September 6, 2019 Interview and Giveaway with Author, Hannah Stark
Today, I’m excited to welcome to the blog, author, Hannah Stark. Be sure to check out the giveaway that follows the interview. Hannah is offering a copy of her latest picture book, TRUCKER AND TRAIN.
About Hannah:
My name is Hannah Stark and I’m the author of Trucker and Train. I’m also an elementary school teacher in the New York City Public Schools. I love teaching kids to read and write. I also have a small business called Teaching Right Along where I make and sell printables for teachers in the Teachers Pay Teachers marketplace. I have two sons. Their play inspired me to write Trucker and Train. When I’m not teaching or creating, I’m often taking road trips and train rides to unfamiliar places.
Connect with Hannah:
Can you tell us a bit about your picture book debut, Trucker and Train?
Trucker and Train is about a big rig named Trucker who loves to rule the road with his size, strength, and mighty horn. One day he meets the larger, stronger, and louder Train. Trucker quickly realizes that Train is bigger, stronger, and louder but isn’t using his might for power. Instead, Train is well admired by the vehicles around him. Trucker and Train is a story about using our strengths for good. I hope young readers will see that with great power comes great opportunity.
Can you provide us with a timeline of Trucker and Train, from the inception of the idea to acquisition to publication?
When my son Jackson was a toddler he loved trucks and trains. He was also in a pre-school class with some rough and tumble peers who used their size and strength to overpower their peers (I think this is pretty common since kids at that age are developing their early verbal skills). One day at home my son became frustrated that his toy trucks couldn’t fit on his wooden train tracks. We talked about the similarities and differences between the vehicles and it was sometime around then, in late 2012, that Trucker became a character in my mind.
I commute by subway to work and one day I started drafting a story about Trucker on the notes app of my phone. I heard about Pat Cummings Picture Book Boot Camp and decided to apply during the summer of 2013. Pat liked the voice and characters from the beginning. After that I began submitting Trucker and Train (fall of 2013). Over the next two years, five editors passed on the manuscript. In July 2015 Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Kids offered to acquire it. I made some small revisions and signed the contract about three months later. In August 2016, I found out that Bob Kolar had been selected to illustrate. I didn’t know his name but when I looked him up I realized my sons had a few things he’d designed in our home (a puzzle, a game, and a water bottle by Crocodile Creek).
Bob’s work is in demand and he had other projects to finish before he could start illustrating Trucker and Train. I saw drafts of his art when visiting my editor’s office in 2018. In May 2019 I received my first real copy. The book was published August 6, 2019 so I guess the timeline stretches seven years total. Needless to say there was a lot of waiting.
Your book features some of my favorite illustrations I’ve seen in picture books to date. That cover won me over the moment I saw it. Would you tell us a bit about the art and collaborating with Bob Kolar.
Thanks for saying that Justin. I love Bob’s work as well. I love the open roads of the west and I loved seeing how Bob used hints of pink and pastels to create the landscape. It reminds me of driving through deserts or Big Sky country. Bob is such a pro at giving vehicles expressions and life. Since he’s done a bunch of other anthropomorphic vehicle books I was worried that Trucker would look like his previous characters but that wasn’t the case at all.
Bob and I didn’t really collaborate. I think that’s mostly the editor and art director’s job. I feel like major publishing houses begin envisioning a book’s long-term trajectory right from acquisition. As an author, it can be a scary feeling waiting to see how the art will come back. I tried to remind myself to trust the process. Being a picture book author is great practice in relinquishing control.
A common challenge for us picture book writers is art notes! So, did you use art notes before your manuscript was acquired, and what were your art notes like?
I used them very sparingly and only when there is a super important detail that will only be seen in the illustration but not stated in the text. Without the note, an adult reader wouldn’t understand the next thing that happens. Here is an example from Trucker and Train.
The text reads:
Errrrrrrr!! Trucker stopped.
He turned.
He reversed.
He turned.
He reversed.
He HAD to block the road.
The art note read:
(Trucker has positioned himself parallel to the tracks blocking the road like a gate).
Without the illustrations, there is no way to know that he is now acting as the junction’s gate. This leads into the next page of text where the vehicles stop and honk at Trucker to move out of the way.
I saw you didn’t have an agent when Trucker & Train, your debut picture book, was acquired for publication. Would you tell us how a bit about how you got to acquisitions without an agent and what that process was like.
I am lucky to live in Brooklyn, New York where there is a vibrant picture book community. I also grew up with a children’s book author and illustrator mom. Her name is Marisabina Russo. I’ve watched her long career evolve since I was a kid and have learned a lot about the industry from her. When Boot Camp finished, Pat Cummings encouraged me to start submitting directly to editors. All of the rejections I received came through personal connections between Pat, my mom, and people I’ve known over the years in publishing in Brooklyn. If I hadn’t had Pat’s encouragement to submit I probably never would have done it. Her experience and support gave me the boost of confidence I needed to believe in my writing.
I feel like opportunity can happen to anyone if they put in the hard work and put themselves out into the writing community. When I’ve attended small conferences (I love NESCBWI), boot camps, or the Highlights Foundation so many personal connections have opened up. I have friends who have met their editors and agents at each of these. My feeling is if the professionals in the industry see strong potential in your work then they’ll get behind you and opportunities can appear in unexpected places. Just be yourself, be open to feedback, and put in the work.
What, if anything, do you feel you’ve gained as a writer as a result of navigating the editorial process without an agent [versus a writer who navigates it with an agent]?
