I love having reasons to happy dance and always have fun celebrating when talented writers and author/illustrators sign with an agent or sell a book. It’s extra special when I get to celebrate fantastic news for a PBParty finalist who goes out of her way to help others so much, she becomes a PBParty Judge. I’m thrilled to welcome Sylvia Chen to share her amazing PBParty Success Story.
She added fantastic tips…and way more than a query that worked. You can watch it morph during revisions, too. Thanks so much, Sylvia!
With my cute muses when my PB writing journey started; pop-up dress-up station for the Chiyoda Line train we rode daily in Tokyo
I first began writing picture books when inspiration sparked riding a train in Tokyo showing my then-5-year-old son simple math. After my family moved back to the U.S., I joined both 12×12 and SCBWI, started regularly exchanging with my first critique group, and looked for fun and unique submission opportunities like mentorship contests, Twitter pitch parties, and more.
My first OMG!OMG!OMG! moment came via #PBChat’s 2019 inaugural mentorship contest (hosted by Justin Colón) when Pam Calvert chose me as her mentee. She had remembered my submissions to her in previous years of the Writing with the Stars (WWTS) mentorship program (created and run in the past by Tara Luebbe), which helped her see how my writing had improved over the years. Pam Calvert was a *standout* mentor—I learned so much from her about picture book structure and critical elements as well as other industry advice (check out her Picture Book University channel on YouTube!). Though I didn’t have as successful of a #PBChat showcase outcome as other mentees that year, my agent-submission stats improved significantly afterwards. Out of the 4 manuscripts we revised heavily over the 3-month mentorship, one in particular opened so many doors for agents requesting more work, and even finalist recognition for the 2020 WNDB Mentorship Program.
The outcome of that #PBChat showcase discouraged me (even though I was *SO* happy for others who fared well!), but I decided to forge on in 2020 by studying showcase successes, starting a second critique group with some fellow #PBChat mentees, and tripling my queries to agents compared to previous years. 2020 was such a querying rollercoaster of anticipation, elation, and stomach-gutting! But even when some agents kindly passed after requesting more work, their encouraging feedback made it feel like the ride wasn’t quite done yet, so I hung on, motivated to see what could come next! In December 2020 through mid-February 2021, I wrote and polished 2 breakthrough manuscripts and started a 3rd one; these all embraced what Pam and other industry confidantes had strongly advised (to weave in my cultural background). The ideas for the latter two stories came to me early-on during Tara Lazar’s amazing annual Storystorm in January!
With 2021 #PBParty coming up (I had submitted previously in 2019 and 2020), I already had my 1st breakthrough manuscript in mind to enter… until I read all the FAQs and helpful tips on 2/17/21, including “If you’ve submitted it to a lot of the participating agents/editors…PLEASE enter something else!” and freaked out realized that *all* the agents and editors I had queried with that manuscript were planning to participate for #PBParty! With the March 1st deadline looming, I sent a 😫 FB message to my #PBChat critique group asking if they could possibly turbo-review my newest 3rd not-quite-breakthrough-yet manuscript (the 2nd one didn’t feel quite right for the contest even though it was query-ready). They all rocked out the next two days (SO THANKFUL!!!), and after a near-sleepless whirlwind of revision plus meticulous contest prepping, I submitted my ORIGAMI SUPERSTAR entry on March 1.
Two weeks later came my next OMG!OMG!OMG! moment when I scanned the #PBParty announcement and spotted ORIGAMI SUPERSTAR on the showcase list! I was so nervous I’d see no requests again like for #PBChat, but the opposite happened! After multiple calls to offer and lengthy deliberation, I signed with Alyssa Eisner Henkin of Birch Path Literary. It has been the most incredible experience working with her on submission preparations, strategy, and more. I feel beyond lucky.
Thinking back to all that’s happened not just this past year, but since my picture book writing pursuit started 7 years ago:
- If I had chosen a different story to put in the #PBChat showcase, maybe I would have gotten interest, who knows. But I don’t think I would have created these 3 breakthrough manuscripts which I love so much.
- I’ve grown so much as a writer over the years, connected with the kidlit community more, and expanded my industry knowledge with each stage of this journey (and there’s so much still to learn!).
- The most important thread tying everything together was staying persistent! Revising. Querying. Pursuing opportunities. Keeping a positive mindset. Taking all the No outcomes in stride, and turning them into forward momentum and motivation.
While #PBParty was SO instrumental to where I am in my publishing journey now (*thank you* #PBParty forevermore!), there were so many starry steps and invaluable pillars of support along with way—most dearly my family and friends of course, both of my critique groups, and our amazing kidlit community. My success story wouldn’t be anywhere quite the same otherwise. Thank you ALL!
P.S. In a really neat plot twist very worthy of #PBParty, Alyssa and I have the most OMG!OMG!OMG! news! My first picture book deal is for TRICKY CHOPSTICKS—that 1st breakthrough manuscript I had originally planned to submit for the #PBParty contest!
Here is the pitch I sent to Alyssa when she requested to see more work:
Wā! Jenny’s chopstick troubles won’t let up—but neither will Jenny. With her great grandpa Lǎo YéhYéh’s 100th birthday banquet looming, Jenny must muster all sorts of inventive skills to mastermind the greatest chopsticks trick of all.
With a culturally-infused style like Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang and Grandpa Grumps by Katrina Moore, plus Chinese-derived onomatopoeia and STEM actions involving friction, origami and engineering, TRICKY CHOPSTICKS is a 533-word picture book about Jenny Chow, who struggles with chopsticks.
As a bonus, after we worked through strategic revisions, here is a peek at the pitch we prepared for submissions:
In Tricky Chopsticks Challenge, Jenny wrestles with chopsticks, failing a long-held family tradition. With her cousin Victor’s birthday banquet looming—and his compulsory chopsticks challenge, Jenny hustles to prove she can hold her own for once (and avoid dish duty). After much trial and error to devise a fumble-proof set of chopsticks, Jenny may just pick up her dumplings and eat them, too.
The story arc evolved even more after submissions (the dish duty part went poof! in exchange for stronger stakes). Publication is slated for Spring 2024 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, so I hope you enjoy it if you pick it up or check it out!
On top of this amazing past year, I am especially excited to help join as a judge for the #PBParty contest and support the kidlit community more this way. May all your future OMG!OMG!OMG! moments be ever in your favor! I’d love to stay connected with you all via Twitter, Instagram, and my website.
Wow, wow. wow! I’m still happy dancing for Sylvia and hope you are, too. I can’t wait to see her amazing book out in the world. She’s such a talented author…and she makes spectacular origami (like the ones you see in the bottom four photos).
Speaking of photos…talent runs in the family because all the photos of Sylvia and origami were taken by Sylvia’s 12-year-old son–Mac Chen.
57 Comments
Leave your reply.