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

Stuck! Or, How A Stubborn Author Learned to Change.

2/7/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Denise Gallagher 

I am a graphic designer and illustrator who spent many years working happily as an art director. But in 2009, I hit a creative wall.

I wanted more.

So I decided to pursue my dream of illustrating children’s books.
“I know! I’ll write my own picture book to practice on!” No big deal, right?
​
I sat down to write and came up with a whopping 1400-hundred word fairy tale titled, “Claire de Loup” that I absolutely fell in love with.

I threw myself into the task of creating some moody, lush, heavily patterned illustrations and a thorough book dummy.

Picture
Then I shared it with the world.

It was dark.

It was dense.

It was not ready.

​I got some helpful feedback but
was overwhelmed so put it all in a drawer.

I still loved the story, though.

​So in 2014, I decided to revisit it. I scrapped all of the original illustrations and started over in a new style.

Picture
The story was the same but the illustrations were brighter and more kid-friendly.
With renewed confidence, I packaged up this revised version and brought it with me to an SCBWI conference in Houston.

The illustrations were a hit and I won the portfolio showcase!

But the manuscript review… oof.

Among other things, it was way too long.

How do you cut text when you love every single word that you’ve written?

I can be very stubborn. I know this about myself.

​But, kicking and screaming, I did it. I winnowed down the story. I cut out flowery language and descriptive words. I did more showing than telling.
And guess what? I still loved it!
Picture
This is it! This will be published! And I truly believed that it would.
I sent it out into the world again, to a much warmer review.

I received kind rejections.

Helpful rejections.

Many rejections.

Oof.

Why did I think I could be a writer anyway?

Didn’t I just want to be an illustrator?

​Dejected, I put it in a drawer again.

In 2015, I was awarded a scholarship to a writing course from Mira Reisberg’s Children’s Book Academy. The course helped me to really focus on the writing portion of creating a picture book. During the course, Mira helped me to work diligently on everything from characters, to plot twists and endings. My confidence in writing was bolstered!

Then in 2019 I attended Leslie Helakoski’s workshop, “Structure and Voice. Rhyme and Revision." I needed something to work on so I grabbed a pencil and a notebook and dusted off my old manuscript.
Picture
One section of Leslie’s workshop discussed what to do with a manuscript that just seemed to have stalled.

This hit a nerve.

She encouraged us to step back from the story and imagine changing one aspect and rewriting it. That aspect could be voice, character, setting, etc.
Setting? Character?

Up until this point, my beloved story was about a girl and a wolf in the forest.
You can imagine the comparisons it drew.

​What if…?
Picture
Leslie had gotten the wheels turning again. I was once again excited about my book.

The wolf became a tiger. The forest, a jungle — a jungle which teemed with unusual creatures. The story changed just a bit but became deeper in meaning.

Happy with the new manuscript, I started over — for the third time — on the illustrations. Using juicy colors, I created a character that was unique and spunky and who lived in a jungle landscape that was fresh and exciting and full of life.
​
And I changed the title to “Moonsong.”

​I got some great feedback and in 2020 I received a publishing offer during a Twitter pitch event. That was at the very beginning of the pandemic so working on the final art was a happy distraction from the events going on in the world around me.
Picture
On October 1, 2021, “Moonsong” became a real book — a book that lives in happy homes and on library shelves around the country.

I had always believed in the story.

From the very beginning.

I just had to learn to be a little less stubborn and a little more patient.

I learned to let go and to embrace change.

It took 12 years, three different illustration attempts and many, many text revisions to finally see my story in its final form.

​And I am happy to say that there is a child out there who now looks up at the moon just a little differently — all because of my story.
Denise Gallagher, Biography
Denise Gallagher is a published author and illustrator of children’s picture books. She is also proud to be the Illustrator Coordinator for the Louisiana/Mississippi Region of SCBWI. Her illustration portfolio won first place in portfolio reviews at SCBWI Conferences in both Houston and New Orleans.

Her picture book “Moonsong” which she wrote and illustrated was published by The Little Press in the Fall of 2021.

Her picture book “A Tip Tap Tale,” which she wrote and illustrated, was published in 2017 by UL University Press.

She has also illustrated folk tales from Louisiana and Canada. “Peg Bearskin, A Traditional Newfoundland Folktale” received the Aesop Prize by the Children’s Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society and was on the short list for the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration for the 2020 Atlantic Book Awards.

Denise is on the Editorial Board of the University of Louisiana Press and is an Adjunct Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is part of the Teaching Artist Program in Lafayette, teaching literature and art to students of all ages. She has also been included on many literary panels and speaking events.

Denise has a passion for folklore, folktales, unusual animals and magical realism and is inspired by her lush, green Louisiana home.

https://www.denisegallagher.com/

0 Comments



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