THE CHILDREN'S BOOK ACADEMY
  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • MN Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship

Don’t Let a Quest for Perfection Keep You From Finishing

10/18/2021

6 Comments

 
by Bryan Patrick Avery

A good friend and colleague of mine used to tell anyone who would listen, “perfection is the enemy of completion.” He statement is, of course, a paraphrasing of Voltaire’s quote, “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” But is it true?

It just might be. I’ve watched magicians practice routines for months, or even longer, refusing to perform something that brought them joy because they weren’t sure it was perfect. Likewise, I’ve watching my fellow writers hold tight to a piece they loved because they weren’t positive it couldn’t be improved. This month, I’d like to, briefly, tell you about a chance I took with a piece I wasn’t sure was perfect and what happened when I took that chance.

Like many of you, I found myself with a little extra time when the pandemic began in 2020. I decided to put that time to good use and signed up for a chapter book writing course taught by Marcie Colleen.

Author's Note: If you ever have the chance to spend time learning from Marcie, take it.

In the class, each author created a new chapter series from scratch, including character sketches, story summaries and the like. I put together plans for a series featuring a robot detective, programmed with every mystery story ever told. As the class progressed, I started writing the manuscript for the first, called THE ROBOT IN THE LIBRARY.  I was excited and before the class was over, had completed a first draft of the story. 
Picture
I was able to get some feedback on the early chapters of the story which was mostly enthusiastic and positive. I was pumped. I knew there were some improvements to make, and I committed to making them over the course of the summer of 2020. Then, Twitter intervened.

I came across a Tweet from an editor at Capstone Publishing. She was looking for someone to write a new early chapter book series and issued an open call to writers. You just needed to send a three-page writing sample. So, I did the unthinkable. I read through the first few pages of THE ROBOT IN THE LIBRARY, made a few changes and sent them off to Capstone.

I knew the story wasn’t perfect, but I thought it was good enough and was representative of my style and skill. Soon after, I got a response from Capstone. I was brought on to write four books of a new series called Mr. Grizley’s Class. The four books came out in August 2021. Writing those four books led to me writing two Jake Maddox JV Mysteries, SOCCER SUSPICIONS and OFF BASE, both of which come out in January 2022. None of this would have happened if I, instead, decided to keep working the story until I was absolutely sure it was perfect.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
This means, of course, that I spent from Summer 2020 through Spring 2021 writing these books. What happened, you ask, to THE ROBOT IN THE LIBRARY? Well, I cleaned it up a bit more and submitted this past Spring for consideration for the SCBWI Work in Progress Award. Just a few days ago, SCBWI announced the ROBOT won the award in the chapter books category. I’m still celebrating as I write this blog!

All of this is to say, simply, you may not ever feel your work is perfect. It might never be. Make it as good as you can and get it out there. There’s a world ready to read what you have to say. Don’t keep us waiting.
​
Well, that’s all for this month. Happy writing and have a magical month!
Picture
At the age of 7, Bryan Patrick Avery discovered a love of reading and mysteries after receiving his first Bobbsey Twins Mystery Book. Today, he is an award-winning poet and author of books for children. His middle-grade story, “The Magic Day Mystery”, appears in SUPER PUZZLETASTIC MYSTERIES, an anthology from HarperCollins and the Mystery Writers of America. His debut picture book, THE FREEMAN FIELD PHOTOGRAPH, illustrated by Jerome White, was published by Clearfork Publishing/Spork. His early reader series, MR. GRIZLEY’S CLASS, illustrated by Arief Putra, is available now from Picture Window Press. He is the 2021 recipient of the SCBWI Work in Progress Award for his chapter book mystery THE ROBOT IN THE LIBRARY.

​Bryan serves on the board of directors of the Northern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is a 2021 Amplify Black Stories Fellow, a joint program presented by the Brown Bookshelf and the Highlights Foundation. Bryan lives in Northern California with his family.

6 Comments
Lhynzie link
10/27/2021 02:05:29 am

Excellent content! Very informative. Thank you for sharing.

Reply
MARY JO H6FF link
11/3/2021 05:59:07 am

Awesome information, good read.

Reply
Arlene Schenker
11/3/2021 06:33:18 am

This advice is so timely for me. I'm just trying to decide about submitting a story. It's not perfect, but it may be good enough--at least for an R and R. Thank you Bryan!

Reply
RIta
11/3/2021 12:02:28 pm

So much inspiration and motivation here to just do it. Thanks for timeless writing advice. And congratulations on your well-deserved success!

Reply
Kirstie
11/3/2021 09:49:11 pm

A nice reminder to just do it! Thanks!

Reply
Extintores link
12/7/2021 02:18:23 am

Excellent post. Thanks for sharing these tips. In my company we always look for perfection in every text or whatever we do, but it is true that it is difficult to finish. Thanks again, it will be very helpful to me.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    We are so excited to be mixing things up at CBA, beginning with some delicious additions to the Blogfish. Meet our  awesome bloggers!!

    Here's our lineup:
    1st Mondays begin with awesome multi-published former student Shirin Shamsi who will be focusing on Muslim and cultural kidlit.

    2nd Mondays will feature super smart Melissa Stoller whose career is taking off with several new books.
     

    3rd Mondays will feature
    Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer, man of mystery, and professional magician among other things.

    4th Mondays will feature STEM, STEAM & SEL obsessed author Kourtney LaFavre sharing delightfully dorky, quirky, and fun info.

    And 5th Mondays we'll be taking a break

    Enter your email address to follow this blog:

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

Picture
Discover
Why Us?
Courses
Blogfish
Book Shoppe
About Us
Meet the Academy Faculty
Community
Contact Us

Privacy Policy
Join Us
Social Media
Join our Community and receive a fabulous free gift, yummy newsletters, scholarship info, contests, and more!

Like us on Facebook 
Join our interactive FB Group  
Find us on Twitter 
Follow us on ​Instagram  
Look for us on Pinterest
​
Watch us on YouTube
© 2012-2021  All content on this website is copyrighted. Sorry, all courses are non-refundable.
  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • MN Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship