NAPIBOWRIWEE 2013: Day 3 – Guest Blogger Varsha Bajaj! (May 3, 2013)

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Welcome to DAY THREE of NAPIBOWRIWEE! Did you do it? Did you write 2 picture books in 2 days? Well, congratulations if you did! Let’s see if you keep up the pace for Day 3! For those of you who are still struggling with Book 1 or already falling behind – don’t despair! You’ve still got five days left to catch up! Keep the faith!

For those of you visiting for the first time, NaPiBoWriWee stands for National Picture Book Writing Week, where we attempt to write 7 picture books in 7 days. I started this event five years ago for fun. 🙂 As a reminder, here’s the 2013 NAPIBOWRIWEE FAQs in case you have any questions or concerns:

https://paulayoo.com/napi/?p=474

In the meantime, if you’re already getting stressed out, here’s something to make you laugh! Here’s a fun video I did with Scholastic editor (Arthur A. Levine Books) and author ARTHUR A. LEVINE. Fellow SCBWI partner-in-crime/writer LEE WIND filmed us doing this video for a past SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators) conference. The theme of the video? SCBWI Conference Tip: Try Not to Piss Off An Editor…

http://youtu.be/3l2Vaxf5IoE

Lesson learned! 🙂

MY DAY TWO EXPERIENCE: Today was insanely busy again. Basically my entire week has been filled with a billion meetings for my “day” job as a TV writer/producer. Plus I attended my dear friend JORDANNA FRAIBERG‘s book launch party for her latest YA novel OUR SONG (Razorbill 2013). (Please check out her books here: http://jordannafraiberg.com). I had a blast with Jordanna and her cool writer friends. I also met a fellow TV writer/producer and novelist DAVID IVERSON (http://davidiserson.tumblr.com) whose YA novel FIRECRACKER comes out this month, too! And to top it off, I met the famous ALAN WATT who is the author/teacher of the amazing THE 90-DAY NOVEL workshop books and classes that I highly recommend you check out: http://lawriterslab.com

So by the time I got home, it was after 10 PM! Because of yesterday’s experience where I realized my picture book was really a chapter book in disguise, I decided to just relax, have fun and come up with a simple story off the top of my head. Because I was a TV writer/producer on SyFy’s EUREKA and am a total Star Trek geek, I thought – why not try a sci fi picture book? And out of nowhere, by midnight… voila! Really crappy first draft! But at least I have a working draft I can go back and really flesh out. 🙂 YAY!

So far I’m two for two. Let’s hope I can keep this up on Friday. (NOTE: I will be out for most of the day on Friday, so please be patient if your comment does not get “approved” on this website for a few hours because I will once again be stuck in L.A. traffic. :P)

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Now… on to DAY THREE! Today’s guest blog Q&A about the Future of the Picture Book is with children’s book author VARSHA BAJAJ (http://varshabajaj.com) She will donate an autographed copy of her book, HOW MANY KISSES DO YOU WANT TONIGHT? (illustrated by Ivan Bates) for our NAPIBOWRIWEE 2013 contest drawing. Thank you, Varsha, for your kind donation!

(Please keep reading after the jump for our interview with Varsha Bajaj!)

GUEST BLOG – DAY THREE – VARSHA BAJAJ

Varsha Bajaj

VARSHA BAJAJ grew up in Mumbai, India. She was an avid reader as a child, devouring books by Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew, Jane Austen, and P.G. Wodehouse. She came to America in 1986 as a graduate student. She earned her master’s degree and became a counselor. She started writing after getting married and having two children. Her picture books include HOW MANY KISSES DO YOU WANT TONIGHT? (illustrated by Ivan Bates), which she will donate an autographed copy for the 2013 NAPIBOWRIWEE contest drawing. “This book will hopefully be read by children and their parents for a long long time,” she says. “It is interactive and an unabashed statement of love for the child.” Her other picture book, T IS FOR TAJ MAHAL: AN INDIAN ALPHABET (illustrated by Robert Crawford), is part of a series of books by Sleeping Bear Press that takes kids on a voyage to different parts of the world. Her middle grade novel, PASSAGE TO BOLLYWOOD, will be published in Spring 2014 by Albert Whitman & Co. She has also sold a book to Nancy Paulsen at Nancy Paulsen books. Varsha says, “I could not be more excited. Nancy is the best and I am both eager and intimidated to work with her. “Our Baby” is a story about the birth of a baby elephant. It’s a celebration of life and community.”

