02 Jan BRAINSTORM with Rebecca Gardyn Levington and Win an Ask Me Anything Call!

EL: Happy New Year, everyone! We have a great guest to start our year off right. I’m thrilled to welcome Rebecca Gardyn Levingon to Writing Outside the lines.

Rebecca, welcome! I love your book, BRAINSTORM. I’ve read it several times and even used it with my students. Please tell us about your road to publication.

RGL: As a child, I was always scribbling something – poems, jokes, stories, inspirational sayings, etc. (In fact, I’ve kept a journal since I was eight years old!) Eventually, I turned that love of writing into a career as a professional journalist. I wrote feature stories and articles for many national and local newspapers and magazines. When I gave birth to my first child, I naively believed I would “just write while the baby sleeps,” but, alas, new motherhood is all-consuming (and exhausting!), and those naps were far too unpredictable. Before I knew it, a decade of full-time Mommying had gone by, and I hadn’t written a word (other than in my journal, of course!).

I missed writing so much but didn’t want to return to journalism, so I enrolled in a local writing class called “Where Do I Begin?” The teacher gave us weekly prompts, and for some reason, I kept coming to class with silly rhyming poems. It turns out, the teacher was a middle-grade author, and she thought some of my poems could be fodder for picture books. She told me about SCBWI, and I went to my first conference in New Jersey that summer (2016). I knew immediately that these were my people! I began reading craft books and all the picture books I could find, enrolled in classes (Renee LaTulippe’s Lyrical Language Lab was a game changer!), found critique partners, and joined 12×12.

Then, in 2019, I was lucky enough to be chosen by Lori Degman as one of her #PBChat mentees. Lori is an all-around fantastic person (now a good friend), and at the end of the 3-month-long mentorship, she generously offered to ask a few editors with whom she’d worked if they’d be willing to look at a submission from me. One of those editors was Sarah Rockett at Sleeping Bear Press. I sent her one of my favorite manuscripts at the time, and while she passed on that one (and it still hasn’t been acquired. Whomp, whomp.), she liked my writing and rhyme and invited me to submit more. I sent two more manuscripts (both of which she also passed on). But I kept submitting! Why not?! Finally, in March 2020, I submitted BRAINSTORM! She loved it. I guess the fourth time was the charm!

EL: Definitely a charm! Here are a few fun interior spreads!

Will you tell us a little about you, personally? 

RGL: Let’s see. What else can I tell you? I was born in Smithtown, NY, but my parents moved to the Bay Area (CA) when I was 2-years-old, so I grew up out west. My parents were SHOCKED when I chose to move back to the east coast after attending college at UCLA. (My mom thought for sure one winter in NY, and I’d be running back to CA!) But, alas, I fell in love with the changing seasons, the hustle and bustle of NYC, and my now husband (whom I met on JDate.com!), and  I never looked back.

I worked first in advertising, then got a master’s in journalism from NYU, and, as I mentioned, worked as a journalist until my new boss (a.k.a. my firstborn son) began demanding all my attention. I currently live in Summit, NJ, and have two boys – now aged 15 and 11 (how they are that old already, I have no idea, especially since I haven’t aged AT ALL!).

EL: AS an aside, I love this picture of you with your dad. A cute budding reader and writer!

RGL: When I’m not writing, I’m usually exercising (I love doing “bounce” classes using the mini-trampoline, kickboxing, and running). And if I’m not exercising, I’m generally eating chocolate peanut butter ice cream (YUM!) or apple crumb pie (YUM!) or See’s Candy (YUM!) – hence, why I’m usually exercising! 

EL: I know you have another wonderful book coming out. Let’s talk a bit about WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW. 

WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW is probably the most vulnerable book I’ve ever written. For as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled with anxiety. Any unexpected change to my schedule or uncertainty about the future made me very uncomfortable. Of course, as a child, I had no idea that’s what it was called, but I’d always craved structure and found safety and comfort in predictability.

