Welcome to another Book Birthday Tuesday Debut!

I’m delighted to be able to introduce Robin Hall and her beautiful debut, THE LITTLEST WEAVER!

Before we jump into all the fabulous information and advice that Robin has to share, I have a couple giveaway winners to announce!

A couple weeks ago, Gayle C. Krause and Kate Talbot visited to tell us about their new book, ZADIE AND THE WITCH’S TEA, and the winner of the signed copy of ZADIE + swag from Gayle is Claire Annette!!! The winner of the choice of PB Manuscript Critique OR art critique from Kate is Rosi Hollinbeck!!!

The winner of the choice of PB MS Critique OR 30 min AMA offered by Astrid Kamalyan last week is Bri Lawyer!!!

Congratulations, Claire, Rosi, and Bri! Please email me so I can set you up with these amazing prizes!

Now, let’s a wish a big HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY to Robin Hall and THE LITTLEST WEAVER and dive into all she has to share!

Title: The Littlest Weaver
Author: Robin Hall
Illustrator: Stella Lim
Publishing House: Familius
Date of Publication: 10/3/23
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
age range of your book: 3-10

Laurel and her father weave beautiful rugs for the people of their mountain town. When a stranger moves to town with sadness in his eyes and a lonely doll on his table, Laurel wants to help. With gorgeous illustrations of the natural beauty of the Appalachian Mountains and depictions of the Appalachian weaving tradition, The Littlest Weaver shows us how to hold space for grief and warms your heart like a woven blanket.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Robin! Thank you so much for joining us today! Where did the idea for this book come from?

ROBIN: Long before I wrote picture books, I wrote a short story after the 2011 Tohoku tsunami in 2011 because I couldn’t get this one story out of my mind about a father that went back and tried to save his family, but he was too late. He watched them all be swept out to sea. I needed to find a little bit of peace for him, a touch of hope, so I wrote a folktale about a man who lost his family and moved far from the sea, high in the mountains and became a recluse, only healing when he finally let a bothersome happy carpet maker into his life. Writing a possible ending for him gave me that peace I needed.

Years later, when I decided to start writing picture books, that short story came to mind, so I crafted the first very rough draft of my story from there.

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

ROBIN: If you consider the short story, 9 years. I took my initial picture book draft to my critique group of brilliant picture book writers (shout out to Capital Eyes!) and learned how to make illustrator notes and paginate my book. I even made a little dummy. But the story needed so much work. The initial reason I wrote the book was for me, not for children, so it had the wrong audience. I didn’t even have children in my early picture book drafts. As I learned how to write picture books, I took this story to SCBWI for critiques. I also sent it to an editor who gave me some really good advice. She said I needed to figure out how to make this story my story. She asked me what story I really needed to tell and how I could make that my story. It took me three years to be able to answer that question and make this story mine. After that, I continued to write and play and then had to do a lot of research to make sure I was accurately depicting my new focus.

Once The Littlest Weaver sold, we went through three more rounds of edits and then another round after illustrations.

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

ROBIN: So many! (see above)

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

ROBIN: I didn’t. A friend told me it was ready. 

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

ROBIN: With this book, at the same time that I queried agents I reached out to Michele Robbins at Familius, the editor that had told me I needed to make it my own story, and luckily, she was interested in publishing it.

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”?

ROBIN: It took about two months

SUSANNA: When did you get “the call”, which these days is more likely to be “the email”?  (Best moment ever! 😊) and how did you celebrate?

ROBIN: I honestly don’t remember this part? Is that awful? 2020 was a rough year!

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

ROBIN: The contract came pretty quickly once I had the offer.

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

ROBIN: The Littlest Weaver is published by a small house, so advances are small. The royalty rates are standard, but I do split them with my illustrator, so 5% for each. I received 10 author copies and was able to give the publisher a list of people willing to review my book that they sent advanced copies to.

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

ROBIN: My editor understood my story well. I think it helped that we had talked about it so many years before. I knew that she had steered me in the right direction and that she understood what my story needed, so it was easy to trust the revision process. I worked with another editor, as well. We went through three passes and then Michele and I worked on the story for another round of revisions.

