Writer’s Group
Three writers, infinite support
Just back from a meeting with my writer’s group; I’m so happy for our vaccinated selves to be able to get together in person once again.
For a while there, I wasn’t a big fan of writer’s groups. I’d read something early on, I think it might have been from Fay Weldon, along the lines of “One day your editor will say yes or no and that’s the only opinion of your writing that you need.”
Officially, I was wrong. Although it did take me a few tries to find the right group, I’ve got to say that the benefits are huge. Among them:
- People to talk you out of your imposter syndrome.
- Accountability—you’ve got to write something for the meeting!
- People who adore your characters almost as much as you do.
- People who are not afraid to tell you straight up when your writing is getting boring or confusing.
- An excuse to buy a fancy coffee and a nice sandwich and a cookie.
My tips for a writer’s group that works:
- Find people who are about at the same level, professionally speaking. It can be discouraging if you’re still trying to sell your first book and somebody else is moaning about their agent or their reviews.
- Meet outside your house. Writers all spend too much time at home anyway, and nobody should be stressing about their writing AND about cleaning or setting out snacks.
- Pick a nice coffeeshop with big tables and not too much noise. (Our favorite coffeeshop did not survive the pandemic, alas, and we are still casting around for the best replacement.)
- Find nice people. The writing world is full of rejection, bad reviews, and a lot of indifference. If you can find a few people who’ll are genuinely pleased and excited to read what you write—don’t pass it up.
More New Things About Frogs
Because frogs are way more exciting than you think–here’s Wallace’s flying frog.
Does it really fly, you want to know? Well, no, it doesn’t. Other than the bat (the mammalian exception) true flight is at the present evolutionary moment confined to birds. (Long ago, there were reptiles in the sky too, but not today.)
Wallace’s flying frog glides from tree to tree in the rainforest. It can achieve a distance of up to fifty feet.
Frogs are AMAZING.
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Beautiful Blackbird Book Festival
There’s still time to experience some of the joyful exuberance of the Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival, named in honor of celebrated author/illustrator Ashley Bryant.
Fully accessible online…come for activities and read aloud and to see video of a joyful bike giveaway to honor the picture book Joseph’s Big Ride, written by Terry Farish and illustrated by Ken Daley.
Read MoreFrogs Research
When I told my mom I was researching a children’s book about frogs, she was skeptical. How many books about frogs are there already? What could possibly be new and different?
I present to you…the Suriname sea toad. After the female lays the eggs and the male fertilizes them, he nudges them onto her back. Her skin grows up over the eggs. Each egg hatches in its own little skin pocket. The tadpoles develop into frogs there. And finally…they’re big enough to venture out into the world.
It’s horrifying to watch. See, mom?
Read MoreCover Reveal!
And here it is: the cover for A Pandemic Is Worldwide, to be published in February 2022!
So much gratitude and respect for the illustrator, Taia Morley (do check out her website here), who managed to take on this sobering topic with such grace. The art conveys the seriousness of the situation without letting it get grim.
I have to confess to some sadness, as well. When I first proposed this to my editor, Tamar Mayes at HarperCollins in the summer of 2020, she had a little hesitation (which I shared). A trade book is not a quick undertaking. Even rushing it (which we did), it wouldn’t be on shelves for a year and a half. Would pandemics still be relevant, we wondered? Would the world have moved on?
I’m sad to say–I’m heartbroken to say–this book will be relevant and needed and timely in February of 2022.
Read MoreOdd E-Mails
Infographic-in-progress. Note HUGENESS of the Black Death.
Sometimes when you take a step or two back from a project, you can’t quite believe you are writing serious, professional e-mails to a colleague that go like this:
The page looks empty and the pandemics themselves seems kind of inconsequential in all that space. I mean, the Black Death should be HUGE…. We do need to do something about the circle for COVID…. Right now it’s about the same size as the 1918 Influenza, when it should really be between the Third Bubonic Plague and Ebola, closer to Ebola.
This is what it looks like when you’re finishing up a picture book on pandemics and you need to get the final infographic just right.
Read MoreRejections
Low-cost rejection therapy
A part of every writer’s life, for sure. And there’s a half-myth, half-truth that they get easier with time and experience.
Well, in some ways they do. One thing that working as both an editor and a writer has taught me is that one editor’s “no” is not a verdict on the quality of the manuscript. One editor’s “no” doesn’t preclude another editor’s “yes.” And some manuscripts just don’t hit the market at the right time, even though they are reasonably good in themselves. It’s a combination of skill and timing and luck each time, and if the luck isn’t there–well, it just isn’t.
But every now and then there comes a rejection that really stings–of a book I particularly love, at a moment when I particularly need an injection of hope. A writer’s career is built on hope, after all–you write a book (or at least work up a proposal), putting time and energy and skill and love into it, and then you hope it will spark the right kind of response from someone and they’ll want to pay you some money for it. (Truly a terrible business model.) Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.
Then it’s time for long walks, hugging the pets, sweet tea, and patience. The sting wears off eventually, and it’s back to work on the next book, sending hope out into the universe, crossing your fingers that you’ll get some back.
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Sarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Thomson focuses on newfound connection, magic, and suspense to conjure a fast-paced, heartwarming mystery. Thomson’s world is populated by resourceful protagonists, fanciful creatures, and quirky supporting characters.”
—Publishers Weekly