Tueday Debut – Presenting Kim Larson! PLUS A Giveaway!!!

Get ready for some fun, Tuesday Debut-lovers!

Because today, our debut-ess is sharing her path to publication with an early reader – something we don’t get a whole lot of around here!

It’s sure to be very educational, and I know we all want to jump right in! But first, we have a giveaway winner to announce!

The lucky winner of a copy of WHO’S WALKING DAWG? written by last week’s debutess, Marie Prins, is none other than. . .

MONA VOELKEL!!!

Congratulations, Mona! Please email me so I can organize getting your book to you!

This week, our giveaway is another book! The Little Press will send a copy of Goat’s Boat Won’t Float (US only) to one lucky winner! Leave a comment on today’s post by Monday October 28th at 3 PM Eastern and you could be the randomly selected winner!

Now, without further ado, let’s meet today’s debut-ess, Kim Larson, and hear what she has to say about how she got her early reader, GOAT’S BOAT WON’T FLOAT published by The Little Press, a new up-and-comer in the publishing world!

Title:   Goat’s Boat Won’t Float (A Goat & Turkey Story, 1)
Author:  Kim A. Larson
Illustrator:  Gozde Eyce
Publishing House:  The Little Press
Date of Publication:  October 1, 2024
Fiction or Nonfiction:  Fiction
age range of your book:  4-6

Goat’s Boat Won’t Float introduces the friendship between a fainting goat who topples when startled—CLUNK!—and an excitable turkey who can’t help but create trouble. When Goat and Turkey go to buy oats, they load too many oats on Goat’s boat, so it starts to sink. Despite a tugboat’s efforts to help, nothing can rescue Goat from Turkey’s tomfoolery. 

SUSANNA: Welcome, Kim! Thank you so much for joining us today. We are very excited to hear all about your journey to publication with this delightful-looking book from a relatively new press. Where did the idea for this book come from?

KIM: In May 2020, I watched an SCBWI webinar by Ann Ingalls on how to write early readers. I learned that most early readers use sight words, which are common words kids recognize without sounding them out. So, I bought the Children’s Writer’s WORD BOOK to know what words were acceptable. On the kindergarten list was the word “goat,” and I knew I had my main character.

My grandchildren introduced me to fainting goats on their hobby farm several years ago, and I thought they were hilarious. So I had written a different picture book about a fainting goat who was a private investigator. I just recycled that character. Turkey is also on the kindergarten word list, and she appeared with Goat in my other story, so I recycled her too. The two make a good pair of opposites. 

This is a picture of Shadrach, the true inspiration.

Here’s a fun fact: goats don’t actually faint. Certain breeds of goats have a genetic disorder called myotonia congenita. This makes their muscles seize when startled, causing them to topple over.

SUSANNA: OMG! So cute!!! How long did it take you to write this book?

KIM: Before typing my first draft, I checked out dozens of early readers from the library and studied them. It was a bit confusing, though, because many stories used words that weren’t beginning sight words. The webinar had said to limit non-sight words to a small percentage of the text. So, I decided to follow that advice. Then I researched several publishers’ word-count guidelines.

It was six months later before I typed out that first draft, which took me a week to write.  The hardest part was limiting my text to kindergarten sight words. I also learned that early readers are often sold as a series, so I wrote two more stories right after this.

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

KIM: In the first draft, Goat’s sidekick was Toad. I just liked the assonance of the words. However, my critique partners suggested the animals be similar in size for illustration reasons. So, I went back to my WORD BOOK and found turkey on the kindergarten sight word list, too. (She is in my other goat story, and just as excitable.) Now I had my duo of opposites.

I always send my stories to my wonderful critique partners, and I did so with each. But early readers are usually shorter and can be more episodic than having a story arc or character arc. So, the revisions weren’t as many as most of my other stories.

Kim’s plushies – her very own Goat and Turkey 😊

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

KIM: Most often I know a story is ready to submit when my critique partners say it looks good and their suggestions are minor. In 2021, I joined Rate Your Story. I submitted this story early in the year and got a 2-star rating. A 1-star is the highest mark, out of ten. The judge provided a couple of line edits and a paragraph of what they loved about it. So, I knew the story was ready. But without an agent, I didn’t have a publisher I could submit it to.

