Welcome to Tuesday Debut, Everyone!

We’ve got fun and games today! 😊

But first, let me announce the winner of last week’s giveaway!

Jackie Morera kindly offered a winner’s choice of a picture book manuscript critique (non-rhyming) or a query letter critique! And the winner is. . .

SHRISTI VAIDYA!!!

Congratulations, Shristi! Please email me so I can connect you with Jackie!

Now!

Today we get to meet Kerry Aradhya and hear all about how she came to write about one of the most well-know puzzle games in the world – the Rubik’s Cube and its creator! I’m pretty interested to find out about this (even though I’ve never managed to get more than two sides of a Rubik’s cube completed 😊) so let’s get right to it, shall we?

Title: Ernő Rubik and His Magic Cube
Author: Kerry Aradhya
Illustrator: Kara Kramer
Publishing House: Peachtree
Date of Publication: June 11, 2024
Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction
age range of your book: 4-8+

This picture book biography of Hungarian architect and inventor Ernő Rubik reveals the obsession, imagination, and engineering process behind the creation of the Rubik’s Cube. As a young professor of architecture, and in a quest to help his students understand three-dimensional movement, he fashioned a cube made up of smaller cubes that twisted and turned without breaking, unexpectedly inventing the most popular puzzle in history! 

SUSANNA: Welcome, Kerry! We are so delighted to have you here with us today! Is there anyone who hasn’t tried to solve a Rubik’s Cube? 😊 Where did the idea for this book come from?

KERRY: I was buying a Rubik’s Cube for a friend’s son and found myself wondering how it had been created. I don’t know what exactly triggered that thought, but I followed my curiosity and was fascinated by what I learned. I knew from the beginning I wanted to focus on Ernő Rubik’s creative process, but it took me a while to figure out which elements of his childhood to include, and how to incorporate them into the story.

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

KERRY: The idea for the book came to me in late 2019, not long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It took me about a year and a half to research, write, and feel confident in my draft. It was then that I submitted to the 2021 #PBChat mentorship program and was paired with mentor Vivian Kirkfield, who helped me fine-tune it even more. 

Kerry’s “office” where she doesn’t actually work, but it is part of their home office, and she uses this space for inspiration! 😊

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

KERRY: I’ve never been good at tracking my revisions, so I have no idea how many I went through. I love to tinker with language, though, so I at least know I revised a lot! I also dummy out most of my manuscripts, which helps me with pacing, figuring out possible page turns, and seeing if I have enough—or too much—text for a 32-page picture book. This inevitably leads to more revision!

SUSANNA: When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

KERRY: Even if I can’t put my finger on why a particular manuscript isn’t ready for submission, I can usually feel, intuitively, when something isn’t quite working. With this manuscript, I didn’t feel that. Instead, I became more and more excited over time. I also lost the urge to keep tinkering, which was another telltale sign…for me anyway! 

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

KERRY: When my #PBChat mentorship ended, I began searching for an agent in earnest. One submission was to someone I had met months earlier at a nonfiction writing workshop who was still open to queries from attendees. Although that agent eventually passed, she forwarded my work on to her colleague, who became my agent and started submitting my manuscript right away.

Kerry’s work buddy, Sofie, playing with her Rubik’s Cube toy!

SUSANNA: How long after you found out about your book going to acquisitions (if you did) or after you submitted were you told it was a “yes”? 

KERRY: It was about one month between the day my agent submitted the manuscript to Peachtree and the day we received an offer!

SUSANNA: Wow! That’s amazing! When did you get “the call”, which these days is more likely to be “the email”?  (Best moment ever! 😊) and how did you celebrate (if you care to share 😊)

KERRY: My editor and I had a call to get to know each other and chat about our vision for the book, and it was about two weeks later that I got “the email” from my agent. My husband and I had a dinner planned at our house that very night, to celebrate a nephew’s birthday, so we opened a bottle of champagne and celebrated my offer, too!

SUSANNA: How long was it between getting your offer and getting your contract to sign? 

KERRY: It was about six and a half months between getting the verbal offer and getting the final contract to sign. 

SUSANNA: Was the contract what you expected in terms of advance, royalty percentage, publication timeline, author copies etc.? 

KERRY: I actually didn’t know what to expect other than for the advance, which was what I expected based on the size of my publisher. My royalties start at 5% on hard cover and 3% on paperback, but that could be off the list price or, if the books are sold at a steep discount, off the net price the publisher receives. As far as the publication timeline, we were in a bit of a hurry to try and publish the book in 2024 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube. I am still sometimes in disbelief that we managed to do it!

SUSANNA: Can you tell us a little about the editorial process?