Varsha invites children and their parents to start their own book clubs. “Picture books are the first selections of your child’s book club! An adult reads them to a child. It is a shared experience, which involves reading and rereading, discussion, giggling and bonding. I hope that this book club will be the first of many.” 
 
You can find out more about Varsha at her website http://varshabajaj.com and follow her on Twitter @varshabajaj.

 Q&A ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE PICTURE BOOK WITH VARSHA BAJAJ

QUESTION: There have been many “Boy Who Cried Wolf” articles in the media recently about how picture book sales have declined as anxious parents try to push their students into reading chapter books instead. Why is it important for children to read picture books? What makes a picture book special as well as important for a child’s educational growth?

ANSWER: Unfortunately, many parents equate the number of words or the length of the story with its level of complexity. Picture books are so much more than the sum of their words. They are a springboard for ideas and conversations. They are possibly a child’s first introduction to humor and a joke. Rhyming picture books are an early introduction to patterns, poetry, reading and literacy.

QUESTION: Many aspiring picture book writers are discouraged by the doom-n-gloom reports of the declining book industry (Big Six mergers, lower sales of picture books, more emphasis on the writer-illustrator as opposed to the solo writer). What words of encouragement would you give to these aspiring newbies to NOT give up?

ANSWER: Picture books are tough to write, and the market is even tougher. So, you cannot afford to be easily discouraged. Picture book writing is not for the faint of heart. So be sure you love picture books and if you do, more power to you!! The club awaits you.

QUESTION: What challenges do you face as a published author of picture books in these volatile times of the publishing industry? Have you noticed a change in your career in terms of what agents/editors/readers want? 

ANSWER: Few agents accept writers who write primarily picture books. Author-illustrators seem to be preferred. Some of my favorite picture books though are a product of an amazing writer-illustrator team. I love Doreen Cronin, Jane O’Connor, Liz Scanlon Garton.

QUESTION:  Any final words of advice or any epiphanies you would like to share with us about your own writing/art journey?

ANSWER: It is just that, a journey, full of twists and turns. From the first seed of an idea to a finished manuscript can take years or months. Picture books have so few words that each one has to earn its place and I love the process of choosing the right word and constructing the right group of words to convey the plethora of emotions that make the best books meaningful. Picture books have to appeal to both the adult reading the book and the child being read to and that is the biggest challenge.

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Thanks again to Varsha Bajaj for answering our Q&A for Day Three!  

Tune in tomorrow by 6 AM (West Coast Time) for our Day Four blog featuring YA novelist and picture book author MARTHA BROCKENBROUGH (http://marthabrockenbrough.squarespace.com).

In the meantime, good luck writing today. Please post any comments below for today’s blog with your thoughts, questions, and writing updates. You can follow me on Twitter @paulayoo. Please feel free to use this HASHTAG – #NaPiBoWriWee

I’m off to write! Until tomorrow’s blog, remember… HAPPY WRITING! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! 🙂

 

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43 Comments »

  2. So much to love here. Thanks, Varsha, for the encouragement to keep going. Thanks Paula for everything despite your hectic schedule. And YAY! sci-fi picture books! They are so hard to write.
    I have two drafts down and have some idea of where I’m going today. Yesterday was hard. I’m feeling spent. . .waiting for my second wind.

  3. Thanks for the insights about ‘PBs being a spring a springboard for ideas and conversations’. I need to keep this in mind as I write.
    I have been wearing my Napibowriwee T-shirt two days and plan to wear it again today. (Yes, I have washed it!) So proud to be a part of this for the 5th year in a row.
    Paula — if you have a chapter book challenge and I want to be part of that too. Not enough ever happens for chapter book writers.

    • I love “discussion guides” for picture books. eg – the very hungry caterpillar can lead to a discussion about eating, days of the week, growth cycles. The list is endless.

  5. I am happy to say that I am three for three. But it turns out that one of my three would be better as a chapter book, and another as an article targeting parents! Oh well, I would have never realized that had I not done the drafts in the first place. And this challenge has motivated me to do so!

  7. I’m sympathizing with you Laces! Sometimes I write what I think will be a PB and then realize it would probably work better as a magazine article…need to work on ensuring 14 full spreads of illustration excitement!

  8. Paula, that video is awkwardly hilarious. 🙂 Varsha, I agree about author illustrator teams. I wish there was more support for the PB writer. There are some great author/illustrators, but for me, the PB’s that hit that perfect balance of wonderful words paired with amazing art are done by teams. We hear about PB writers needing to keep the illustrator in mind, but I see PB’s where they forgot to keep the words in mind.