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

KIM: In March 2022, I was a finalist in Mindy Weiss’s #PBParty Showcase. This put my query letter and the first 70 words of my story in front of certain agents and editors. Those interested, ask to see your full manuscript. My entry was about a fainting goat who was a private detective. This is how I got my first agent.

At the same time, I had submitted a pitch to an “above the slush-pile” opportunity through Children’s Book Insider (CBI). Astra Publishing requested the manuscript and a proposal. I had just signed with my agent, so she submitted my story and proposal to Harold Underdown and other publishers.

Soon after, I talked my agent into submitting my detective fainting goat picture book to other publishers. At the time, I didn’t understand why that wasn’t usually done. I said I’d take whatever offer came in first. After Harold declined, we had a Zoom meeting with Starry Forest. They saw it as a picture book, not an early reader, and wanted to see other work, too. They were still contemplating it when The Little Press asked if Goat’s Boat Won’t Float was still available.  

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”?

KIM: I don’t believe The Little Press has an acquisition team; I think Michele McAvoy decides herself.

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 (if you care to share 😊)

KIM: On August 23, 2022, my agent called and said Michele at The Little Press had made an offer. Since Starry Forest had shown an interest, my agent notified them and the other publishers about the offer. We waited a short time, discussed the terms, and accepted the offer.

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

KIM: Surprisingly, it was only a few days!

SUSANNA: Wow! That’s not just surprising! It’s astounding! Was the contract what you expected in terms of advance, royalty percentage, publication timeline, author copies etc.?

KIM: The Little Press is a small publisher, so their advance is minimal. The royalty percentage is higher, though. There were two things I had heard to watch out for in sales contracts. One was an option for your next book. You want to limit it as much as possible. I was excited that the contract had an option to buy two more in the series (that were already written), but we limited this option to only a year after the first publication date.

The second was a noncompete clause. I was concerned it meant I couldn’t publish any other stories until the timeframe expired. Michele reassured me that wasn’t so. BUT the noncompete clause did pertain to my other fainting goat stories, and we compromised with a shorter timeframe. Now I understood why my agent was hesitant to send both goat stories out at the same time. The rest of the contract was standard, like me getting ten copies of my book, etc.

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

KIM: I will have to learn what the editorial process is like on a different book because there weren’t any changes on this one. Not one word. But there are less than three hundred words in total.

SUSANNA: That’s amazing! Good for you! What was your experience of the illustration process like?

KIM: I didn’t see sketches or have an opportunity to provide feedback on the illustrations. I first saw the book’s cover in December 2023, and I loved the colors and characters. I saw a PDF copy of the finished book in February. I had used five art notes to indicate the action that was happening. But since the illustrator gets to do their own thing, not all of them were used.

text copyright Kim Larson 2024, illustration copyright Gozde Eyce 2024, The Little Press

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

KIM: The publisher’s offer came on August 23, 2022, and I held a physical copy of my book on June 24, 2024!

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

KIM: My publisher arranged a reading slot at the Twin Cities Book Festival in October, where I’ll also sign books.

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

KIM: I’m doing a blog tour and a few podcasts. Of course, I posted on social media and had some giveaways. I also created a bookmark, coloring page, and two other activity pages that you can find on my website. My publisher created an educational guide. I’ll be signing books at my hometown bookstore and local bookstore. Plus, numerous school visits.

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

KIM: In 2010, I was laid off from my job as a mortgage loan officer. Our oldest son was starting college and our youngest was a sophomore in high school. I had been writing as a hobby, knowing someday it would be my career. My husband agreed that I should pursue my dream to write full-time. I wrote two novels and a devotional-style Bible study first, then in 2018 I found a local SCBWI writing group. I fell in love with writing picture books. I got my first agent four years later, selling my first book a few months later.  

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?)

KIM: Keep learning and trying different things—and never give up. The KidLit community is amazing. There are so many resources out there, and everyone is willing to share. Most importantly, find good critique partners. They’re invaluable and some of my best friends.   

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

KIM: I am so grateful for the KidLit community and authors like you, Susanna, and many others who share their knowledge and encourage and support one another. It’s truly a community that makes writing more fun.

Thanks again for this opportunity, Susanna!

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series and paying it forward to other writers, Kim! We are so grateful to get to learn from you, and wish you all the best with this and future titles!