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

ROBIN: One of the things I really like about Familius is that I knew I would be able to have a say in who the illustrator was, see early sketches, and be somewhat involved in the process. Like most houses, I couldn’t talk to my illustrator. Familius knew I wanted an illustrator from the Appalachians, so they actually did a callout for submissions and received a whole bunch. Even so, they preferred another artist more, one that isn’t from Appalachia, or even the United States. At first I was really nervous about it, but once I saw her other artwork she’d done for earlier books, I knew she could make The Littlest Weaver come to life. I saw and gave feedback on early character sketches, in addition to early sketches and spreads, where they listened when I said the mountains needed to clearly sing Blue Ridge.

I did need to be really specific about the place and time period and images for the pinterest board the art director let me share.

Robin’s rug drawing (above)

Stella Lim’s illustration (below)

The hardest image for us to figure out was the big reveal of the special rug Laurel and her father make for the newcomer. That is the spread that went through the most revisions. In this case, the art director finally asked me to make a sketch of what I envisioned. I thought she was going to tell the illustrator in writing about the sketch, but she shared my stick figure drawing. I was a mortified when I realized my brilliant illustrator, Stella Lim, saw that drawing. But it worked. She took my measly sketch and made the spread I’d dreamed of.

I did have a few illustrations notes in the text. I also talked extensively with the art director about the setting and culture.

illustration copyright Stella Lim 2023

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

ROBIN:Almost 3 years. Covid pushed back publication.

My initial print run is 5000. They are quick to publish more as books sell, so I’m hopeful to have many printings!

SUSANNA: What kind of marketing and promotion has your publisher done for this book?

ROBIN: They have set me up with multiple podcasts and sent my books to book reviewers. It’s fun to see my book being celebrated on social media.

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

ROBIN: I made bookmarks, coloring pages, an Educator’s Guide, and host a series of PB Author Chats. I also ran a preorder campaign.

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

ROBIN: 8 years.

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?)

ROBIN: At my first writing conference Emily Wing Smith told her story to publication. It took her seven years post MFA to publish. She said most writers give up before they’re ready. That if we keep writing, we will publish. I’ve held onto those words ever since.

My advice is to find a group of writers, you don’t need a big group, maybe just one or two, that are on your same journey with you. Support each other. This writing journey isn’t easy, and you do not have to do it alone.

Have patience with the process and keep writing. I started writing in 2010 and sold my first book in 2020, and it’s finally out now in 2023.

Remember to work on what you can control: crafting your stories. Set the goal to write, to query, but not to sell, as that isn’t something we have power over.

I definitely advise joining writers groups, SCBWI, attending writing conferences, etc. Keep learning and be willing to play with words. For submissions, a paid Querytracker account is worth it to me. Now for sanity? For me, I do yoga, journal, and make sure I’m creating something tangible. Right now that means weaving baskets or textiles, but sometimes it means redecorating a room or making a quilt.

Even once you sign with an agent or sell your manuscript, you will continue to revise your manuscript. Publishing is a slow industry.

If you’re a picture book writer, like I am, you might not know that the illustrator and author don’t talk to each other. Some publishing houses, like mine, allow authors to have input into design preferences, character sketches, and to create a mood board on pinterest with images of my setting and weaving in particular. Some authors don’t know what their illustrations will look like until they are holding the final copy. It can be a hard thing to let go of control, especially when you have a vision, so make sure you are comfortable with your editor and their vision for your book.

I’m proof that if you keep writing, you will publish. Play. I started writing YA fantasy, and here I am with a picture book out. Play with different genres, different audiences. Try poetry, short stories, board books, chapter books, jingles. Everything I have worked on teaches me more about my writing process.

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

ROBIN: My book inspired me to become a textile weaver. I already wove baskets and had played a bit with tapestry, but in researching this book, I bought my own counterbalance loom just like my main character used and now weave my own cloth. I love being a weaver of story and fiber.

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series and paying it forward to other writers! We so appreciate the opportunity to learn from your knowledge and experience! Wishing you all the best with this and future titles!

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

Author Robin Hall

https://www.instagram.com/robinhallwrites/
https://twitter.com/robinhallwrites
FB: Robin Ashcraft Hall (I am not sure what the link is to FB)
Website: www.robinhallwrites.com

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

Indiebound
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!