As stated in the previous post, things took a dramatic turn for the potentially better when my agent hooked one of my manuscripts up with an illustrator he represents. The illustrator took an immediate liking to the text and agreed to do several preliminary drawings.
Let me be clear. The idea of marrying an illustrator with a manuscript prior to submitting to publishers is taboo in the industry. Publishers want absolute control over the pairing of a manuscript to the artist of their choice. To be so bold as to make that decision for them is just not done. You might liken it to a young couple getting married before the boy asks the father for her hand in marriage. You can see where that tends to go.
However, all rules are meant to be broken and I'm more than willing to risk a professional punch in the nose on the off chance it might get me a book deal. Also, the agent gave examples of previous successes he'd had using this secret tactic (which thanks to me is not so secret anymore). Anyway, it was good enough for me.
Two weeks later (two weeks in the children's publishing world is like a blink of the eye in the real world) the illustrator sent three full color sketches. WOW! They were surprising and absolutely wonderful (I don’t use the word wonderful much but we are talking children’s picture books here). I printed the sketches out and carried them with me everywhere. They were like sea creatures I had brought home in a bucket and couldn’t stop staring at. I showed them to anyone and everyone. I probably showed them to you, if not I will the next time you’re within half a state.
I lay in bed that night thinking about how someone, a very talented someone with multiple publishing credits, had spent hours giving their creative energy to something I had written. Tears flowed silently (silently because I wasn’t about to wake up my wife to tell her I had cried AND used the word wonderful all in the same day, I may be a budding children’s author but I’m still a man, gosh darn it).
Shortly thereafter the agent sent the manuscript and accompanying illustrations out to a select list of editors, including several I knew by reputation and would never have dared approach on my own. I suppose that's the power of having an agent, your work gets slipped through doors cracked open that otherwise would be slammed shut, politely of course with a genuine spirit of children's lit esprit de corps.
He prepared me it could take anywhere from two weeks to two months to hear something back. Two days later he called to tell me two of the editors had shown early interest. Seriously? He cautioned me this in no way guaranteed a sale but was definitely a positive early sign. I asked him how soon I could cash the check. He reminded me there was no check and please stop asking. Yes, perhaps I was getting a little ahead of myself, the Hawaii plans would have to wait.
The next day an offer arrived. Not really. That would be much too simple and hardly worthy of this fine blog. Rather in the spirit of true drama the twists and turns just keep coming. And coming. And I’ll explain more in the next post…
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