I wrote this book because there are so many kids who struggle (like I did and still do) with anticipatory anxiety, kids who constantly worry about what might happen tomorrow, kids who panic at any unexpected change or disruption to their normal routine, big or small  – a new sibling, a friend moving away, a substitute teacher, a fire drill…a pandemic.

The book is essentially a poetic mantra, written to myself as a child and to all children (as well as adults like me, who still need to hear it!). It is a reminder that no matter what happens tomorrow – be it good, bad, or in-between – we will find a way to endure. We have all done or faced hard things in the past, and we will continue to do and face hard things in the future. The trick is to remember that we are strong and that this, too, shall pass for better or worse.

EL: Wise words. I love the helpful backmatter too.

WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW is gorgeously illustrated by Mariona Cabassa (I am so grateful that she said yes to this project!) and will be released by Barefoot Books on March 7, 2023. It is available for pre-order now anywhere books are sold.

For a sneak peek, check out this beautiful trailer that Barefoot Books created: https://rebeccagardynlevington.com/books/whatever-comes-tomorrow/

EL: Beautiful! Do you have any words of advice for aspiring kid lit writers?

RGL: There’s so much I’ve learned so far on this journey, and I’m still learning every day, but one major piece of advice I always give is that while you should, of course, write stories that come from your heart, it is crucial to REMEMBER THAT PUBLISHING IS A BUSINESS!

An editor may think your story is “cute,” “funny,” or “heartfelt,” but before she can acquire it, she has to prove to all the financial and marketing people that your story will SELL. So, you MUST think about “hooks” while you are writing. Who is going to buy your book, and WHY? Can your book be sold during a holiday? Can teachers use your book in a classroom (if so, add back matter!). Does it have social-emotional themes that make it easy to explain a difficult subject matter? Etc.

One thing I always do is, once I’ve created my first draft, I stop everything, write my pitch, and research comp titles. As I continue to revise, this gives me a clear idea of what the book is about, what the hooks are, and how I will sell the idea to an editor. Another thing in my experience that helps to sell a book is to write an Author’s Note. It helps the editor understand your personal connection to the story or subject matter and gives them additional reasons WHY readers will find your book compelling.

All that said (and this may sound completely counterintuitive to everything above), I also believe that when you have an idea that is really calling you, write from your heart! Do NOT stop to think about marketability or hooks (yet!). Just get it down! BRAINSTORM! came to me in what felt like a rush of creativity. I had to write it! At the time, I didn’t think at all about marketability. I was just having fun. It wasn’t until afterwards that I went back and said: “You know…I think if I add more of X,Y,Z, I bet teachers could use this in their classrooms….” Once I realized that not only was this a FUN book for kids to read, but that it also had an educational “hook,” I knew I was on to something.

EL: Thank you SO much, Rebecca! That is such good advice. And now….Rebecca is happy to offer an ASK ME ANYTHING CALL to one lucky winner. To be in the running, please comment on this post for one chance, and let me know if you are a subscriber for an extra chance. 

To learn more about Rebecca and her books, visit her website at www.RebeccaGardynLevington.com and follow her on Twitter @WriterRebeccaGL and Instagram: @RebeccaGardynLevington.

To subscribe to her monthly newsletter, where she offers “ProTips” garnered from her writing journey and answers questions all things publishing, use this link: http://eepurl.com/h2sK8X

To order a signed copy of BRAINSTORM! and/or download the FREE Teacher’s Guide and Activity Pages, visit https://rebeccagardynlevington.com/books/brainstorm/

To pre-order a signed & personalized copy of WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW, visit: https://rebeccagardynlevington.com/books/whatever-comes-tomorrow

Thank you for joining us, Rebecca. Congrat on both books! 

Please check out other parts of my website at www.EllenLeventhal.com to learn more about me, my books, and my school visits.

NEW BOOK ALERT! Sold wherever books are sold. 

If you’d like a signed copy, pre-order here.

https://www.brazosbookstore.com/book/9781728443010