The thing I’ve most liked about navigating the process without an agent is the direct communication with editors. It might sound weird but I liked getting rejection emails directly from the editors that passed on Trucker and Train. There wasn’t any sugar coating or interpretation by an agent. I’ve loved being able to communicate directly with my editor, Lynne Polvino. She’s given me great insight into the long journey of acquisitions, marketing, publicity, etc. I don’t want to know a lot of what goes on behind the scenes but it is nice feeling like my editor and I have a relationship and friendship at this point.
The flip side is that an agent might help me advocate more than I know how to. An agent would also have helped me negotiate the contract (I used the Author’s Guild and advice from fellow veteran writers). An agent would definitely help me get my current projects out in front of more houses in the future. An agent would also be another cheerleader for the long term success of my book.
How, if at all, has being a third grade teacher influenced how you approach your writing, connect with educators, and or promote your work?
That is such a great question. I feel like teaching kids to write has taught me how to study children’s books. In the classroom there is something called close reading. Close reading is looking at a small portion of a text and examining what an author does to craft or present a piece of text. We teach kids to close read so that they build comprehension but also to develop them as writers. I feel like I was trained as a teacher but along the way I was also trained as a writer. I consider myself a student first and a teacher second.
I’m a single mom, a public school teacher, and I live in Brooklyn. Needless to say, money can be tight. A few years ago I decided to open a teacher store on the Teachers Pay Teachers marketplace. This has helped me survive financially but it has also been huge as far as connecting with other inspiring educators. I’ve learned a lot from how “teacherpreneurs” market their products (handouts, classroom labels, slide presentations, etc.) on social media. I’m trying to use some of that learning to help get the word out about my book. Examples of this would be using Pinterest and Instagram to promote and creating printable activities for educators and homeschoolers to supplement Trucker and Train. I find that teachers like visuals on social media because their schedules are so tight during the school year. They don’t have time to read long blog posts or do tons of digging for resources. I think Pinterest and Instagram are super popular with educators for this reason.
I see you’re a member of the Notable19s group for debut picture book authors. Can you tell us more about the group, how it works, and what you’ve gained from the experience?
I feel SO lucky to be a part of the Notable19s! We are a group of 13 picture book authors and author-illustrators. Every member has a debut picture book in 2019 with a major publisher and we are scattered across the country. The group is intended to help each other spread the word about one another’s work. Some of that is done through our blog, some is through social media, and some of it is through established bloggers and kidlit champions. We did a Twitter chat with Matthew Winner last February, have done guest blog posts with Tara Lazar and Cynsations, and some members have written articles for SCBWI. We are all learning a lot in 2019 and the group tries to share tidbits of their experience and learning with the writing community. I love the group because it is not all about promotion. There is a lot of pay it forward mentality.
Because we are a small and close-knit group it has also evolved into a circle of emotional support. There are all sorts of waves to ride when your book comes out and I am so grateful for the optimism, humor, and kindness of the other Notable19s. Even though I’ve only met two members face-to-face I feel like I have a new circle of friends in the kidlit community and as a debut author that has felt priceless.
How far in advance of your publication date did you join the group, and how did you find it? Any advice for authors looking to start or join a debut group?
In 2018 I attended a workshop at the Highlights Foundation. At the workshop, author Emma Otheguy told me about debut groups and encouraged me to find one. I wasn’t on Twitter at the time and had no idea where to start. Emma helped me with my search and the first group I found was already full. This was in early September of 2018. Luckily, one member referred me to the Notable19s and the group still had some space.
I think my advice to authors would be definitely join a group and start your search for one early. Ask around on Twitter or in Facebook groups. If you can’t find one, then start one. I am a believer that you get out what you put in. Everyone’s book will have it’s own journey and there is so much to learn from the journeys around you.
I see you’re a fellow New Yorker! Are there any writing-related resources within NY that you’re especially passionate about?
I love looking at the event offerings at my local independent bookstores in Brooklyn. My local stores are Greenlight Bookstore, Stories Bookshop + Storytelling Lab, and Books are Magic. They offer regular children’s book author/illustrator events and I love going and hearing about the books and the author processes. I find these events to be super inspiring and they keep me motivated.
The annual Brooklyn Museum Children’s Book Fair at the Brooklyn Museum of Art is also amazing as an educator, parent, and writer. It highlights only Brooklyn based authors and illustrators. I’ve met Sophie Blackall and Peter Brown amongst tons of other inspiring folks there. My sons love discovering new titles and seeing the faces behind the books at that event. I feel incredibly lucky to be participating in the festival this year on Saturday, November 23rd. There is also the Brooklyn Book Festival’s Children’s Day on Saturday, September 21st . I like the vendor tents there because I can see tons of new titles by different publishing houses and there are workshops and author panels too. I’m also REALLY excited to be a part of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival on October 5th. It is easy to get to by train from the city and has around 150 authors and illustrators for kids, MG, and YA.
As for supplies, I love Artist and Craftsmen in Park Slope. I could spend a whole day there and possibly drain my bank account. When I have a full day to go write I head to the New York Public Library’s Rose Main Reading Room. I love being around other New Yorkers reading and writing in that space. When there is extended time, I make time to drive out to Pennsylvania to the Highlights Foundation for an “unworkshop” where the quiet of the place makes the city life feel a million miles away.
Thanks for your time, Hannah!
Readers, you can purchase Trucker and Train using any of the links below:
Also, be sure to check out the giveaway below! Hannah is offering one lucky winner a copy of TRUCKER AND TRAIN.
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