems interested in going on a date with him. Could this be the moment that things start to shift for Miles? Answer: no. Because when he gets home, two very large men are waiting there to take him to video game rehab.
Christian's novel examines themes that I've been interested in throughout my career. From my first acquisition (Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford) to the upcoming The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, a lot of the books I've edited explore the growing pains boys experience as they figure out what kind of man they want to be. Miles's understanding of manhood comes from the games he plays--the characters in them are not great role models. So Miles has a lot of growing to do.
Christian's agent, the great John Cusick, expertly summarized in his pitch letter some of the other issues that the author tackles: Cure for the Common Universe "isn’t about video games, nor is it just a 'guy wants to get laid' story. Christian manages to bring real depth to Miles’s desire for connection, tapping into that universal need to be known, adored, and maybe become better *for* another person. Perhaps most compelling is the way [the novel] takes up gender issues. Miles must learn that the women in his life aren’t achievements or princesses to be rescued. In a culture that too often positions sex— and girls more precisely— as something to be won, [Cure for the Common Universe] offers important insights for young readers of any gender."
Hot, right? Cure for the Common Universe comes out in Summer 2016.
This Week in Misunderstood Cat Videos
Add It to the List: ADA'S VIOLIN
I'm very excited to report that I've acquired Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood with art by Sally Wern Comport.
Photo courtesy of Susan Hood, though not taken by her.
A while back, I watched a segment on 60 Minutes about the Recycled Orchestra, an orchestra made up of young people from Cateura, Paraguay, who play instruments built out of the trash on which the town is built. It was an unbelievably compelling piece, one that made me look at the garbage littering New York City and my own consumption very differently. Soon after, I called super agent Brenda Bowen to see if she had anyone who could do the story justice in the picture book format. Brenda recommended the great Susan Hood, and I'm so glad she did. Susan threw herself into the project, contacting the key players at the Recycled Orchestra and establishing a trusting relationship with them. She also reached out to the producers of the 60 Minutes piece and the folks behind the beautiful Landfill Harmonic, a documentary about the Recycled Orchestra currently doing the festival circuit. After all her careful research, she crafted a gorgeous manuscript that captures the spirit of the Orchestra's mission.
Armed with the manuscript, I then emailed the astonishing Sally Wern Comport, with whom I'd worked on Love Will See You Through, in hopes that she'd connect with the material. Happily...she did! She just delivered sketches of the book, and they are beyond amazing. The way she depicts the kids in the group, the town, the heat, THE INSTRUMENTS--I can't wait to show you.
Ada's Violin comes out in Spring 2016.
Here's the official press release in case you feel like reading more:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS TO PUBLISH PICTURE BOOK BASED ON THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE PARAGUAYAN RECYCLED ORCHESTRA
New York, NY, March 18¾Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers announced today that it will publish Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, the official picture book detailing the true story of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, Paraguay. The book will be published on March 15, 2016, and in honor of its publication, Simon & Schuster will make a donation to the Recycled Orchestra.
Profiled on 60 Minutes and in numerous national publications, the orchestra is also the subject of a documentary, The Landfill Harmonic, which will have its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 18, 2015, and its East Coast premiere on March 21, 2015, at the New York Children’s Film Festival. The story unfolds through the eyes of Ada Ríos, a member since the orchestra’s inception, who had long dreamed of playing an instrument. In her small, poor town built on a landfill, doing so was never an option, until a local engineer, Favio Chávez, had an ingenious idea: What if he turned some of the garbage—the town’s only resource—into instruments? Using scraps of dirty oilcans, jars, wood, forks, and other junk in the Cateura landfill, he and other locals built beautiful musical instruments—violins, flutes, cellos, drums . . . all made from trash.
From this ingenuity, the Recycled Orchestra was formed, with the local children as its members learning and performing Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. As the children fine-tuned their skills, they started to garner attention. Ada and her fellow members have now played concerts to packed audiences throughout their home country, South America, and the world.
Author Susan Hood, who has written dozens of books for children, worked directly with the Recycled Orchestra to craft the manuscript, uncovering never-before-heard details. She plans to donate a portion of her earnings from sales of the book to the Orchestra. Sally Wern Comport, who most recently illustrated Love Will See You Through: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Six Guiding Beliefs, will provide the art.
“It seems to me that the publishing of the book is something very important, as it projects our story beyond a determined moment,” says Favio Chávez. “This book will be a testimony and a legacy of what we have done.” Ada Ríos, now sixteen and a first violinist, adds, “Music breaks social barriers. I hope this book will help more people understand that somewhere in the world exist children and young people of limited means who aspire to get ahead.”
“The Recycled Orchestra and its founders and members have so much to teach us,” says Christian Trimmer, Senior Editor, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. “Ada’s Violin is an inspiring story that will spread their message of innovation and community.”
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers retains world rights, all languages, for the text and illustrations.
This Week in Gifted Dog Videos
Just in case "Let It Go" has managed to escape your mind, watch this!
This Week in Sassy Cat Videos
An Audio Excerpt of WE ALL LOOKED UP
Meet Peter, one of the four protagonists of Tommy Wallach's We All Looked Up, in this awesome excerpt from the audio edition of the novel.
This Week in Cute Pygmy Marmoset Videos
Breathe... Relax... Enjoy...
A Starred Review for SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY
The first review for Ben Clanton's Something Extraordinary (6/16/15) has found its way to my inbox, and it's a star!
"Bored with the familiar, this young daydreamer imagines how life could be different. For starters, he'd liked to fly or have his drawings—in this case, a robot—come to life. The ideas become more creative as he continues; he would like it if "the rain came in seven different colors. And flavors!" His longings are depicted in watercolor-and-pencil compositions, rendered in a muted palette of browns and blue-greens. Ultimately, his puff of air on a dandelion carries the wish "that something would happen. / Something real!" In a quietly ironic twist, the boy notices a springtime scene (brighter, by subtle degrees) just across the gutter. The birds that had earlier accompanied him, chirping in small, musical speech bubbles, are seen tending their family in a branch of a tree. Organic pink and yellow shapes form the flowers that grace the cheery paradise. The protagonist's earlier desire to talk to the animals is achieved as he bends toward a turtle and produces his own music bubble. In less capable hands, the idea that the real is extraordinary (and by extrapolation, that enjoyment requires close observation) could have come across as cliché and didactic. Instead, scenes full of gentle humor and inventive play convey respect and affection for the audience. The slowly dawning message will elicit excitement about spring, wishing, and the ability to decode a narrative." (Picture book. 4-7)
This Week in Seasonally Appropriate Cat-and-Dog Videos
This Week in Adorable Dog Videos
It's My Fall 2015 List!
Over the last couple of weeks, some lovely folks have revealed the covers of the books I'm editing with publication dates in Fall 2015. (See here, here, here, and here.) The titles and covers fed to accounts over the weekend (our first metadata feed for the season), which means they're all available for preorder. Yay for you!
I thought it'd be cool to give you, dear reader, a little insight as to how these covers came together.
Maid of Wonder by Jennifer McGowan is the third book in the glamorous, action-packed Maids of Honor series. It goes on sale on 25 August 2015.
Lucy Cummins had established a great look for the series with the paperback edition of Maid of Secrets, so there was no need to toss around a bunch of ideas. Instead, we could go straight into casting with the goal of finding a compelling young woman and a couple of hot guys. The lead character in Maid of Wonder, Sophia Dee, is the youngest of the Maids of Honor as well as a bit of an oddball--her gift of Sight has made her less socially graceful than her fellow maids. So Lucy and I needed to find someone youthful (all the models we meet are young, but many do not look youthful) with a vulnerable, ethereal quality, which this young woman totally had. In terms of the young men, we met a bunch of them (poor us, right?). The boys who made it to the cover had physical qualities that matched Sophia's suitors in the novel. They also happened to be fun to be around, which makes a shoot day all the more enjoyable.
