Woo hoo! It’s time for this week’s exciting installment of Tuesday Debut!

Before we meet today’s debut-ess, we have a giveaway winner to announce from last week!

The winner of a copy of Cathy Mealey’s debut nonfiction picture book, Fly Rod Was First: Cornelia Crosby’s Adventures In Angling, is. . .

KATHY HALSEY!!!

Congratulations, Kathy! Please email me at your earliest convenience so I can get your prize to you!

And for this week, we also have a giveaway – a copy of Lisa’s book Ahoy, Mate, Ahoy! Miss Molly Malloy! To put yourself in the running to be the randomly selected winner, just leave a comment on today’s post by 3 PM Eastern Monday May 4th!

It seems to be becoming more common that some of our Tuesday Debuts start in self-publishing and move to traditional publishing or vice versa – we’ve had some both ways. Today’s debut-ess previously had a self-published picture book, but this is her traditional debut. Please join me in welcoming Lisa Carmody Doiron, author of Ahoy, Mate, Ahoy! Miss Molly Malloy!

Title: AHOY, MATE, AHOY! MISS MOLLY MOLLOY
Author: Lisa Carmody Doiron
Illustrator: Patrick Guindon
Publishing House: Pownal Street Press
Date of Publication: April 7th, 2026
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
ISBN#: 978-1998129645
age range of your book: 5-8 years old

SUSANNA: Welcome, Lisa! Thank you so much for joining us today. We’re excited to hear about your journey to publication with AHOY, MATE, AHOY! MISS MOLLY MOLLOY! Where did the idea for this book come from?

LISA: I first thought of the idea for this book when my family and I were on a trip to Cape Breton. I had just received a personalized rejection from a publisher who gave me a list of things to do to improve my writing. I spent a few days ‘licking my wounds’ and then, I began to execute the list. To date, that personalized rejection has been the single, greatest gift to me as a writer. It set me on the path to improving my craft like nothing else. So, at the time Molly Molloy was born, I wasn’t actively pursuing editors; I was in an ‘improve your craft’ era. But… 

My youngest son, Kieran, loved going to all the seaside gift shops, and while there, I found so many delightful, regional picture books. The phrase, “Ahoy, mate, ahoy! Miss Molly Molloy,” kept floating around in my mind, and I knew I wanted to turn her into a story. Once the character of Molly came to me, I knew I wanted to write a seafaring story. My dad had passed away shortly before this story was written, and he and I were always out on his boat together. Once that detail materialized, the first draft just flowed out of me. 

I suppose the moral of this monologue is, sometimes the best ideas come to you when you least expect it.

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

LISA: The first draft was easy. The ten million drafts after that were more challenging! I spent a lot of time on the story elements, but there was also the scansion because Molly Molloy is written in verse. It’s written in an anapestic meter, but every now and then, the meter is sacrificed for story’s sake. I had to have folks critique it from a meter lens, and others from a story element end. Molly has gone through countless critique partners and editorial passes from the team at Pownal Street Press. All told, this book took months to write, rewrite, and polish.

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

LISA: Molly went through many revisions. The story I have today is not the story I started with. Writing can be a solitary endeavor, so I was very fortunate that Mo and Gen at Pownal Street Press were so editorial. They helped me polish this story into a gem, I think!

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

LISA: I never know when a story is ready and am guilty of sending manuscripts out too soon. I have an amazing critique group now though, and they are excellent at providing feedback. We have a general rule that when we’ve run out of constructive feedback and are grasping at things to suggest, we know the draft must be close.

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

LISA: I don’t currently have an agent, so I submit directly to publishing houses when they have open calls for submissions. Pownal Street Press put out a call for children’s fiction. They were open to multiple submissions at the time, so I sent them three or four manuscripts complete with query letters. Molly Molloy was the winner! 

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”?

LISA: It was several months after submitting before I heard Molly Molloy was shortlisted and a few more before she was officially accepted. Honestly, I thought perhaps they had passed on all my manuscripts, and I was preparing to put them through another round of revisions before filing them or sending them to additional publishers.

Lisa’s writing buddy 😊

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 ☺)

LISA: I found out in the fall of 2024 that Molly would come to fruition. I’m a teacher, and I checked my email at lunch. I squealed so loud, my nextdoor neighbour teacher came running. I told her the news and we squealed and giggled together. 

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

LISA: The offer came in late fall 2024, and I signed the contract on December 9th.

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

LISA: My publisher offered me a standard contract. The advance was what you would expect for a debut book and the royalty percentage is on par with what you would expect. My publisher offers 10 author copies and additional copies can be ordered with a 20% discount. The advance was less than 5K and the royalty percentage is 9% on print copies and 15% on digital copies. My publisher owns the sole and exclusive rights to publish Molly Molloy throughout Canada and the world. These rights run for the full term of copyright. 

