Welcome to Tuesday Debut, Everyone!

Luckily, you are reading this on some type of electronic device and not on actual paper printed at my house, because if it had come from my house, you would be gasping at the skunk fumes. In the interest of discouraging future activity in this area, I will take a moment to publicly shame the offenders.

Please feel free to tell them what extremely Bad Babies they are!

Today’s edition of Tuesday Debut also features animals (not skunks and dogs, but a blessedly skunk-free tiger cub!) and is an amazing and endearing true story which I’m sure you’re going to want to jump right in and learn about!

But first, we have a giveaway winner to announce from last week! Korena Di Roma Howley, author of SARANG SAVES THE SCHOOL, kindly offered a 30-minute Ask Me Anything Zoom call, and the winner is. . .

robdonart123

Congratulations, Robin! Please email me so I can set you up with Korena. I’m sure your talk with her will be interesting and valuable!

Now! Let’s get to today’s debut-ess, the multi-talented Debra Goldstein – author, editor, and land conservation attorney – and her book, A FAMILY FOR ZOYA: The True Story of an Endangered Cub.

Title:  A Family for Zoya:  The True Story of an Endangered Cub

Author:  Debra Wolf
Illustrators:  Annalisa Durante and Marina Durante
Publishing House:  Platypus Media  
Date of Publication:  July 2025
Nonfiction, ages:  5-9

A Family for Zoya tells the inspiring true story of a critically endangered Amur tiger cub born at the Philadelphia Zoo.  When Zoya’s mother rejects the newborn, the zoo responds with a bold plan to give the cub a second chance at family.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Debra! Thank you so much for joining us today. We’re very excited to hear about your journey to publication with this engrossing true story! Where did the idea for this book come from?

DEBRA: I’m a land conservation attorney, and I used to run an environmental film festival that included youth programming. Kids today are exposed to far too much eco-anxiety-producing news; we tried to combat that and show positive stories about people can make a difference.  So when I learned about Zoya, a rare Amur cub who was adopted by another tiger family, and about the three American zoos that cooperated to save her against all odds, I thought this was an inspiring story that really should be shared with kids. But no one was making a film or book about her. If Zoya’s story were going to be shared, I realized that I would have to be the one to do it!  Learning the craft of how to write a children’s book flowed from that.

SUSANNA: After hearing that, I really want to read the book and the back matter to learn the whole story! Did you go through many revisions?

DEBRA: I wrote about seven different drafts of the story, including sending it to a professional editor at one point. Learning how to distill the story into a one-sentence pitch was one of the hardest but most fun parts of the process.  I’d frequently wake up with improved pitches that my subconscious apparently had been working on overnight! 

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

DEBRA: I sent the story directly to about a dozen publishing houses. I’d read that agents want potential author-clients to have several polished manuscripts ready, and I only had this one story about Zoya, so I didn’t think it would be fruitful to pursue an agent. 

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”?

Debra’s writing space and her writing buddies 😊

DEBRA: I was thrilled that Platypus Media reached out to tell me they were very interested in the story.  But they asked if I’d be willing to re-write it from the tiger cub’s point of view!  I’d originally written it from the POV of one of the zookeepers.  My concern was that I wanted the book to be nonfiction, not informational fiction or anthropomorphized in some way, and I wasn’t sure whether I could write it from Zoya’s POV without going astray.  But I was willing to try.  And Platypus liked what they saw in my rewrite, so they then offered me a contract.

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

DEBRA: In addition to being an attorney, I’m an editor at The Little Press for a new line of nature-themed children’s books, so I was already very familiar with standard publishing contracts and terms.

Let me add, perhaps a bit off-topic, that in my role as an editor I review many submissions. I think pre-published authors stress too much about query letters! Your pitch and story are the important components; as long as your query letter isn’t too weird or long it will do the trick!

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

DEBRA: The biggest change to the story (after changing the POV, as mentioned above) was that the publisher wanted the main story to be less science-heavy.  So we moved many of the facts about Amur tigers and wildlife conservation out of the story and into “Did You Know?” sidebars that appear on most pages and into the back matter.  I’m grateful that the publisher gave me a ton of space in the back matter to discuss tiger conservation and other important facts.

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

DEBRA: I’d originally envisioned the story being illustrated with photographs.  I was fortunate to have obtained the rights to charming photos of Zoya and her adopted family, which the photographers generously shared with me (probably because I’m donating 100% of my author proceeds to the Tiger Conservation Campaign).  But the publisher wanted to go in a different direction and found two very talented sisters who are medical illustrators in Italy to illustrate the book.  Marina Durante and Annalisa Durante wanted the pictures to be not only heart-warming but accurate; they asked for photographs of various settings/objects when they had questions.  The publisher then used a few key photographs on the back cover and in the back matter. I think this hybrid approach turned out wonderfully!

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

DEBRA: The publisher sent out social media alerts about the book’s release and created adorable stickers of the tiger cubs to send out with book orders.

On my end, in addition to school readings and bookstore readings, I’m fortunate to be partnering on promotions with two of the zoos featured in the book.  The Roosevelt Park Zoo in North Dakota asked me to do a virtual author reading on World Tiger Day.  The Philadelphia Zoo generously hosted a big launch party where I signed books and did a reading; that event even garnered coverage on two local television stations! And both zoos are publicizing the book to their membership and carrying the book in their physical bookstores.  We may also partner in providing copies of the book to local Title 1 schools.

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

DEBRA: I’ve had a fair amount of experience writing for adults, but this was my first attempt at writing for children.  I’d say it took about 14 months from the time I first put pen to paper to the time I heard back from a publisher.

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?)

DEBRA: In my opinion, it’s worth the $$ to pay to submit your work to a professional editor – and more than one editor if you can afford it.  Get recommendations:  It may not be as expensive as you think. Critique groups are important, of course, and mine helped me whip my original manuscript into decent shape, but an editorial eagle eye can take your story to a new level. I also recommend joining Inked Voices and taking one of their intensive critique classes where you get (and give) multiple rounds of comments on a story.

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

DEBRA: I’m thrilled to have another book coming out next fall from Science Naturally.  I think that once you get your foot in the door with one book published it becomes easier to get others published, both because of the perception of success and because you’ll understand the publishing “ropes” a bit better.  Most of all, write about something you’re passionate about!  It will shine through.

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today, Debra, and for your helpful advice. What a great opportunity to learn! Wishing you all the best with this and future titles!

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

Author Debra Wolf Goldstein (whose snack of choice is crisp cold apples AND Yasso brand choc chip cookie dough greek yoghurt popsicles!) 😊

author website:  www.DebraKimWolf.com

You may purchase Debra’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!