Once casting was done, Lucy got to work sourcing costumes and props. There isn't a ton of quality Elizabethan garb available to the general public--the thought crossed my mind to call Sandy Powell and ask her what she did with the Shakespeare in Love costumes--but Lucy found some gorgeous pieces.
We shot the cover at Michael Frost's very cool studio in Manhattan near Union Square. (I've worked with him on a few occasions, and it's always a blast to be in his space.) Lucy then selected her favorite images, and she and I reviewed them together. After a little bit of Photoshop magic, she presented the finished cover. The actual jacket will have a fancy holographic foil on the title.
Lock & Mori, the first book in a new trilogy by Heather Petty, introduces us to a modern-day, sixteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes on the day he meets Miss James "Mori" Moriarty at their high school.
Though there has been a big shift in the industry toward illustrated covers for YA novels (a few years ago, this was not the case--publishers were encouraged to use photographs), our sense was that we needed to take pictures of actual humans for Lock & Mori. Krista Vossen devised a concept (if memory serves, she pitched just this one--it immediately felt right) and hired photographer Ylva Erevall. Next, we had the casting. I've been to a bunch of them at this point in my career, and I'll admit that they sometimes don't go very well. Not many models show up, or the ones who do don't look like the characters in the book. Or a model walks in, and you think, Yes, he's perfect! But then you discover he only has one expression and a leaden personality. Still, we must make a choice--a studio has been booked, hair and make-up hired, and costumes ordered, not to mention the in-house deadlines. But at the Lock & Mori casting, it was as if Catherine and Massey (the models we ended up hiring) had stepped out of the pages of the manuscript.
Ylva shot TONS of images, with the models in various poses and outfits; Krista has plenty to choose from for the next two books in the trilogy. The image on the bottom half of the cover (a stock photo) represents a key plot detail in Book One; Books Two and Three will follow suit.The final jacket is being printed on gritty stock with a metallic foil on the front cover.
Daniel Kraus is one of my favorite writers, so I was thrilled to beat out a bunch of other houses in the auction for The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volumes 1 and 2. When it came time to talk about the cover for Book One, publishing on 27 October 2015, we knew we needed to go with an illustration...but of what? The novel spans five decades and two continents. There are dozens of characters. The book is a coming-of-age tale, it's historical fiction, it's gothic, it's literary, it's horror.
Thankfully, Lizzy Bromley had a plan. She came up with a list of illustrators whom she felt could capture the spirit of the book in a narrative way. One of those artists, the absolutely brilliant Ken Taylor, was intrigued by the novel's premise and signed on to the project. Lizzy and I provided him with a list of objects significant to Zebulon's story, as well as a little guidance on Zebulon's physical appearance--he took it from there. Ken's finished piece is one of the most intriguing, exciting, and cool illustrations I've ever seen for a book. Lizzy made it even more awesome with her excellent title treatment, color choices, and special effects.
Captive by A. J. Grainger, out on 11/3/15, is exactly what a thriller is meant to be: a fast-paced novel that keeps you guessing and is, most importantly, thrilling. In the book, the British Prime Minster's daughter has been kidnapped by terrorists. The story doesn't pull any punches, and designer Krista Vossen took inspiration from some of its dark and graphic scenes. She showed the group (at one of our bi-weekly meetings, in which designers and editors talk about covers) a number of images. This close-up of a girl blindfolded perfectly captured the tone of the book. Krista added some graininess to the image to create even more distance between our imperiled heroine and the reader. The finished jacket will have an extra shiny gloss to emulate a TV screen.
Check out the Coming Soon tab in the near future to learn more about these books.
A Starred Review for IN A WORLD JUST RIGHT
I'm not going to lie--I'm a little emotional that my Spring 2015 titles are getting so much love from reviewers. In a starred review, VOYA gave IN A WORLD JUST RIGHT a perfect ten. The review appears in their February issue.
