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My Lucky Break into Publishing: Guest Stacy McAnulty

12/1/2013

21 Comments

 
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Welcome to Stacy McAnulty! She's no stranger as she is featured in my blog hop from October 7 here. I'm honored to be a part of her blog tour for her humorous debut picture book, Dear Santasaurus. I asked Stacy to share how she landed her first book contract WITHOUT an agent at the time. (note: she now has an agent) 

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

This quote describes my writing life, and (probably) the writing life of many authors. Writers need to plug away and continue to create, all while hoping an opportunity will be available.

My first picture book, DEAR SANTASAURUS (Boyds Mills Press, 2013) was born at a writing retreat. I had an early draft sitting in front of me while an editor was addressing our group of 40 writers. My interest in her presentation was waning when she said something like, “I don’t want to see another dinosaur book come across my desk.”

And, of course, I thought the opposite. Dinosaurs! That’s brilliant. It was exactly what my book needed. Instead of a manuscript featuring a sometimes-naughty little boy, I needed a mischievous dinosaur.  I probably should have thought of dinosaurs on my own, considering I had a three-year-old son who could pronounce Parasaurolophus without hesitation.

So I reworked my manuscript to star a fun-loving Spinosaurus. (Anyone can pronounce Spinosaurus.) I rewrote and rewrote. I shared with my critique partner. I read it to my children, husbands, dogs. Then fast forward six months, I attended a Highlights Foundation Workshop at Chautauqua. I was assigned a faculty member to work with, and she saw potential in my fifteen-hundred word dinosaur Christmas book.

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I wish I could say she acquired it right there on the spot. Nope! We went through four revisions over two months before Boyds Mills Press bought the book. And even then, the editor gave me a four page editorial letter. We still had work to do.

I’m so thankful for my lucky break at Chautauqua. To have the opportunity to work with an editor isn’t guaranteed at any workshop or conference (at least that I know of).  But I was prepared with a manuscript that I loved and had worked over.

I wish all my fellow writers a lucky break. In the meantime, I hope they are preparing by writing and rewriting.


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And now for the daily cookie (a family favorite)…
Toll House Chocolate Chip
I make these often, and they never stick around long.
(visit http://stacymcanulty.blogspot.com/ for the recipe)


About Stacy:
Stacy lives in North Carolina with her three children, two dogs, and one husband. (She has zero dinosaurs.) DEAR SANTASAURUS (Boyd Mills Press, 2013) is her first picture book. For more information on Stacy, please visit www.stacymcanulty.com

Thanks so much for sharing with us, Stacy! Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies are my favorite, too and will go perfectly with your book!


21 Comments
Stacy S. Jensen link
12/1/2013 07:54:50 pm

Congratulations on the book. I love that inspiration struck when you were told not to do something! Looking forward to reading it. What was the final word count after revision?

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Stacy McAnulty link
12/5/2013 06:26:42 am

Looks like the final count was 1132. Yikes! All the letter openings and closings add up.

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Stacy S. Jensen link
12/8/2013 07:59:22 am

Thanks Stacy. It always gives me hope when I hear that books are a little longer/

Kirsten Larson link
12/1/2013 10:22:01 pm

Congratulations, Stacy! This looks just like the new Christmas read my boys would love. I try to get a handful of new titles each year. It makes the holidays special.

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Deborah Holt Williams link
12/1/2013 10:51:57 pm

It's such an honor to be published by Boyds Mills--they do so few each year. Congratulations! I love Highlights workshops and it's great to read how beneficial they were to you.

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Hannah Holt link
12/2/2013 12:01:31 am

Congratulations, Stacy! I love that you took what someone told you NOT to do and turned it into something great. Best wishes for the book launch!

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Joanna link
12/2/2013 12:10:56 am

Boyds Mills is a great press. Congratulations, Stacy, love the title!

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Leandra link
12/2/2013 01:06:51 am

I loved dinos as a kid. And now too(I can't wait for the next Jurassic Park movie to come out!). =) My kidlet has several dino books- this looks like a good one to add to his collection!

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Damon Dean link
12/2/2013 01:40:49 am

Great story Stacey! (both your journey AND your book) As a recent PiBoIdMo guest said we must follow our inspiration and not let comments of desperation tell us where to go with our writing.

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Penny Klostermann link
12/2/2013 01:51:33 am

Love your story! It just goes to show that a fresh take on an old subject can work wonders. Congratulations!

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Teresa Robeson link
12/2/2013 02:11:03 am

I love how Stacy went against what she was told and succeeded! Congratulations to her on a super cute book! Thanks for sharing her story, Tina. :)

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Romelle Broas link
12/2/2013 02:46:39 am

Thanks for sharing your story, Stacy. Wow, great things do happen at Chautauqua! I love that you went with your heart and wrote about a dinosaur. It's a fabulous idea! Can't wait to read it. Thanks, Tina, for hosting the blog tour.

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Robin link
12/2/2013 02:56:27 am

Woo-hoo! Congratulations Stacy! What an inspiring story! I can't wait to read the book.

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Robin link
12/2/2013 03:00:38 am

p.s. I concur with everyone above, Boyd Mills is a great press! Much success with Dear Santasaurus. Love the title!

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Pam Brunskill
12/2/2013 03:44:13 am

What a great story! Congratulations, Stacy!

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Darshana link
12/2/2013 04:13:49 am

wow. that is some story. congrats. look forward to reading it.

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Tracy Campbell link
12/2/2013 06:03:26 am

Hi Tina and Stacy,
I loved reading about your journey, Stacy.
Great dinosaurs.
Tracy

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Donna L Sadd link
12/2/2013 07:59:46 am

It is so cool that you went with your gut. It's even cooler that you were prepared when opportunity knocked, Stacey! I've got a retreat coming up and I certainly will remember this post.

Much success with your book! :0)

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Patricia Tilton link
12/2/2013 09:11:29 am

Congratulations Stacy. I love it when someone believes enough in their work and follows intuition! Thank you for sharing your inspiring story!

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Ruth Schiffmann link
12/3/2013 05:04:22 am

Wow, great story. I love how you took a negative "no more dinosaurs" and turned it into a positive "hey, my story needs dinosaurs." Love that!

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Tina Cho link
12/5/2013 04:34:55 pm

Thanks so much, everyone, for your comments for Stacy! It was fun being a part of her blog tour!

Reply



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    Tina M. Cho, children's author

    I'm a children's author and freelance writer for the educational market. Welcome!

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