Sleeping Bear was doing a series of alphabet books, one on each state. I submitted a query to them regarding writing the nonfiction-poetry mix book about Missouri that my husband would illustrate. My query was accepted, and I was on my way to being a published children’s author. They told me there were three reasons they selected me. One, they liked the idea of a husband-wife illustrator-author team. They also knew I worked in the schools and was familiar with children and curriculum. And the last thing was that I had been published before. I was so thankful that I had taken that big “unsure” step of submitting my poetry to magazines and literary journals!
Now, if you are wondering what I meant by query, many nonfiction books are not written and then submitted. Instead, the idea for the book is outlined and submitted, basically asking if they like the idea, will the publishers commit to publishing it. So, my query was accepted, and I went on to write my first book, S is for Show Me, A Missouri Alphabet, which
released in September, 2001, officially becoming a published children’s author! In November, 2003, when two more queried manuscripts were accepted the same day, I decided to stop working as a speech and language pathologist and devote myself to writing, definitely a dream come true!
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