"At the age of eight, Jonathan Aubrey barely survived the plane crash that took the lives of his parents, younger sister Tess, and Auntie Carrie, leaving him under the guardianship of his widowed Uncle Joey. Jonathan's physical scars may have faded over the past ten years but his desire to escape his lonely, isolated life has only increased. Looking for something better or at least different from what he already knows, Jonathan discovers he can create alternate worlds where he can be happy for a while. Now Jonathan splits time between his everyday existence and his preferred Kylie-Simms-is-my-girlfriend world, but with graduation coming, he knows things must change. Will he be ready to choose just one world?
Jonathan is the best kind of main character any story could want; he is sympathetic, flawed, and is as surprised as the reader by how events unfold. His life experiences are so unique that they should be un-relatable but Jonathan's honest, emotional responses allow for a real connection. Feelings of isolation and dreaming of a more ideal life will feel familiar to just about any reader, no matter what their background, but it is Jonathan's method of escaping his everyday struggles that teens will envy. The matter-of-fact acceptance that others worlds are possible and how one person can travel from space to space makes it easier for readers to focus on the characters, their relationships, and their difficult choices. Every piece of the puzzle that is this books slides into the exact right spot, forming a picture-perfect work of fiction."
In a World Just Right goes on sale on 28 April 2015.
It's the Cover of LOCK & MORI
I'm super excited by the Lock & Mori series by Heather Petty, and it appears I'm not the only one. The book is already getting tons of love on Goodreads. Earlier today, the wonderful Mundie Moms revealed the cover of Book One, appropriately titled LOCK & MORI. Check it out here!
My First Book Deal
Dear Readers, I'm thrilled to announce that I've sold my first manuscript! Simon's New Bed is a picture book with art by Melissa van der Paardt. The great Justin Chanda, publisher extraordinaire of numerous imprints at Simon & Schuster, is editing; the talented Lauren Rille is handling design. Simon's New Bed will be on sale 25 August 2015.
The cover of my first book!
My journey to becoming a published author has been long in the making...and then happened all at once. I never thought of myself as a creative type. Or, rather, I never allowed myself to think that way. Which is odd, considering I regularly got the solo in my choir, I loved dancing, and I had a pretty constant urge to put on costumes.
Me as Barbra Streisand in The Main Event. I'm from a tennis family.
Still, my strongest subject was math, and kids who are good at math (and also have Asian mothers) are often encouraged to pursue paths more secure than the arts. For me, that was medicine.
From age five to nineteen, I was certain I was going to be a doctor. Every decision I made - selecting classes, participating in extracurriculars, skipping parties I wasn't invited to - was meant to bring me closer to my goal of getting into a university with a stellar pre-med program.
Once I got to college (Northwestern University), I soon realized that my chosen path might not be the right fit. Not only was I struggling through organic chemistry and physics (admittedly, instead of buying the textbook for the class, I purchased a sweater), but also I had become completely enamored with the theater crowd. Never had I met such charismatic, talented individuals. They could sing! They could dance! They could over-act! I wanted to be just like them.
But I was not a creative type. Unlike these peers, I had not devoted my childhood to honing my singing and dancing skills. I did not deserve to be in their shows. Really, I didn't even have the right to audition.
With pre-med behind me and no clear plan what to do after college, I decided to move to Los Angeles (as one does). One of my first jobs was doing script coverage, and I found I was quite good at tearing apart other people's hard work. Uninspired dialogue, plot holes, weak transitions--I discovered that I had a natural gift for sussing out these problems. Additionally, a number of my friends were aspiring screenwriters, and we had long talks about process and spent many nights dissecting and criticizing primetime television shows.
Side bar: The pilot for Felicity is masterful.
