Finding Success Through The Miami SCBWI Conference
I didn’t find either my agent or my editor through SCBWI,
yet it was through the contacts I made at the Miami conference that I learned
to craft a novel. My novel writing journey started in 2009 at the “First Books
Panel.” I listened as Marjetta Geerling, Debbie Reed Fischer, and Danette
Haworth shared their paths to publication. One thing each of them had in common
was this phrase, “I’d like to thank Joyce Sweeney.” I jotted her name down in
my notebook and made it my mission to find this fairy godmother.
I discovered that Joyce is a talented teacher and mentor who
has helped many authors land their first publishing contract. Later that
evening, I introduced myself to her, and Joyce agreed to critique my middle
grade novel. While that manuscript is still in my file drawer, the lessons I
learned while crafting it stood me in good stead while writing my second book,
THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL.
In 2010, I journeyed back to the Miami conference. By this
time I had written about 50 pages of JESSIE, and the first chapter was slated
for critique with Newbery award winning author, Richard Peck.
THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL is set in the 1920s. Mr. Peck’s
written critique says, “Moreover, your subject matter is my own favorite:
rustic nostalgia (with an edge) to reveal a little history to a generation not
learning any at school.”
Since Mr. Peck had read only the first ten pages, he asked
me to walk him through the rest of the plot. At that time, my novel had both a midwife
and a second older woman called Cousin Rachel. Mr. Peck told me those two
characters sounded remarkably similar and asked if they could be combined.
“Yes!” I said. “Yes, that is absolutely brilliant!” He answered, “You have too
many characters auditioning for a part in your novel.”
I confessed that I wasn’t entirely sure how my novel would
end and shared two possibilities. Mr. Peck shook his head. “There’s only one
way this novel can end,” he said. “Your character has grown and changed during
her journey. The ending must reflect that.”
Armed with plotting tips from Richard Peck, I went back home
and finished my book. I then took the completed manuscript to a Highlights
Foundation Whole Novel Workshop led by Stephen Roxburgh. When Stephen said, “This
novel really is delicious and exactly the kind of thing I’m looking to
publish,” I knew JESSIE had found a home!
Here’s a sneak peek of THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL:
Sometimes when the kerosene lamp
casts shadows, I think I see Ma’s ghost. If she were still alive, she’d say,
Jessie Pearl, you keep on studying. Not everybody is cut out to be a farm wife.
We’ll find a way to pay for teachers’ college. Leave your Pa to me.
And tonight, Ma would notice how
my hands are trembling. I can almost hear her voice. Jessie, fourteen is too
young to help birth a baby. Why don’t you go and study in the kitchen? But Ma
is just a memory.
It’s 1922, and Jessie has big
plans for her future, but that’s before tuberculosis strikes. Though she
has no talent for cooking, cleaning, or nursing, Jessie puts her dreams on hold
to help her family. She falls in love for the first time ever, and
suddenly what she wants is not so simple any more.
Inspired by Shannon Hitchcock’s
family history, THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL wraps you like an old quilt in the
traditions, tastes, and dialect of rural North Carolina.
