Welcome to another book birthday Tuesday Debut!

I always think it’s especially fun when we get to meet our debut on the day of their debut! 😊

Before we get into a rousing chorus of Miss MacDonald (yes, you’re going to have that song in your head all day – you can thank Kalee and me for that 😊) I am delighted to announce that the winner of Laura Bower’s generous giveaway of a signed book, a bookmark, a keychain, and a sticker that was offered last week is. . .

HEATHER STIGALL!!!

Congratulations, Heather! Having been lucky enough to read the book already, I can say with confidence that you will love it! Please email me so we can get your prize to you!

Now! Everybody get comfy and warm up your singing voices, because we’re about to sing MISS MACDONALD HAS A FARM along with debut-ess Kalee Gwarjanski!

Ready, set, GO!

Title: Miss MacDonald Has A Farm
Author: Kalee Gwarjanski
Illustrator: Elizabet Vukovic
Publishing House: Doubleday, Random House Children’s Books
Date of Publication: March 12, 2024
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
age range of book: 0-5

In this female-forward spin on the traditional children’s song “Old MacDonald”, readers can join Miss MacDonald on her vegetable farm and see all the work that goes into growing healthy and delicious produce. 

SUSANNA: Welcome Kalee! Thank you so much for joining us today! We are excited to learn all about how this terrific spin on Old MacDonald came to be! Where did the idea for this book come from?

KALEE: This idea came to be almost fully formed. My kids (preschool and under at the time) and I visited a local farm to pick up vegetables once a week. We were singing the traditional song and riffing on all sorts of silly things. I thought about vegetable farmers instead of livestock farmers and alternative endings and came up with the phrase “she loved things that grow.” This led to a first draft, which really isn’t much different than the final manuscript.

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

KALEE: I wrote the first draft in 2019. 

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

KALEE: I went through many line revisions to get the words just right. I used a chart to keep track of the vegetables, the plant verbs and the farmer verbs. The structure of the manuscript remained the entire time. Also the ending

Here is one if the first charts

	Vegetables	Plant Verbs	Farmer Verbs
1	Lettuce	Sprouting	Planting
2	Peas	Climbing	Watering
3	Tomatoes	Ripening	Weeding
4	Cucumbers	Growing	Picking
5	Green Beans	Twirling	Pruning
6	Zucchini	Sprawling	Gathering
7	Squash	Blooming	Plucking
8	Potatoes	Rooting	Digging
9	Carrots	Thriving	Washing
10	Corn	Stretching	Harvesting

As I went through revisions with my helpful critique partners these words became more kid-friendly and fun to read aloud. “Picking” became “snip-snap”, “washing” became “scrub-a-dub”. The green beans always twirled!

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

KALEE: I knew the manuscript was ready for submission when my critique partners had very little comments. They could read it aloud without stumbling. I found myself focusing on one minor word change. 

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

KALEE: I was unagented and participated in the twitter pitch party #PBPitch. I got a like from an editor in February 2020. She declined. I put this manuscript in the drawer and moved on to new projects. But then decided to participate in the  #PBPitch party in June 2021, I put up the same exact pitch. I received a DM from the editor, saying “have I seen that? Can you send it again?” I hadn’t changed a word of the pitch or manuscript. She said she loved it. This second read she noticed many more layers that made her fall in love and want to bring to acquisitions.

SUSANNA: That really shows how true it is that the right manuscript has to cross the right editor’s desk at the right time! 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”?

KALEE: The editor requested two week exclusive and I said, “of course!” We didn’t get the yes from the publisher until two months later, August 2021. The offer included a pub date of summer 2023.

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

KALEE: With my offer in hand, I sent out some fresh queries. I sent around 13 new queries. I received two agent offers of representation. One clearly shared the vision I had for my career, so we agreed to work together.

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

KALEE: The contract was what I expected, it was pretty standard from a large house. My agent help me negotiate a slightly higher advance, higher royalties, and many more author copies.

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

KALEE: Revisions were only a few line edits. I had not written my backmatter yet, only sent ideas, so that was more of a collaborative effort. My editor even tested my recipe.

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

text copyright Kalee Gwarjanski 2024, illustration copyright Elizabet Vukovic 2024, Doubleday/RH

KALEE: My editor really wanted Elizabet to do the art. We needed to wait. I was disappointed to push the publication date to spring 2024, but I was so happy seeing the first sketches. First, I received a couple character sketches and black and white spreads. Once she reached the stage of coloring I was able to submit comments. Some were taken into account and some weren’t. Here are some examples: Miss MacDonald originally had a pet pig. I agreed with the editor, that we should not include a livestock animal to keep the focus on veggies. I wanted Miss MacDonald to have a pet goat (they had goats at the farm we frequented!), but Miss Mac ended up with a dog and cat. I requested that the jack-o-lantern faces be removed from the pumpkins and they obliged. I didn’t want the book to reflect any holidays.

text copyright Kalee Gwarjanski 2024, illustration copyright Elizabet Vukovic 2024, Doubleday/RH

I did not initially submit any art notes. Originally I pitched a vegetable soup recipe as a backmatter idea. When I saw the quiche that Elizabet drew on the final spread, I changed it to the Harvest Vegetable Egg Bake that is featured now!

text copyright Kalee Gwarjanski 2024, illustration copyright Elizabet Vukovic 2024, Doubleday/RH

SUSANNA: Creating a picture book is really a collaborative effort! You, the artist and the editor all bring elements that shape your idea into it’s final form. Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc? What was that like?

KALEE: I did get early reviews from Kirkus and SLJ in the month or so before publication. They were positive but not stars. It made me feel less like an imposter, I was happy, but I didn’t really celebrate much.

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

KALEE: I started writing seriously in winter 2018 and this book is coming out now: March 2024!

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?)

KALEE: Critique partners. Need I say more?? Find some good ones who are actually critical (not just complementary) and just as invested as you in furthering their craft.

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

KALEE: You never know when your yes will come. But you do know it will never come if you don’t ask for it. So participate in everything you are able, even if the little voice inside says “is this worth it?” Yes, it is always worth it.

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series and paying it forward to other writers and for all your great examples and helpful advice! Wishing you the best of luck with this and future titles from me and all our readers!

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

Author Kalee Gwarjanski

www.kaleegwarjanski.com
twitter @kaleegwar publisher @randomhousekids @elizabetvukovic

You may purchase Kalee’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!