Simultaneously, at the urging of a great friend, I started to take acting classes. There, I learned the importance of back story and character development. I started to audition (the talent pool in LA was less intimidating than the one at NU), but I felt like an impostor. Even though I knew none of them, the other young people aspiring to be Guy #1 in the new Taco Bell commercial struck me as more worthy. I could commit in class, but at auditions, I found biting into imaginary burritos and driving through fake drive-thrus a bit embarrassing. And for anyone who wants to be an artist, commitment is key.
In addition to head shots, my agency wanted modeling shots. Here I am, "modeling" on a roof in downtown LA. (I miss that coat...)
Though I loved the art of acting, I couldn't stomach the business. I had also grown tired of Los Angeles and was looking for jobs in New York City. And I landed a great one, one that would greatly enhance my understanding of storytelling. Thomas Schumacher, then president of Disney Feature Animation and Theatrical Group, who oversaw the production of many of my favorite movies, was opening an office in New York and needed an assistant. I'd never worked for someone so charismatic and passionate--his every breath was about great storytelling. On top of that, Tom was brilliant with talent. He knew how to bring out the best in people, to tap into their most creative selves, to comfort bruised egos and gently reign in inflated ones. Little did I know that I was receiving some of the best training for my future job as a book editor.
Through Tom, I met many other great storytellers: Rick Elice, Roger Rees, Francesca Zambello, Julie Taymor, Sir Richard Eyre, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Phil Collins, Doug Wright, Julian Fellowes. While deeply inspiring, my interactions with these folks intimidated the wannabe artist inside me. I hungered to do the things they did, but as I had been doing for many years, I convinced myself to leave the art-making to the real experts.
After two years working for Tom, I switched to publishing. (In today's market, landing an editorial job is akin to winning the Hunger Games, so I was very lucky to get in when I did. I just happened to have the right skill set and can-do attitude my new boss, Brenda Bowen, was looking for.) The desire to create lingered, but at long last, at least I was in a position that would allow me to produce.
Brenda threw me into the process, first teaching me the basics and then helping me to develop my skills. Tom had instilled in me the value of systems, and I incorporated them into my process. As an editor at Disney Hyperion, I was exposed to the works of Jonathan Stroud, Eoin Colfer, Melissa de la Cruz, E. Lockhart, Mo Willems, and Rick Riordan, many of whom I would eventually have the great pleasure of editing. (Or rather, mostly the great pleasure.) Over the years, I've worked for and with some truly legendary editors, and if/when I win a Golden Globe, they will all be thanked in my speech.
My understanding of story blossomed in these years, and with it, a belief that I could create something of my very own. I decided to try my hand at screenwriting because, as everyone knows, selling a screenplay is super easy. My first effort, in partnership with a friend with some experience with the format, was a female-driven comedy about motherhood, of all things. We never finished the first draft, but I took a lot away from the experience, particularly that writing is hard!
I next tried a screenplay on my own, one that I completed and one that will eventually win me that Golden Globe. A good friend who has worked on a number of Oscar-winning films gave me priceless feedback...that I've yet to address. In essence, I need to rewrite the whole thing, and I'm struggling to find the time to tackle the revision. Let's just say I now empathize with my authors who are facing a lengthy editorial letter. (Not to suggest that I didn't before, but let's be honest--I didn't.)
In April of 2013, after eight years with Disney Publishing and thirteen--my youth!--with The Walt Disney Company, I moved over to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. This post is about my book deal, so I won't go into how much I love being an editor at S & S. I will write, though, that I felt much more comfortable pursuing my artistic endeavors once I started there. Emboldened by the fact that I had finished a 100-page screenplay, I began writing more regularly. There were a couple of picture book ideas I wanted to tackle. As part of the terms of my employment, I shared the manuscripts with my boss, Justin. He liked them. He made offers on both. I accepted them. Less than a year after starting at S & S, I had signed two contracts for two manuscripts I had written in that timeframe. (I'll tell you more about the other book very soon.)
