Hello, Everyone!

So glad to see you all!

We didn’t have a Tuesday Debut last week, so now is my chance to announce that the winners of Joyce Uglow’s TWO generous giveaways from two weeks ago are. . .

Susan Corry – who gets a signed copy of STUCK!

and

Judy Bryan – who gets a picture book manuscript critique from Joyce!

Congratulations, Susan and Judy, you lucky winners, you! 😊 Please email me so I can get your prizes organized for you!

Now, let’s meet today’s Tuesday Debut-ess, Cynthia Mackey, and hear all about her beautiful book!

Title: If a Bumblebee Lands on Your Toe
Author: Cynthia Mackey
Illustrator: Vikki Zhang
Publishing House: Yeehoo Press
Date of Publication: May 6, 2025
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
age range of your book: 3-8

A thoughtful tale of mindfulness and our interconnectedness with nature.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Cynthia! We’re so excited to get to talk with you today about your publishing journey with IF A BUMBLEBEE LANDS ON YOUR TOE! Where did the idea for this book come from?

CYNTHIA: I had been thinking about the problem of how to show children who might be afraid of bees that bees are actually beneficial to us. In 2020, I accepted a new position as a nature preschool program manager. I wasn’t sure what to expect doing daily outdoor education. It was a time when fear was everywhere, especially since we weren’t sure how COVID was transmitted. I was doing daily yoga practice to help myself cope with anxiety. It helped me tremendously.

During one of our daily outdoor picnics, a bumblebee landed on a child’s ankle. The child’s response was outwardly calm, more than I might have expected. I wondered what might have helped him be so calm about it. I noticed all the children in the group were more curious than afraid of the bumblebee, and I speculated that maybe being outdoors daily had done something to make them braver and calmer. I knew about forest bathing and how research has shown cortisol (stress hormone) levels reduce after being in nature. When I wrote the poem, it was a way of exploring all the creatures that children see around them and what we have in common. For example, if you’ve ever watched a bunny freeze, it is incredible how still they can be and their brown fur can completely camouflage them, keeping them safe from harm. I thought about how much children love the game of freeze dancing and the movie, Frozen.

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

CYNTHIA: I started in 2018, entered a manuscript titled OSCAR AND THE BEES in CANSCAIP’s writing for children competition in 2018 and later re-wrote the story in a completely different voice. By the time I rewrote it, I had worked a lot on developing a more lyrical writing style, studying lyrical picture books, and writing a lot of poetry. It took about 4-5 years.

All that writing and all those revisions probably require lots of Cynthia’s favorite snack – COOKIES! 😊

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

CYNTHIA: The first version I wrote in 2018 went through several revisions. The big revision came after the picnic with the child and the bumblebee when I wrote it in a lyrical voice. I had been thinking about how some picture books focus on one small moment and wanted to try doing exactly that. The new second person voice brings the child reader right into the story. One thing that helped me develop my lyrical voice was the book, The Ode Less Traveled by Stephen Fry.

SUSANNA: That is helpful to know! When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

CYNTHIA: I didn’t really know for sure, to be honest. However, I had a lot of encouragement from my critique partners, especially Thush Ponweera and Karyn Curtis. Thush encouraged me to enter the manuscript in the #PBChat Mentorship competition in 2021. It didn’t win, but I felt positive about it by then.

What helped me the most was a conversation I had with a local bookseller who was telling me about her experience judging picture book competitions. She told me that many times, the manuscripts were strong and the deciding factor (providing the work was strong enough) was often how well the judges connected with the manuscript. I decided what I needed to do was to send the manuscript to someone who could love it the way I did.

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

CYNTHIA: I decided I had nothing to lose by submitting it widely. I used Bitsy Kemper’s list of publishers that don’t require agents. I submitted to a few agents too.

SUSANNA: For those of you who might be interested, here is the link. Bitsy Kemper’s List The list was updated on 4/1/25, so it should be pretty current. 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”?

CYNTHIA: Jessica Whipple, one of my critique partners kept talking about sending follow up emails for publishing houses that allow that. Most of them don’t like authors to send follow ups because it clogs up their inbox. I was hesitant to do it, but after 8 months, I sent out a few follow up emails with the original query and manuscript attached. That’s when I heard back from Yeehoo Press.

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 😊)

CYNTHIA: One morning, I woke up and checked my email. At first I thought maybe it was spam but read more closely and learned that Luyang Xue at Yeehoo Press had been thinking about my manuscript and loved the concept of the bee as the metaphor for our fears. It was summer, and I celebrated with a mimosa on my back patio.

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

CYNTHIA: It took about 3 months before Yeehoo Press sent me the contract. The entire time I kept wondering if they would actually send a contract or if they would change their minds. But now I’m pretty sure they already had the illustrator they wanted in mind. Vikki Zhang had already illustrated another of their books, The Whole World in Nan’s Soup, and looking at that book, it was easy to imagine her illustrations for my manuscript.

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

CYNTHIA: The biggest issue in the contract was the timing as Yeehoo Press wasn’t ready to publish the book for at least 2 years. They were not sure if I’d be willing to wait but when you’re a debut author, I don’t think the waiting matters much. They offered an advance and an equal payment on publication plus a percentage on the sales. I looked at sample author contracts in the SCBWI book and it looked comparable to what you might expect but on the lower side, which made sense to me as a new author. It’s more of a risk to the publisher with someone new. I know more now that I knew back then and The Writer’s Union is a good membership to have because they can help with contracts. For future contracts, if I am fortunate enough to get them, I will use their service if I don’t have an agent.