  10. Thanks so much for your insights, Varsha. Especially the reminders to choose words carefully.

    PASSAGE TO BOLLYWOOD is a great MG title– I’m looking forward to it (and I’ll let my daughter read it too!).

    Just for the record, I wrote my DAY 3 draft many hours ago when it was morning here in France. I was groggy and in a real ‘morning’ mood but I managed to lay down an acceptable 1st draft that I can revisit soon.

    Thanks again, Varsha & Paula. Good luck for DAY 3 to all!

  11. Oh Paula, at least you maintained eye contact while you were leaving your manuscript on the floor! So what I learned is you are supposed to wait by the sink, right? 🙂
    3 really bad drafts are done- maybe the weekend will yield something good.

  12. It’s starting to get a little hard. Today’s story went off on a huge tangent, but it does have a beginning, middle, and end. 3rd, 1st draft done!

  13. Just wanted to say “hi” to everyone.

    I’m enjoying this challenge (started a day late, but I’m all caught up). I’m also doing the Story a Day in May challenge. Not sure about the quality of the three stories I’ve done thus far, but I’ll edit down the road. Would love it if at the end of 7 days, I have at least one gem I’d like to polish. For now, it just feels good to be finishing them. I have also been challenging myself to do at least one illustration to go with each story. The illustrations excite me as much as the writing, and I could use the practice.

    I’m sending continued good luck to everyone that the rest of the week goes well for you!

  15. Loving NaPiBoWriWee! I have three drafts now. Whoohoo! Only problem is that I don’t think I can call them complete. They are very rough but are starting points to revise and massage.

    Varsha, I love what you said about PB’s being “a springboard for ideas and conversations. They are possibly a child’s first introduction to humor and a joke.” So true. Picture books are so important as they are the fisrt exposure many kids have to the joy of books. It is vital that we build a future generation of book lovers and picture books are the first step to this.

    Happy creating.
    T

  16. Varsha, I totally agree with picture books being so much more than the sum of their words, as well as being a springboard for ideas and conversations. I read to both of my kids way before they could even talk… and when they were older we always talked about them as we were reading them and then afterwards.

    Hope everyone had a great day!

  17. Picture books are like having your cake and eating it too. Fun and educational all rolled into one. Thanks for the reminder that picture books are springboards, introductions…early literacy! I’m 3 for 3. Almost halfway there 🙂

  18. Congratulations on all your successes. I will keep writing. Thanks for the encouragement. I will strive to not be faint of heart.

  19. I have written 2 manuscripts. Since I didn’t know about this until yesterday, I am one behind, but I will try to catch up.

  20. I couldn’t make it today since it was another day of running around. But it was a brand new idea I had so I have everything outlined and wrote how I wanted things to look plus got some research done as well.But I couldn’t think of the right words.Again when I was driving I thought of a new idea for tomorrow that I can work on and wrote out the basic concept. So maybe I can catch up.

  21. Thanks Varsha. I enjoyed your post.
    I have finished my third rough draft.It’s been an invigorating day of challenges. Thanks Paula.

  23. I have enjoyed reading the interview with Bajaj. It was refreshing to hear a multi-cultural writer share her views. Thank you for having her.
    Today, I finished another story. I am so happy that I am on a “roll.”

    ss

  24. Paula you were stellar in the video and what a good sport Arthur was.

    I have to say the trend of publishing houses being interested in author/illustrator is a bit disheartening to me. Not too many years back that was not so. Thanks for your insight in this matter, Varsha.

    I’m on target, which is a good feeling. The only thing is I’m in central time zone running on Pacific. I’ll take time to blog about it sometime Saturday.

    Cheers to a favorable weekend!

    http://www.zebrakitchen.blogspot.com

  25. Sorry, I forgot to poat my update on here, even though I did post it on FB

    Two more PB drafts are in the bag! Am still trying to decide which PB to send out to the May 12 x 12 agent… I may revise two or three more over the weekend and then decide. I’m finding it hard to choose which one should go out to which agent… and yes, these have been revised, and revised, and revised again thanks to having gone through all 3 of my critique groups at various times

    Hope everyone is having a great day!

  26. I thought I posted here but maybe I forgot to. Busy, busy, busy writing. Day 3 is done so is day 4.:) Thank you for pushing us.

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