Nancy Garden has written over 20 middle grade and young adult books. Her stories range from contemporary, "real life" fiction to fantasy (like her Fours Crossing series for ages 10 and up) to mystery/suspense (such as her middle grade Monster Hunters series and My Sister, the Vampire). One of Ms. Garden's best known books is Annie on My Mind, a young adult novel published in 1982 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. In this book, Ms. Garden tells the story of a teenager who comes to terms with the fact that she is a lesbian in her senior year of high school, and details her first relationship with another girl. Annie was chosen by the American Library Association as one of the Best of the Best Books for Young Adults, 1970-1982, and received this starred review in School Library Journal: "There have been many books for teenagers...that give lots of useful and accurate information about homosexuality; here's one that tells what it feels like, one that has, finally, romance."
In 1993, copies of Annie were burned in front of Kansas City school district offices, in response to several parents' complaints (Project 21, a national group that seeks to give young adults "fair, accurate and inclusive images of lesbians and gay men" had donated copies of Annie and All-American Boys by Frank Mosca to 42 area high schools). A group of parents, grandparents and ministers attended the protest with signs denouncing homosexuality. After the story broke, the Kansas City Star conducted a phone-in poll eliciting readers' opinions of the protest: 120 people were against it, and 97 supported the book burning.
Ms. Garden was asked to write an op-ed piece for the newspaper in response to these events. In it she said, "I remember that one afternoon when I was in high school, I drove toward a stone wall with my lover (who, by the way, is my lover now) by my side, thinking that maybe if I drove right into that wall, I could end our pain. (We had been told not to see each other anymore.) I wrote Annie in large part to hold out hope to other kids who might be inclined to drive into walls or otherwise put an end to their pain and confusion by putting an end to themselves."
1) I am thinking about writing a kid's book. I would like to know
how you
come up with new material for a book?
I get ideas from everything around me -- from my own experiences,
from people I know and people I observe, from situations I
observe or read about, from injustices and problems that move me,
from places, from snatches of conversation -- anything and
everything.
My book FOURS CROSSING came from a number of sources: an
unusually snowy, persistent winter; my dog; the dark, scary woods
behind my house; my memory of polishing silver with my mother as
a child; and four small silver circles in an old jewelry box.
None of these alone would have been enough, probably, to spark a
whole book, but I kept playing "What If?" with these
ideas as they built on each other, and eventually found a story
in them -- a story that led to not just one book, as a matter of
fact, but four! I recently wrote a short story based on a woman
with a harp who I saw on a beach a number of years ago. Her image
haunted me for years. Again, I played "What If?" with
it, trying to figure out what her story might be or what story
could include her. Eventually, I figured it out!
2) I, like many other aspiring children's authors (I am quite
certain!), am
writing to you in desperation. I need a lesson on perseverance
and patience!
In 1990, I wrote a children's "fantasy/real life
values" book for middle
readers. I bought all the right books on the subject and
submitted the
manuscript (now greatly modified). Yet, the information contained
in the
current books had seemingly changed by the time I submitted my
work and was
often rejected for a number of reasons - none of which seemed to
be connected
to "a poorly written work."
My question is this: Now that I have worked diligently
to refine and
improve my manuscripts, what is your best advice as to how to
proceed in an
orderly (non-chaotic) manner in attempting to have my manuscripts
published.
I don't write to get rich! I do have a realistic grasp on that
issue.
I write because the characters in my head, heart, and soul (I
think they
they live inside and with me) compel me to do so!
I'm not sure I completely understand your question, but I'll try
to answer it as best I can. First of all, publishers reject books
for many reasons; not all rejections come about because a work is
considered poorly written. For example, a book can be rejected
because the publisher doesn't do that kind of book, or because
that house has recently done or is about to do a similar book.
It's important to do careful market research in order to try to
avoid rejection for that kind of reason. You say you wrote a
children's "fantasy/real life values book" and that you
"bought all the right books on the subject. ... Yet, the
information contained in the current books had seemingly changed
by the time I submitted my work...". I'm not sure what a
"fantasy/real life values book" is -- or if it's
fiction or nonfiction -- and I'm also not sure if the books you
consulted were books about how to get published or books about
the subject of your book. Because of my confusion here, you may
find some of what I say useless or irrelevant -- I apologize in
advance! So here's my shot-in-the-dark answer. I hope at least
some of it will be useful to you!
It might be helpful for you to take a good writing course (geared to publishing) if you can and if you haven't already, and/or join a critique group. Either should give you some feedback about the quality and marketability of your writing. Study market lists, writers' magazines, and publishers' catalogs to make sure you're submitting your work to publishers who seem to have an interest in the kind of thing you're writing, but who haven't recently done something very similar. Opinions and experiences differ on this, but I believe it's usually better to write from one's heart than to try to second-guess the market. If you discover that a certain type of book or subject seems popular AND it's something you've always wanted to write, fine -- but most people should probably avoid writing, say, horror, simply because it seems popular at any given moment. You'll probably write best about things you really care about.
Don't give up after one or two or even five submissions.
Remember that books are rejected for many reasons besides their
quality, and try again!
3) I was offered a copy of ANNIE [ON MY MIND] by a gay friend of
mine. I was
moved by the story. But I'm wondering if this story has found its
way to
other mediums.
I noticed that ANNIE ON MY MIND was made into a play
but what about a movie
or short story of sorts?
The play of ANNIE is still a work in progress. It has
had only one production and the man who adapted the novel and I
are now finishing up a revison of the script. We need at least
one more production before it's final.
I don't think it's possible or wise to make a short story out
of a novel; the two forms are really very different. As to a
movie -- well, that would be great, and my agent has tried to
interest a few producers, but so far without much luck. There was
one nibble, but it didn't seem like the right kind of project, so
I refused it.
4) Thank you for your wonderful books. Because of the nature of
my question,
I feel I need to justify: My motivation to write isn't all about
money. Now.
With that said, I'm curious about the income that established
authors
generate. Specifically, authors like yourself, Lois Lowry, Avi,
Gary Paulsen,
Jerry Spinelli, Ann Martin, etc. I realize how much R.L. Stine
makes, but
that's a different situation. I want to know about authors who
have won
awards and have built up their readership over the years. I know
what first
novels will typically make, but the money made by the kinds of
authors
mentioned above is a mystery to me. Will you shed some light on
this for me
and other beginning writers?
You flatter me! The authors you've mentioned are more famous than
I, and most of them have won prestigious awards, like the Newbery
medal. Any author who wins a major award stands to make a lot of
money, especially in the year or so after winning the award. He
or she will make that money from increased royalties, susidiary
rights, and speaking engagements, and will probably enjoy strong
sales for subsequent books, at least for a while.
Ann Martin is in a somewhat different category from the other
writers you mentioned. She's a highly successful and very popular
series writer, but I'm not aware that she's won any major awards
(they don't usually go to series writers, no matter how good they
are). Ann Martin's probably not quite in R.L. Stine's league
financially, but I'm sure she makes a good deal of money.
I'm more average, success-wise. I've won minor awards but not the
big ones; some of my books sell well and others haven't earned
out their advances. My income has fluctuated enormously
throughout my career. Many of my books are out of print,
including some that did quite well in their day. I had a good
paperback sale recently (DOVE & SWORD to Scholastic), and the
advance for that will make a big -- but probably temporary --
difference in my income. In 1995, my income from writing,
including honoraria for speaking engagements but not including
teaching, was about 16,500. But in 1996, it was about 5,200. For
1997 and 1998, because of that good paperback sale, it's up
again,
You may be aware of this, but if you're not, you need to keep
in mind that most writers' incomes tend to vary a lot from year
to year. As I said above, an author who wins an award can expect
an increase in sales -- a large one or a small one, depending on
the award. Reviews can make a huge difference in sales also. And
subsidiary rights sales -- paperback, movie, TV, radio, etc. --
can also make an impact on a writer's income, as can speaking
engagements. But most writers, especially of kids' books, have to
have another source of income, because, as I hope I've shown,
writing income is very hard to predict from one year to the next.
See why they say "Don't quit your day job"?
5) Even as a successful writer, did you worry that a publisher
might find
ANNIE ON MY MIND too controversial? Obviously, this is a story
deep from the
depths of your soul; and a story that had to be told. However,
did you ever
wonder whether publishers of juvenile fiction would take one look
at this book
and say "no way"?
Yes, at first. Back then (ANNIE was published in 1982), there
weren't very many gay books for kids, and those few that there
were usually viewed homosexuality in a negative light. I'd been
trying to write a YA novel with a lesbian protagonist for some
time, and had actually done some revisions on one with an editor
before ANNIE. That book didn't work out, but I sent ANNIE to the
same editor, since he didn't seem to shy away from the subject --
but he rejected it. Farrar, Straus & Giroux had already done
at least one book of mine -- FOURS CROSSING, which I mentioned
above -- and I had asked my agent not to send ANNIE to them
because I felt they'd probably be reluctant to publish a gay book
by someone who'd done a fantasy with them and who wanted to do
more (I'm not sure if at that point I was already working on
WATERSMEET, the second installment of the Fours Crossing
sequence). But when ANNIE was rejected by the editor for whom I'd
revised the other gay book, I let my agent convince me to send
ANNIE to FSG. I couldn't be happier that she did, for they took
it and have stood by it through thick and thin!
6) My sister is beginning to write children's books and she
wanted to know if
she should get herself an agent first. How would she go about
finding a
reputable agent?
Unfortunately it's almost as hard these days to get an agent as
it is to get published. Reputable agents don't advertise, but
they're listed with the Society of Author's Representatives.
(That may not be the exact title; the group changed its name a
few years back. But reputable agents belonging to that
organization are listed in LITERARY MARKETPLACE, an annual
publication you should be able to find in your local library.) I
doubt very much that any agent would agree to represent a writer
without seeing a manuscript first, and many agents these days are
reluctant to represent unpublished authors. It would probably
make more sense for your sister to try to sell her books to
publishers directly. Then, once she's made a sale, she'll
probably have an easier time finding an agent. Many writers these
days feel that agents are more useful when it comes to
negotiating contracts and subsidiary rights than in actually
placing manuscripts. And some authors are using literary lawyers
for those negotiations instead of agents.
7. Can you tell me a little bit about your research on your book
about Joan of
Arc? [DOVE & SWORD] Did you create a fictional character to
tell the story in
order to give you more leeway to create dialogue and scenes?
When I began thinking about writing about Joan of Arc, I
was bothered by what to do about the saints' voices Joan is said
to have heard. I thought that if I wrote nonfiction, I'd have to
decide whether I thought the voices were real, imaginary, or the
products of hallucinations, and I didn't want to make that
judgment. And I felt that if the book were fiction written from
Joan's point
of view, I'd still have to decide if I thought Joan was
hallucinating or having a genuine religious experience. Again, I
didn't want to make that judgment. That, I think, was the main
thing that led me to decide to write the book from someone else's
point of view. You're right, though, that writing it from
Gabrielle's point of view did give me more leeway! As to the
research itself -- I loved doing it! I used a wonderful Joan of
Arc collection -- the Bishop Wright Collection -- in the Boston
Public Library; I used the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York, the Columbia University Library and
many smaller libraries, including one connected to the Thuya
Gardens on Mt. Desert Island, Maine; an arms and armor collection
in Worcester, Mass. (the Metropolitan Museum's collection was
closed for renovations) -- and with my partner, who helped me
with the research, especially the history parts of it, I went to
France where we traced Joan's (and Gabrielle's) routes and
visited many libraries, churches, and museums dealing with Joan.
Doing research for DOVE & SWORD was so exciting that it was
almost hard for me to stop and write the book!
8) Have you ever tried writing books for younger children than
middle grade
(8-12)? Do you think switching age groups is difficult for most
authors?
Actually, I think of myself as primarily a YA author. Even my
younger books are usually for 10-14, which is kind of the bottom
YA level, although some younger kids do read those books and I'm
not sure what age group publishers have pegged some of them for.
My first novel, WHAT HAPPENED IN MARSTON, was designated as an
8-12, although I thought of it as older, and I was told then that
the designation was primarily a marketing decision, for 8-12
books were
easier to sell. (This was more than 20 years ago!) But yes, to
answer your question, I have tried, so far without success, to
write for really little children. Farrar, Straus is publishing an
actual
middle-grade book (HOLLY'S SECRET) of mine in, probably, 2000,
after my next
YA (THE YEAR THEY BURNED THE BOOKS), which should be out in 1999.
I have
another 8-12 planned, and I'm still trying to write for even
younger kids.
But I still consider YA fiction my very first and best love.
Yes, I think it's hard for many authors to switch age groups
-- but still, there are also quite a few who do, and who do it
successfully.
9) Are your mystery/suspense books harder to plot than
contemporary novels?
No -- just different. In some ways, I think they're
easier, for their plots are in many ways simpler and more direct:
some kind of "crime" has been committed, and someone
has to solve it and deal with the perpetrator. Of course you need
to add red herrings to throw the reader off the track, and you
need enough personal details to make the characters interesting
and real -- but there's really not much space for subplots.
When I write YA fiction, on the other hand, I often have to restrain myself from making the story too complex and from dealing with too many issues.
10. What's your favorite thing about being a
children's book author?
That's easy -- being able to do the work I love!
Questions and answers from Author/Poet/Columnist Charles Ghigna (aka "Father Goose").
Questions and answers from legendary author Lois Lowry.
Questions and answers from the
Nonfiction writing team Mary Bowman-Kruhm
& Claudine G. Wirths .
Questions and answers from Author Dian Curtis Regan.
Questions and answers from Author Kathleen Duey.
Questions and answers from Author Fred Bortz.
Questions and answers from Author Joan Holub.
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