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

Author Kim Larson

Website: KimALarson.com
Twitter: @KimALarson7
https://www.facebook.com/kim.j.larson.7
https://www.instagram.com/kimalarson/
https://bsky.app/profile/kimalarson.bsky.social

Kim A. Larson grew up surrounded by every imaginable farm animal—except fainting goats. Her grandchildren introduced her to these skittish creatures, and she knew she had to write about them. Goat’s Boat Won’t Float is her debut picture book, the first in the Goat & Turkey series. Her second book, Doll Trouble, will be released in 2025 (Clavis Publishing). In 2021, Kim won the Ann Whitford Paul Award for most promising picture book manuscript. She was a #PBParty finalist in 2022 and 2023. When she’s not reading or writing, you may find Kim gardening or playing her favorite game Sequence. She and her husband live in Moorhead, Minnesota.

You can reach Kim on her website at KimALarson.com and on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram. If you sign up for her quarterly newsletter, you’ll receive a PDF copy of her first published book of short stories and poems: Love, Laughter, and a few Happily Ever Afters.

You may purchase Kim’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!

66 thoughts on “Tueday Debut – Presenting Kim Larson! PLUS A Giveaway!!!”

  2. Bri Lawyer says:
    Reply
    Bri Lawyer's avatar

    i loved hearing you read this book in Storytime Sprint and reading more about how it came to be here. Thanks for sharing all those details!

  3. Barbara Seregi says:
    Reply
    Barbara Seregi's avatar

    I always love hearing about how a book comes to be. And this one sounds delightful. I know my grandkids would love it!

  5. Karen Condit says:
    Reply
    Karen Condit's avatar

    This was so interesting to read and your book sounds delightful!

    I connected on so many levels—the goat “fainting” phenomenon, which I just learned about myself, the turkey character which also stars in my recent release, Turkey in the Tunnel, and I always had an interest in writing an early reader having been a reading specialist.

    I’m so happy for your success! I’m going to order today!

    Oh . . . another connection—I’m your neighbor in Wisconsin!

    CONGRATS!

  7. Emily Roberts says:
    Reply
    Emily Roberts's avatar

    This books looks amazing! I can’t wait to read it. I just checked out “Rate Your Story”. That is new to me. It looks like a great resource.

  11. Bedwards says:
    Reply
    Bedwards's avatar

    Kim, congratulations on your book and looking forward to reading it. Everything about your interview was extremely helpful from your idea, research, timeline, negotiations, and publishing. I loved how you used The Children’s Writer’s WORD BOOK. I bought that book a while back and love it. Now, I have a new way to use it. Thank you for sharing your experience.

  14. robdonart123 says:
    Reply
    robdonart123's avatar

    I never knew about goats that collapse. That is so interesting. There are Nigerian dwarf goats in a park nearby. They really are something! I always love them at the petting zoos!
    Congratulations! The kiddos are going to love it!!!♥️

  15. kellyclasenwriter says:
    Reply
    kellyclasenwriter's avatar

    I learned so much from this interview–especially about noncompete clauses and why two similar books aren’t subbed at the same time. Fascinating. Thank you for sharing your experiences, Kim, and congrats on the book!

    • Kim A Larson says:
      Reply
      Kim A Larson's avatar

      Thank you, Kelly! I’ve learned so much along the way from all the wonderful KidLit writers who freely share their knowledge and promote others, like Susanna!

  22. Judy Wilkins Sobanski says:
    Reply
    Judy Wilkins Sobanski's avatar

    Congratulations, Kim on all your success. Thank you for sharing your early reader book’s journey. I learned so much from this interview! I’ve heard many great things about The Little Press, too. I can’t wait to read GOAT’S BOAT WON’T FLOAT!

  24. Danielle Hammelef says:
    Reply
    Danielle Hammelef's avatar

    I’ve seen this hilarious book with its fun duo of Turkey and Goat and have enjoyed getting the story behind the story. The plushies are adorable! I’m excited to read this book and also to pull out my copy of the Children’s Word Book which I used to use all the time when writing for educational publishers.

  25. Karen Plevin Kovach says:
    Reply
    Karen Plevin Kovach's avatar

    Congratulations!! Thank you so much for sharing your journey. This gives great insight and hope that I can publish too. Can’t wait to read this book.

Leave a comment