Years ago, I often spoke with Schumacher about my desire to create something and my insecurities about competing with folks with so much more experience. He pointed out the obvious: "Everyone has their own path." They were words I needed to hear, words that I eventually internalized. I'm happy that I finally decided to take the chance on my own work. I'm thrilled that my name appears on the cover of a beautiful book. And I can't wait for you all to read it!
Learn more about Simon's New Bed here.
A Third Starred Review for WE ALL LOOKED UP
Publishers Weekly has graced Tommy Wallach's debut novel with a starred review, its third one to date.
"An asteroid named Ardor is on course to destroy the world. As four Seattle teenagers count down the weeks until impact, they wrestle with the meaning of their lives and their possible deaths. Peter, a basketball golden boy, must decide if he should save his sister from her nihilistic boyfriend and whether true love is worth ignoring the status quo. Eliza, a photographer with an unseemly reputation, negotiates her father’s cancer diagnosis, her mother’s abandonment, and the need to chronicle the chaos erupting around her, while finding herself drawn to Peter. Rounding out the story’s rotating voices are Anita, a straight-A student who just wants to sing, and Andy, a slacker who must decide where his loyalties lie and how to handle his dangerous friends.Debut novelist Wallach increases the tension among characters throughout, ending in a shocking climax that resonates with religious symbolism. Stark scenes alternating between anarchy and police states are counterbalanced by deepening emotional ties and ethical dilemmas, creating a novel that asks far bigger questions than it answers."
We All Looked Up goes on sale on 24 March 2015.
A Second Starred Review for WE ALL LOOKED UP
VOYA loved We All Looked Up, giving it a perfect score. The review appears in their February issue.
"Four Seattle high school students whose lives have not intersected much are brought together by the disturbing news that an asteroid is headed for Earth with a 66.6% chance of collision that will obliterate human life. With impact expected in two months, life becomes drastically different. Food is rationed, gas prices skyrocket, satellite and cell service grind to a halt, and looting and lawlessness make the streets unsafe. Through the alternating perspectives of popular jock Peter, promiscuous Eliza, slacker Andy, and overachiever Anita, the reader sees each character grapple with the prospect of a shortened life, challenged to make the last days meaningful in a doomed world where human nature has bared its teeth.
With the terrifying possibility of an apocalyptic ending for humankind and the philosophical and ethical challenges that this brings, We All Looked Up offers much food for thought: What would you do if you were given a limited number of days on Earth? Each of the major characters, having lived life for others, examines past choices and recognizes the need to change course. Readers, in turn, will be challenged to question what matters in their own lives. This compelling, well-written narrative, which offers sometimes raw insight into human motivation and behavior, will have readers racing to the final pages and pondering its ideas long after."
We All Looked Up goes on sale on 24 March 2015.
A Starred Review for WE ALL LOOKED UP
The first review of Tommy Wallach's brilliant debut novel, We All Looked Up, just hit my inbox. Very excitingly, it's a starred review. Here's what Kirkus Reviews thought about the book:
"The end of the world turns into a life-changing opportunity for four high school seniors. High school is all about labels. In this stunning debut set in present-day Seattle, there's Peter the athlete, Andy the slacker, Anita the overachiever and Eliza the slut. Just as each notices a strange blue star in the sky one night, the president announces that the star is actually an asteroid with a path that is 66.6 percent likely to hit and destroy the Earth in two months. Told from the teens' alternating viewpoints, sometimes with cleverly overlapping details, this edgy story follows how each copes with impending doom with brilliant imagery and astounding depth. Knowing that all life will probably end in just weeks, the four teens abandon their labels and search for meaning in the time they have left. Inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, they forge a "karass"—an unbreakable, and indeed life-changing, bond—as they explore purpose, evil, faith, independence, friendship, sex and love together. In the background there is also social commentary to be gleaned as the world becomes a dangerous place and martial law becomes a farce. But just like the asteroid that dots the night sky, Wallach pierces his darkness with tenderness and humor. A thought-provoking story that will bring out readers' inner philosophers."
We All Looked Up goes on sale on 24 March 2015.