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

CYNTHIA: I did a revise and resubmit, but they ended up going with the original manuscript. For the revise and resubmit, Yeehoo Press sent me an editorial letter. I had the chance to read the letter carefully and ask questions for clarification to make sure I understood what they were looking for. After they read the revise and resubmit, they sent me the contract. In the end, I did take six words out after seeing the illustrations because I thought they were no longer needed, but that was my choice. In this situation, I feel like the revise and resubmit served a purpose for Yeehoo Press to understand what it would be like to work with me as an author. If they are investing in the book, they need to feel comfortable with the author as well as the manuscript.

SUSANNA: That makes a lot of sense. What was your experience of the illustration process like?

text copyright Cynthia Mackey, 2025, illustration copyright Vikki Zhang, 2025, Yehoo Press

CYNTHIA: Luyang, the editor, checked with me to see if I would be okay with Vikki as the illustrator. She shared each stage of the project. If I had any concerns, Luyang listened to them. She asked for my feedback on two different versions of the cover and I preferred the blue background. We did a cover reveal vote to see what readers liked and it turned out they also preferred the blue background. I LOVE the creative process and feel like the illustrator should be given freedom to interpret the manuscript. When I saw Vikki’s illustrations, I knew she fully understood the insights I was trying to get across in the story and her creativity not only supported those insights but also brought a new level of wonder and storytelling to the book. It was both surprising and delightful to see Vikki’s theatrical interpretation of the story. She added some new layers – stage fright, the idea of the ‘monkey mind’ and the opportunity to look closely at the illustrations to discover new details hidden in the art in the same way as we can in the natural world when we look closely at our surroundings.

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

CYNTHIA: I haven’t seen any Kirkus or SLJ reviews yet. I did send the ARC to several authors and reading their reviews has been far beyond what I could have expected. It is an incredible feeling to have fellow children’s authors appreciating my work. The blurb on the back from Troy Wilson, the author of Hat Cat was so thrilling to read. It’s a great feeling to be part of the writing community and get peer reviews.

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

CYNTHIA: The offer was in August 2022 and I received the first copy on March 30^th 2025.

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

CYNTHIA: Yeehoo Press shares my social media posts and ordinarily puts their books up for reviews and awards. If a Bumblebee Lands on Your Toe would ordinarily go to all of the trade shows they do in the US. Because of unfortunate timing, Yeehoo Press has had their marketing budget cut and some of the things they would normally do are not going to happen for this book. We live in uncertain economic times and some things are out of our control. We are working together on coming up with low cost or no cost marketing plans.

SUSANNA: That is challenging. We will do our best to help! Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

 CYNTHIA: It was such a long pre-order period that I did quite a LOT. I made a one-minute book trailer, joined two promotion groups, did a cover reveal and vote, requested blurbs from two established authors, and sent out the arc for reviews. Because I had so much time, I developed and presented workshops on the topic of anxiety. I’ve popped in to our local indie book stores to introduce myself as a new author. I’ll be participated in an author panel at the Vancouver Public Library and will be doing a local book signing. I’d imagine the book promotion will be ongoing as that’s part of being an author. I’m currently planning more in person events and magazine interviews.

I recognize it seems like I’m doing a lot and I guess partly, I like the promotion and partly, I feel as the author, I’m probably the best person to advocate for my own work or at least to start the ball rolling.

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

CYNTHIA: It was about seven years – I joined SCBWI in 2015 and sold the book in 2022.

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?)

CYNTHIA: That’s a hard question because I think everyone’s journey is so individual. I came into this with a background in education, University level courses in children’s literature and writing, and years of collecting and reading picture books to children.

My critique partners have been incredibly valuable to me. Years of exchanging work regularly, reading others’ work and giving and receiving feedback have helped me develop and grow as a writer. Thanks to Karyn Curtis, Thushanti Ponweera, Jessica Whipple, Tara J Hannon, Tasha Hilderman, Sue Macartney, Emma Wood, Akilah Picou, Mariana Rios Ramirez, Leslie Macreary, Cedar Pruitt, Maureen Egan, Jamie Bills, and Joyce Uglow. Many of them are published authors and if they aren’t they will be soon, so look out for their books! I feel so privileged to be able to share work with all of these talented writers.

SUSANNA: I recognize some of those names as published authors and/or as writers who have entered my contests over the years! Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

CYNTHIA: My book wouldn’t be published without the many people who’ve helped me along the way, including my own family, who at first didn’t quite ‘get’ why I was doing this, but are slowly coming to see how much this all means to me. It wouldn’t be published without my own struggles overcoming anxiety and fear, being brave and supporting others working through anxiety. I’m grateful for my mentor, Jean E. Pendziwol for her support. It also wouldn’t be published without persistence. At one point, when life got tough, I considered giving up, not knowing if I’d ever make it to publication. I kept going when I realized it didn’t matter for me if I got published. What mattered for me is that I love to write and the process of writing and revising is what brings me joy and satisfaction. Sharing the finished book is the icing on the cake. I love cake without icing too so I decided whatever happens is okay with me.

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 you, and wish you all the best with this and future titles!

CYNTHIA: You’re welcome. I hope that sharing my journey may help someone else.

Author Cynthia Mackey

website: https://www.booksbycindy.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/books.by.cindy/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/booksbycindy.bsky.social
Illustrator: https://www.instagram.com/0717vikki/

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

You may purchase Cynthia’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!