KERRY: I am fortunate that my editor and I had very similar visions for the book and that the process was smooth for the most part. The majority of changes to the main text were minor, except for one spread, and were made after the art was nearly complete. The back matter changed more. We only had room for two pages of back matter in the end, and my editor was really great at making suggestions about what to include—both what to remove from my original draft and, as it turns out, what to add. 

SUSANNA: What was your experience of the illustration process like?

KERRY: I was overjoyed when Kara Kramer agreed to illustrate this book! I was also happily surprised to be involved as much as I was in the illustration process. I saw early sketches, cover ideas, final art, and everything in between. My editor asked for input at all stages, combined my input with hers, and passed our thoughts along to the art director. It was a wonderfully collaborative experience.

text copyright Kerry Aradhya 2024, illustration copyright Kara Kramer 2024, Peachtree

SUSANNA: Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc? What was that like?

KERRY: So far I have seen advance reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and Publisher’s Weekly. To be honest, it was a bit weird at first, seeing how reviewers had interpreted different aspects of the book, including my writing style. I’ve recently learned that multiple professional reviews are no longer the norm, even though they are sometimes required for librarians to be able to purchase a book, so I feel very grateful for the exposure.

SUSANNA: How long did it take from offer to having the first copy in your hand?

KERRY: I held an early copy of the book in my hands 19 and a half months after I received my offer, and the book was officially published three months later—today!

SUSANNA: So exciting!!! Happy Book Birthday!!! 🎉🎉🎉 What kind of marketing and promotion has your publisher done for this book? 

KERRY: My publisher’s marketing and publicity team has pitched the book for inclusion at conferences and book festivals, sent digital ARCs to bloggers and others to review, and have been looped into the bookstore hosting my launch party. Probably the most exciting thing so far is that they emailed me one day to see if I wanted to be on KidLit TV, and I’m going to be on an episode of StoryMakers! 

SUSANNA: That IS exciting! Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

KERRY: The Illustrator and I teamed up on a pre-order campaign and a puzzle/activity pack that the publisher is finalizing. I’ve also planned several events, including a reading at a Hungarian cultural museum and a library event on July 13th (Ernő Rubik’s birthday, when many people celebrate the Rubik’s Cube). Reaching out to my alma mater and local media, plus answering interview questions and writing guest posts for a blog tour, have also kept me busy. Although I have more ideas, I’ve learned that my list of ideas may be bigger than my bandwidth!

SUSANNA: How long was it between the time you started writing seriously and the time you sold your first picture book?

KERRY: It was a really long time! I joined SCBWI in 2007 and sold this picture book in 2022, so I guess that makes it a 15-year journey. I definitely had spurts of productivity and long periods of very little writing along the way, but I just kept chugging along with whatever I could handle at any given time. I also found joy in writing poems, and the boosts from publishing some of them in children’s magazines motivated me to keep going! 

SUSANNA: What is the most important/helpful thing you learned on your way to publication? (Or what is your most helpful piece of advice for up and coming writers?)

KERRY: I’ve learned that wherever you are in the process is where you are meant to be. As long as you keep trying, write more, learn more, make more connections, and continue to expand your comfort zone, you are doing great, even if you do all of these things at a snail’s pace…like me. Without even knowing it, you are setting yourself up for success, whenever and in whatever form that success may come.

SUSANNA: Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

KERRY: I’d like to share that kidlit promo groups are amazing! This year I’ve been part of two—a debut picture book group called the Roarin24s and a STEAM picture book/middle grade group called the STEAM Team—that have been invaluable. Groups such as 12×12 and the Author’s Guild have also provided resources and support along the way. No one can make this journey alone, and I’m thankful to be making it alongside so many others in our incredible kidlit community! 

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for joining us today, Kerry! It was so great to have the opportunity to learn from you! Best of luck with this and future titles!!!

Readers, if you have questions for Kerry, please post them in the comments below and if she has time I’m sure she’ll respond!

Author Kerry Aradhya

FB: @authorkerryaradhya
Instagram: @kerry.aradhya
Twitter: @kerryaradhya

Peachtree:
FB: @PeachtreePub
Instagram: @peachtreepublishing
Twitter: @PeachtreePub

Kara Kramer:
Twitter: @beinginthemaking

You may purchase Kerry’s book at:
(all links below are book-specific)

Indiebound/Bookshop.org
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

We can help our debut authors successfully launch their careers by:

– purchasing their books

– recommending their books to friends and family

– recommending their books to our children’s teachers and librarians

– recommending their books to our local libraries and bookstores

– suggesting them as visiting authors at our children’s schools and our local libraries

– sharing their books on social media

– reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a lovely, inspiration-filled Tuesday!  Maybe today is the day you’ll write your debut picture book 😊

Missed any previous Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out HERE!