Mind the Gap . . . or Why Not to Give Up
by Dori Kleber
Last month, Candlewick Press published my debut book, a
picture book called MORE-IGAMI. The reviews have been favorable, including a
starred review from Kirkus. That makes me think this book must actually be good
– which is somewhat shocking, given that just a few months before I wrote it, I
was convinced I would never understand or write picture books.
I had tried. In February 2011, I had completed the Picture
Book Marathon. At the end of the one-month challenge, I had drafted 26
manuscripts that ranged from pretty bad to downright awful.
I thought one of them might have niche market potential. But
in a paid critique at a conference, a well-known agent ripped nearly everything
about the story. When my ten minutes with her were over, I hustled to the
ladies’ room and cried – not because she was harsh, but because every negative thing
she had said was true.
I was tempted to give up, but I was new at narrative
writing. I wanted to give myself time to learn. I reworked the story again and
took it to a picture book workshop. But the more I learned there about what
makes a good picture book, the more I realized how rife with problems mine was.
By the end of the day, I was convinced: I would never be able to write a
picture book.
That was okay. I had an idea for a middle-grade novel and
was eager to work on it. So I did.
Until just a few months later, when I got an idea. A picture
book idea. I scribbled it on an index card and set it aside. I was not writing
another picture book. I couldn’t.
But the idea kept pestering me. I typed out the story, solely
to get it out of my head. And when I did, I realized it wasn’t like the 26
awful manuscripts I had written a year earlier. It was decent. Six months
later, it was sold.
Public radio producer Ira Glass has famously talked about
the disappointment people feel when they first start creating art. They have
great taste – they know what’s good – and they can tell that what they’re
creating falls short of their own standards. (If you’ve never heard his remarks
on the topic, watch this
two-minute
video.)
For many artists, the gap between their aspiration and their
ability is too much to bear, and they quit.
I get it. The gap nearly defeated me, and if not for a pesky
idea that wouldn’t go away, I might never have tried writing another picture
book.
The gap is terrible, but temporary. Keep working. Your story
– the story of you as an artist – isn’t over unless you say it is. It’s tempting
to give in and say, “The end.” The braver path is to say, “Next chapter.”
MORE-IGAMI. Text copyright © 2016 by Dori Kleber. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by G. Brian Karas.
Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.
About Dori Kleber:
Dori Kleber writes picture books and middle-grade novels from her home near Atlanta. She is an active member of SCBWI Southern Breeze.
Find Dori:
, as part of a two-book deal with HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray. Here are 10 tips that helped me land my agent at a writers’ conference."