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

LISA: The backbone of the story has remained true to itself; however, we did expand and contract a few story elements. My editorial team has been phenomenal. Mo listened to and honored my vision for the story. She always gave me final say in the story arc. I feel like I had complete autonomy over the trajectory of the storyline but I had this fancy editorial tool (Mo!) in my back pocket helping me shine and polish everything.

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

LISA: Oh my gosh, I adore Patrick! He’s from Ontario but lives on PEI now. During the illustration process, Patrick and I never met. He would send his proofs to Gen and Mo at Pownal Street, and they would share them with me for thoughts, ideas, tweaks etc. Originally, I imagined illustrations that looked true-to-life, but Patrick took them in a whole different direction, and they are so much more than I ever could have imagined. I guess that’s why he’s the artist! Patrick’s art is the cream cheese icing on top of this decadent carrot cake. Because our province is teeny tiny, we found each other on social media and planned to meet at his art studio. We spent the afternoon chatting as though we’d been best friends our whole lives. I hope we get to do ten thousand more projects together. 

I left very few art notes for Patrick to work with. So few, Mo came back and asked me to build a few in to make sure my vision aligned with his. 

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

LISA: We had an advance review from Kirkus, and it was so surreal seeing our beautiful, little book up there being praised! I think Patrick and I blew up the internet that day with our shares. I’ve attached the review because I’m just so proud of it! 

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lisa-carmody-doiron/ahoy-mate-ahoy-miss-molly-molloy/

SUSANNA: That is wonderful! Congratulations! How long did it take from offer to having the first copy in your hand?

LISA: I received my first copy of AHOY, MATE, AHOY! MISS MOLLY MOLLOY on February 6th, 2026 . So, from fall 2024 to winter 2026-less than 18 months. 

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

LISA: It will be shared in the School Library Journal, The Pulse, to between 10 000-20 000 school libraries for review. Pownal Street Press distributes through Raincoast and Orca, as well as some US marketing. They are connected to The Winter Institute, Woozles, Atlantic Books Today, and Indigo. Locally, we are connected to a bookstore called Bookmark. Patrick and I are connected to the school system in our province, so we’re planning a school tour and will run contests within schools based on what each school allows. 

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

LISA: I’ve reached out to kidlit bloggers and authors to have them review a digital copy of my book in return for a signed hard cover copy. Patrick has made ‘merch’ and is working on stickers, colouring pages, and activities for teachers. Both Patrick and I promote on social media as well, and he made an amazing animated short as a teaser. 

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

LISA: I started writing shortly after I could talk. My mom tells stories about me asking my school librarian to put the books I’d written in my school library (and she did!). Before picture book writing, I was a momlit blogger writing for Scary Mommy and other sites. I had stories published in various anthologies and online. I was also a children’s theatre writer and producer in Toronto and here on the east coast. I started writing children’s manuscripts in the early 2000s but only began honing my craft through 12×12, CANSCAIP, SCBWI, and with my critique group, in the last five years. Since then, my writing has catapulted. I highly recommend joining those groups and finding a critique group that pushes you to improve your writing skills. 

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?)

LISA: You have to be willing to revise and edit your story a million times before you send it out. Do not send a first draft to anyone anywhere (except your critique group!). I hated this advice at first, but here goes: after you write a draft and feel it’s ready to send out, put it in a folder for six months. Come back to it and see if you can polish it further. See if you can write your opening multiple different ways. See if you can raise the stakes throughout. See if you can make the ending sweeter, funnier, more clever. Apply the craft moves you’ve learned from webinars and classes you take. Don’t just write one draft and call it done. Apply what you’ve learned in the past six months to the draft and ask yourself if it’s ready. Then re-share it with your critique group.  

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

LISA: One thing I would say about publishing in general is don’t discount the small, boutique publishers. In an over saturated picture book market, it can be hard to get noticed by larger publishers (in my experience). Look regionally at smaller publishers. My experience with Pownal Street Press has been warm, considerate, and so very positive. I’m proud of our book and couldn’t have asked for a better working relationship. 

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series and paying it forward to other writers, Lisa! We so appreciate the opportunity to learn from your experience – it helps us all! Best wishes with this and future titles!

Readers, if you have questions for Lisa, please post them in the comments below and if she has time I’m sure she’ll respond! And remember, your comment below by 3 PM Eastern Monday May 4th puts you in the running to be the randomly selected winner of a copy of Ahoy, Mate, Ahoy! Miss Molly Malloy!

Author Lisa Carmody Doiron, whose favorite snack is coffee and caramel rice cakes! 😊

• social media links – On Bluesky and Instagram: @lisacarmodydoiron
• Facebook Author page – https://www.facebook.com/lisacarmodydoironauthor
• Pownal Street Press website: https://pownalstreetpress.com/
• Purchase link: PRE-ORDER HERE https://pownalstreetpress.com/…/ahoy-mate-ahoy-miss…/

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

PRE-ORDER HERE https://pownalstreetpress.com/…/ahoy-mate-ahoy-miss…/
Indiebound/Bookshop.org
Amazon

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, 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!