Sue
Fliess
My
next interview was with the fabulous Sue Fliess who agreed to answer my
interview questions. Her answers give such wonderful insight about her own path
to publishing! Furthermore, I had the chance to read two of her lovely books "A
Dress for Me!" and "Shoes for Me!" which both include a character who I can
certainly relate to! I hope you learn as much from it as I did!
Photo
Credit: Jessie Salas Photography
1. What was
your path to publishing a book?
I
credit my successful publication to being an active member of SCBWI. And being an active member to me means
attending conferences, networking with other authors, meeting editors, paying
for professional critiques, and participating in an SCBWI-based critique
group. I had two toddler boys (18 months
apart) and wrote during naps and after they were in bed. I had taken some time off from work to be
home with them, and every spare minute I had (which wasn’t a lot) I was writing,
researching editors/houses, or submitting.
I attended my first conference in 2006 where I had the good fortune to
lunch with an editor in the outside eating area. She was very nice (a real person!) and was
very encouraging to me about writing in general and the pursuit of publication.
(side story: I sent her my Tons of Trucks manuscripts in 2008, but she left the
pub house shortly after. In 2009, I was
contacted by a different editor at the house who had been passed my manuscript
as promising. And now it’s coming out
this July!) A few other writers were
very welcoming when they learned it was my first conference, and I immediately
knew that I’d done the right thing by attending, nervous as I was. I continued to attend conferences, pay for
critiques, joined a critique group and networked. I also applied for the Barbara Karlin Grant
for picture book writing in 2007 and 2008 and both manuscripts received the
letters of commendations. I highly
recommend applying for grants. The
judges usually include some editors, and it’s all about the extra exposure, even
if you don’t win. During this time, I
also picked up a freelance writing gig for an education-based website, writing
parenting articles, in order to have relevant credentials on my cover
letters. Eventually I was lucky enough
to show a fellow author some of my work at a conference and she said, “You need
to send these to my editor—I think she’d like it.” She was right. I sold Shoes for Me! in 2009.
2.
How long have you been in this business? When did you start? When did you get
your first book published?
I
guess you could say I started in the business the second I had my first idea for
a children’s picture book, which would be 2005.
Before I had kids, I wrote a lot of poetry and had even started an adult
novel! I was in a critique group in New
York City, bit it wasn’t until I moved to California with my husband and had a
baby I was reading to, that I thought, “Maybe I can write children’s books.” I
jotted a few lines down, and coincidentally, a friend called me (this is back in
the day when we all still called each other!) and asked me if I wanted to take a
one-day class with her called “Writing for Children.” It was so serendipitous, I couldn’t say
no. In the end, my friend wasn’t able to
attend the class, but I did, and was determined to give the whole thing a
try. I wrote several pretty terrible
manuscripts after that one, but finally wrote one that I and others were getting
excited about in 2006. It was called
Shoes for Me! (first called “Shoes on, Shoes off”). I rewrote it about 75 times until I felt it
was ready to submit. I started
submitting in 2007—in the meantime it received a Letter of Commendation from the
SCBWI Barbara Karlin Grant and it finally sold in January 2009.
3.
What inspired you and motivates you to carry
on?
This
answer has evolved for me over the last few years. What drove me in the beginning was
the hunt. I loved finding editors whom I
thought would be a good fit, and loved the feeling of dropping a manuscript in
the mail. I referred to it as ‘mailing
hope.’ I was inspired by reading tons of
picture books and trying to come up with my own twist on fun topics, or everyday
situations my own children were experiencing.
Every rejection stung, but I was starting to receive personal notes about
my work. That was very encouraging. One day my husband took in the mail and
handed me 3 of my SASEs. I knew they
were rejections. He asked in the nicest
way “How long do you think you’ll keep at this?” I was shocked, as it had never occurred to me
to give up. I answered “Until I get
published.” Now I am motivated by the
quality of books being published all around me, and the amazing writers who I
aspire to emulate in creativity. There
is a new pressure to ‘stay current’, and a feeling of only being as good as my
last book, but I try not to let that get in the way or be discouraging. My critique group has been a fantastic way to
keep me writing and motivated. If it
weren’t for them, I’d be producing very little, as I am now working nearly full
time.
4.
Do you have another job or is writing your only
job?
Yes,
I really say I have 3 jobs. I write
nearly full time for eBay in their Seller Marketing Group, I am a mom of 2 boys,
age 8 and 7, and I write my children’s stories—by doing book events, publicizing
my books, and doing the actual writing of new material. I was taking on side corporate copywriting
projects, but decided that just was too stressful, so part of my new year’s
resolution was to not take on more than I can actually handle. What a concept!
5.
Do you have an agent? If yes, what steps did you take to obtain
one?
I
do have an agent. She is wonderful. Her name is Jennifer Unter and I signed on
with her in late 2009. I started looking
for an agent in 2008, and would research agents and then submit to them in small
groups, maybe 2-4 at a time. While I was
waiting for responses, I was writing picture books and even a young adult
novel. I don’t think my YA is something
I will ever put out there, but it certainly helped me get an agent. In fact, I had 2 agents offer me
representation at the same time, and another seriously considering me. It was a bit overwhelming. In the end, I knew I may never get the novel
to be where it needed to be, and I went with Jennifer, who was willing to take
me on irrespective of whether or not I ever finished it. She loved my picture books and was willing to
take a chance on me. And now I have one
book out, one coming out next month, and 3 in production!
6.
What advice would you give to a new
writer?
Don’t
give up. Only you can write the story in
your head, but you can’t write it in a vacuum either. It often goes against our nature, but you
need to get yourself out there and put your work out there. Tell people you are writing, and they are
happy to remind you when they see you again—‘how’s that book you’re writing?—and
it keeps you accountable. It’s a slow
business (possibly getting faster in this digital world), so what may seem like
a long time, is actually not in the grand scheme of things. Don’t rush your projects, but do figure
out when your project is done, and start submitting.
Thank
you to Sue Fliess for taking the time to answer my “Points from the Published”
questions. And thank you to Sue and her publisher for the lovely books! I
truly enjoyed them!
Here are some of Sue Fliess's wonderful
books:
You
can learn more about Sue Fliess at:
And
her publisher Marshall Cavendish Children:
