Getting your books into print is tough nowadays but far from impossible. From time to time we’ll profile writers who’ve made it happen. Check out their stories. You just might find the tip or insight you need to move your own work onto the printed page. Our first featured author is Amy Meltzer, author of a children’s book, A Mezuzah on the Door.
First of all, congratulations on publishing your new book! A Mezuzah on the Door is a picture book for children. Can you tell us about the title?
A mezuzah is a Jewish ritual object traditionally hung on the doorpost of each room in a Jewish home. It consists of a decorative case, and stored inside the case is a brief section of the Torah hand-written on parchment.
The story is about a young boy who moves to a new house, and how the tradition of hanging a mezuzah helps him adjust to his new home.
What made you decide to write this book?
I taught first grade at a Jewish school for several years, and part of the curriculum was to teach about the tradition of hanging a mezuzah. I looked for a picture book to read to my students and discovered there wasn’t a single children’s book on the topic. After my first daughter was born, I left teaching and it seemed like a good time to try to write my own story.
What kind of writing had you done before?
In truth, not much. I was incredibly lucky to have my very first manuscript accepted for publication. I had always enjoyed writing. I had taken a prose writing class in college, and wrote a weekly column for my high school paper (about a million years ago) but really hadn’t tried much fiction. As a teacher and a parent I had, of course, read many, many children’s books.
You published Mezuzah with Kar-Ben Publishing. What kind of press is Kar-Ben?
It’s a division of Lerner Publications that publishes only Jewish children’s books – mostly picture books, but some chapter books as well.
Why do you think they chose to publish Mezuzah? What made your book a good fit for their list?
Mainly, I think it was a good fit because, as I explained earlier, there was a need for this kind of book. They asked for a lot of revisions before they accepted my story for publication, but I guess they felt that it was fairly good in its original form. Because the topic is included in almost any curriculum, I’m guessing they knew they could count on almost every Jewish school in the country wanting to buy at least one copy.
You worked with an illustrator for this book, Janice Fried. How did you find Janice, and what has it been like to collaborate with her?
After Kar-Ben purchased the manuscript they had complete control over the book, including selecting the illustrator. I was enormously lucky to end up with someone so talented. I think she did a great job of bringing the characters to life. However, it wouldn’t really be accurate to say the we collaborated. I didn’t see the illustrations until they were finished.
What has been the best part about publishing your book?
How happy it made my mother. Really.
Is there anything you wish were different?
I didn’t know anything about contracts when I signed mine. While I’m not sure I could have done any better financially on my first manuscript, I didn’t understand that according to my contract I really would have no part in the editing process. They made some changes in the text of my story that I really wasn’t happy with and didn’t know about until the book was essentially finished. If I’m lucky enough to sell another story I will make sure that I am involved in the edits.
Good advice—writers should always be careful when they sign contracts, and consult a lawyer if they have any questions. Do you have an yother advice to offer aspiring writers who are looking to publish children’s books?
Join a good critique group. Keep reading and writing. Try to think of something no one else has written about. Mostly I would say write because you enjoy it, and don’t get too discouraged by the heaps of rejection letters you are likely to receive.
Thanks, Amy. We certainly agree with you about the critique groups—that’s the reason we started our website, www.screwiowa.com. We have a forum there for writers to connect to one another no matter where they live or what they write, and we also offer information on how to give good feedback, tips on craft, and so on.
